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Creating Courses for Adults: Design for Learning
Become an effective adult educator by approaching teaching systematically As the author describes at the beginning of Creating Courses for Adults, "The big idea of this book is that education for adults has to be designed." Whether in basic skills training, English language classes, professional development workshops, personal interest courses, or formal degree programs, good teaching tends to conceal all the planning and decisions which had to be made in order to present participants with a seamless and coherent process for learning. The author posits that nobody is a completely intuitive teacher and that everybody has to make a series of choices as they put courses together. The decisions they make are important and far-reaching, and deserve to be considered carefully.Starting with the three core factors which must be taken into account when creating courses, Creating Courses for Adults walks readers through a manageable process for addressing the key decisions which must be made in order to design effective learning.Instructor factors are what the teacher brings to the teaching and learning process, such as experience and preferences.Learner factors are the influences that students bring with them, including their past experiences and expectations for the class.Context factors include the educational setting, whether in-person or online, as well as the subject matter. Readers of Creating Courses for Adults will learn a systematic approach to lesson and course design based on research into the ways adults learn and the best ways to reach them, along with pointers and tips for teaching adults in any setting.
240 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 8, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 5, 2022
As far as textbooks go, this one was not only entertaining and insightful to read, but offered really valuable practical information on how to involve learners in the teaching and assessment process. I love how this book explored various areas, such as feedback, assessment, learner transfer, course design...etc. I feel like I will keep this book and refer back to it for a while as I enter my teaching career :) I also found the case study examples to be relatable and informative!
January 6, 2025
Compelling read on what questions to ask yourself before/during/after creating courses for adults. I think there could have been some more instructional design aspects, but overall good reflection questions and considerations
July 4, 2015
A valuable read even if you are a veteran of adult education
In my career as an educator, I have created approximately twenty new classes in mathematics and computers. The range of students was from community education through college credit course to contract training for businesses. Within this contextual background I can say that there is one constant when creating courses and that is, “every class is different, sometimes wildly so.”
Like their traditional student colleagues, some adult students are just there to get their degree so they can advance to a better position with a higher salary. For some, their job title changes immediately after graduation with a raise in pay even though the job they do has not changed. All they want to do is follow the script with no variation or surprises.
Others are there to learn a few specific skills, my best example of this was when I was teaching a community education class called “Computing for the Older Adult.” In this case, nearly all of the people were in the class to learn two things, how to use email so that they could stay in touch with their children and grandchildren and how to search for people that they lost touch with years and decades ago.
I opened the class by following the scripted book but after about ten minutes one of the students raised his hand and told me, “Charlie, this is what we really want to learn. Can you do that?” To do it I had to drop the script for the class and wing the rest of it, difficult to do but the people were so appreciative. In other classes the people are there because they have been told either, “You must learn this subject if you are to remain employed here” or “You need to take this class to prepare for this major change.” In both cases a major stressful backdrop.
In this book St. Clair does an effective job in describing this range of challenges when dealing with adult learners. It is at times extremely difficult but can be so rewarding when someone comes up to you and is sincerely grateful for the opportunites your class has given them.
Most of the subjects covered are those that one could surmise before cracking the book open. Topics such as:
*) How do people learn?
*) How context drives design.
*) How to make the choice regarding the formality of the class. Important yet simple things like whether to address you by your first name or using a more formal designation.
*) Make sure all understand the objectives but be ready to fly off on a major tangent if there is a very pressing desire on the part of the students. This can be the most rewarding thing for both students and instructor.
*) How is feedback regarding the educational tactics solicited, provided and handled when received?
*) The timing and processing of course evaluations.
*) Some of the advantages and disadvantages of having the students work in small groups. How to avoid the emergence of a dominant personality in a small group.
While the presentation is sometimes a bit of a tedious read, the value of the content makes this book worth reading. Everyone from veterans to rookies in the area of teaching adults will find much of value here.
This review also appears on Amazon.
In my career as an educator, I have created approximately twenty new classes in mathematics and computers. The range of students was from community education through college credit course to contract training for businesses. Within this contextual background I can say that there is one constant when creating courses and that is, “every class is different, sometimes wildly so.”
Like their traditional student colleagues, some adult students are just there to get their degree so they can advance to a better position with a higher salary. For some, their job title changes immediately after graduation with a raise in pay even though the job they do has not changed. All they want to do is follow the script with no variation or surprises.
Others are there to learn a few specific skills, my best example of this was when I was teaching a community education class called “Computing for the Older Adult.” In this case, nearly all of the people were in the class to learn two things, how to use email so that they could stay in touch with their children and grandchildren and how to search for people that they lost touch with years and decades ago.
I opened the class by following the scripted book but after about ten minutes one of the students raised his hand and told me, “Charlie, this is what we really want to learn. Can you do that?” To do it I had to drop the script for the class and wing the rest of it, difficult to do but the people were so appreciative. In other classes the people are there because they have been told either, “You must learn this subject if you are to remain employed here” or “You need to take this class to prepare for this major change.” In both cases a major stressful backdrop.
In this book St. Clair does an effective job in describing this range of challenges when dealing with adult learners. It is at times extremely difficult but can be so rewarding when someone comes up to you and is sincerely grateful for the opportunites your class has given them.
Most of the subjects covered are those that one could surmise before cracking the book open. Topics such as:
*) How do people learn?
*) How context drives design.
*) How to make the choice regarding the formality of the class. Important yet simple things like whether to address you by your first name or using a more formal designation.
*) Make sure all understand the objectives but be ready to fly off on a major tangent if there is a very pressing desire on the part of the students. This can be the most rewarding thing for both students and instructor.
*) How is feedback regarding the educational tactics solicited, provided and handled when received?
*) The timing and processing of course evaluations.
*) Some of the advantages and disadvantages of having the students work in small groups. How to avoid the emergence of a dominant personality in a small group.
While the presentation is sometimes a bit of a tedious read, the value of the content makes this book worth reading. Everyone from veterans to rookies in the area of teaching adults will find much of value here.
This review also appears on Amazon.
March 27, 2017
The book is missing to huge amount of literature on program planning, which is so similar to the book idea. Intentionally? Because of ignorance?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews