Roles of an Adult Educator

Teaching Across Generations: Understanding and Motivating Generations.


I found this article particularly interesting as there were a number of very helpful teaching aids listed under “Messages that Motivate,” “What Works for You,” and “What Works Against You.” What I found especially interesting is the fact that as a teacher you must be able to recognize and understand the demographic that you are teaching to.

This may seem quite obvious to  teachers in grade school but as a teacher of Adult Education I have students ages varying from 17 years of age up to mid 60’s. This means that in my class I have 3 generations to teach. This is where the recognition of the Generational Differences becomes a major factor in the way to approach a class of adult learners. As a teacher I have to assess the generations in the class and be able to adapt my classroom preparation and presentation to ensure all receive the knowledge presented in a judicious and enjoyable atmosphere.

This article taught me the 3 generations in my class are quite unique in the ways that they learn. For example;

Baby Boomers  (1943 - 1960)

• Generally prefer organization
• No role playing
• Want plenty of time to practice

Gen X ers  (1961 - 1980)

• Like individual attention
• Life and school balance is important
• Prefer the use of graphs and bullets
• Want exciting materials in short lectures

Gen Y ers  (1981 - 2002)

• Use the most up to date references and aids
• Want lots of activities with several steps
• You must be very creative with presentations

By learning these few examples and further studying of Generational Differences in the classroom I’m sure is going to enhance my proficiency as a teacher. I found this article to be a great spring board into my next assignment…Trends of Adult Education.
   
Source;

Teaching Across Generations: Understanding and Motivating Generations.
Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence
Workshop Series - September 2012