The+Teacher+as+Learner

= = **The adult learner**

This section constitutes first hand experience, with both Deb and Sue returning to study to complete a //Graduate Certificate of Tertiary Education//. We have discussed at length how 'interesting' it is to be a student again, the pressures of managing a 'new' workload, organising and allocating time to subject material and assessments, and not least of dealing with the bureaucracy of the institution.

Throughout our readings on the topic it becomes obvious that for the more 'mature' adult learner, that is to say one with some prior life experience, education or career, the concept of taking on study has a whole new meaning. Luna & Cullen (2011) describe reflective learning theory in the adult as the reinterpretation of old experiences with the accumulation of new experiences, expectations and information in learning which give new meaning to the old experiences, thus building a learning foundation. For the adult learner this is a pathway to **lifelong learning.**

So why should we need to study when we reach adulthood? Let's simplify. In just the last 10 years there have been inumerable changes in technology which help us in our daily lives. We have asked ourselves to think about it and to try to come up with examples. How did we go? Try this: So if we had stopped learning 10 years ago, where would be now? Left behind! These are only small generic examples, but they apply these to our workplaces and the effects are profound. In the field of healthcare for example, continuing professional development is essential to maintain safe and competent practice, and the employer has a duty of care to the clients to ensure staff comply with contemporary practice and standards.
 * the change from VHS to DVD to BluRay for your every day movies
 * reversing cameras for the car
 * electronic GPS tagging in cameras
 * smart phone technology
 * the use of virtual reality simulators
 * advent of WiFi networks as a standard
 * cordless vacuum cleaners!
 * electronic diaries
 * electronic books
 * internet banking

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Take a look at the following short video for a new perspective... **//Source://** [] ||
 * = media type="youtube" key="IaHYGFLcqzY" width="425" height="350" align="right" ||
 * = T his video is a a great insight into the use of our brains as we get older...**//USE IT OR LOSE IT//**

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Let's examine the adult learner**

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All tertiary entrants are adults. What we are examining are those adults with prior learning experiences either as careers or general life experience. Kenner and Weinerman (2011) describe the adult learner as those aged between 25 and 50, however I would not place an upper limit: not because we are closer to it, but because there is a now a significant shift in the demographics of the student population and many more adult learners make up our student cohort. The authors describe students who make up the adult learning groups as workers who have previously lost employment and are seeking course refreshers or career changes or adults who have completed their high school certification later in life and are ready to enter the tertiary sector.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Rural Health Education Foundation describe the adult learner as possessing the following common features:

• have a range of knowledge and experience • need to validate the information from their own values and attitudes • are responsible • need to decide for themselves what is important to learn • expect what they are learning can be applied immediately • want to be actively involved in their learning • need practice and reinforcement • need to see the relevance • like to challenge and reflect on ideas • have increased powers of comprehension • need to feel confident in the learning environment

As adult learners ourselves, **engaged** in this **e-learning** platform as part of career advancement, we relate to every single item cited above.


 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">So, what are the impediments for study as an adult? **

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Unlike children and teenagers, adults have to balance responsibilities with the demands of learning. These 'responsibilities' are a direct barrier to participating in learning. Some of these barriers include lack of time, money, confidence, or interest, lack of information about opportunities to learn, scheduling problems, "red tape," and problems with child care and transportation.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Motivation factors** can also be a barrier. What motivates adult learners? Typical motivations include a requirement for competence or licensing, an expected (or realized) promotion, job enrichment, a need to maintain old skills or learn new ones, a need to adapt to job changes, or the need to learn in order to comply with company (or institutional) expectations and organisational goals. The best way to motivate adult learners is simply to //<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">enhance // their reasons for enrolling and //<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">decrease // the barriers. As academics we must understand the students' motivators; they have to understand their own limitations to learning. Strategy can then be mapped out to meet in the middle including showing adult learners the relationship between **lifelong learning** and furthering career goals or enhancing life opportunities.




