Teaching adults is unique.
After three years of teaching as an Airman Leadership School Instructor, I have learned a lot about what it takes to be an effective educator.
Here are some of the key lessons I’ve learned:
Create a positive learning environment.
Adult learners often come to class feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or even intimidated by the material. And incredibly annoyed at the hurdles they are all facing in their individual lives…seriously, there’s a lot of crap out there. Therefore, it’s important to create an environment that is supportive, encouraging and even provides a sort of escape from the mundaneness of everyday life. When students feel valued and supported, they are more engaged in the material and more likely to succeed.
How do I make this happen? I take notes about them and the stories they share so i can ask about those things later in the course. I also pay attention to what they’re saying…like actually paying attention. I offer validation instead of advice. Sometimes I offer advice or let them ask for it but I don’t offer it first. If they don’t want it or just want to vent…I legit let them do that.
And kapow…a positive environment begins to form.
Encourage self-reflection.
Adult learners are often more reflective and introspective than younger learners. Many adults live life trying to figure themselves out, figure out the world around them, and just…figuring. Their environment doesn’t let them do that. So I give them what their environment doesn’t…a place to self-reflect.
With trust and asking open-ended questions they are encouraged to reflect on their learning and experiences, and help them to identify areas for growth and improvement. Instead of asking “Will you make better habits?” ask “How will you make better habits?" This type of question opens the room for dialogue and exploration of ideas!
Emphasize practical skills.
Practical Application is the name of the game. Countless times my students have said things like “This is good stuff. Much better than all that trigonometry I learned in high school which I never use.” This is why I think we need to find where we can apply the things we learn. The best way I have found to apply those things we learn is by 1) setting time aside, 2) assessing where we are, 3) developing a plan and 4) go!
Depending on what the change we need is, we should write these things down. Don’t just think about it and about what could be…legit Grab a paper, and write down where you are and what you need to go forward.
The one thing that separates those that succeed in their endeavors from those that don’t is consistently following a path and we develop a path by writing stuff down and applying it. So go out there and APPLY!