Effective Teaching Strategies and Techniques for Adult Learners

1. Effective Teaching Strategies and Techniques for Adult Learners Instructor Development Workshop Facilitated by Dr. Lee Winters

2. Agenda • Introductions and overview • Definitions: strategies and techniques • Why learn new strategies and techniques? • My objectives / your objectives • What strategies and techniques do you use now? • More strategies and techniques • What strategies and techniques will you use now? • Feedback on workshop

3. Introductions • Who I am • Physician • Management Consultant for Right Management • Senior Professor / Dean Northwestern Polytechnic University and University of California, Berkeley • Teach Human Resources, Organizational Behavior, Healthcare Management, Healthcare courses and Communications • Who you are • faculty at DiWan University • Who you are (in your personal life…)

4. Overview of workshop • Ground rules and extraneous issues • Mini-lectures • Hands-on experiences using a variety of teaching strategies • Individual, paired, small-group work • Plan of action • Feedback on workshop

5. Ground rules • Share your ideas and ask questions • Everyone monitors • Equal air time

6. Extraneous Issues • Cultural Variations

7. Why learn new strategies for teaching? • Discussion

8. My objectives • By the end of this session, you will: • Know how adults learn • Be able to: • Teach to a variety of learning styles • Utilize student-centered teaching methods • Teach for transfer of learning

9. Your objectives

10. What strategies and techniques do you use now? • Fill out comments

11. How adults learn • Objective: reach agreement on how adults learn • Brainstsorm in small groups • Report findings from groups • Discussion • Concepts & principles we can agree on • How will you apply the learning?

12. Learning styles • Sensory modalities • Information processing • Multiple intelligences • Psychological / personality types • Experiential models • Classroom models / pedagogical styles • Orientations to learning • Demographics

13. Sensory modalities • Aural • Visual • Tactile / kinesthetic • Oral

14. Information processing A cognitive processing theory ( like a PC) • Long term memory • Declarative knowledge • Counting by two’s • Procedural knowledge • How to pronounce and comprehend new words • Episodic knowledge • “I remember when that happened to me.”

15. Multiple intelligencespage 28 of handout • Linguistic (word smart) • Spatial (picture smart) • Logical / mathematical (logic smart) • Bodily-kinesthetic (body smart, sports (athletic) smart, eye-hand / manual smart) • continued

16. Multiple Intelligences continued • Musical (music smart) • Social (people smart SI) • Intra-personal (self smart) • Naturalist (nature smart) • Existential (meaning smart) • Emotional (emotion smart EI)

17. Emotional intelligence (Goleman) • E.I. predicts about 80 percent of a person's success in life • Personal competence • Self-awareness • Self-regulation • Motivation • Social competence • Empathy • Social skills

18. Experiential models Kolb David A. Kolb's model of experiential learning can be found in many discussions of the theory and practice of adult education.

19. Kolb diagrams updated May 2006

20. Kobe Experiential Approach • Start-up - introduce the learning experience • Experience - an activity, a case study, a participatory lecture, a small-group discussion, etc. • Debrief - discuss the learning experience • Unveil Concepts - take a broader view: what are the concepts and the principles that were learned? • Execute - discuss application of the concepts and principles to everyday work and to the real world

21. Psychological: Personality Types The theory of Personality Types, as it stand today, contends that: An individual is either primarily Extraverted or Introverted An individual is either primarily Sensing or Intuitive An individual is either primarily Thinking or Feeling An individual is either primarily Judging or Perceiving Myers-Briggs format

22. Beta approach to experiential learning • Begin - introduce the learning experience • Experience - an activity, a participatory lecture, a case study, a small-group discussion, etc. • Talk and capsulize the learning experience • Discover Concepts - broader view: what are the concepts and the principles that were learned? • Apply - discuss application of the concepts and principles to everyday work and to the real world

23. From didactic to experiential... • Didactic - meaning is external to learner, the “spoon feeding” approach • Experiential - meaning is internal to learner • Reading - highly didactic • Lecture • Experiential lecture (has interaction) • Discussion

24. Didactic to experiential cont. • Participation training led by instructor • Case study • Role playing • Instrumentation • Structured experience • Intensive growth group • -highly experiential

25. Utilize student-centered teaching methods • What does it mean to be student-centered?Student-centered teaching methods shift the focus of activity from the teacher to the learners. • Active learning • cooperative learning • inductive teaching and learning

26. Teach for transfer of learning What does it mean to teach for transfer of learning? Make use of past lessons in unexpected ways  Awareness and Expectation building  Recognition Reflection Identify Processes

