Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Ken Desjardine
Graduate Student
Educational Communications and Technology
University of Saskatchewan
February 2009
Revision March 2009
Introduction
Distance education is becoming a common option for adult
learners to gain valuable skills, knowledge and experience. When
distance education is designed with the adult learner in mind it can be
a rich and valuable learning experience. In this paper, I will describe
what distance education is in terms of a definition and terminology. I
will look at characteristics of adult learners. Finally, I will discuss
distance education for adult learners and what needs to be done to
make learning from a distance successful for most adult learners.
Distance Education
Distance education (DE) can be referred to as open education,
online education, online learning or distance learning. Without getting
into the specific details of the definitions of each of these terms, we
will refer to D.E. as meaning the same as all these terms. D.E. has
been defined as, “…institution-based formal education where the
learning group is separated, and where interactive telecommunications
systems are used to connect learners, resources, and instructors.”
(Simonson et. al., 2006, p. 32).
Adult Learners
An adult learner is identified by Illinois State University as
“Historically, an adult learner/non-traditional student is someone who
is pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree, but who does not
meet the definition of a “traditional” college student. If you feel that
any of the following describe you . . . then you are considered an adult
learner/non-traditional student at Illinois State.”
(http://www.emas.ilstu.edu/adult_learner_services/who_is.shtml). The
former Adult Learner Services Task Force at Illinois State University
defined adult learners as, “lifelong learners who generally are 25 years
or older, and/or have additional responsibilities such as family, career,
military, or community, and are seeking a degree or other educational
offering (credit or non-credit) to enhance their professional and/or
personal lives.”
(http://www.emas.ilstu.edu/adult_learner_services/who_is.shtml). These
are rather standard and structured definitions that leave a lot of room
for knowing who an adult learner actually is. Apart from that, they
serve the purpose of distinguishing “who” we are talking about when
using the term Adult Learner (age, life position, purpose).
Stephen Brookfield (1995) states, “we are very far from a
universal understanding of adult learning.” It is understood that most
adult learners have many other responsibilities in their lives that they are
trying to balance along with their studies. Brookfield is suggesting that
there cannot be a set understanding of how adults learn because there
are too many different situations to be able to develop a true model of
how adults learn. “Indeed, a strong case can be made that as we examine
learning across the lifespan the variables of culture, ethnicity, personality
and political ethos assume far greater significance in explaining how
learning occurs and is experienced than does the variable of chronological
age.” (Brookfield, 1995, p.1)
Designing Distance Education for Adult Learners 3
students are bringing a lot more to the table due to their personal
experiences, which for most will be more extensive than most
“traditional” students. An adult learner will see the course through his
or her own worldview. They will be influenced by culture, beliefs,
values and family. An adult learner can bring a real cultural
perspective to a discussion when they have lived and experienced the
situation themselves. Their values and beliefs will be more evident
because they will be more defined as they have grown to understand
them better.
of their lives. It is also a challenge to make the step of shifting the way
ideas are expressed. When you are accustomed to face-to-face
discussions where there are many other ways of communicating, (e.g.,
facial expressions, tone of voice) “Electronic learning has been
depicted as less emotional and more impersonal” (Zembylas, 2008, p.
71).
When an adult decides to return to school or go to school for the
first time it is an immense decision. They must realize the
consequences and sacrifices that will be required in order to
accomplish the task. The adult learner may need to develop new skills,
such as using a computer or other technology they haven’t used in the
past. They will also need to be aware of the time commitment. Many of
these issues are difficult to approach from outside the course or
program. Many adult learners also have the challenge of balancing
their lives, which can include career, family, culture and many other
responsibilities. As we have discussed previously their lives don’t
change as a result of enrolling in a course, they just add one more
thing into their lives. Adult learners energy is dispersed among many
things. They are usually not able to be fulltime students and able to
comment 100%, even if they wish they could, to their studies.
Feedback
The response of the D.E. teacher is very important to the
learners and must be prompt and clear. Simonson et al. describes
feedback as, “Feedback allows the sender and receiver, teacher and
learner, to determine if the message was understood correctly.” (2006,
p. 89) They also state, “A well run-online course should provide regular
feed back to students.” (2006, p. 174) “Teaching online courses can be
very challenging and time consuming and requires extensive
preparation to ensure that things are done well and that students get
feedback within 24 hours of posting their responses.” (O’Lawrence,
2006, p. 49) When planning a D.E. course feedback must be an integral
part and focus of the overall design. If the designer and instructor are
the same person this will be easier to implement, but if the designer
and instructor are different then they must be communicating with
each other as to how they will provide the feedback to the students.
The feedback will primarily fall on the instructor and will need to be
available for quick and reliable feedback for each student.
Connecting to others
One of the prevalent concerns when it comes to D.E. is making
meaningful and important connections to classmates and the
Designing Distance Education for Adult Learners 9
Conclusion
Designing a distance education course for adult learners can be
a challenging and rewarding task. From the literature, it is possible to
identify a number key issues to keep in mind while designing a
distance education course.
• Situation and Support
• Technology and Support
• Time & Motivation
• Feedback
• Preparation, Organization & Self discipline
• Connecting to others
References
Alessi, S. M., & Trollip, S. R. (2001). Multimedia for learning: Methods and
development (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Ko, S., & Rossen, S. (2004). Teaching online A practical guide (2nd ed.). Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company.
Palloff, R. M., & Keith Pratt (1999). Building learning communities in cyberspace:
Effective strategies for the online classroom. Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult
Education Series. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2006). Teaching and learning at
a distance: Foundations of distance education (3rd ed.). New Jersey: Pearson.
Wiesenberg, F. (2001). The roller coaster life of the online learner: How distance
educators can help students cope. Canadian Journal of University Continuing
Education, 27(2), 33.