Education for adults is getting more prevalent over time since more adults are engaged now in higher learning, either out of necessity (since employees with higher academic qualifications are currently highly sought after in most professions) or out of interest. Regardless of the reason behind their academic pursuits, there are definitely more adults looking for educational institutions to pursue their studies.
This of course translates to an increased need for educators to cater to this growing market segment. However, conventional primary or secondary school teachers may not be attuned to teaching adults, although there are certain advantages in doing so. And of course, there are challenges. When considering tips for educators who have the intention of teaching adult learners, it's best to explore the advantages and the various challenges that will probably be encountered.
Let's have a look at the challenges first. Adult learners usually have a substantial number of years of working experiences. Besides, most of them are mature and older than thirty. They come from all walks of life and more importantly, most of them know what they really want from the courses they are attending. They will also consider if their educators have the experience and expertise to guide them in their academic endeavours. Thus, any educators who wish to enter this market has to be mentally prepared that what they are offering in terms of academic content has to comprehensive and meet the expectations as well as the standards of the adult learners. Educators must also ensure that what the adult learners bring away with them after the course is applicable in the real world. On the part of the educators, this means an in-depth understanding of the subject that they are teaching.
For example, adult learners pursuing a photography course will probably want to know more than a good control of the shutter speed, ISO settings and aperture adjustments. They will probably also want to know how the three features can be ideally combined and used to produce great photos. They might also like to see exact photo samples for the concepts illustrated. They might even look forward to drawing insights on how special effects can be achieved through photography and Photoshop for the duration of the course. Thus, expectations for adult learners are higher and if their expectations are not met, usually disappointment will ensue.
The questions that adults ask are also more investigative and warrant more explanation/elaboration when answering them. Credibility as an educator will almost always be a concern for adult learners and they usually expect their educators to be more learned than them, both in terms of experience and expertise. While students may revere their teachers without much hesitation, adults learners are usually more likely to cast doubts on their educators should they fail to explain a particular concept clearly or succinctly. In another words, it takes much more to please an adult learner than a young learner.
Now let us have a look at the reasons why teaching adult learners is at times easier, and more fulfilling. Most adults have reached a certain level of maturity to be self-motivated. Hence, in terms of learning, more effort can placed in getting them to apply what they have learnt and less effort on motivating them to get things started. This is also a drastic difference between adult learners and young students. The essence of learning lies in the application of learned concepts, and not so much in motivating someone. Ultimately, motivation arises from the students themselves and not from educators, who can only encourage. This fact gives rise to the observation that educators who are coaching adult learners can save time by delving straight into learning, unlike some young learners who may need a substantial amount of encouragement and support.
When it comes to developing rapport between educators and adult learner, it is also easier. Most adult learners have seen much of life and often have no qualms about clarifying any doubts that they have. Some young learners, on the other hand, take some time to know their educators before taking the initiative to ask questions. So, it will be good for educators to ask their adult learners directly on any questions that they have. It's highly likely that the adult learners will put the questions across to them without much hesitation.
When using examples to relate to adult learners, there's a wider domain that we can explore. For example, when discussing film studies with a young student of twelve, educators may probably only be able to touch on the thematic elements and content of the film while for adult learners, mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and the likes are all applicable. It will be easier to use examples to illustrate concepts to the adult learners. The entire paradigm of teaching is different for adult learners. While humour works well with both adult and young learners, adult learners are more attuned to the use of models, case studies, conceptual analysis as well as applications.
To conclude, I will say adopting a nurturing approach is more appropriate for adult learners than an authoritative approach when it comes to their learning.
Educators coaching adult learners should treat them as their peers. This is especially so when some of the adult learners are older than their educators.
Respectfulness is a quality that most adult learners look for when scouting for an educator, so a talk-down approach (as is commonly used on young learners) is not advisable.