1. BEST PRACTICES IN ADULT LEARNING
Stephen Brookfield
University of St. Thomas
Minneapolis-St. Paul

2. Session Objectives By the end of this session you will …
(1) Implement the Circle of Voices exercise to increase learner participation
(2) Implement the Critical Incident Questionnaire as a Feedback Tool
(3) Implement the Chalk Talk exercise to construct a map of learners’ knowledge

3. (4) Implement the Circular Response exercise to focus discussion
Session Objectives
(4) Implement the Circular Response exercise to focus discussion
(5) Implement the Snowballing technique to widen student participation
(6)Utilize further resources online

4. Buzz Groups
What, if anything, are the typical characteristics of an adult learner?

5. What Makes Someone an Adult Learner?
Is it their …..
Age?
Developmental Stage?
Adult Roles?
Experience?
Method of Learning?
Cognition?

6. CIRCLE OF VOICES Quiet, private reflection on the topic or question
Each member takes up to 1 minute to say whatever they wish to say in response to the question - NO INTERRUPTIONS
Group moves into open conversation - members can only talk about what someone else said in the opening round of the conversation

7. QUESTION
As a trainer, when have you been treated as an adult? What did a supervisor or leader do that made you feel you were being treated in an adult way?

8. An Adult Approach
Respect
Research
Responsiveness

9. CRITICAL INCIDENT QUESTIONNAIRE
Most engaged moment in session
Most distanced moment in session
Most helpful action
Most puzzling action
What Surprised You Most

10. ADMINISTRATION Last 5 minutes of last session of the week Anonymous
Mandatory when possible
Frequency Analysis
Reported back to group
Negotiation not capitulation to majority opinion

11. CHALK TALK Trainer writes a question in the middle of the board
5-10 minutes of silence is declared
Participants write responses to the question on the board whenever they feel ready
Participants & trainer draw lines between similar comments & add reactions

12. What does an engaged adult classroom look, sound or feel like?
QUESTION
What does an engaged adult classroom look, sound or feel like?

13. ENGAGEMENT Learners’ Perceptions
Involved in some way
Different modalities used – silence/speech, small group/whole class, visual/oral, abstract/specific, teacher/student
Teacher modeling & scaffolding
Students provide frequent examples
Immediate feedback on progress
Participation in activities – responsibility for learning

14. RESEARCH - MODELING
Modeling Particularly Important for Students Learning to Think Critically
When Teachers Talk Out Loud Their Assumptions Behind Practices
When Teachers Do Regular Assumption Audits - Say When Their Assumptions are Confirmed & Challenged

15. RESEARCH - MODELING
When Teachers Use the CIQ to Check Their Assumptions in Front of Students
When Teachers Bring in Real Life Experience When Assumptions Were Confirmed & Challenged
In Team Teaching - When Team Members Take Different Positions and Clarify Each Others’ Assumptions

16. CIRCULAR RESPONSE
1st person speaks up to 1 minute on her response to the topic or question
2nd person (to left of 1st speaker) speaks for up to 1 minute - what she says must respond to, or build on, the 1st speaker’s comments. This can be a question about the previous comment or a disagreement
This process continues once around circle then moves into open conversation

17. QUESTION
What do you want your students to say about how you train when they are out of earshot?

18. TRAINER CREDIBILITY EXPERTISE AT A HIGH LEVEL
EXPERIENCE OF REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS & TEACHING
RATIONALE: A THOUGHT OUT APPROACH TO WHY THINGS ARE ARRANGED THE WAY THEY ARE
CONVICTION: RE. THE IMPORTANCE OF A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF CONTENT & SKILLS

19. TRAINER AUTHENTICITY CONGRUENCE OF WORDS & ACTIONS
FULL DISCLOSURE OF EXPECTATIONS & CRITERIA
PERSONHOOD VIA AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL EXAMPLES
RESPONSIVENESS TO LEARNERS’ CONCERNS
ACKNOWLEDGING ERROR

20. SNOWBALLING Begin with individual reflection Share with another person
Pairs join with pairs & share in quartet
Quartets join with quartets …. & so on
SHARE …
Emerging differences
Questions & issues raised
Contradictions revealed

21. QUESTION …
What emotions and feelings have hindered or stopped your own learning as an adult?

22. Impostorship Cultural Suicide Lost in Limbo Peer Supports
RHYTHMS OF LEARNING
Impostorship
Cultural Suicide
Lost in Limbo
Peer Supports

23. FURTHER RESOURCES
POWERFUL TECHNIQUES FOR TEACHING ADULTS (2013 – Forthcoming)
TEACHING FOR CRITICAL THINKING (2011)
THE SKILLFUL TEACHER (2006, 2nd Ed.)
DISCUSSION AS A WAY OF TEACHING (2005, 2nd. Edition) with Stephen Preskill
All published by Jossey-Bass/Wiley