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Adult Learning Theory & Incorporating The Three SEL Signature Practices

Tesha A. Ruley, Associate Administrator/Director of Educational

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Link to slides

https://tinyurl.com/4evfnjvn

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Welcome!

Who am I?

@TeshaAnneRuley
truley@aea1.k12.ia.us

Who is in the room?

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Purposes

Gain an understanding of the SEL Signature Practices and how to apply this to practice.
Understand the difference between adults as learners and children as learners.
Understand self as a learner
Engage in reflection on current reality of professional learning and how you might add to your practice/adjust
Sharing of resources if you wish to go deeper

Processing Document

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Welcoming Ritual Activity

Direct connection to the SEL Signature Practices

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Welcoming Activity-

Think. Write. Share.

Think about a conference or professional development session you have participated in.

What did you enjoy or appreciate about the experience?

What was lacking/not engaging in the experience?

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Differences Between Children and Adults as Learners:

CHILDREN	ADULTS
Rely on others to decide what is important to be learned.	Decide for themselves what is important to be learned.
Accept the information being presented at face value.	Need to validate the information based on their beliefs and experience.
Expect what they are learning to be useful in their long-term future.	Expect what they are learning to be immediately useful.
Have little or no experience upon which to draw – are relatively “clean slates.”	Have much experience upon which to draw – may have fixed viewpoints.
Little ability to serve as a knowledgeable resource to teacher or fellow classmates.	Significant ability to serve as a knowledgeable resource to trainer and fellow learners.

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“Because adults see themselves as independent & self-directing, there develops a deep psychological need to be perceived by others, and treated by others, as capable of taking responsibility for ourselves and others imposing their wills on us without our participating...we experience a feeling, often subconsciously of resentment & resistance.”

- Malcolm Knowles

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Malcolm Knowles is well-known for his adult learning theory of andragogy. Mr. Knowles bases his adult learning theory around these 4 principles:

Involved adult learners: involves an adult’s need to have control over the nature, timing and direction of the learning.

Adult learner’s experience provides the foundation for new learning. Adults have a greater depth, breadth, and variation in the quality of previous life experiences than younger people. Adults compare and contrast new learning to past experiences and need to see that connection for the transfer of knowledge.

Adults also need to have Relevance and impact to their lives: Meaning Information that goes into the learner's memory will likely be remembered if the teacher provides opportunities in the session for activities such as application exercises and discussions.

The fourth principle involved the learning to be Problem-centered: Adults learn best when convinced of the need for knowing the information or problem to be solved. Often a life or job experience or situation stimulates the motivation to learn.

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Adult Learners

1. Learner’s Need to Know (why, what, and how)

2. Self-Concept of the Learner (autonomous and self-directing)

3. Prior Experience of the Learner (resources and mental models)

4. Readiness to Learn (life-related and developmental task)

5. Orientation to Learning (problem-centered and contextual)

6. Motivation to Learn (intrinsic value and personal payoff)

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Connecting to Self:

How do you currently take these ideas into consideration when working with staff?

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Analyzing Self:

Conduct a self analysis, What is your learning style?

Identify your own learning style/preference to see how it influences you as a coach.
Help to design coaching supports/activities to address the needs of other types/preferences.

http://www.nomolos.org/trdv500/frame_a.html

It is important to become acquainted with the different learning styles of adult learners for two purposes:

To discover your own personal learning style and how it influences you as you work with adults, and
To be able to design instruction that incorporate activities that meet the needs of all four types of learners.

As with children our adult participant learning styles vary greatly too. You will want to consider how your presentation and delivery meets the needs of adult learners who might be more visual, auditory, or kinaesthetic learners.

Visual learners prefer when information is visually presented, such as, pictures, videos, diagrams etc. Provide visual analogies and metaphors to help with visual imagery. Some other things you might consider for visual learners include:

Sometimes graphics are not easy to use for specific topics but consider writing key points in front of the class as this provides visual cues.
Avoid using large blocks of text.
Include exercises where the students create mind maps.
Use storytelling to help with visualisation.
Colour-code and organise any materials you provide as this helps organise things in their minds.
Get students to visualise using phrases, such as, "Picture this", "Let's see what you would do."

Auditory learners prefer hearing what they are learning through words,sound, music, recordings, rhymes, rhythms etc. Some things you might consider for auditory learners include:

Encourage your students to participate in discussions.
If reading is required suggest audio books if appropriate.
Suggest for them to listen to music as they go over material.
Allow recordings of your lessons or make you lessons accessible online - this is also helpful for other learning types.
Get students to pair up and explain concepts to each other.
Encourage problem-solving aloud.
Suggest rereading their notes back to themselves when they get home.
Use mnemonic devices and rhyming.
If you are explaining a story, play relevant sounds from your computer.

