As adults’ teachers, you know from classroom experience that the best training and education takes place when the adult learner is fully engaged or connected with the learning experience as it is taking place. It was identified some of the characteristics of that connectedness as:
• The learning is accessible.
It is not only from a physical standpoint, but also from“inclusiveness.” Adult learners normally feel part of the classroom community, and therefore tend to open up and have more of an in-depth learning experience all around.
• The learning is immediately applicable.
The shared and dissected information in the learning environment is valuable to the adult student when he or she can use the new information on the job, or in current professional or personal situations.
• The learning requires student input.
The learners are required to share individual experiences that illustrate the theories or concepts in study, which gives the new learning true meaning and relevance to that adult learner.
• The learning addresses how the students’ learning requirements.
Not every learning situation (even the online classroom) is suitable or will fulfill the learning needs of every individual, but any learning experience can be shaped to suit at least some of learning requirements, so that all is not lost in a learning situation.
By looking closely, the common thread that we find woven throughout the “connectedness” value of adult learning is dialog – the conversation and “give and take” that is taking place between adult learners, and the faculty members in the learning environment. It’s in the course of knowing how to maximize conversation as a teaching tool, regardless of what type of learning environment you offer, that you can provide an effective learning environment for adult students.
•What is Dialog?
Effective dialog in teaching as a process should invite learners:
* to question the facts of the information being presented
* to re-present the facts from their own cultural or experiential perspective within the learning environment
* to analyze the cause and effect of the conflicts or issues the new learning or information raises, and
* to redefine or renew the understanding of the issues that reflects the learners’ realities, which is always questioned and analyzed (specifically the learner is learning through this self-questioning and self-analysis).
An important aspect in learning is a dialog, regardless of where we are, or if we are in a classroom or not. People participate in their own “inner” dialog all the time, for example. Imagine the last time you mulled over a problem that needed resolution. Supposedly, you had to meet a deadline, but you had several responsibilities on your plate at the same time, and time was tight. Imagine what your internal conversation was like – did you question the decision you had to make? Did you consider torn as to what to do first and how resolve it?
•Limitations of Dialog
Conversation, dialog, provides an excellent way to get to the heart of complicated issues, and to find new solutions to complex or unfamiliar problems. However it is also able to have its limitations, and therefore may not always be an effective method for instruction:
* Some are not comfortable expressing issues or problems for others to resolve.
* Some adult learners are not comfortable being self-directed in any kind of learning effort, which dialog requires.
* Some adults are not good communicators at all, regardless of the effort, and therefore may not get as much as they can out of the dialog process.
* Some issues raised may be uncomfortable for the adult learner, who would prefer not to discuss the subject at all.
* Some adult learners prefer to learn with a faculty member leading or directing the learning experience.
Then, the significant part of using dialog is knowing in advance whether or not this will be a useful learning strategy for your students. Ideally, the use of dialog in teaching should be part of a course description, or course overview published in advance of the course, so that the student would be aware that dialog, conversation, and participation are key requirements for the classroom.
Here are a few ways that you can incorporate good dialog concepts into your own teaching practice (online or traditional):
* Problem-solving types of teaching, which invites learners to design an issue or a world that belongs to all human beings.
* Small-group work, to engage learners and make explicit content and issues, as well as the understandings they have about the content at present.
* Q&A interviewing, which uses questions to help learners evoke a deeper understanding of concepts among themselves?
* Role-playing activities, where the adult learners play parts or represent issues, and other adult learners interact with the “character.”
* Case study activities, where adult learners can work in teams to research a project or an issue, then provide reports on how the issues affect them individually or as a class.
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