A is for Adult Learners

Madge is a trainee FE teacher based at Bogginbrook College. The content of the training sessions she has attended so far has been heavily focused on supporting the learning of 16–19-year-olds, so she is rather alarmed to discover that one group of learners she'll be working with as part of her practical teaching experience is entirely composed of adult learners, all aged over 25. She rushes off to find her mentor, Zoe, to ask for help.

MADGE: Help!

ZOE: Come on, Madge, it's absolutely nothing to worry about. Teaching adults is really enjoyable. And they're a lovely group. I thought you'd like to broaden your experience a bit.

MADGE: But some of them will be older than me! They won't want to listen to me! They'll know more than me!

ZOE: Just stop panicking and take a deep breath. I'll tell you a bit about adult learners, OK? And then you can tell me whether you still feel the same. First of all, they're often not as confident as they appear. Returning to education or training after a long time outside it can feel quite daunting. Some haven't sat in front of a teacher since they were at school. And if their experience of school was about feeling a failure, you can imagine how nervous they might be when they come to college. So part of your job is to reassure them and put them at ease. Some of them will be much more nervous of you than you are of them. The second thing to remember is that, as adults, they'll have responsibilities and commitments outside college — much more so than younger students; and sometimes those things will take priority. So you have to be prepared to be flexible. And thirdly, those other commitments mean that they'll expect good value for the time commitment they're making in coming to college. That is, they tend to be more goal-oriented than younger learners. They need you to provide a clear structure and learning experiences that keep them on their toes. If you remember those three things, you'll find teaching adults a real pleasure.

MADGE: So they'll be more nervous of me than I will of them?

ZOE: Some of them, yes, at first. But you'll need to put them at ease, otherwise they'll not be able to learn effectively. Remember your Maslow?

Here are some other pointers that Zoe will probably give Madge when the time is right.

» Be sure to provide your adult learners with a clear programme or schedule of sessions, and then stick to it. Adults have busy lives and multiple responsibilities, and need to know about key dates and deadlines well ahead of time.

» Always start on time and never finish early. Adult learners will have invested precious time and money, and may have made complicated arrangements in order to be able to attend. They won't appreciate late starts or truncated sessions.

» Choose your methods carefully. Adult learners may be keener to get down to business than their younger counterparts, and will therefore appreciate time-effective methods and plenty of teacher input. They need to leave your lesson feeling that every minute of their precious time has been spent usefully.

» Always communicate with them adult to adult. For example, avoid giving praise in a way that sounds patronising. Good. Yes. Thank you is clearly much preferable to Well done! Clever girl!

» Think carefully about rules for behaviour. For example, demanding that adults