Kinesthetic learners process information effectively when a hands-on approach is implemented - when they're using their bodies and when they are actually doing something. They put their learning into practice. Some things to think about when working with this type of learning include:

Use physical exercises and provide hands-on experiences.
Exercises where they are standing and walking are very effective.
Include activities where they use pen and paper to map out their thoughts and problem-solve because writing is a physical exercise.
Find a venue that provides these learners with large spaces so they can write and draw.
Encourage them to draw diagrams, graphs and maps.
Get them to interact with physical objects or solve puzzles.
Role-playing.
Provide real life examples, such as, case studies.
Suggest reviewing their notes whilst they engage in physical activity.
Ask them to teach other class members some of the lesson content.
When you are asking them to visualise, explain the sensations that would be felt, for example, "The wind was forcibly hitting against the left side of my body."

Using a combination of tasks and activities that incorporate these learning styles will optimise learning for all of your adult learners.

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Generational Factors

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Attention: 90:20:8 Rule

Adults can listen with understanding for 90 minutes
They only listen with retention for 20 minutes
They need to be involved every 8 minutes

So, break content into 20 minute chunks and provide an opportunity to engage every 8 minutes.

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Brain Rules

Every brain is wired differently. What you do and learn in life physically changes what your brain looks like – it literally rewires it.

The various regions of the brain develop at different rates in different people. No two people’s brains store the same information in the same way in the same place.

Vision is by far our most dominant sense, taking up half of our brain’s resources.

We learn and remember best through pictures, not through written or spoken words.

People don’t pay attention to boring things. The brain’s attentional “spotlight” can focus on only one thing at a time, no multitasking.

We are better at seeing patterns and abstracting the meaning of an event than we are at recording detail. Audiences check out after 10 minutes, but you can keep grabbing them back by telling narratives or giving them a 2 minute break to process the information they are hearing.

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What does your learning means so far for your work with coaching and/or professional development?

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Tips for Coaching and Teaching Adults

Create a comfortable learning environment
Emphasize how the coaching or the training is applicable to their issues, concerns, needs, or interests.
Keep them actively involved.
Encourage them to share ideas and information.
Encourage them to ask questions.
Get and give feedback.
Provide opportunities to practice what is learned to assist retention (e.g. role-plays, simulations, modeling, observing).

Process:

Consider what your role is when coaching adults
Based on breakout/small group, is there anything we could add to this list

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Strategies for Coaching and Teaching Adults

Team teach—use co-presenters.
Use visual aids and videos.
Use PowerPoint effectively.
Make diagrams of key concepts.
Guide note-taking.
Encourage and use questions and provide answers.
Encourage group discussion.

Use brainstorming.
Involve learners through written participation.
Use role-plays or simulations.
Illustrate with a case study or practical examples.
Structure to solve a problem.
Prepare supplementary handouts.

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Enemies of Adult Learning

Our inability to admit that we don’t know
The desire for clarity all the time
Lack of priority for learning – “I don’t have time.”
Inability to unlearn
Ignoring the emotional dimension of learning
Ignoring the body as a dimension of learning
Confusing learning with acquiring information
Not giving permission to others to teach us
Lack of trust

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Factors to Think About with Adult Learning Opportunities:

Pedagogy vs. Andragogy
Adult Learning Theory
Generational Factors
Learning Styles
Growth vs. Fixed Mindset

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Select a one of the articles listed and be prepared to share reflections

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Focus Question:

Is our current implementation of professional learning in accordance with what we know about adult learning theory & best practice?

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Current v. Proposed Reality Activity: Part 1

Thinking about your school setting, what is your current reality regarding how the tenants of adult learning are embedded in your professional learning opportunities?

Document for reflection.

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Reflect:

What are your initial reactions to this current reality?

Does it reflect your experience as an adult learner? Why or why not?

What are the implications for your practice as a facilitator?

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Focus Question:

What considerations should I make in order for my facilitation of professional learning opportunities to be as effective as possible?

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Partnership Principles

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Equality

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Choice

Adult learners have experience and are cognizant of what will be beneficial to them as learners. Because of this, choice is extremely important - if adults do not see relevance in what they are learning, the changes of implementation decreases significantly.
Whenever possible, allowing teachers the choice to select for themselves what professional learning opportunities will be valuable to them will lead to higher levels of engagement. This could include offering them a menu of opportunities for professional learning or allowing specialized areas of study.

Example: If there is two hours designated to professional learning, do an overview of common content for the first hour, but then offer two “breakout” sessions options - both on the common content but with different focuses.
Example: If you are working on collaborative strategies - do a common overview but then allow teachers to a menu of strategies that they can choose from rather than telling them which ones they have to focus on.
Example: If you are implementing a book study, allow teachers to choose from two or three books and put them into groups based on their options.

