The Impact and Relevance of Adult Learner Practices
Abstract
This session will share the results of a mixed-methods research project on effective ways to improve student engagement and responsibility by allowing students to choose some course assessments and some course content while providing more real-world assignments from which to select. Theories of adult education, particularly ones that approach learning from a constructivist paradigm, emphasize the significance of sharing power in the classroom and providing opportunities for students to be given responsibility for their own learning. Allen Tough explains that an indispensable condition for adult learning involves �learners accepting a share of the responsibility for planning and operating a learning experience� (92). Additionally, Goodwin Watson explains that �we learn best that which we participate in selecting and planning ourselves� (88). Our study seeks to further test these theories in the classroom.
Location
Room 218
Recommended Citation
Woodard, Randall and Rottenberg, Ian, "The Impact and Relevance of Adult Learner Practices" (2013). SoTL Commons Conference. 92.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/sotlcommons/SoTL/2013/92
The Impact and Relevance of Adult Learner Practices
Room 218
This session will share the results of a mixed-methods research project on effective ways to improve student engagement and responsibility by allowing students to choose some course assessments and some course content while providing more real-world assignments from which to select. Theories of adult education, particularly ones that approach learning from a constructivist paradigm, emphasize the significance of sharing power in the classroom and providing opportunities for students to be given responsibility for their own learning. Allen Tough explains that an indispensable condition for adult learning involves �learners accepting a share of the responsibility for planning and operating a learning experience� (92). Additionally, Goodwin Watson explains that �we learn best that which we participate in selecting and planning ourselves� (88). Our study seeks to further test these theories in the classroom.
