Creating Courses for Adults

Download or read book Creating Courses for Adults written by Ralf St. Clair and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-01-08 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Become an effective adult educator by approaching teachingsystematically As the author describes at the beginning of Creating Coursesfor Adults, "The big idea of this book is that education foradults has to be designed." Whether in basic skills training,English language classes, professional development workshops,personal interest courses, or formal degree programs, good teachingtends to conceal all the planning and decisions which had to bemade in order to present participants with a seamless and coherentprocess for learning. The author posits that nobody is a completelyintuitive teacher and that everybody has to make a series ofchoices as they put courses together. The decisions they make areimportant and far-reaching, and deserve to be consideredcarefully. Starting with the three core factors which must be taken intoaccount when creating courses, Creating Courses for Adultswalks readers through a manageable process for addressing the keydecisions which must be made in order to design effectivelearning. Instructor factors are what the teacher brings to theteaching and learning process, such as experience andpreferences. Learner factors are the influences that students bringwith them, including their past experiences and expectations forthe class. Context factors include the educational setting, whetherin-person or online, as well as the subject matter. Readers of Creating Courses for Adults will learn asystematic approach to lesson and course design based on researchinto the ways adults learn and the best ways to reach them, alongwith pointers and tips for teaching adults in any setting.