Instructor Take-ons: Be Present, Be Clear
Firstly, Happy Adult Education Week! As the leader of my local Adult Literacy Center, it has been a very special week. There is a whole community of people I now belong to that advocates for Adult Learning and Family Literacy, and I am honored help other adults as my job, but also be an adult learner! This past year has been very enriching and I am beyond grateful. Tonight we hosted a Tutor and Learner Potluck with a theme of "Share the Love." The energy in the room was so positive and uplifting and it was the first time meeting other learners and tutors for some! But truly, this gathering helped to remind one another that they are part of a community of practice and that they have my and each other's support no matter where they are in their own journey.
Dr. Kang's notes in this module are really resonating with me. With adult education as my focus I have already experienced the importance of the aspects of the TD model, especially in the one-on-one tutoring world. It may also be because our case study this week is names Sam, one of my favorite names (reminder: my youngest is named Sam)! Back to learning... Adults coming to my program are already insecure about their learning because they 1) have thus far done poorly academically and need help, 2) are learning English and cannot speak it well and are insecure because of this, or 3) had trouble during their junior high to high school years departing traditional education and now want to complete the GED. It is the focus for our program to meet the learner "where they are" and find learning materials and methods suitable for that specific learner (structure), by earning their trust (dialog), to help them build confidence (autonomy). The last part, transactional distance, is a little more challenging in my field because of "adulting." According to Bayne in an EDUCASE podcast (2021), he noted that Dunn "says that one of the biggest shifts she's seen over the past year is an attitude of appreciation for the students and the complexity of their lives." It makes such a difference when an instructor can connect the learning to a learners life.
Important instructor take-on 1: Dialog, including getting to know your learners and personal touch. Communication is always the key to building trust. Most learners (not all), are already struggling to find their work/life balance as it is, and tend to put education in a lower priority bracket. Much grace is given and the learner is always encouraged to give as much as they can to their learning, but usually know that our staff and their tutor is in their corner (personal touch). When I am with a learner or tutor, it usually works for me to be authentic, letting them know that I am with them to support them. I will never claim to know something more than I do, especially about technology. If I don't know the answer or how to use the technology, I would then go and do some research, "play around with it," and get back to them ASAP. I would also give updates as I work on the issue. Then, as soon as I be able to teach the technology, I would. The learner seeing that it is possible for me to learn something I didn't know how to do can also be encouraging for the learner.
Important instructor take-on 2: Structure. Without it both the instructor and the learner can get lost! Moore (2018) stated about Dewey that education is "a transaction between two or more people, both teachers and learners, in which learning is not random, but deliberate and planned." Clarity about objectives and setting goals does wonders, even in the unfortunate case that and instructor and learner don't particularly get along. If the expectation is clear and there is a plan to follow, both can refer to it for guidance. In my tutoring world, it happens sometimes that we do not make the best tutor/learner match. As long as it is communicated to us we can usually overcome this challenge and re-match the learner with someone more compatible.
And Anna 'nother note... I hope you all are having a great week! Blog #3... check!
Please check out our "Share the Love" celebration we had tonight on Facebook: Heart of Illinois Adult Literacy Center
References:
Cavanagh, T., Dunn, S., Forbes, L., Pelletier, K., Pfeifer-Luckett, R., & Thomas, D. (2021, March 31). Techniques for Student Engagement (season 2, episode 3). EDUCAUSE Exchange. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://er.educause.edu/podcasts/educause-exchange/techniques-for-student-engagement.
Moore, M. G. (2018, December 21). Handbook of Distance Education. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315296135-4.
Hello! It sounds like your program is tremendously supportive and is definitely making an impact on learners! I also agree with your statement that when an instructor is able to connect the learning content to the learner's life, differences are made. By doing so, learning material is more meaningful and serves to be of higher purpose to the learners as a result of relevancy. In terms of structure, Moore (2018) mentions the numerous pathways to meet common goals through their online environmental designs. Without clear communication and objectives, the navigation process may cause confusion for learners, and as you stated, they can get lost! Therefore, keeping strong communication/dialogue within the teacher-student interaction and creating effective structures are important!
ReplyDeleteMoore, M. G. (2018). The Theory of Transactional Distance. In Handbook of Distance Education (pp. 32–46). essay, Routledge.
I'm so glad that you brought up learning with the learners in the dialog section! It can be so easy to become uncomfortable and go blank when a student asks you something and you don't know the answer. Instead of those moments being terrifying, they should be seen as a chance to learn with your students. By admitting that you don't know something, it can form a sense of trust with students. Now, instructors should know their content, but learning with your students every now and then can go a long ways with building an environment of trust.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, structure is so important. You can't go in with a "wing it" attitude. Will there be moments with instructing when you do have to wing it? Yes, but you need structuring to both build credibility with the students and to build upon the assigned curriculum.
Totally agree - instructors should be the lead and be able to answer most questions! I think it works well in my world... for now. But you are so right, I plan to keep learning so that I can answer confidently and calmly for future learners. As I develop my program I hope to be more of a instructor guide for my tutors who will be doing most of the teaching of learners, but with our tutor group being a bit small I do have to step in, and I do so happily! I don't think I have ever had so much enjoyment in my work. I may have missed my calling to education back in my undergrad days, but I finally made it here now and finding it so fulfilling.
DeleteHi Anna, what a neat idea! I love hearing about the Adult Learning community and what is happening outside of our virtual classroom in the real world. I enjoyed your paragraph about dialogue. It is so important to create trust with our learners and showing them that we are on their team. Admitting that you do not know everything, even as the instructor, allows learners to not feel like they need to be perfect either and makes them more comfortable. I also appreciate your perspective on structure. In my post, I discussed not making structure too rigid; however, I really like you pointing out the importance of structure and using it as guide. I had not thought of it in that way, but having a guide that both learners and instructors can refer to is incredibly useful. Great post!
ReplyDelete