Reflection on Active Learning and the Role of the Adult Educator

The role of the adult educator has changed over the years, from an expert that stood in the front

of the classroom presenting a long lecture, to a teacher/facilitator who provides opportunities for

the students to find their own solutions and methods of operation through active learning. Some

examples are discussions, role playing and group projects. Teachers, therefore, need to be more

creative and more student centred than they used to be.

Also, teachers aren't expected to give away all of their expert knowledge like they were in the past,

in fact, it is more important that they don't. They need to provide opportunities for students to find

their own answers as much as possible through active learning exercises. As a result, if a teacher

doesn't know an answer to a question, it's ok, they can just put it back to the students and ask them

to come up with the answer.

References:
http://www.fons.org/Resources/Documents/Journal/Vol3Suppl/IPDJ_03suppl_04.pdf

Reflection on Conference with partner regarding Active Learning

My partner and I chose to use "Active Learning in Teaching Adults" as a topic for this assignment.

Both of us work in Health Care, she is an RN who teaches LPN's and I am an LPN who will be

teaching Health Care Assistants (HCA's). Active Learning is a very necessary approach to teaching

in this industry in order to adequately prepare students for real life application of knowledge in

their future jobs.

I enjoyed our conference as it reinforced the ideas that both of us got from our research and it

provided an opportunity for us to teach each other things we hadn't found. Something new that I

learned from my partner was that the role of teaching has changed from teacher centred to student

centered. Before all the attention and focus was on the teacher and the teacher had full control

over what and how information was taught. Now, students have more control over how they are

to learn, and the focus and attention is a lot more on them as they engage actively through

conferencing, class discussion, partaking in role playing etc.; all examples of Active Learning.

Reflection on Trends of Active Learning in teaching HCA's

Teaching in the Health Care Industry, and many other industries, is increasingly involving Active

Learning strategies. Students today are more used to interacting while they learn

(Academy of Learning, 2014) and studies have shown that students learn better when actively

engaged in the learning process. Students need to be able to apply what they have learned, and be

competent in knowing what to do when problems arise. Therefore, a necessary component of all

HCA programs, as well as LPN and RN, is the practicum and preceptorship. This is a definite

form of active learning, where the students are applying what they have learned to real life

situations under the supervision of a facilitator. This has been around for a long time, however,

there is an increasing trend in employing active learning in the classroom as well. For example,

students are given realistic scenarios and asked to come up with solutions, thus developing

critical thinking skills that will be utilized in the future workplace. There are "Lab days" where

students go into a room set up as a real resident's/patient's room and they actively apply

techniques for resident/patient care, this helps them to remember tasks involved.

As a future teacher of HCA's I will be including all of the above in my teaching practice as well as

adding stories from my own experiences which we will then discuss as a group. I will be

continuously focusing on incorporating more active learning when designing lessons.


References:
http://www.academyoflearning.ab.ca/blog/active-learning-in-the-classroom/

Journals

Trends and Roles Websites

The roles of instructors of adult learners and active learning:
http://www.fons.org/Resources/Documents/Journal/Vol3Suppl/IPDJ_03suppl_04.pdf

Current or emerging trends of active learning:
http://www.academyoflearning.ab.ca/blog/active-learning-in-the-classroom/

Lesson Planning Websites

Characteristics of Adult Learners
http://elearningindustry.com/8-important-characteristics-of-adult-learners
Creating a Positive Learning Environment
http://www.brighthub.com/education/online-learning/articles/41064.aspx
Motivational Techniques
http://elearningindustry.com/17-tips-to-motivate-adult-learners
Instructional Process/Strategies
http://adulted.about.com/od/icebreakers/tp/toptenicebreakers.htm
Media (possible considerations)
http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/media/why.html

Lesson Planning - Instructional Process/Strategies

http://adulted.about.com/od/icebreakers/tp/toptenicebreakers.htm

I found this website very useful in providing ideas for breaking the ice with new classes. They

can help with the initial 'awkward' period and, hopefully, they will ease some of the tension that is

usually present with a new group of people. I intend to keep the link to this site handy and refer to it

at the beginning of each new course. I will be teaching Health Care Assistants, and the course is

approximately six months long, so there will be a lot of new beginnings throughout my teaching

career.

Lesson Planning - Media (possible considerations)

http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/media/why.html

I believe media is an important tool in teaching. I like this site because

it laid out the reasons behind using media and suggested different ways to incorporate it into a

teaching practice. In addition, the site links to 'cautions' when using media, which is also very

important, and may need to be reviewed at times. I intend to use the idea of using current articles

in the news to connect certain topics with current events. In teaching Health Care Assistants many

scenarios are presented throughout the course and using media can really help to lock in the

lessons.

Lesson Planning - Motivational Techniques

http://elearningindustry.com/17-tips-to-motivate-adult-learners

I chose the above site because it clearly lays out 17 tips on how to effectively motivate

adult learners. I feel it is very important to not only teach, but to also motivate your students

to learn. I will use these tips in my approach while teaching Health Care Assistants. Specifically

#10, which speaks about stimulating learners, I will be presenting scenarios and asking how the

student will handle that situation. I also plan to use #13, which speaks about getting emotional, and

I will share stories from my own experiences as an LPN.

Lesson Planning - Creating a Positive Learning Environment

http://www.brighthub.com/education/online-learning/articles/41064.aspx

I believe it is very important to understand the basic needs of adult learners, as opposed to

child/adolescent learners, and in doing so the students will feel understood and have a greater

chance of success. This site clearly lays out what is needed to foster a positive learning

environment for adults in particular. I will use this knowledge to gear my teaching strategies,

such as, clearly laying out expectations and providing regular professional feedback.

Lesson Planning - Characteristics of Adult Learners

http://elearningindustry.com/8-important-characteristics-of-adult-learners

This website clearly and easily lays out eight important characteristics of adult learners. Without

this understanding one would be more inclined to teach as our teachers did when we were young.

Adult learners, however, require a completely different method of teaching. The information on

this site will be a good reminder, throughout my teaching career, and I will refer to it often when

planning lessons, to ensure that I have taken into account these eight characteristics.