“Unleashing the Power to Learn” The Principles of Adult Learning Professional Development at Odessa College 2008

Agenda for October 18 th :00-4:00 PM Introduction (discussion, activity) Expectations for your classroom (discussion, assessment) Challenges to unleashing learning power (discussion) Kid learning vs. adult learning (activity) Principles of adult learning-Are they important to your practice? (activity) How to unleash the power of learning with the principles of adult learning (demo) Adult Learning Scorecard (activity, assessment) Next steps……

Introduction What was your best adult learning experience?

Conditions for Learning Conditions for your best adult learning experience: Describe the setting for your best learning experience? How did your prior learning experiences help you with the new learning experience? How did you know you were ready for the learning experience? How did you use what you learned? When did you use what you learned? What life tasks did you learn? What activities did you do to learn? What kind of feedback did receive?

Expectations How skilled are you at unleashing learning for your adult learners?

The Tree of Learning

What’s your biggest challenge to unleashing learning in your practice?

Challenges…. Adult literacy is connected to employment, global competiveness, healthcare, everything……

The Current and Future Workforce In 2005, Texas joined Hawaii, New Mexico, and California as majority-minority states. The fastest growing key segment of the population is Hispanics (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005). Between 2000 and 2005, the number of foreign-born LEP individuals age five and older increased over 29 percent to 2,197,648 (Migration Policy Institute, n.d.). Although 30 percent of immigrant workers have less than a high school education and tend to be employed in low-wage occupations, almost one-third of the foreign-born LEP population have attained the equivalency of a bachelor’s degree or higher in their native country (Capps, Fix, Passel, Ost, Perez-Lopez, 2003). Virginia Price, LEP Guide for Workforce Professionals, 2007

If the trend continues… Between 2010 and 2030, first- and second- generation immigrants together are projected to account for all U.S. labor force growth (Lowell, B., Gelatt, J., Batalova, J., 2006).

Texas Losing Ground in Educating LEP Youth and Adults Passing TAKS scores are lowest and dropout rates are highest for Texas’ Hispanic youth. The percentage of Hispanic youth graduating from high school is the lowest in Texas, at just under 58 percent (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2006). Overall, Texas has slipped from 45th to last among states ranked by percent with populations age 25 and older in 2005 with a high school diploma (Murdock, 2007).

The language Challenge… English Language – Literacy Listening Speaking Reading Writing Grammar Full Literacy in English for Adults English as a Second Language Learner (ESL) Years Academic English

How long did it take you to become literate? 12+ Years of English = Pre-Kindergarten – 12 Grade

Is there a process to unleash learning in adults?

Assumptions About Learners According to Malcolm Knowles…. Conditions for Learning PedagogyAndragogy Self concept of learner Prior learning experience Readiness to learn Time perspective for learning Orientation to learning

Adult Learning Principles- Malcolm Knowles Teacher Design Elements Conditions for Adult Learning Learning Climate What did the learning experience feel like, look like? Planning for learning How did your prior learning help you plan a new experience? Diagnosing learning needs How did you know you were ready to learn? Forming objectives How did you use what you learned? When did you apply what you learned ? Designing the topics What life tasks did you need to learn? Learning activities What activities helped you learn? Evaluation What kind of feedback did your receive?

A Principles of Adult Learning Scorecard How important are the principles of adult learning to your practice?

A Principles of Adult Learning Scorecard Teacher Design Elements Conditions for Adult Learning Importance Learning Climate Respect self-concept of learner to become self- directed, collaborative, informal, mutual Planning for learning Facilitate use of prior learning experience Diagnosis of learning needs Facilitate readiness to learn to be more successful in life tasks Forming objectives Facilitate immediate use of learning objectives Designing the topics Topics addressing life tasks sequenced in terms of readiness Activities Experiential-labs, role plays, simulations, field experiences Evaluation Feedback is performance based Total Score=100

Unleashing the Power of Learning

Checking for Learning Principles of Adult Learning Conditions for Adult Learning Example Learning Climate Respect self-concept of learner to become self- directed, collaborative, informal, mutual Planning for learning Facilitate use of prior learning experience Diagnosis of learning needs Facilitate readiness to learn to be more successful in life tasks Forming objectives Facilitate immediate use of learning objectives Designing the topics Topics addressing life tasks sequenced in terms of readiness Activities Experiential-labs, role plays, simulations, field experiences Evaluation Feedback is performance based Total Score=100

A Principles of Adult Learning Scorecard Teacher Design Elements Conditions for Adult Learning What are you doing? Learning Climate Respect self-concept of learner to become self- directed, collaborative, informal, mutual Planning for learning Facilitate use of prior learning experience Diagnosis of learning needs Facilitate readiness to learn to be more successful in life tasks Forming objectives Facilitate immediate use of learning objectives Designing the topics Topics addressing life tasks sequenced in terms of readiness Activities Experiential-labs, role plays, simulations, field experiences Evaluation Feedback is performance based Total Score=100

Which one principle will you apply over the coming year to unleash learning in your practice ?

Contact Information Kris Witte – Web – Kris Witte is the owner of Language Integration Services,LLC. Her business distributes and implements “English on the Job”, a computer based training tool to increase English skills and workplace skills for limited English individuals. Contracts include businesses, educational organizations, and government agencies. Kris is an educator with a master’s degree in Adult Education. After teaching and program development while employed at El Paso Community College in El Paso, Texas, Kris saw the potential with “English on the Job” to maximize learning.