Credit-Based Community College Course

Credit-Based Community College Course
AET/505
November 19, 2012
Frances Fulcher

Credit-Based Community College Course
Teaching a credit-based community college course is a task that required understanding the biological differences of a diverse classroom that consists of young and older adult students. In order for the instructor to teach effectively this varied classroom, he/she needs to understand how adults learn. Gaining a basic understanding of the varied learning styles of the students will create a challenge for the instructor to provide effective learning opportunities for the students.
Biological Analysis
An important biological factor that affects adult learners in a varied classroom with varied age groups is life experiences in the learning process. It should be understood by the educator that adult learners have varied life issues at different stages of life and these issues affect the learning process. Adult learners in the course will have barriers such as the lack of time, family and, personal life obligations and can experience the lack of understanding course theory and work. Understanding and learning coursework may be slowly learned by an older adult learner than the younger adults which can causes anxiety about learning.
In order for the adult educator to motivate this varied group of learners, he/she must focus on the student’s reasons for taking the course and work to reduce the significance of the barriers that will hinder his or her understanding and success in the course.
Psychological Analysis
In a classroom with varied aged students it is clearly understood stat students, mostly the older adults will learn differently. “The learning styles, attitudes, and approaches of high school students differ from those of eighteen to twenty-two year old college students. The styles, attitudes, and approaches of adult learners differ yet again” (Baker College, 2004, p. 14). Instructors must be aware of the differences when creating coursework and planning class sessions to address the different needs of all the learners in the course. Instructors with varied aged groups of learners must understand that adult learners have a framework of understanding which is self-directed. As stated by Malcolm Knowles, “the psychological definition is one who has arrived at a self-concept of being responsible for one’s own life, of being self-directing” (Knowles, 2005).
Sociocultural Analysis
Adults tend to learn through experience and in coursework they have a tendency to bring their own learning and life experiences into their understanding of what is being taught. It is important to respect and include their experiences in the teaching process. It is important that the significance of experience and learned knowledge that students bring to the course is incorporated into the teaching plan by leaving adequate opportunities to incorporate them into class sessions. A current trend in adult education is a learner-centered approach of teaching and more a move from the traditional approach of the instructor-centered model. “We in adult and higher education have increasingly moved toward more active, collaborative, and experience-based forms of teaching and learning” (Baker College, 2004, p. 4).
Cognitive Analysis To improve the chances of success and retention of information of what is being taught it is necessary to support participants to draw on their learned experiences and how they relate to course topics. Allowing students to share their own experiences as related to the topics provides a better understanding and a dialogue that can bridge the age gap among students. Before creating courses for students in a varied ge group there is a need to have an understanding of how and why people learn. When the instructor has an understanding that adult learners use life experiences and his or her own basic understanding, he or she can create a course that will provide interest and active participation for all students. The adult learners in the course are sophisticated learners and will provide considerable abilities to blend and assess information on his or her own. To address the needs of all age groups in the course a method of active learning will be used to involve participation from all students in the class. Active learning is the use of “techniques where students do more than simply listen to a lecture, students are doing something including discovering, processing, and applying information. Active learning, ‘derives from two basic assumptions: (1) that learning is by nature an active endeavor and (2) that different people learn in different ways” (McKinney, 2011). The instructor will spend less time learning and instead guide students in directions that will allow learning the course material while working with classmates in groups to understand the curriculum and work. Another method that will be used is breaking the students into groups where each group has equal amounts with a combination of varied ages, which will provide an opportunity for dialogue, sharing of experiences as well as helping each understand assignments. The instructor will allow students to actively participate in hands-on experiences and discussions that will allow for his or her individual knowledge and skills in facilitating the classroom discussions. To gauge student retention and understanding of the coursework each student will be required to present a self-assessment paper of how the course has addressed their specific way of learning.
Conclusion
When creating a course which is engaging and informational for a varied age of learners there is a need for the blending of minimal lecture and engaging learning activities that can be used to include students in the facilitation of the class. Using these methods can address the expectation of older adult learners who expect the instructor to guide the class. Using active-learning to guide student’s increases the learning effect within the class and by using this method; it allows learners of all ages to take part in the process of his or her own education. Baker College, 2004, Teaching Across Generations. Retrived November 6, 2012 from

http://www.baker.edu

McKinney, Kathleen, 2011. Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology. Active Learning.

Retrieved November 7, 2012 from

http://www.teachtech.ilstu.edu/additional/tips/newActie.php

Smith, M (2002). Malcolm Knowles: Informal Adult Education, Self-Direction and Andragogy.

The Encyclopedia of informal Education. Retrieved November 8, 2012, from

http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm