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Diverse Learners, Diverse Services:Reaching out to Continuing Education
Students & Instructors
Megan Fitzgibbons, Jessica Lange & Robin CanuelMcGill University, Montreal Canada
Do you have a continuing education center of some kind in your institution?
Context
Why do we care?
In 2007…
42% of Canadians49% of Britons49% of Americansaged 25-64 were participating in some type of education (OECD)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/publicdomainphotos/3706529071/
Reasons for Growth
• Newly arrived immigrants• Unemployment rates• Developing new skills• Economic downturn• Actively growing their programs• Lifelong learning
Who are Continuing Education Students?
Diverse! Vary widely in :
• Age• Technology skills• Academic and professional experience• Mother tongue, country of origin• Purpose for study• Life circumstances
Busy! Balance work and family with studies
Frequently unaware of university services
"Adult learners differ from traditional learners in responsibility level, and not necessarily age, gender, or other such distinguishers."
(Cooke, 2010)
McGill University's Centre for Continuing Education
McGill Continuing Education 2010-2011 profile:
• Total enrollment: 12,132 students• 45 diploma and certificate programs• 58% women• Average age: 33
2010-2011 profile cont’d:
• 1,327 international students from 130+ countries
• 40% recent immigrants• 53% have a mother tongue other than English
or French
English26%
French 21%
Other53%
Mother Tongue of McGill University Centre for Continuing Education Students
How do we reach out to this underserved group?
Does your library target this group through particular services or liaison librarian
positions?
Case Study
Learners and strategies
• You have been given a sample profile of a typical continuing education course.
• In a small group, identify teaching techniques and specific learning activities that might be used to address challenges in the context of the workshop’s learning outcomes.
Learner Needs & Challenges #1
Characteristics/needs• All students are studying
English as a foreign language.
Strategies/Techniques• Provide handout with key terms
and definitions• Use a “bingo” game to help
students focus on new vocabulary
• “Think-pair-share” : students pair up to brainstorm keywords
• Minimize cultural references and idioms
• Definition matching• Utilize visual literacy (e.g. video,
handout etc.)• Make sure to face the audience
Learner Needs & Challenges #2
Characteristics/needs• Some students have had
little exposure to academic work in a North American context.
Strategies/Techniques• Layout the cultural norms of
academic work in North America
• Exercise on how to use LC Call numbers (perhaps use a “treasure hunt” for books in the library
• Recognize cultural differences• Share what skill that works
for them (can sense their cultural sense of school and adapt)
Learner Needs & Challenges #3
Characteristics/needs• Some students have not
used academic library recently or ever.
Strategies/Techniques• Have library tours (perhaps
lead or co-lead by current students)
• Have flexible classroom space (e.g. groups of chairs or tables in different directions rather than all facing front)
Learner Needs & Challenges #4
Characteristics/needs• Some students have
recently participated in library instruction, while others haven’t.
Strategies/Techniques• Directed questioning (e.g. ask
“where should I click? What do I do next? Where can I find this book?)
• Hands-on-practice (let each student go at their own pace so the more advanced can go further and the less advanced can take their time)
• Group work (pair up experiences students with less experienced students)– peer to peer learning
Learner Needs & Challenges #5
Characteristics/needs• Some students have very
little previous experience using computers.
Strategies/Techniques• Assess room immediately (e.g. who
has a cell phone, who has a laptop, who is comfortable with the computers
• Group work (tech savvy paired with students who have less experience—see above for getting sense of students in classroom)
• Let them know that they can’t break it!
• Develop useful analogies to help students understand technological concepts
• Free time to practice (let them go at their pace)
Learner Needs & Challenges #6
Characteristics/needs• Students’ levels of
education vary.
Strategies/Techniques• Background knowledge
probes (e.g. Ask students “how can you find out if a library has a particular book?”)
Learner Needs & Challenges #7
Characteristics/needs• Students are expected to
learn a large amount of information in a short amount of time.
Strategies/Techniques• One-minute writing ( students are
asked to write one thing they learned and one thing they don’t understand)
• Try to convince the instructor to have multiple sessions
• Recognize limitations (i.e. hit the most important learning objectives and let the rest go – be flexible)
• Have online tutorials students can refer to if they’re feeling overwhelmed/need a second going over
Learner Needs & Challenges #8
Characteristics/needs• Students are goal-oriented
and want to develop very specific skills.
Strategies/Techniques• Incorporate students’ own
suggested topics into database search examples
Key Takeaways
• Information overload• Break it into chunks and have students break into
groups and be responsible for a section• Learning through teaching• Stop and re-evaluate –flexibility!• Break session into 3-5 KEY points• Message of friendly librarians • Online tutorials • Asking the class about what tutorials they would like
(custom tutorials)
Challenges faced at McGill
• Absence of shared experience• No common denominator in skills• Difficult to reach through traditional methods• Lack of continuity
Solutions at McGill
• Communication and outreach• Collection development• Teaching techniques, especially active learning• Liaison model
Conclusions
• Multi-layered, tailored approaches have been successful
• Liaison model is key
Feedback Received
• Written feedback from instructors• Informal evaluation of student performance• Increased requests from workshops• Requests for new workshops to be developed
Future plans: Formal Assessment
Questions
Photo CreditsSlide 8 : Money by Andrew Magill (http://www.flickr.com/photos/amagill/3367543296/in/photostream/)
Slide 12 : McGill Building by Zestbienbeautouza(http://www.flickr.com/photos/wpointw/439292077/)
Slide 1,3-5 : Klaus Fiedler, McGill Library