Teaching Adult Learners SLP Essay
Teaching Adult Learners SLP Teaching adults can be both different and similar to teaching pre-adults in some ways.
The difference lies in the fact that teachers use lesser time on discipline, giving emotional support, directions, use varied teaching methodologies as well as use of learner experiences in the structuring the content. However, the conditions under which some methodologies should be used must be put into focus for not all conditions require the use of the same methodologies (Sewell & Mathews, 2002). Learner centered methods like group discussions should be encouraged in addition to the selection of teachers who are flexible in using different teaching methodologies in their instruction.Designing an effective educational plan Before the goals are set, the level of the learners’ performance should be established and their needs specifically and clearly defined. From this knowledge, the goals are set, putting all the objectives in a precise and concise manner. The objectives should follow Bloom’s Taxonomy of objective levels.
The cognitive should deal with what they should know, psychomotor what they should do and affective what they should feel (Sewell & Mathews, 2002). All the supportive adaptations or techniques should be spelt out and the expectations at the end of the year specified.The plan should also be realistic, goals should not be too many so as to hinder manageability or strain the resources. The learners too should not be overworked in terms of the expectations from them at the end of a given period.
Once the goals have been realized, the extent or realization should be measured and more challenging ones put in place. An educational plan should be in tandem with the goals as spelt in the health education curriculum.Principles of teaching adolescent learnersMost students do know why they are in the classroom situation. The teacher should tell the adult learner why all that he/she is teaching is of importance in their learning process. The learners come from diverse backgrounds and therefore have different learning styles. The teacher should respect their learning styles which include the auditory, visual and kinesthetic (Sewell & Mathews, 2002).
They should not be obstructed as they need to see what has been written on the wall, chart and so on. Provision of handouts and white boards is paramount in reinforcing what they hear from the teacher. The teacher should be audible and ask questions to ascertain that he/she is being heard. In kinesthetic learners, the teacher should give them an opportunity to actually do something so as to understand what is being taught. They should be given a chance to role-play as volunteers for instance in physical Education since they trust their emotions and feelings regarding what they are being taught. If they are to perform some exercises meant to reduce obesity, they should be adequately given such a chance.The learners need to experience what they are being taught, for instance experiments, skits, role playing, discussions, drawing or writing, activities which energize them due to the movements they make (Sewell & Mathews, 2002). They should be allowed to air their views as they are not tabula rasas; they have some personal experiences that can aid in the teaching-learning process.
The teacher should also make his/ her appearance for teaching when the learners are ready. The teacher should read their moods whether or not they are ready for a given lesson. They might be ready for one thing and the teacher has prepared for another. It is good to teach a bit of that which they would like to be taught (Sewell & Mathews, 2002). Lastly, students should be encouraged for this will make the teaching easier. They should be recognized in every little contribution they make however small but the tone should be right, not encouraging them with that tone meant for kindergarten kids because they will not be flattered.Conclusion In conclusion the paper has discussed in details the concept of designing health education instruction to adult learners.
The most important parameter that needs to be done is to expose the adult learners to varied learning activities, based on the affective, psychomotor and cognitive levels of understanding and they will improve their health literacy.ReferenceSewell, J. & Matthews, T. (2002): State officials guide health literacy teaching. Available at:http://www.csg.org/pubs/documents/healthliteracy.pdf , Retrieved on 12/8/2007