 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">How can we overcome these impediments? **

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As stated above we need to meet the student halfway so to speak. This is 360 degree feedback to coin a management term, in which traditional androgogy becomes a hybrid of instructional and self directed learning and teaching. Both the teacher and the student have the opportunity to explore, research, and expand their knowledge base, socialise, share, understand and grow. This IS e-learning at its best, and serves not only to produce high quality graduates and meet the organisational goals of an institution, but to foster a collegiate and advanced thinking academic network who work cross-sectionally to produce a smarter workforce adaptable to change, innovation and ready to repeat the cycle for for future.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the composition of this **wiki,** as co-authors from different faculties it dawned on us that the **Web 2.0** framework reduces significantly the barriers imposed by the campus layout - separate offices and cubicles, separate buildings, and separate cites. Academics can form collegiate pertnerships and share their resources, teaching frameworks, and methodoliges for the betterment of both the academic and the audience. This can be nothing but positive so long as we recognise the opportunities it offers.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Rural Health Education Foundation have produced a variety of resources to assist the facilitator/instructor/teacher/academic in applying the principles of adult learning to support the adult student. Download the booklet here titled: <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A Guide to Facilitating Adult Learning

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** What advantages do the teacher-learner bring to the learning situation? ** From our perspective as academics currently in a dual role within the same institution — that is a student and teacher — it is a fascinating insight into the comm<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">unications and networking processes which occur within the chosed educational platform, in this case Moodle.
 * 1) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">See the lecturer present weekly videos, light hearted and anecdotal. Designed to **engage** me provide guidance, encouragement, information and humour.
 * 2) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Download and utilise all the available resources. Option //"to print or not to print"// ....I choose to save trees, and carry my entire university workload around with me on a $20 8G USB stick, unlike my high-school daughter who is suffering back pain carrying around 15 kgs of school books on one shoulder every day....
 * 3) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meet fellow students, both online through forums pages, discussion pages, blogs and now over coffee for our assignment! Instilling a sense of **lifelong learning.**
 * 4) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And finally but most certainly not least of all the //insight into the life of a student.//...an adult student with multiple jobs and roles as a partner, mother, academic, friend, carer, and active member of the community with the same time constraints and duties as all busy people. This highlights me the importance of flexible delivery modes, reduction of barriers to learning and use of multiple formats and **Web 2.0** tools to collectively enhance the educational experience not just for the student but for the academic as well.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">** Is Web 2.0 an effective tool for the teacher-learn<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">e  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">r ? **

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A resounding YES from the academic in us! The vast array of tools available in endless formats to suit all teaching and learning styles means there is something for everyone. The same content can be provided in multiple fornats for the different learning styles of all learners.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The availability of educational tools will **engage** our students by using multiple formats, integrating it into the social sphere through applications such as FaceBook and Twitter, and allowing content to be preserved in a digital format for ever. The risk for the tertiary sector Information Services Departments is one of data security, recovery and interpretation.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The constructivist approach to learning is evolving now into the digital age with the use of simulations and virtual reality to develop instruction design based courses for students to gain real life experiences and develop confidence prior to exposure at the workforce level. This is particularly relevant to nursing and health care with the use of simulated laboratory work to 'practice' and hone clinical skills prior to undertaking placement.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The following site is just of many sources for educational resources which is not only free for educators, but a dynamic database in whcih members can build collections of resources in which to share with colleagues and peers.

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">MERLOT Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching is a repository of resources and networks available for use which includes:
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Learning Materials
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Network of Colleagues
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Learning erxercises in all disciplines
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Guest Experts
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Journals of Online Teaching and Learning

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Visit this Wiki for a summary of the content above....titled: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Andragogy: The Science and Art of Adult Education and the Implications for Online learning.

In the field of Humanities, there is a huge movement to utilise digital-based knowledge, and to use the facilities of Web 2.0 for Data archiving, search, retrieval, an digital analysis. In the last twenty years there has been a growing movement called 'Digital Humanities' which has grown to the point where now there are research centres positioned in many universities around the world, as well as large annual conferences, including a recent one in Canberra. The variety of work in this area is just stunning, as this website demonstrates: **http://dhh.anu.edu.au/**
 * DIGITAL HUMANITIES **

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