What do learners really need and how do I find out?

I really appreciate that prior to planning and implementing a unit of study that we are polling our students, in which ever way suits the learners and environment, to find out what they know and what they want to know. More so in the past, instructors would teach curriculum that may not have been relevant to the students, it could be either too easy or too difficult. Students might already have a great deal of experience with the topic and need to build on what they already know. Two new assessments I read about were a timeline and showing a picture to the class and asking questions to determine next steps. For the timeline students create a written or pictorial timeline that indicates major events in their lives (past and present). They also indicate their future goals. This provides initial information about the lives and goals of the students. (CAELA guide: Oct. 2007) For the picture provocation, the example cited was to show a picture of a worker to the class. Then specific questions are asked such as: What skills do you think he would need? What tools would he need? I could see using this if I was teaching a class that focused on job skills. Students could self-assess as the class goes through the pictures to determine what skills they might need to have to attain a particular job. I look forward to using needs assessments with my classes in the future.

The CAELA Guide for Adult ESL Trainees (Oct. 2007). Retrieved from :http://www.cal.org/caela/scb/guide.html

Unit 4: Passing the torch to students

This unit reminded me of the importance of student involvement in the learning process. I think this is even more important to the adult learner. Often our students are professionals in their home country, and they have been in charge of their goal-setting for many years. As an educator I can help facilitate this by beginning with a needs assessment. While being mindful of the curriculum you also have to take into consideration the make-up of the class, what is it that they most need to move forward? Providing opportunities for students to self-reflect and goal-set would be built in to my weekly lessons. The PBLA provides a section where students can monitor their progress. I think that building in a specific time into the week is important so that it becomes a habit that students get used to as they continue on their learning journey. Students also need the opportunity to apply what they have learned in a real-life context. Skill building of course is important, but there is a strong need to apply those skills in daily activities. This circles back to the needs assessment as the teacher can intertwine the needs of the class with the tasks in class. For example, if students identify that they are finding it difficult to deal with 'customer service' (landlord issues, returning an item, asking for help in a store), tasks can be built in to the lessons to help them to develop that skill set. The reflection component in the above example could include them describing how they applied the lesson in their real-life (I was able to get my landlord to fix my sink, I exchanged an item at the store) and also what their challenges and next steps would be. Taking the measure of the needs of the class, encouraging self-reflection and providing task-based activities are all good opportunities to help develop autonomous learners.

Autonomous learning venngage 

Teaching adult learners 

Unit 2 Why get to know the learner?

In Unit 2 the emphasis was placed on getting to know your learner. In the past, teachers might have tended to focus only on curriculum and a one-size fits all approach to their students when planning lessons. This is certainly the easiest way to teach but not the most effective.
In recent years there has been more of a movement to build relationships with students, this isn't about going out for coffee with your students or inviting them over for dinner! It is about a balance between knowing about who they are as a person and who they are as learners.

Developing a repertoire of icebreakers or getting to know you activities is a good start to finding out more about the learners in your class. It can be in the form of a bingo activity (e.g. likes swimming, plays an instrument, brown eyes), a walk and talk worksheet (complete the sheet by finding colleagues who match the question e.g. has a dog) or a short questionnaire (see sample below). Teachers can use the information to have authentic conversations with students that are more specific to who they are as a person. That connection helps to create a safe and inclusive learning environment that draws students together, creating a community of learners.

Teachers also need to know who their students are as learners and this is done through a variety of diagnostic, formative and summative assessments using conversations, observations and products to determine the students strengths and challenges. By observing students a teacher can determine if a student is a visual, auditory or tactile learner. All this data helps a teacher create the best plans for her students.

I think we've discovered in education that unless you get to know who your students are as people and learners they will not be successful learners and you will not be a successful teacher.

 Getting to know you task