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Has this approach worked for you? Why or why not? What are its strengths and drawbacks?

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Steve Leslie
“Hands On” teaching techniques have always been a far superior way for me to learn, so “of course” I think teaching that way is far superior to other methods. It just feels right. Other methods and styles work for others as well, so our brains are just wired differently.  Get “Everyone” involved in learning and miracles can happen!

Take Care

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While I agree with most of this, I have found that too often in the professional development given by my school, the idea of getting the staff involved is not authentic. While we may be talking to each other and sharing ideas, the scope of the conversation is limited because the goals of the presenter are more important than the needs of the learners. Having the freedom to explore the topic in a way that we can connect with is essential to gaining that buy in so necessary to truly learning.

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The strategies mentioned in the video reminded me of culturally responsive teaching (CRT), where an instructor's pedagogy considers students' cultural references and experiences. CRT and adult learning methods, I think, are beneficial to the academic growth and development of students, especially those from nontraditional backgrounds, because it caters pedagogy to the needs and understanding of individuals. In order for students to learn, making connections to what is relevant in their life and past experiences is extremely helpful.

I agree with these methods in practice as they have worked in my prior classrooms. I taught in an inner-city, low-income neighborhood in Miami, FL. My students were three to four grade levels behind. How I better engaged them in content was when the material was relevant to their life, and they could further make meaning out of it. I taught mathematics, and I created word problems that were applicable to my students' lives, experiences, and culture with the foundational mathematics content integrated in them. They did not understand the word problems in the book because it was not pertinent to their lives; however, when I changed the language and used the same concepts, my students grasped the material faster and stronger.

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Active, hands-on, collaborative, and democratic learning experiences is where I feel most comfortable as a learner. The banking model of education hasn't served me well but it is one that I've subscribed to and seems to be the dominate form of pedagogy. This was a standard method of teaching in undergraduate studies with large lecture halls and even in smaller classes. I agree that adult learners have to find their own relevance and meaning. I see the value in collaborative learning such as the modules and response we've posted thus far. I think about this as an adult learner with regards to access and equity even with online learning but that might have to be raised for another topic. I'll close with my Adult Learning Reflective quote: “The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape the students. What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.”
― Paulo Freire, We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations on Education and Social Change

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I've found this method to work very well in trainings that I've facilitated and attended (all of the learners are much more engaged and better remember the content later). However, I'm not convinced that it works in all circumstances - for instances, what about learning calculus or some other difficult concept that isn't easily observable or for which a student has no prior experience/concept? But other than that, I think it's great - particularly when the teacher/facilitator is trained and knows how to properly direct the discussion.

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I agree that learners need to be given the opportunity to engage and use a method of relating when absorbing information. Instead of a data dump or a memorization task, creating an exercise that offers learners the chance to explore and use what they know now and to offer opportunities to learn more provides them with a meaningful learning experience.

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The hands on learning technique I found to really work for me as a supervisor. As I continue training employees, I have come to the conclusion that although I can explain the work step by step in a lecture sort of way. The best method of learning is to have them hands on actively doing the work. Once the person is actively participating they then ask the questions they should be asking and reach the place I need them to be at.

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Interesting comments. I am struck by how much our expectations about how we (adults) learn has changed so very much over the past few decades. When I was in undergraduate and graduate school sometime shortly after the last ice age, the expectation was always that the teacher would lecture and the students would absorb. In seminars we did contribute, of course, but mostly (I say somewhat cynically) to show that we had read and understood the material, or that we were clever and smart. I was always intimidated and preferred to keep clam. The competitive spirit could sometimes be bruising. How do we, as teachers, keep mindful of this and help the introverts? I second Anthony's comments about teaching English to students from different cultures. Active learning and "asking, not telling" are not embedded in the educational culture of Indonesia and China, where I had the privilege of working in the past.

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As someone who got their undergrad degree in early childhood development, and elementary education, I love the idea of active learning. Allowing students to immediately use the new information, allows for a much higher retention rate. This works well for adults as well!

As other classmates have stated, there are a few classroom norms that must be in place before such learning can be successful. Educators must spend time setting these norms in their classroom before expecting quality responses and interactions from students.

I also believe the key for successful democratic learning is creativity. Providing students with different outlets and platforms to share their thoughts and ideas is a must!

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I must agree that in order for the students to learn, the teacher needs to act as a facilitator and actively engage in what the student is learning. Furthermore, like any students, there is a lot of student variability so restricting yourself with one specific method may not apply to every student. That being said, methodology and theories are especially important in helping student properly obtain the information that we teacher are trying to provide.  unfortunately I don't have a lot of teaching experience to judge if this method is good or bad but, in theory it makes sense because I stand on the perspective of the student's side.  I rather have teacher actively care about what we learn and facilitate group activities rather than listening to long lectures.

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This reminded me of a quote that hangs on my wall in my classroom:
“It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he'll look for his own answers.” -Patrick Rothfuss.

Teaching the younger age group, for me, this technique still works. I use it daily because it's a great tool for watching learning happen. I think it has to have structure, and a direction to go but it is a very strong tool to use.

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As many have already stated, this approach works well because it is difficult to learn content that does not relate to one's lived experiences. Especially as adult learners, relevance is key. If the material is not relevant to a future goal  or interest (promotion at work, entering a certain profession, a hobby, etc.), then there is likely to be a lack of motivation to engage in learning. At least from my own personal experience...

I also believe for this structure to work there needs to be a learning culture. For instance, my organization's employees have fear to engage in online learning communities. Their managers may see their activity online has taking away from their day-to-day tasks/projects or they may be afraid they'll say something incorrect. If this cultural issue could be overcome, then this type of learner-centered pedagogy would work very well. I think most would prefer to have a voice in their learning, rather than be talked at.

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I, too, agree with the method of asking students instead of simply telling them information. I personally am more engaged in learning whenever I have been asked to ponder a question or to share the knowledge I have, rather than only listening to an instructor telling me what I should know.  I believe that  we can learn just as much from our peers as we can from our instructors depending on the context.

I have had a lot of success in learning within smaller groups and generally tend to enjoy group activities. However, I have had times when in group settings, as a member or facilitating, that have been very challenging. The biggest issue I have seen is the clash in personalities and communication styles to the point where learning and collaboration is halted. And at the same time, one could make the case that putting people with opposing styles together can promote other types of learning to occur (patience, adaptability, etc).

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I wholeheartedly agree with the notion of student context driving lesson content. We must start by entering their door, & have them exit through ours. This works well early in lessons, with a focus on inquiry for example. This works well in science as students explore electric circuits for example. They trust in their own observations & build conceptual models based on what they find. Where this breaks down is the inevitable need to break misconceptions or deliver a key piece of content to redirect their line of inquiry. The key for me is how this "key piece of content" is delivered. It does not need to be a dry lecture, & that is different than creative forms of direct instruction which involve strategic storytelling and the use of images for example (not to mention group jigsaw and diad/triad sharing). Students respond best when given an opportunity to connect content to their own lives, and when they are presented with a variety of novel approaches to a concept.

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I find this adult learning structure works well most of the time, but not everywhere.

An example of it working for me is in the quarterly international student orientation I run.  We have to make sure they understand a LOT of information, but just lecturing is not fun for either of them.  So, in order to make sure they're understanding the bare minimum of what they need to, I have each small group answer questions on a quiz of which they must find the answers in the resources they already have.

Where it hasn't worked for me, though, was when I was teaching English in Japan. Opening up the class to discussion more often then not resulted in extremely lengthy silences. No one wanted to be put on the spot and there was a cultural norm that the teacher would teach, not the students.'