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In my grammar classes, I have used group and partner activities to reinforce something that I have taught or that learners have read in the textbook. I find that, depending on their personalities and willingness to participate, the learners do engage a lot more than when I am simply lecturing. I can definitely see how information learned during these activities would "stick" better, as the video says. I also like the idea of having students teach each other, but I know from my own experience that I'm usually so focused on or nervous about sharing my portion with the class that I don't pay enough attention to other students during their turn. I'm a little unclear on the 85% rule, however. Does that mean that the learners come to class knowing 85% of the material? Or are they able to teach themselves 85% of the material? As I mentioned, I use group work to reinforce learning, but I'm not sure how the learning of the content would arise solely from group activities.

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I think this is the biggest challenge with teaching adult learners. Students come with a great amount of background knowledge that is hard to predict. Additionally, students have this sense of knowing better even though it may not be true. Educating adults requires a certain level of persuasion to convince them that the knowledge is worth having and worth spending the time paying attention to. I have never considered the 85% rule before but I think that may be due to my experiences in much larger classrooms. I would find this method hard to implement in a lecture hall of 500+ students.

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I really like this approach. This video resonates with me most as a graduate student. I find it hard to absorb information from lectures. The often used "Don't ask, tell" instruction in my graduate coursework in the SDA program is based heavily on class discussion in large and small groups. It allows for the sharing of multiple perspectives to get everyone to examine multiple sides of a concept or scenario.
I think one of the drawbacks to this method is if there are "steamrollers" in a course who tend to take over a conversation. Often people who want to share don't get the opportunity because they are not as outspoken as others. I think this method is also less helpful if the class has not received enough information/instruction yet in order to allow them to have productive conversations on the topic.

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Edith Follansbee - Adult Learning Structure

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Edith Follansbee - Adult Learning Structure

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It works because it brings what a student knows and tickles the brains of others. It is relevant to the students and they get to bring their experiences to the group. It is great because everyone can share if they feel comfortable and build on to what other have shared. The drawback is that one person may want to share and full air time. What I mean is that one person may talk too much all the time. Another drawback is the conversation may not go in the direction the facilitator wanted it to go.

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I think a lot of the things mentioned in this video are good teaching strategies in general. From young kids all the way through adults, I think it's really important to start by asking them what they know so you as an instructor can meet them where they're at and then extend their learning. Also, who doesn't like to talk, so asking students to talk first will just get them on board with you faster :)

Another advantage to grouping students is that students are able to hear different perspectives and potentially think of something they may not have before. I know that when I am in a group and am listening to a classmate's response, sometimes something they say will take me on another (topic-appropriate) tangent that leads the discussion somewhere new and interesting.

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It is interesting to see how adult learners actually take in information, granted they ave more background knowledge, but it is basically Project Based Learning.

The parallels are helpful for me to see with elementary education, because truly no one wants to be sitting in a lecture; especially active kids

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I love this approach - this is actually the approach I was taught as a Centering Pregnancy facilitator. I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with Centering Pregnancy, but it is a group-based prenatal care program where pregnant women (partners are also welcome) are put in groups of ~10 couples due around the same time, and all of their prenatal appointment are done together as a group. The sessions are longer (2 hrs) than traditional prenatal care appointment, and while there is a ~5 minute time period for each person to meet with me individually and privately to check on baby, etc, the bulk of the session and all the teaching is done as a group. As a Centering Pregnancy facilitator, I was taught to try to bring about answers from the group itself, rather than 'teach' - this aligns perfeclt with the "Don't Tell, Ask" approach. It's always a bit awkward the first session because the participants don't know each other yet, and they are looking to me for answers and determining whether they trust me as a provider, but after a few sessions it's always a rowdy discussion and I hardly do any talking myself! It's great. I think it's perfect for adults, because everyone brings such different but vast life experiences to the table that there's always an immense amount of information to draw from in the group. A drawback to this approach that I have seen in my own Centering Pregnancy experience is if you have participants who either dominate the conversation, or who express strong opinions/judgements that may alienate others. I try to step in as a facilitator in these situations to make sure everyone feels comfortable - otherwise, they won't participate as much and I will find myself 'lecturing'.

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I think this approach will work because it's better to have discussions than to be talked to like lectures. I think that way of learning is a bit outdated and doesn't work for many people. I know that all of my undergrad was mostly lectures and that can get exhaustive. I know that I had to end up teaching myself a lot of material because this did not work for me very well. The strengths of lecturing is that it can be communicated to a lot of people. It's drawback is that it doesn't engage the students all that much. It doesn't allow us to grasp the information and think about what is being presented to us.
I know that in our current graduate program we use this type of learning to be more engaged and  discuss what we're learning rather than being lectured .

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I think that the adult learning structure explained in the video is a good approach to teach adults.  The "Don't tell, Ask" is a really good technique and I love the analogy of the teacher doing the heavy lifting.  It is a good technique to facilitate the conversation and it leads to a chain of conversation being generated.  I think that it is more stimulating for the adult learners.  As Andrew pointed out the MSAL program does a spectacular job in doing so.  The conversations facilitated through the coursework is based a lot on group discussions lead by the students in the class.  Therefore, the "heavy lifting" is shared between the teacher and the student.

Also, I think another reason why this type of learning structure works is when you determine what the students/learners already know it helps the teacher understand the base knowledge of the group and then they can build on that knowledge.

As mentioned before, we use this type of learning technique in our MSAL program and it creates a really enjoyable environment to learn.  I feel like I have retained more of the information because of my involvement in the conversations.

I think that the drawbacks of this technique would be the idea of group think, where if there is a very dominant idea/person that dominates the conversation other people will not contribute or be distracted by the strong opinions in the group.

