adult learners and fscj
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TRANSCRIPT
Helping Our Students Succeed
Facts About Open Campus Studentsand Strategies for Their Success
An IntroductionHow We Compare to Traditional
Institutions
The Traditional University…
Often focuses on 18-22 year-olds with parental support, immediately transitioning from high school to college.
Often focuses on strategies for engaging students on a face-to-face basis
Often focuses only on students on Bachelor’s and Graduate school tracks
But FSCJ Is Not a Traditional University, and Open Campus
Is…Online! With a background as an open-access
community college, FSCJ enjoys much diversity among our students
FSCJ aims not only to graduate students with Associate’s and Bachelor’s degrees, but also to remediate, prepare students for college level work, acclimate students to the world of higher ed, accommodate non-traditional students, and prepare students for vocations
A Few FactsAbout FSCJ and Open Campus Students
Full-Time Enrollment OnlineUnduplicated students in online courses (n=21,480)
Academic Year 2010/2011 (terms 20111, 20112 and 20113)
FallSpring
Summer
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
1,4001310
348
39
Source: JIRA Data Report – October 2011
Part-Time Enrollment OnlineUnduplicated students in online courses (n=21,480)
Academic year 2010/2011 (terms 20111, 20112 and 20113)
FallSpring
Summer
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,00013385
5728
1804
Source: JIRA Data Report – October 2011
Degree CompletersNumber of students who took online courses to complete their degree
Duplicated headcount - many students earned multiple awards.Academic year 2010/2011 (terms 20111, 20112 and 20113)
AA AAS AS BAS BS BSN TCert VCert
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
30002843
88549
16517 22
533
90
Source: JIRA Data Report – October 2011
Developmental Students
More than 70% of FSCJ students take at least one developmental course.
This means many of them come to us not yet in possession of college-level skills.
Open Campus Students:52% Are Older than 25 and the Majority Are
Female
Fe-male66%
Male34%
Source: JIRA Data Report – October 2011
4%
17%
26%
20%
34%< 1919-2021-2425-2930+
What Do All TheseStatistics Mean?
Many – in fact, most – of our students are adults.
Therefore, androgogy is an important consideration.
An incredible number of students, from all backgrounds, are now taking online classes in pursuit of everything from certificates to Bachelor’s degrees.
Faculty should take a variety of student goals into consideration
What to Remember…
It’s important to know who the learners are in our virtual classroom.
Often adult learners are nontraditional students.
Usually in the workforce
May have family obligations
Usually have a specific reason for obtaining their degree: personal satisfaction, to open career doors, or to advance in current position.
Adapted from CSU Global “Characteristics of CSU Global Students”
Some Principles for Adult Learning
Needs Assessment: Participation of the learner in naming what is to be learned.
Safety in the environment between teacher and learner for learning and development.
A sound relationship between teacher and learner for learning and development.
Careful attention to sequence of content and reinforcement.
Praxis: Action with reflection or learning by doing.
Respect for learners as subjects of their own learning.
From: Vella, J. (1994). Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 3-22.
AndrogogyKnowles’ Principles of Andragogy:
Adults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their instruction
Experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for learning activities
Adults are most interested in learning about subjects that have immediate relevance to their job or personal life
Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented
More About Adult Learners
They are more self-guided in their learning,
They bring more, and expect to bring more, to a learning situation because of their wider experience - and can take more away, and
They require learning "to make sense" - they will not perform a learning activity just because the instructor said to do it.
Adapted from CSU Global “Characteristics of CSU Global Students”
Now That We KnowMore About ThemWhat Can We Do to Help Our Students Succeed?
Best Practices for Our Learners
Consider applying principles of andragogy along with your other practices
Create a more “social classroom”
Through use of blogs, wikis, social networks, synchronous chat sessions
Create a clear agenda
Organize your course shell in a user-centric way
ConclusionsHow to Begin Implementing These Strategies for Success
Faculty Role to Ensure Continuous Improvement
Attend professional development regularly.
Rely on your support network.
Read current research.
Revise curriculum as needed(with approval of supervising administrator).
Select new approaches as needed.
Mentor other teachers!
Drawn from “Reform versus Traditional Pedagogy” by Cathy Jones
A Final Thought…
Adults have increased variation in learning styles. The individual differences among people increase with age. Using a variety of teaching materials and methods will assist in catering to the differences in style, time, types, and pace of learning.
Once acclimated to the online environment, adult learners are typically self-directed and self-motivated, necessary in online learning.