If you're like most teachers, two or three difficult students take up most of your time. If you’re following the Lunches book outline, that’s why the chapters are so short. Educators use our materials to supplement the curriculum, to inform their practices, and to create civil and inclusive school communities where children are respected, valued and welcome participants. While younger students are encouraged to do well on standardized tests and accustomed to being compared to their peers in this way, adult learners are challenging themselves. Demos or slides? Email check failed, please try again For example, Should I explain how IPSec Negotiation takes place or should I focus on how to get an IPSec VPN setup with Windows 2012 R2.When you approach a huge topic like ‘how to scripting and coding and oh yeah, what PowerShell is and came from’ especially when you have long, maybe even multi day all day courses, do you use this same approach of pulling out key points, minimal slides, etc? Adult students may take longer than children with reading, particularly if there is a learning difficulty involved. Here are a number of ways to create a better environment for adult learners, no matter what the subject material. Yet, most instructors have been left to their own devices to figure out how best to reach these students who come to class with an entirely different set of challenges, demands and expectations, and generally at a much different level of maturity.College Shares Two Professional Development StrategiesBoosting a First-Time Online Adult Student’s Self-EsteemFaculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & LearningUsing Appreciative Inquiry in the College ClassroomFinally, beyond specific tactics, both Lisack and Leppert emphasize personal growth when working with adult students. And I think your student pretty much gave you the answer, right?Even on long, multi-day courses, I follow that same approach. You're more relaxed. If his life is already demanding, then … As you will already know, there is little worse for an English teacher than having frustrated adult students in a class who aren't either learning the vocabulary they want to or improving their English as quickly as they think they should be doing. These talent areas should be encouraged. Topics like race, culture, gender, and/or sexual orientation can come up in many fields, and any course dealing with current events presents an opportunity for politically-charged topics to arise spontaneously in class discussions. Teaching is more fun. Funnily, we equate this to, “it’s harder to learn as you get older,” when in fact the “absorb,” “sponge,” and “ossify” words are actually more descriptive of the actual situation.Any tips for overcoming that watcher/doer conundrum?Please stop asking for “advanced” learning contentI prefer people to WATCH when I demo, FOLLOW ALONG for a second demo example (I explicitly tell them to), and then DO the lab independently. Visit our posts on Adult Basic Skills Programs and Teaching Adults to Read for additional background. Teaching reading is a complex undertaking,especially when the learner is an adult.Unlike children,adult learn-ers cannot spend several hours in a classroom every day. A lot of things make sense when you watch someone type it, but when you do it on your own… Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) Hooray! You can’t prevent errors and mistakes, and shouldn’t try.So as you dive into any kind of teaching – and a simple boardroom presentation is very much a teaching experience – keep in mind how your students To back down to a more realistic level, our problem as adults is that we want to take new knowledge and compare and contrast it to what we already have. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! The first thing is to remember they are adults and treat them accordingly. Teaching controversial subjects is an inherent part of some courses and disciplines. They’re both useful, but I wouldn’t include them in the same video clip. For example, we SAY, “Get Process,” so I specifically tell people I’m verbally dropping the dash – it’s really “Get Dash Process.” Then I go around during lab and watch for them messing that up.What do YOU prefer to watch? But when they're sitting in class, which seems A kid who learns Spanish and English at a very young age actually absorbs both languages experientially. This is why it’s more difficult for an adult to make room for learning, while it’s absolutely crucial to prioritize. It helps build confidence and give tangible areas for improvement. Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)I don’t like people typing during the first demo, because they’re not focusing on what I’m doing and explaining. I have a specific posture I adopt when moving into the anecdote, which students’ brains unconsciously recognize as a casual tangent. That helps cement the brain’s filing decisions, and gives me an opportunity to segue into the next set of major points.Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)LISTEN: How This Guy Applied “Be the Master” to His LifeIn short: Why’s it so tough to learn as you get older?To use your example, explaining how Negotiation works, and how to set up a VPN, are two totally different things.