Hooking the Adult Learner

Multimedia ApproachesBy Elizabeth G. Honaker

Consider the following first-day scenario:

• You prepare physically & mentally.

• You assemble your materials.

• You arrive early.

• You organize your classroom.

• You anticipate the arrival of your students.

• You prepare to deliver the opening lecture.

• You “hear” the following:

“I can’t pass your class.”Various disguised messages:

“I could never write well in high school.”

“I can’t think past 7 p.m.”“My last instructor told me to quit

on the first day.”“My children never give me a

moment’s peace.”

“I don’t understand poetry.”

What to do?

• Ignore them.• Smile a lot.• Hope for the best.• Refer them to the

syllabus.• Pretend they said

something else.• Act hard of hearing.

OR: Get ’em H-O-O-K-E-D

• Hopeful

• Optimistic

• Operative

• Knowledgeable

• EDucated

Aims of this Presentation• This presentation will

explore an understanding of adult learners with certain learning problems.

• We will delve into some of the psychology involved in reaching adult learners positively.

• I will suggest things I have done with media to overcome some of the problems we explore.

Why talk about being HOPEFUL?

• Some adult learners feel like “also-rans.”

• Some are facing opposition at home.

• Some are experiencing problems at work.

• Some remember bad high school experiences.

• Some have a history of disorganized learning behaviors.

Ways to instill HOPE• Focus them on what

they can do.• Insert into your class

time some activity that they suggest doing.

• Ask their opinion on how to cover a topic.

• Take two minutes to talk to them about home life before or after class.

Multimedia Approaches• Use a website to

explain a concept (such as the OWL at Purdue).

• Have a librarian give an e-library talk on the first day.

• Discuss personal scheduling techniques in MS Outlook.

• Set up email access between you and your students.

• Show an excerpt from a DVD related to your first-day topic.

• Pass around a book, album or scrapbook related to your topic.

Why talk about being OPTIMISTIC?• Some adult learners have learned the

“victim” approach to life.• Some have a history of problems:

Health – Family – Job – Social • Some are worried that their degree will

not benefit them.• Some are taking your course “because

they have to.”

Ways to foster OPTIMISM• Show passion for your

subject – it’s catching!

• Tell an inspiring personal story.

• Give a second chance.

• Be open about failure.

• Offer recovery tactics.

• Remind them: “What would Granny say?”

Multimedia Approaches• Have student-led

O.H.T. summaries.

• Invite one-minute reflections at the beginning of class.

• Encourage and praise student searches on databases for material related to class.

• Have students “pass it forward.”

• Use a poster or two that instructs or challenges.

• Use an artifact or two that is funny.

• Use a song that inspires.

Why talk about OPERATIVE?

• Some adult learners have no idea how to organize their time.

• Some are preoccupied with household chores.

• Some are entangled in unhelpful habits.

• Some are not forward thinkers.

• Some panic at the slightest problem.

Encourage OPERATIONS

• Demonstrate what success looks like from previous class.

• Bring a cheap paperback library to class of “how-to” books & loan them out.

• Take time to plan strategies with uncertain students.

• Be accessible on certain days each week – cell phone, email, etc.

Multimedia ApproachesSuggest general ways

to stay focused:1. Associate work

with reward.2. Advocate the

students have a pleasing & relaxed study area.

3. Use bookmarks as check-off lists.

Create attractive associations with your classroom:

1. “Redecorate” quickly.

2. Play “Mozart Music.”

3. Place materials strategically

4. Welcome the students with food.

Financing Multimedia Approaches• Make your laptop versatile.• Buy second-hand books &

DVD’s for class.• Recycle “stuff.”• Be creative with storage space.• Buy bargains at Staples.• Make friends with your nearby

computer techno-geek.• Nag the “powers that be” about

technological advances.

How can my students become KNOWLEDGEABLE?

• Access the adult’s experience – set aside time to let the student talk.

• Find ways to plug into the adult’s knowledge base at home, on the job, etc.

• Encourage students to become a “resident expert” – seminars, mini-lectures, etc.

• Fun Facts to Know and Tell (no test!)

Multimedia Approaches• Wherever possible,

advocate “whatever works” for the student.

• Schedule certain times when you can be available by phone to explain or reassure.

• Assign “study buddies” wherever possible.

• Encourage the student’s exploration of your topic, however small.

• Encourage audio books if possible.

• Encourage trips to labs or other on-campus resources.

• Give your student permission to be creative.

How EDUCATED is educated?• Define “educated” in

your own setting.• Allow some flexibility

in goals.• Reinterpret a student’s

feedback in light of curriculum standards.

• Assess strictly but fairly.

Multimedia Approaches• Go off on a tangent

(once in awhile!).

• Bring in a suggested movie & show an excerpt during break.

• Listen to a student’s musical contribution.

• Share the baby pictures.

• Share the sad stories.• Share how-to advice

(like changing tires).• Share Fun Facts to

Know and Tell off the internet.

• Share new food!

Crossing the Finish Line

• Foster the “Friend at the Finish” mentality.

• Celebrate that hard-won B with an e-card.

• The “extra mile” pays off with a stadium of smiles.

• Go fishing for good memories!

Get ’em HOOKED TEACHING:

1. Passion

2. Accessibility

3. Reinvention

4. Inclusion

5. Acknowledgement

6. Fun Facts to Know and Tell

7. Lots of bait!

• TECHNOLOGY:1. Cheap paperbacks2. Packets &

handouts3. O.H.T. notes4. Picture albums5. Power Point 6. DVD presentations7. Email8. Cell phone