BEST PRACTICES IN ADULT LEARNING

Stephen BrookfieldUniversity of St. Thomas

Minneapolis-St. Paulwww.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

• 1st person speaks up to 1 minute on her response to the topic or question

• 2nd person (to left of 1st speaker) speaks for up to 1 minute - what she says must respond to, or build on, the 1st 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, 2nd Ed.) • DISCUSSION AS A WAY OF TEACHING

(2005, 2nd. Edition) with Stephen Preskill • All published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley• www.stephenbrookfield.com