Diverse Learners, Diverse Services: Reaching out to Continuing Education Students & Instructors Megan Fitzgibbons, Jessica Lange & Robin Canuel McGill University, Montreal Canada

Do you have a continuing education center of some kind in your institution?

Context

Why do we care?

In 2007… 42% of Canadians 49% of Britons 49% of Americans aged were participating in some type of education (OECD)

Reasons for Growth Newly arrived immigrants Unemployment rates Developing new skills Economic downturn Actively growing their programs Lifelong learning

Who are Continuing Education Students?

Diverse! Vary widely in : Age Technology skills Academic and professional experience Mother tongue, country of origin Purpose for study Life circumstances Busy! Balance work and family with studies Frequently unaware of university services

"Adult learners differ from traditional learners in responsibility level, and not necessarily age, gender, or other such distinguishers." (Cooke, 2010)

McGill University's Centre for Continuing Education

McGill Continuing Education profile: Total enrollment: 12,132 students 45 diploma and certificate programs 58% women Average age: 33

profile cont’d: 1,327 international students from 130+ countries 40% recent immigrants 53% have a mother tongue other than English or French

Mother Tongue of McGill University Centre for Continuing Education Students

How do we reach out to this underserved group?

Does your library target this group through particular services or liaison librarian positions?

Case Study

Learners and strategies You have been given a sample profile of a typical continuing education course. In a small group, identify teaching techniques and specific learning activities that might be used to address challenges in the context of the workshop’s learning outcomes.

Learner Needs & Challenges #1 Characteristics/needs All students are studying English as a foreign language. Strategies/Techniques Provide handout with key terms and definitions Use a “bingo” game to help students focus on new vocabulary “Think-pair-share” : students pair up to brainstorm keywords Minimize cultural references and idioms Definition matching Utilize visual literacy (e.g. video, handout etc.) Make sure to face the audience

Learner Needs & Challenges #2 Characteristics/needs Some students have had little exposure to academic work in a North American context. Strategies/Techniques Layout the cultural norms of academic work in North America Exercise on how to use LC Call numbers (perhaps use a “treasure hunt” for books in the library Recognize cultural differences Share what skill that works for them (can sense their cultural sense of school and adapt)

Learner Needs & Challenges #3 Characteristics/needs Some students have not used academic library recently or ever. Strategies/Techniques Have library tours (perhaps lead or co-lead by current students) Have flexible classroom space (e.g. groups of chairs or tables in different directions rather than all facing front)

Learner Needs & Challenges #4 Characteristics/needs Some students have recently participated in library instruction, while others haven’t. Strategies/Techniques Directed questioning (e.g. ask “where should I click? What do I do next? Where can I find this book?) Hands-on-practice (let each student go at their own pace so the more advanced can go further and the less advanced can take their time) Group work (pair up experiences students with less experienced students)– peer to peer learning

Learner Needs & Challenges #5 Characteristics/needs Some students have very little previous experience using computers. Strategies/Techniques Assess room immediately (e.g. who has a cell phone, who has a laptop, who is comfortable with the computers Group work (tech savvy paired with students who have less experience—see above for getting sense of students in classroom) Let them know that they can’t break it! Develop useful analogies to help students understand technological concepts Free time to practice (let them go at their pace)

Learner Needs & Challenges #6 Characteristics/needs Students’ levels of education vary. Strategies/Techniques Background knowledge probes (e.g. Ask students “how can you find out if a library has a particular book?”)

Learner Needs & Challenges #7 Characteristics/needs Students are expected to learn a large amount of information in a short amount of time. Strategies/Techniques One-minute writing ( students are asked to write one thing they learned and one thing they don’t understand) Try to convince the instructor to have multiple sessions Recognize limitations (i.e. hit the most important learning objectives and let the rest go – be flexible) Have online tutorials students can refer to if they’re feeling overwhelmed/need a second going over

Learner Needs & Challenges #8 Characteristics/needs Students are goal-oriented and want to develop very specific skills. Strategies/Techniques Incorporate students’ own suggested topics into database search examples

Key Takeaways Information overload Break it into chunks and have students break into groups and be responsible for a section Learning through teaching Stop and re-evaluate –flexibility! Break session into 3-5 KEY points Message of friendly librarians Online tutorials Asking the class about what tutorials they would like (custom tutorials)

Challenges faced at McGill Absence of shared experience No common denominator in skills Difficult to reach through traditional methods Lack of continuity

Solutions at McGill Communication and outreach Collection development Teaching techniques, especially active learning Liaison model

Conclusions Multi-layered, tailored approaches have been successful Liaison model is key

Feedback Received Written feedback from instructors Informal evaluation of student performance Increased requests from workshops Requests for new workshops to be developed

Future plans: Formal Assessment

Jessica Lange Robin Canuel Megan Fitzgibbons Contact

Photo Credits Slide 8 : Money by Andrew Magill ( Slide 12 : McGill Building by Zestbienbeautouza ( Slide 1,3-5 : Klaus Fiedler, McGill Library