As adults we like to make choices about what is important to us. When we are allowed choice, we feel that our opinions and professional judgement are valued.
One-size fits all PL becomes a problem for our specialized areas a lot. If there is a PL on math strategies, does the Music teacher and reading specialist need to attend? Is there another professional learning option that they could partake in during that time that would be more beneficial to them? Is there attendance about compliance or greater student learning?
While this can be more time consuming to plan for choice, it will lead to higher impact - staff will be more engaged and willing to implement.
Reflect back on professional learning in which you have been offered a choice and in those professional learning opportunities where you have not. Which was more engaging? How could you make this work in your district?

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Voice

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Reflection

Reflection is imperative to adult learning. By giving people (adults or kids) time to reflect on content, we increase the probability that they will internalize it and apply it.
There are a few things however, we need to keep in mind when we ask adults to reflect:

Allow ample time - a rushed reflection or debrief can feel frustrating. If there needs to be a time limit, be deliberate about that from the beginning so an individual or group can self-regulate their time.
Allow the opportunity to process information without their being a “right” answer.

Perhaps we have all encountered a time where we were asked to process something to later find out that there was an underlying objective the whole time. It can feel frustrating, and make people less likely to participate in further reflection.

Why is reflection so powerful? How does it increase learning and lead to application?

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Dialogue

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Praxis

Without praxis the likelihood of further application will decrease significantly.
This is the opportunity for adult learners to apply what they are learning to their own practice.
Perhaps you have been involved in a professional learning opportunity in the past where the entire session was spent on the content (reading strategies, collaboration, classroom management), and you never had the opportunity to think about or start planning for how this may apply to your own practice. Then you went back to your classroom, saw the pile of papers that you needed to get through, and promptly stuck the professional learning handouts in a file cabinet where they were never heard from again?
Without time to think and process what learning might look like in a real context, we are increasing the odds of that reflection never happening, and other variables getting in the way.
Another think-about concerning praxis that is related to that important principle of choice - when we are presenting new content or ideas to teachers, do we offer them the ability to decline? To ask further questions? To come forth with alternative ideas? To try it and have it not work? Is that OK?

If this is not an option, or it is not communicated to teachers, are we likely to get feedback or an accurate representation on the effectiveness of that initiative? Are we able to identify what is not working and make adjustments? If it is a skill issue, do we make it safe for those teachers to ask for help by signaling that it is OK if they need further assistance?

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Reciprocity

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Current v. Proposed Reality Activity: Part 2

Thinking about your school setting, what is the current reality regarding these facilitation think abouts and whether they are present in adult learning opportunities?

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Putting Partnership into Practice

Equality: What does it look like when equality is not a priority for a facilitator?

Choice: Why does choice lead to more engagement?

Voice: How do we ensure we hear the perspectives of the quietest of our staff members?

Reflection: Why is reflection so powerful? How does it increase learning and lead to application?

Dialogue: How does dialogue empower learning?

Praxis: How can we structure professional learning to ensure application takes place?

Reciprocity: How can being mindful of reciprocity encourage more engagement from participants?

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Presentation Prowess

Choice Seminar

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List of Choice Options -Exploration

“How to Avoid Death by Powerpoint ”
This Youtube video by David JP Phillips highlights 5 presentation design principles that will keep your audience engaged and focused on your message.
“14 Ways to Differentiate Professional Development ” & “10 Tips for Delivering Awesome PD ”
These articles discuss ways to differentiate professional development to offer more staff choice, and a list of “think-abouts” when designing effective PD.
“The #PreziTop100 Online Resources Every Presenter Should See ”
This comprehensive list of resources will allow you to sift through presentation models and elements to enhance your presentation - thinking prompts, videos, blogs, articles, and more.

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Share Out

What did you learn?
How is this learning relevant to your future work as a professional learning leader?
What are the most important takeaways from this resource?

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Optimistic Closure

One thing I plan to try from what I learned

One thing I will stop or change as a result of learning today

My next step is…

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Additional Resources

Iowa SEL Competencies
SEL 3 Signature Practices Playbook
Books: Daniel Pink, Drive- insights on motivation
Daniel Pink, To Sell is Human- someone who persuades others to take action.
Jim Knight, Partnership Principles- building relationships with adults.
Jim Knight, Coaching Approaches and Perspectives
Heath Brothers, Teaching that Sticks- strategies for getting your message across.
Blogs: Jim Knight, http://www.instructionalcoaching.com/radical-learners/
Diane Sweeney, https://www.google.com/search?q=diane+sweeney+blog&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8
How to Motivate Adult Learners
The Applications of Constructivist Learning
Theory & Social Learning Theory on Adult Continuous Learning Theory
Coaching & Adult Learning

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Thank you!