NetForum - Message Replies

Forum: Looking at Learning... Again

Topic: Teaching and Learning

Posted by: Kim Loomis
Date posted: Thu Apr 26 17:07:44 2001
Subject: Adult Learners
Message:
As a member of the professional devepolment carde in our school district, it is most important to keep in mind the ways adults learn best. As I think about this issue, I tend to think that adults don't learn different than children. Both need experiences that are engaging, that empower them as a learner, while seeking their own knowledge. As it is so easy to "just tell" the students in the classroom, it's just as easy to "just tell" the adult learner - often times more easy, since we don't want to 'waste' an adult's time. In any form of learning experiences, the ultimate goal is to have ownership of the knowledge base. When you look up "ownership" within the thesaurus you will find 'take part in,'take pleasure in,' and 'possession of,' all of which are in contridiction of "just telling."

Subject: adult learners
Reply Posted by: Sharon Pearson
Date Posted: Mon May 7 22:02:58 2001
Message:
I spend a lot of time in my class 'experiencing' learning, but I agree that the modalities should actually be the first to be taken into consideration. As we talk about learning, we focus on one answer--experiential. Is it truly the only answer? I don't think so. If not, why aren't we also exploring the other modalities? Why do we focus on one rather than moving forward to help all our learners learn? I agree that motivation is the #1 issue. So, why aren't we talking about that?

The Annenberg/CPB Channel is produced by Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution, and is funded by the Annenberg/CPB Projects.