3.3 Leading adult learners: preparing future leaders and professional  (Page 8/9)

Figure 2: Adult Learning Characteristics

Conclusions

This chapter has focused on the adult learner, how we learn and the need for educational leaders to understand these dynamics. What are the multi-media applications which connect to the visual, auditory, verbal and kinesthetic learner? How do the changing technology practices impact the learner? The answers to these questions are found in the remaining chapters of this book.

Key principles for leaders to know

Experiences of the adult learner continue to be the rich backdrop the educational leader can build upon. It also requires having educational leaders that are trained in learning theory – from a variety of perspectives, as found in this chapter.

Key principles for educational leader to understand are:

• Acknowledge the learners motivation and interests
• Mentor the adult learner
• Consider strategies to have them participate in their learning
• Utilize their life experiences in the activities provided
• Give them choices in planning their learning
• Explore their expectations for learning: work and/or personal related
• Provide problem centered activities
• Analyze each individually for their learning characteristic
• Lead using different approaches and strategies
• Create socialization opportunities in your activities
• Demand their attention through inspirational leadership
• Leading should be learner centered not educational leader centered

Case study: applying adult learning theories

It is the first day back from summer break. As the new principal, you desire to know more about the teachers in the school. You decide to do a learning activity with the teachers that will help to begin to know them and therefore, to lead them better. You ask them to think about their summer break. Did they travel? Did they teach summer school? Did they work at another job? Did they take flying lessons? Learn to scuba dive? Etc.

You ask them to respond to a specific open-ended question. Choose one style from the following four listed that most closely fits your style (that appeals most to you):

1. If you are a cognitivist combined with intellect theory , you might ask to describe how they learned something new from previous knowledge they already had. When did they realize they were constructing new ideas? Think outside the box? You would ask them to provide rich detail in what they believed they learned.
2. As a humanist, you might ask to describe the most emotional day they had this summer and tell why it was emotional. What was the outcome? How did you feel? What did you learn from the experience?
3. If you are a social cognitive constructivist and motivation theorist, you might ask them to describe what they learned from their peers and how they personally felt about it. Did you go along? Did you resist doing what your peers did? Why did you join in or decide not to join in?
4. An adult learner theorist might ask them to describe something they learned this summer and what were the steps that they did to learn? What strategies did they use or have to learn? What skills did they master? Were they successful in learning it? If so, why? If not, why not?