Teaching Adult Learners - TEACH Academy

Teaching Adult Learners

Kurt Love, Ph.D. Central Connecticut State University

!T.E.A.C.H. Academy Professional Development

Teaching & Learning: Making Critical Thinkers &

Problem Solvers

The Ideal

GraduateWhat are the qualities of the ideal graduate

from your program? !

What are they able to do well?

The Ideal

GraduateTo what extent do your students reach the

ideal? !

In terms of teaching and learning, are there potential changes that could help more

students reach that ideal?

What’s Your Goal?

Standardized Thinkers?or

Problem Solvers?or…

Some weirdo combination?

For your consideration…

Some questions to ponder…

Do standardized thinkers become critical thinkers?

Do standardized thinkers become problem solvers?

Some Weirdo Combination

Being well versed in the “basics” provides the prospects for advanced critical thinking…

But focusing on the “basics” means that students can usually only really do the “basics.”

Convergent Thinking

Convergent Thinking (Behaviorism & Constructivism) - All paths lead to a single destination. This is rooted in a belief that there is only one “Truth.”

Prior Thought

Truth Standardized Thought

Prior ThoughtTruth

Standardized Thought

Traditional Liberal/Progressivescaffold

scaffold

How Adults Learn Best

Involved in the development of content and teaching

Experiences and opportunities to make mistakes

Relevance

Problem-centered

Learning Styles

Do’s and Try-Not-To’s When Teaching Adults

Do Try Not ToLecture minimally and move to a variety of learning experiences

Rely heavily on lecture as the primary teaching method

Provide a real world problem for students to engage with Emphasize abstract information

Provide task-oriented instruction Use memorization for learning content unless it is the only option

Explain reasons for tasks, procedures, etc.

Teach content without meaningful rationale

Provide many opportunities for students to learn from their mistakes

Take away opportunities for students to learn from themselves.

Teaching Formula #1 Goal: Convergent Thinking

Brief Lecture

Demonstration

Small Group

Individual

(In-person, video)

Assess…and Then…Rinse and repeat!

(Discussion, hands-on)

(Hands-on)

(Board, slideshow)

Problem-Centered Learning: Adult Learners Flourish in Problem-

Based Environments

Divergent ThinkingDivergent Thinking (Critical Constructivism) - Explore many paths in authentic settings with questions that have no predetermined answer.

Prior Thought

Info

Divergent Thought

Prior Thought

Divergent Thought

Transformative

CommunitiesCritical

Questioning

New Relationship

New Relationship

Problem-Centered Learning

Problem-centered learning allows for:

Relevance

Experiences & learning from mistakes

Involvement in content and instruction

Problem-centered learning leads to effective and authentic assessments

Problem!

Teaching Formula #2 Goal: Divergent Thinking

Present a Real Problem

Exploration

Lecture & Discussion

More exploration & practice

(Small group discussion, hands-on)

Assess…and Then…Rinse and repeat!

(Whole-group, sharing out)

(Hands-on, community)

(Photo, slideshow, video, person)

Problem…No Problem!

Create a Lesson Both Ways

Create a convergent lesson and a divergent lesson using the same content, concept, or skill

The Ideal

GraduateTo what extent would each of the teaching formulas move students towards becoming

the ideal graduate? !

To what extent are you able to teach towards that ideal fairly routinely?

!What are your needs at this moment?

Effective Lessons: Adult Learners and

Appropriate Assessment

When Do Your Students Flourish the Most?Explain those learning experiences.

What are the qualities of those learning experiences?

Design the “Perfect” LessonChoose any content, concept, or skill.

Create its lesson plan (learning experience) for your students

Unit Planning & Assessment Design Backwards Designing

Unit Content

Assessment

Activities

Teaching Methods

Paper-and-pencil, Projects

Problem-based, Project-based

Individual Lessons

Essential Questions and Objectives

There should be a clear, direct line between them all

Basics of a Lesson

Essential Questions

Objectives

Activity & Methods

Assessments

Types of Essential Questions

Unit Level: Question about a major concept for the whole unit

Lesson Level:Question about a major concept for that lesson

Supporting Level:Who, what, when, where and why questions

Types of Essential Questions

Hierarchy of questions

Unit level (1-3)

Lesson level (1-3)

Supporting level (Many)

Unit 1

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Unit 1

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Unit 2

Lesson 4

Lesson 5

Lesson 6

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Examples of Essential Questions

Unit Level Question #1

Lesson Level Question #1

Supporting Level Questions

Unit 1

Lesson 1

Lesson 2

Lesson 3

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Supporting

Examples of Essential Questions

Unit Level Question #1:

Lesson Level Question #1:

Supporting Level Questions:

Objectives

Students will be able to…

Descriptive Verb

Copy/paste the body of the essential question

Examples of Objectives

Objectives for lesson #1

Students will be able to (descriptive verb) (copy/paste body of lesson level essential question)

Activities and Teaching Methods

The activity is the bridge between the objectives and the assessments.

Teaching methods are the specific ways in which teachers have students interact with content, concepts or skills.

Media, demonstration, small group work, whole group discussion, lecture, project, student-led teaching, and hands-on experiences

Examples of Activities

Activities and Methods for lesson #1

Activity and methods are directly linked to the objective

Activity:

Teaching Method:

Do’s and Try-Not-To’s of Effective Assessments

Do Try Not ToContinuously assess (formally & informally) in a variety of ways

Rely heavily on one form of assessment

Use assessment in low-risk ways to know what your students know

View assessment as ways to “scare” students

Directly align assessments with objectives and activities

Create assessments that deviate from what students were taught

Have review sessions that prepare students well for tests, quizzes. Use tests and quizzes as penalties

Make assessments that are clear and reflective of content and skills

Ignore ambiguity that might be present in the assessment

Line ‘Em Up

What you teach and what you test should be the same thing

Assessment should be ongoing

Teaching should adapt to what the students know

Types of Assessments

Formal: Graded (quizzes, tests, projects)

Informal: Not graded (initiation, discussions, whole-group, small group, closure)

Formative: Chunks of content during the unit

Summative: End of the unit

Examples of Assessments

Students actually demonstrate what the objective says they will be able to do.

Formal assessment: Paper-and-pencil test

Formal assessment: Performance-based

Formal assessment: Project and Problem-based

Paper-and-pencil tests

Content-knowledge

Formats: Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, true/false, short answer, essay

Quick, easy

Sometimes too dependent on them as the only way to assess

Make a Quiz

Write one multiple choice item and one true/false item for a quiz that contains important information from the following video.