A brief introduction
I've worked in the field of Adult Basic Education for five years, when I started working with adult ESL and GED students in Mesa County, Colorado. Previously an anthropology major now pursuing a M.Ed. in Adult Education and Human Resources, my goal with this website is to create a space where you can find the tools and resources you need to create meaningful classroom experiences for your adult learners.
Emily McConnell
Adult Learning at Mesa County Libraries
Strategies to Enhance Meaning
Why enhance meaning? When you enhance the meaning of the material in the classroom, it becomes more engaging in that it is more likely to interest or challenge your learners. According to Wlodkowski and Ginsberg (2017), ways to enhance meaning include:
1) Provide frequent response opportunities for all learners (p. 236)
Creating the expectation that all learners will participate is important for maintaining the attention of the group. There are four important guidelines to do this in a way that maintains a "caring and respectful atmosphere" (W&G, p. 236).
A) Announce to the group that you, as the instructor, want as many people to participate as possible. Annouce that it is also okay for participants to "pass."
B) Provide each learner an equal chance to respond or perform (provide at least 3 seconds of pause before encouraging your class to respond. Learners need the opportunity to react to what is being asked, and to organize their thoughts).
C) Respect and affirm each learner's response, even when the response is incorrect.
Example: If a learner says the plural of the word "foot" is "foots," you may say the following: "Thanks for giving that a try. You are thinking correctly; in English, we normally add the letter 's' to a noun that we want to make plural. The word 'foot'
doesn't follow this rule - can you think of another way the word "foot" might change from representing one to two or
more?"
D) Random selection can be utilized, when necessary; however, having a more organized manner of selection provides learners anticipation time to prepare what they might say.
Example: Preface a lesson by saying "After we watch this short video about Rosa Parks, I'd like for you to state one or two key
ways her efforts contributed to the Civil Rights movement."
2) Relate learning to adults' interests, concerns, and values (p. 249)
Making learning relevant to learners, including presenting material within the frame of your learners' "interests, concerns, and values," allows learners to connect their learniner to their lives outside of class. Small group discussion and written reflection can be excellent ways to encourage your learners to think crticially about how what is learned might apply to what they are interested in and what they value. Also, consider providing opportunities for learners to reflect on their goals: how do the learner's goals relate to what they are learning?
3) Invite learners to anticipate and predict (p. 256)
Before any lesson, asking a question to build anticipation can sustain learning interest throughout the class. When examining a text, consider asking questions that let your learner predict what's next. This same technique can be used to review and connect subject matter provided from a previous class to how it might relate to a current class.
Example: "Given how the character responded to being saved by the recluse, how do you think her attitude will change towards him?
Write down your answer, and after we read the next chapter together, we'll discuss how your thughts compare to what we learn.
4) Use simulations and games to embody the learning of multiple concepts and skills that require a real-life context and practice (p. 287)
Simulations occur in somewhat controlled environments where learners are able to to act out specific scenarios that "mimic real life" (p. 290). These can be useful for learners to practice their learning in a practical setting, rather than sticking to course materials. While simulation activities are typically held without much structure involved, games are more structured ways for adults to apply their learning towards specific scenarios that are relevant to their lives. To view more examples of games you can incorporate into your classes, click here.
Source:
-
Wlodkowski, R. J., & Ginsberg, M. B. (2017). Enhancing adult motivation to learn: A comprehensive guide for teaching all adults (4th ed.). Jossey Bass.