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Like Eliot shared, I would agree that I have experienced similar benefits from an adult learning structure in my own education.  It is too easy to tune out when being spoken to, especially for long periods of time.  Creating a conversation forces individuals to be at least somewhat engaged in the material, although the quality of contributions can vary. The class structure of SeattleU's MSAL program is similar, with many group conversations and less formal lecture. I've thought that this format has worked well for me by keeping me engaged. While a full class discussion can be dominated by a handful of individuals, in my experience small group discussions allow an opportunity for more to speak up.

Like Andrew mentioned, the group discussion method works best when every individual is contributing and engaged in the conversation.  It still has the opportunity for individuals to sit back and let the rest of the group speak without participating themselves. Much of the battle is convincing the groups that they should care about the topic and getting them interested in creating a dialogue about the subject in the first place.

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I think that this approach to learning works because it builds on what people know and understand and allows students to clarify their understanding and opinions through discussion.

The approach takes quite a lot of maturity from the teacher though - as Ali quite rightly highlights - as it means that you have to have confidence in yourself  to give your students that time to process the question. I know that I probably fail at this most in my classes because I am nervous and don't wait long enough. It is a lot less scary to spout 'knowledge' than to wait out the long silence, I find.

However, if we can over come this tendency then we can create an environment where our students are engaged and active participants in their learning which is then, hopefully, translated into changed behavior.

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How has the Adult learning structure worked for me? (Eliot Mar)

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How has the Adult learning structure worked for me? (Eliot Mar)

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The concept of taking a more interactive and active as opposed to passive learning approach to teaching is one that I've observed in my experience in the college setting. I think that a learning environment that encourages participation from the class through more questions works best as the fundamental reason for anyone to take a class is to learn about things they don't know. Asking questions are the start to getting answers.
Some drawbacks of this approach are that it is contingent on actual participation from the class. Without constructive input from the class, you are left with not filling the remaining "85%" described in the Adult learning video. I think that the less lecture based approach works better for some subject matters over others such as in comparing an area like computer science as with a social science class.
This approach has personally worked best for me as it's kept me engaged. Being a part of the class progressing and interacting with other students makes for an environment where I am more comfortable contributing and listening to the prompts and questions posed to the class.

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I really enjoyed this video and agree with what was addressed, especially the piece of waiting for student engagement. I know that I can forget to wait when I am teaching, if someone doesn't have a hand up immediately I can get nervous that they are not understanding but perhaps it is because they just need a minute to process what was being asked.

I believe that this approach works because when you put more ownership on the learner it gives them more "buy-in" to their learning and creates a deeper level of engagement. Also, it gives learners a chance to connect with their peers through conversation. In my experience some of the deepest connections to specific material can come through a conversation with peers.

Classes that follow the model described in the video are often my favorite classes. There is something excited about coming to a class where you know your voice is being heard and valued as a learner. The strengths are that everyone has a voice, learners are part of the creation of their educational journey rather than just a recipient of information. One drawback that I can see is that occasionally a group will have learners who dominate the conversation, which can in turn can silence the voice of others. Because of this I think it is important to establish group norms that all members agree to.

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It surprised me to learn that these sort of group methods were Adult Learning Concepts. I've been in a number of classes that try doing these kind of group discussions and/or activities and I always find them to be disengaging. If it's a group activity, typically one person will assume a leadership position and drive the activity while others tend to drift off. If it's a discussion, it gets dominated by people that want to engage that way while others just sit idle.

I guess what I mean to say is my experience always seems to be that these kinds of group efforts tend to be easy opportunities for some people to disconnect from the process.

That being said, it occurs to me that there are some instances where these kinds of activities have resulted in more active participation by members of the group. And that, in turn, led to a better learning experience.

Perhaps enthusiasm or interest in the subject is the difference between "good" and "bad" experiences for me. From my recollection, some of the more negative group learning experiences were in situations where people were only really there because they had to be there. In that regard, it sort of compares to my comment in the previous padlet where I suggested a possible difference between adult and non-adult learning was whether the learning was compulsory.

Postscript: It makes me wonder if some of my opinions and experiences come from the fact that most of my educational background is in mathematics and engineering. They tend to rely on repetition and practice to build proficiency with complex topics.

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In agreement with Kim M. in many ways. Utilizing andragogical concepts, adult learning is self-directed and need-based. Their willingness to learn is dependent on whether the information is immediately useful and relevant.

By being in a class where the students are encouraged to participate, be actively engaged, and share their own life experiences and knowledge--current real-world knowledge is shared between students while the faculty produce additional materials to add to the conversations. Effective adult learning tends to be more kinesthetic and the adult's life experience is acknowledged and expression encouraged. By not acknowledging what an adult has to offer to the conversation, the possibility of the adult learner feeling disrespected and shut-down rather than becoming open to learning new information occurs.

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Welcome to our first padlet!

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The adult learning approach works because it keeps students engaged and it shows respect for what the students already know. I have personally never tried this approach; however, I have had several teachers who have implemented the adult learning principles. These classes were far more engaging, and I felt that what I was learning was useful and could be implemented in the real world.

There are several strengths to the adult learning structure. This structure keeps students interested because they can draw from their own experiences and build on them. The more relevant the subject is to the individual, the more they are likely to remember.  The students are able to come up with 85 percent of the material on their own, allowing the instructor and the students to enjoy the class.

Some drawbacks to this structure could be participation between groups. For instance, there could be a student who does not want to participate. If a grade is pinned to the group, then it may be possible for a single person to bring the grade down. This can cause that particular group of people to become disenchanted with the class. Another drawback could be a student answering a question with their bias. Depending on the severity of their words and their bias, this has a potential to derail the lesson plan due to other students becoming argumentative.