From Angst to Zest:
Empowering the
Non-Traditional Student
American Library Association
Library Instruction Roundtable
June 27, 2004
Angst
Feeling of anxiety
or apprehension
often accompanied
by depression
Zest
Spirited enjoyment; gusto;
keen, hearty pleasure or appreciation
The Goal:
Helping returning
adults to get from
feeling anxious and
apprehensive about
being a student to
enjoying and
appreciating the
experience
Typical Non-Traditional Student
•
•
•
•
•
•
Over 25
Part time
Commuter
Adult responsibilities
Often female
Increasingly person of
color or immigrant
Returning
• Returning to school after time off - Irene
• Returning to the workforce - Angie
• Returning to interaction with others - Claire
Useful Life of Knowledge
Lifespan
Social
change
25 30
40
50
70
80+
Ancient Renaissance 18th-19th 20th
21st
Rome
Centuries Century Century
Definition - Learning
• Internal changes that occur in our
consciousness
• Acquisition of knowledge, skill, or attitudes
Definition - Education
Those activities, events and conditions that
encourage learning, whether deliberate or
unintentional.
(Apps)
Purposes of Adult Education
1. Grow and develop
2. Solve practical problems
3. Increase work opportunities
4. Meet organizational needs
5. Examine community & society issues
(Caffarella)
Typology of Adult Education
• Formal
• Non Formal
• Informal (or self directed)
(Coombs, Prosser, Ahmed)
Learner Decides
What to Learn How to Learn
Formal
No
No
Non-Formal
Yes
No
Informal
Yes
Yes
(Mocker and Spear, 1982)
Theory of Andragogy
Art and science of
helping adults learn
(Lindemann, Knowles)
Andragogical Assumptions
Dependence
Self direction
Experience
Experience
Developmental
tasks
Readiness
Future
Immediate application
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
Andragogical Model
•
•
•
•
Diagnose learning needs
Formulate objectives
Design pattern of learning experiences
Evaluate results
Implications for Practice
• Adults must be involved in their own
learning
• Adults bring life experience and want to
utilize and build upon it
• Adults want to have some choice in the
direction of their own learning
• Adults want to be able to apply what they
are learning to real life situations
Grow’s Staged Self-Directed
Learning Model
HIGH –
willing and able
MODERATE –
willing but unable
INTERMEDIATE willing and somewhat able
LOW –
lack motivation and knowledge
Theory of Margin - M=L/P
• Margin of Life = Load divided by Power
• Load = family, work, community
responsibilities (ext.) and aspirations,
desires, expectations (int.)
• Power = ability, $, skills, support
• Need available margin to engage in learning
(McClusky)
Sources of Angst
Situational
• Cost
(includes child care)
• Time constraints –
too busy
• Lack of course relevance
• Personal problems – lack of a support system
Sources of Angst
Dispositional
• Lack of confidence –
lack of voice
• Lack of personal priority –
lack of interest
More Angst
Also correlate with:
• Socio Economic
Status
• Pre-adulthood
experiences
• Parents
educational
experience
Summing It Up
Like title of Sharon Draper’s book, a lot of
non-traditional students feel:
Not quite burned out,
but crispy around the edges
Stages of Development
•
•
•
•
Biological
Psychological
Cognitive
Socio-cultural
Impact of Aging
• Adults 25-45 learn
at nearly same rate
and same manner
as they would at 20
• Performance tasks
deteriorate; verbal
tasks do not
Biological Aging
• Loss of close vision
and hearing
• Declining reaction time
(fewer, lighter brain
cells)
• Disease – loss of
mobility, pain, fatigue
Senior Adults
• Some decline in
functioning between 60
and early 70s
• Few studies of healthy
adults beyond 70
• Test results differ if
factor of speed is
removed
Multiple Intelligences
People Smart
Word Smart
Body Smart
Picture Smart
Music Smart
Nature
Smart
Self Smart
Number
Smart
Sociocultural Factors
• Social roles and timing of life events
• Socially constructed notions of race, gender,
ethnicity, and sexual orientation
Social Roles
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Parent
Spouse
Worker
Child
Friend
Role changes call for new skills
Roles and age define appropriate behavior
Typical Learning Styles
Euro-American:
• Field independent
• Analytical
(parts to whole)
• Non-affective
• Abstract –
contextually sterile
problem solving
Non-Western:
• Field dependent
• Relational and holistic
(whole to parts)
• Affective
• Contextually rich
problem solving
Implications for Practice
• Use collaborative interaction & a cooperative
communication style
• Recognize feelings are a critical part
• Recognize learners wrestle with identity
• Encourage learners to find, fashion and use
their “authentic voice”
• Help learners share their changing sense of self
(Caffarella)
Challenge of Online Learning
• Blend technology, learning theory, and
strategy to create social presence
• Keep in mind:
–
–
–
–
–
Variability in learning styles
External motivation for isolated students
Building community
Working in collaboration
Fostering communications among learners.
According to Rogers
Learning rests not upon the teaching skills of the
leader, not upon scholarly knowledge of the field,
not upon curricular planning, not upon use of
audiovisual aids, not upon the programmed learning
used, not upon lectures and presentations, not upon
an abundance of books, though each of these might
one time or another be utilized as an important
resource.
No, the facilitation of significant learning rests upon
certain attitudinal qualities that exist in the personal
relationship between the facilitator and the learner.