active learning 4

I. Connection Between Topic and Adult Learners' Culture, Community, and Society

A. Culture

· The classroom environment must incorporate a culturally relevant curriculum to the adult learners and subsequently provide adult learners with self-directed learning that suits their needs.

· This should also lead to peers getting a different perspective of the topic based on others' culture.

· Ahmad and Majid (2010) found that there is a high connection between SDL and culture.

· A strong influence of cultural ways and SDL

· Culture can affect the learners readiness, communication, and learning

· Adult readiness is a high indicator of a successful self-directed learner

B. Community and Society

· Huang (2002) found that constructivist classrooms led to more development of a good relationship of peers/educators, thus leading to more openness and connection to the material.

· The connection between learners and culture will lead to a higher-level learning experience

· Though community and society can help adult learners, they do carry more responsibilities that can be hurtful to learners, mainly self-directed learners who might get distracted more quickly than the traditional learner.

C. Technology

· Through the evolution of technological advancements, adult learners are now more inclined than ever to get back into higher education and start or finish their degrees.

· Most adults or non-traditional learners come into higher education with past experiences under their belt.

· Experiences can be educational or workplace

· Those experiences can lead to better connections in a constructivist type of classroom.

· Through advancements in technology, adult learners become self-directed learners

· One consequence of technology is how it is ever-evolving and changing

· It makes it harder for adult learners to keep up with how to use certain features.

II. Developmental Characteristics of Adult Learners in Relation to Topic

A. Constructivist type of learners

· Curiosity

· Ability to think critically

· Ability to make a connection to past experiences to current concepts

· Cercone (2008) most adult learners are highly motivated

· Without these developmental characteristics, it will be hard for learners to fully gain the concepts of a constructivist type of classroom (Cercone, 2008)

B. Self-Directed type of learners

· Internally motivated, self-motivated, self-discipline – as most of the work is done by themselves (Cercone, 2008; Zhu, Bonk, and Doo, 2020)

· Adaptability

· Forward-thinking

· Problem-solving ability

· Ability to look beyond the material to make connections

· Task oriented (Cercone, 2008)

· Having the ability to be a self-directed learner should not be overlooked. It is difficult for many learners to be SDL. Through work, age, and motivational factors, self-directed learners can combat almost anything (Cercone, 2008).

· One negative to being a self-directed learner is when the course at hand requires the learner to work amongst other learners who might not take the initiative as some self-directed learners.