27. Teach for transfer of learningcontinued Push Categories & Cross Boundaries Assessment  Written Assessment

28. Let’s try some! • Examples • 1. Use #2. Have all students write a summary of the key point of chapter 10. Instructor chooses one student, after all finished with the assignment, to present his/her findings to the class. • 2. Use #4 in first class of the semester or before each chapter or content area

29. More examples 3. Lecture 20% or less, Item #5 4. Think through problem solving or decision making to teach logic/reasoning/legal considerations (#9) in evaluating a ___ (example: Human Resources Management: job application) 5. Use concrete real-life examples (#11)

30. Jigsaw • Form four “expert” groups: • A group - Thought-provoking (p. 15) • B group - Probing and Pausing (p. 16) • C group - Yes-No, Tugging, and Leading (p. 17) • D group - Answering, Over-explaining, Redirecting (p. 18)

31. Jigsaw, continued • In your “expert” group, read the material and help each other learn how to teach the material to your “home” group • Form “home” groups (A+B+C+D) • Starting with A, take turns teaching the material. Give examples of how the strategy can be used. Answer questions from other students

32. Jigsaw, continued • Reflect on your learning • Report out to large group

33. Case studies • Read “Phil’s Research Method” (p. 5) • Form a new group • Choose a facilitator • Choose a recorder • Answer the four questions on page 6 • Reflect on your learning • Report out to large group

34. Reading response journals • As an individual, read the article on “Fostering Critical Thinking” (p. 10-12) • Complete the Reading Response Journal (p. 9) • With a partner, discuss the questions at the bottom of p. 12 • Reflect on your learning • Report findings to large group

35. Formulating questions • Find a partner who teaches in a similar discipline • Choose a topic • Develop six questions that will stimulate learning at each of the six levels in the cognitive domain • (See pp. 13-14, if you need help) • Report and reflect

36. Adding interest and variety to your lectures • Expository • Interactive • Problem posing • Case study • Short (or mini) • Critical incident • continued

37. Adding interest and variety to your lectures, continued • Form four new groups • You will be assigned Problem 1, 2, 3 or 4 (bottom of p. 20) • “Solve” that problem • Report and reflect

38. Beyond chalk and talk • Cognitive (thinking), pp. 21-22) • Panel • Group discussion • Buzz group • Reaction panel • Screened speech • Symposium • Case study • continued

39. Beyond chalk and talk,continued • Cognitive (thinking), • continued (pp. 21-22) • Game • In-basket exercise • Critical incident • Debate • Reflective practice • Observation • Journal writing

40. Beyond chalk and talk,continued • Affective (feeling), p. 22 • Role playing • Group discussion • Metaphor analysis • Game • Structured experience • Reflective practice • Journal writing

41. Beyond chalk and talk,continued • Psychomotor (doing), p. 22 • Demonstration with return demonstration • Simulation • Trial and error • Behavior modeling • Report and reflect

42. Group work basics • Read page 23 • Formulate at least one issue or problem regarding group work • Form group and brainstorm possible solutions to the issue or problem • Reflect and report

43. Instructional media and technology • What are some advantages / disadvantages of using the following media / technologies? (pages 24-25) • Chalkboard • Flipcharts • Transparencies and overhead projectors • Films and videotapes • Computers and multimedia • Reflect and report

44. Students who talk too much • Fewer than 35 students: • 4-5 students account for 75% of the total interactions per session • Has that been true in this workshop? • More than 35 students: • 2-3 students account for 51% of the total interactions per session

45. Students who talk too much, continued • Ground rules help • Everyone monitors • Equal air time • Read p. 26 for 10 more strategies • Other strategies? • Reflect and report

46. Role play • “Who Gets Hired?” handout or example at bottom of page 27 • Two volunteers: one man, one woman • Go outside to consider your role • Large group read handout • Which facts are relevant? Which are not?

47. Role play, continued • Selection of decision panels • Two panels (10 people total): • Two men, three women (5) • Two women, three men (5) • Panels ask questions of Mary and Bill • Panels go to separate rooms and make their decisions

48. Role play, continued • While panels are making their decisions, the members of the large group report their decision • Panels report their decisions and how their decisions were made • Large group discussion:

49. Role play, continued • Male versus female • Conventional versus unconventional • Educational background • Length of work experience • Career aspiration, i.e., long term (Mary) versus stepping stone (Bill) • Possible effects of the decision on the work group

50. Role play, continued • Reflect • What effect does gender have in the classroom? • In your classroom?