Tutor Training Manual.indd - Chandler-Gilbert Community College

Adult Learners
25
Community colleges throughout the state have a large population of “adult learners.” These
are students who are not enrolling immediately after graduating high school.
Adult learners:
• pay careful attention to sequence of content and reinforcement;
• act with reflection or learn by doing;
• have respect for learners as subjects of their own learning;
• enjoy working in small groups;
• want to feel engaged in what they are learning;
• are creative and adaptable;
• are often apprehensive or anxious;
• learn unevenly;
• have outside responsibilities beyond school;
• view themselves as responsible, self-directed, and independent;
• prefer to make their own decisions;
• resent being treated like children;
• want practical lessons, satisfying personal goals;
• have varied life experiences; and
• expect perfection from themselves.
Helping Adult Learners with Limited Basic Skills
In the interest of helping adult students reach their educational and professional goals, it
is best to address any limitations immediately. More often than not, such limitations are
not due to an inability to do the work; rather, they can occur from a variety of correctable
situations such as: the student has been away from studying for some time, the subject was
poorly introduced and disliked in elementary and/or secondary school, or the student is in
an environment that does not value good grammar or mathematical skills.
In some cases an adult learner simply has not been introduced to effective study habits and
now has to balance study with work and family. A bit of guidance will put students on the
right track.
The basic education skills of adult learners can often be improved by peer tutoring or inclass
study groups. Oftentimes peer tutors are able to reach the student on a different level
than the professional. Students proficient in writing or math make a more credible source
for them, because they are going to school also.
Adult Learning Pattern One
Adult learners tend to expect learning to be delivered in a traditional, teacher-led way, and
to expect the faculty member to do the “work” of the learning. The adult learner is there to
absorb the learning.
Now, this does NOT say that this is an effective way to teach adults. This is saying that most
of us, for years, have been taught via a certain method, namely, faculty-led instruction.
We have not been expected to be part of the hands-on learning process. This is a pattern
that is in the process of being broken down; however, we are talking about breaking down
a pattern that has been in existence for decades, even centuries. This mindset is not going
away easily, and to expect adult learners to automatically embrace a brand new way of
learning immediately, or without proper orientation, is expecting too much.