BEST PRACTICES IN ADULT LEARNING Stephen Brookfield University of St. Thomas Minneapolis-St. Paul www.stephenbrookfield.com

Session Objectives By the end of this session you will … (1) Implement the Circle of Voices exercise to increase learner participation (2) Implement the Critical Incident Questionnaire as a Feedback Tool (3) Implement the Chalk Talk exercise to construct a map of learners’ knowledge

(4) Implement the Circular Response exercise to focus discussion Session Objectives (4) Implement the Circular Response exercise to focus discussion (5) Implement the Snowballing technique to widen student participation (6)Utilize further resources online

Buzz Groups What, if anything, are the typical characteristics of an adult learner?

What Makes Someone an Adult Learner? Is it their ….. Age? Developmental Stage? Adult Roles? Experience? Method of Learning? Cognition?

CIRCLE OF VOICES Quiet, private reflection on the topic or question Each member takes up to 1 minute to say whatever they wish to say in response to the question - NO INTERRUPTIONS Group moves into open conversation - members can only talk about what someone else said in the opening round of the conversation

QUESTION As a trainer, when have you been treated as an adult? What did a supervisor or leader do that made you feel you were being treated in an adult way?

An Adult Approach Respect Research Responsiveness

CRITICAL INCIDENT QUESTIONNAIRE Most engaged moment in session Most distanced moment in session Most helpful action Most puzzling action What Surprised You Most

ADMINISTRATION Last 5 minutes of last session of the week Anonymous Mandatory when possible Frequency Analysis Reported back to group Negotiation not capitulation to majority opinion

CHALK TALK Trainer writes a question in the middle of the board 5-10 minutes of silence is declared Participants write responses to the question on the board whenever they feel ready Participants & trainer draw lines between similar comments & add reactions

What does an engaged adult classroom look, sound or feel like? QUESTION What does an engaged adult classroom look, sound or feel like?

ENGAGEMENT Learners’ Perceptions Involved in some way Different modalities used – silence/speech, small group/whole class, visual/oral, abstract/specific, teacher/student Teacher modeling & scaffolding Students provide frequent examples Immediate feedback on progress Participation in activities – responsibility for learning

RESEARCH - MODELING Modeling Particularly Important for Students Learning to Think Critically When Teachers Talk Out Loud Their Assumptions Behind Practices When Teachers Do Regular Assumption Audits - Say When Their Assumptions are Confirmed & Challenged

RESEARCH - MODELING When Teachers Use the CIQ to Check Their Assumptions in Front of Students When Teachers Bring in Real Life Experience When Assumptions Were Confirmed & Challenged In Team Teaching - When Team Members Take Different Positions and Clarify Each Others’ Assumptions

CIRCULAR RESPONSE 1st person speaks up to 1 minute on her response to the topic or question 2nd person (to left of 1st speaker) speaks for up to 1 minute - what she says must respond to, or build on, the 1st speaker’s comments. This can be a question about the previous comment or a disagreement This process continues once around circle then moves into open conversation

QUESTION What do you want your students to say about how you train when they are out of earshot?

TRAINER CREDIBILITY EXPERTISE AT A HIGH LEVEL EXPERIENCE OF REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS & TEACHING RATIONALE: A THOUGHT OUT APPROACH TO WHY THINGS ARE ARRANGED THE WAY THEY ARE CONVICTION: RE. THE IMPORTANCE OF A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF CONTENT & SKILLS

TRAINER AUTHENTICITY CONGRUENCE OF WORDS & ACTIONS FULL DISCLOSURE OF EXPECTATIONS & CRITERIA PERSONHOOD VIA AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL EXAMPLES RESPONSIVENESS TO LEARNERS’ CONCERNS ACKNOWLEDGING ERROR

SNOWBALLING Begin with individual reflection Share with another person Pairs join with pairs & share in quartet Quartets join with quartets …. & so on SHARE … Emerging differences Questions & issues raised Contradictions revealed

QUESTION … What emotions and feelings have hindered or stopped your own learning as an adult?

Impostorship Cultural Suicide Lost in Limbo Peer Supports RHYTHMS OF LEARNING Impostorship Cultural Suicide Lost in Limbo Peer Supports

FURTHER RESOURCES POWERFUL TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING ADULTS (2013 – Forthcoming) TEACHING FOR CRITICAL THINKING (2011) THE SKILLFUL TEACHER (2006, 2nd Ed.) DISCUSSION AS A WAY OF TEACHING (2005, 2nd. Edition) with Stephen Preskill All published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley www.stephenbrookfield.com