BEST PRACTICES IN ADULT LEARNING Stephen Brookfield University

BEST PRACTICES IN ADULT LEARNING Stephen Brookfield University of St. Thomas Minneapolis-St. Paul www. stephenbrookfield. com

Session Objectives • By the end of this session you will … • (1) Implement the Circle of Voices exercise to increase learner participation • (2) Implement the Critical Incident Questionnaire as a Feedback Tool • (3) Implement the Chalk Talk exercise to construct a map of learners’ knowledge

Session Objectives • (4) Implement the Circular Response exercise to focus discussion • (5) Implement the Snowballing technique to widen student participation • (6)Utilize further resources online

Buzz Groups • What, if anything, are the typical characteristics of an adult learner?

What Makes Someone an Adult Learner? • • Is it their …. . Age? Developmental Stage? Adult Roles? Experience? Method of Learning? Cognition?

CIRCLE OF VOICES • Quiet, private reflection on the topic or question • Each member takes up to 1 minute to say whatever they wish to say in response to the question - NO INTERRUPTIONS • Group moves into open conversation members can only talk about what someone else said in the opening round of the conversation

QUESTION • As a trainer, when have you been treated as an adult? What did a supervisor or leader do that made you feel you were being treated in an adult way?

An Adult Approach • Respect • Research • Responsiveness

CRITICAL INCIDENT QUESTIONNAIRE • Most engaged moment in session • Most distanced moment in session • Most helpful action • Most puzzling action • What Surprised You Most

ADMINISTRATION • • • Last 5 minutes of last session of the week Anonymous Mandatory when possible Frequency Analysis Reported back to group Negotiation not capitulation to majority opinion

CHALK TALK • Trainer writes a question in the middle of the board • 5 -10 minutes of silence is declared • Participants write responses to the question on the board whenever they feel ready • Participants & trainer draw lines between similar comments & add reactions

QUESTION • What does an engaged adult classroom look, sound or feel like?

ENGAGEMENT Learners’ Perceptions • Involved in some way • Different modalities used – silence/speech, small group/whole class, visual/oral, abstract/specific, teacher/student • Teacher modeling & scaffolding • Students provide frequent examples • Immediate feedback on progress • Participation in activities – responsibility for learning

RESEARCH - MODELING • Modeling Particularly Important for Students Learning to Think Critically • When Teachers Talk Out Loud Their Assumptions Behind Practices • When Teachers Do Regular Assumption Audits - Say When Their Assumptions are Confirmed & Challenged

RESEARCH - MODELING • When Teachers Use the CIQ to Check Their Assumptions in Front of Students • When Teachers Bring in Real Life Experience When Assumptions Were Confirmed & Challenged • In Team Teaching - When Team Members Take Different Positions and Clarify Each Others’ Assumptions

CIRCULAR RESPONSE • 1 st person speaks up to 1 minute on her response to the topic or question • 2 nd person (to left of 1 st speaker) speaks for up to 1 minute - what she says must respond to, or build on, the 1 st speaker’s comments. This can be a question about the previous comment or a disagreement • This process continues once around circle then moves into open conversation

QUESTION • What do you want your students to say about how you train when they are out of earshot?

TRAINER CREDIBILITY • EXPERTISE AT A HIGH LEVEL • EXPERIENCE OF REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS & TEACHING • RATIONALE: A THOUGHT OUT APPROACH TO WHY THINGS ARE ARRANGED THE WAY THEY ARE • CONVICTION: RE. THE IMPORTANCE OF A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF CONTENT & SKILLS

TRAINER AUTHENTICITY • CONGRUENCE OF WORDS & ACTIONS • FULL DISCLOSURE OF EXPECTATIONS & CRITERIA • PERSONHOOD VIA AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL EXAMPLES • RESPONSIVENESS TO LEARNERS’ CONCERNS • ACKNOWLEDGING ERROR

SNOWBALLING • • Begin with individual reflection Share with another person Pairs join with pairs & share in quartet Quartets join with quartets …. & so on SHARE … Emerging differences Questions & issues raised Contradictions revealed

QUESTION … • What emotions and feelings have hindered or stopped your own learning as an adult?

RHYTHMS OF LEARNING • Impostorship • Cultural Suicide • Lost in Limbo • Peer Supports

FURTHER RESOURCES • POWERFUL TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING ADULTS (2013 – Forthcoming) • TEACHING FOR CRITICAL THINKING (2011) • THE SKILLFUL TEACHER (2006, 2 nd Ed. ) • DISCUSSION AS A WAY OF TEACHING (2005, 2 nd. Edition) with Stephen Preskill • All published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley • www. stephenbrookfield. com