Sunday, September 17, 2017

Improving Adult Education via / Authentic Relationships in Rural Education Communities.

As I begin to navigate through the process of educating adult learners, I am doing so by reflecting on the six significant learning pillars associated with adult learning. The first is foundational knowledge. It is important when making the appropriate recommendations for adult learners that you realistically accept the students’ ability and functional levels. Furthermore as we place and make determinations towards their learning outcomes and program goals to include remediation services, you must have adequately addressed their basic needs (i.e.) affective domain. In my practice as both a 
P-12 Educator/Administrator and Post-Secondary Educator, I currently use ACT Key-Train as an initial program assessment of the student’s foundational skills. 

     It also helps me place and path the student’s instructional goals. I am seeking greater success with this practice as I continue to use it with my adult students. I currently us it as readiness for their GED, Ready To Work / Career Readiness Certification and mostly for their personal improvement needs. In short, it is a user friendly on-line/hybrid resource relative to the education skills needs of adult learners (i.e.) locating information, reading for information, and applied mathematics. 

The process of application should direct how long in my opinion a learner will remain in a particular program. Often adult learners need to self-assess as well as have formal assessments provided to them. Many of my adult learners have been out of an educational setting for more than 10 years. This is why the concept of application is needed. We must determine goals and set timelines towards achieving them. The skills that are yet developing will guide the rate in which the student is making progress in their learning. 

     The outcomes should support the learners’ goals and objectives set collaboratively. In my work I see that the more consistent the learner is, in terms of their learning outcomes the greater the impact is on their path towards success. Career success and some level of advanced education should be available to all individuals. Post secondary organizations are improving in their recruitment towards making this happen (i.e.) short certificate programs, certificate programs, and associate degree programs.

Integration of new skills based on learning acquisitions is vital in the learning process. In this 21st Century it is most important that we offer more applied replications of modern resources in our curriculum development. Learning is yet the same and in some ways it is different in reflection of 20 years past. What I am noticing as a consistent pattern is the matter in which students learn. All learning is based on the resources available and the process in which these resources are used in the learning environment. The process of integration must be well adapted if the concept is going to be successful. Specifically, a collaborative approach must be in place in order to meet the needs of the students and to have measurable outcomes. This will consequently assist the evaluation process of programs as a means of continuous improvement. 

As an educator and administrator I often make the statement “you can have the best curriculum and the worst staff per its implementation or you can have the best in human resources and the worst in materials and resources”.  Human Dimension is a valuable entity in all organizations but in the context of educational organizations it is a must. Learning is a process that requires not only the appropriate curricula, but it is also logical to match similar personnel towards meeting the needs of a successful implementation process. In nineteen years of working with both P-12 and Post-Secondary settings, I am beginning to see a greater need to plan as a collaborative group as well as to share faculty characteristics. The more recent initiative in my work setting is dual enrollment. With this I see best practices emerging towards meeting the needs of our students within this authentic relationship. 

     Some are to share resources within programs. We often share students so why not consider sharing personnel. When must continue to plan together as we are finding that much of our curriculum is the same. We also have noticed favorable outcomes and a greater retention within our shared student populations. For example, dual enrollment in the Macon County Public School System and with Trenholm State Community College has increased from 15 – 111 in a three year relationship. As of FY: 2016/2017 there are twenty-one seniors who graduated high school with dual enrollment credit towards their associates degree. The human dimension concept should be favored to enable these outcomes. Success must be shared equally. We are using this learning pillar of organizational development to aide our students. Offering a humanistic approach will ultimately provide greater success towards our largest commodity; our students. 

You can not have success in any organization or function without caring. I recently developed a new initiative in my work setting “CTE STEM Student Send OFF”.  This was developed out of caring for the students that I work with. The process is simple, I often think of my successes and how I achieved them. This reflection then humbles me to impress on others to consider caring unconditionally of themselves towards the improvement of someone else. 

     In adult learning, there is a need to allow your adult students an opportunity to see you from different lenses. Often those lenses are you’re caring in the simplest manner. I have provided simplicity in my caring; offering a adult student a meal that we share together, offering a student a ride after class, attending a or community event with a student, etc . These are modest, but I have witnessed a more improved learning relationship between students and the instructional staff having demonstrated a genuine interest per their personal-selves. Caring is free and it works. 

Lastly, in the teaching of any individuals we often have to decide what is best. Learning how to learn is one of the concepts that are every changing. Methods in teaching often need to change. However things do not change because we fail to reflect on what has worked and what has not worked and to accept it. I see the practice of best teaching practices at a stand-still in some areas of service and instruction. 

     More directly, we fail to focus on how individuals learn and what is needed to learn and how to learn. In an effort to improve adult learning and learning in general we must reflect on how we as educators learned and then reflect on what could have been implemented differently. We must also focus on our new the generation of learners individually and how we must better direct their’ learning to learn processes. Intuitiveness is the nature having a solid inclination of what is considered insightful. Learning is indeed a science and must be considered as such. Methodology will continue to steady how we define learning. However, a more intimate view can provide a reflection per past and future best practices. A best wish will be to gain more personal development and to correlate those experiences with current practice. The change will come with a greater understanding of these six kinds of significant learning.  

Resources:
Fink, L. D. (2013). Creating significant learning experiences: An integrated approach to designing college courses (Rev.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Barr, R. B., & Tagg, J. (1995). From teaching to learning—A new paradigm for undergraduate education. Change, 27(6), 1–18.

Post by: 
Dr. Melvin Alonza Lowe, III, EdD, EdS, M.S., M.Ed., B.S.
Educational Director - 
Macon County Public School System
     lowemelvin724@gmail.com
     lowema@maconk12.org