Philosophy of Adult Education
In the education of the adult learner a college or university’s role is to offer the adult learner a non-traditional academic experience. An instructor’s philosophy must include working diligently to motivate and inspire adult students in a student centered class (tutoring, friendly meetings for discussion purposes, social media contact, etc.), creating and maintaining a setting that fosters fulfilling course objectives, facilitating the integration of acquired information into a purposeful scenario, and providing situations which allow the adult student to teach others, demonstrate mastery, and locate resources (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1998). The adult learner needs to be accountable for his/her individual acquisition of knowledge and learning objectives, to cultivate life-long learning skills, and to establish a support system which allows for exploration and collaboration regarding the new learning (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1998).
In the education of the adult learner a college or university’s role is to offer the adult learner a non-traditional academic experience. An instructor’s philosophy must include working diligently to motivate and inspire adult students in a student centered class (tutoring, friendly meetings for discussion purposes, social media contact, etc.), creating and maintaining a setting that fosters fulfilling course objectives, facilitating the integration of acquired information into a purposeful scenario, and providing situations which allow the adult student to teach others, demonstrate mastery, and locate resources (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1998). The adult learner needs to be accountable for his/her individual acquisition of knowledge and learning objectives, to cultivate life-long learning skills, and to establish a support system which allows for exploration and collaboration regarding the new learning (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 1998).
Ideas of Learning in Higher Education
My ideas of teaching derive from two models of
teaching: objectivism and collaborativism. By including analysis and
resequencing of content, I advocate that knowledge can be transferred from
teachers to learners (Gogus, 2012). At the same time, I affirm the interaction
among students in the learning process (Shi, Fan, & Yue, 2012) as well as
promotion of group skills including listening, communication, and
participation.
Desired Outcomes
My goal is to inspire student growth providing them
with knowledge of the different issues addressed in the different courses.
Students should be able to demonstrate the application of the various elements
required by the course. To be able to achieve this goal, I will utilize multiple
teaching and learning strategies including lectures, group discussions, video
presentations, role play, etc.
Diversity Issues in the Classroom
My understanding of diversity issues in the classroom derives from the fact that students are different by age, background, socioeconomic status, gender, etc. This is starting point in order to apply certain teaching method and/or strategy. At the same time, every student has to have the opportunity to express personal opinion and to address issues significant for the student academic growth.
Teaching Outcomes and Student Learning Connection
Assessing student learning is not an easy task. In that sense, I would utilize various assessment methods including written exam / test, critical book / article review, and written essay. Throughout connection between teaching outcomes and students learning, my goal is to allow student to process and understand the course content.
Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness
The different methods of teaching effectiveness in higher education can be applied. One of the most familiar methods I will utilize is feedback from students and self-evaluation (McKeachie & Svinicki, 2011). Moreover, I consider that teacher has to be evaluated based on the types of students he / she actually taught (Everson, Feinauer, & Sudweeks, 2013).