3.+Tips+for+Instructors

=Tips For Instructors to Motivate Adult Learners =

[|Raymond Wlodkowski], in his book entitled, "//Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn//", states that there are five instructor characteristics refered to as, "five pillars of motivation", which an instructor needs to motivate adult learners.

The Five Pillars of Motivation

 * 1) ** Expertise ** - As instructor, we need to have the expertise in what we teach and also acknowledge the expertise and life experience that adult learners bring into learning.
 * 2) **Empathy** - Instructor needs to have empathy for their learners, to understand their perspectives and emotions they bring to their learning.
 * 3) **Enthusiasm** - It is important to instill enthusiasm in learners by role modeling enthusiasm and commitment in what we teach.
 * 4) **Clarity** - Clarity in our instruction is another element that is needed so that the learners can understand the objectives and assessment criteria upon which to focus their motivation to achieve learning goals
 * 5) **Cultural Responsiveness** - Wlodkowski states that cultural responsiveness is to respect and to connect socially with our learners by creating an inclusive learning environment and to acknowledge the diversity in different perspectives and different ways of learning that learners bring to the learning environment.

Wlodkowski believes that lessons must contain 4 key Elements to Motivate adult learners.

4 Key Elements to Motivate Adult Learners

 * 1) **Class environment (safe and secure) **
 * 2) **Tasks must be pertinent/relevant. **
 * 3) **Tasks must be challenging. **
 * 4) **Learners must feel that they are acquiring a competence **

Wlodkowski also encourages instructors to consider how emotions and positive feedback can affect adult learner motivation.

**Emotions** or the affective domain is more related to initiating action, while persistence seems to be more related to intrinsic factors (goal orientation, volition). Instructors can promote a positive affective atmosphere in the classroom by maintaining levels of optimism and enthusiasm, and increasing security or decreasing threats to self-esteem. Instructors can promote learning by encouraging learners to feel good, not bad.

**Positive reinforcement** is normally used by instructors who are teaching participants new skills. Reinforcement should be part of the teaching-learning process to ensure correct behaviour. Instructors need to use it on a frequent and regular basis early in the process to help the students retain what they have learned. Then, they should use reinforcement only to maintain consistent, positive behaviour.

Teaching Strategies
Although we cannot predict or guarantee what or how individuals learn, instructors can use strategies and guidelines based on Wlodkowski's suggested elements to effectively motivate adult learners. Some of these strategies include...


 * Set a feeling or tone for the lesson. Instructors should try to establish a friendly, open atmosphere that shows the participants they will help them learn.
 * Make the material relevant, as close to the actual requirements of that person's job.
 * Explain why certain assignments are made and their relevance to the overall course or training session.
 * Set an appropriate level of difficulty. The degree of difficulty should be set high enough to challenge participants but not so high that they become frustrated by information overload.
 * Provide specific feedback to the participants on their learning results.
 * Participants must also see a reward for learning. The reward can be simply a demonstration of benefits to be realized from learning the material. Adults must see the benefit of learning in order to motivate themselves to learn the subject.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Use practical, hands-on training sessions over general, theory-oriented classes. Adult learners want a learning outcome which can be put to use immediately, in concrete, practical, and self-benefiting terms.

Presenting Challenging Tasks to Adult Learners
Adults learn differently than children and therefore we need to present them with different challenges. It is important for instructors to keep adult students engaged and encourage them to feel as though they are aquiring a competence. Often adult students may feel as though they already know everything when they go into the classroom. It is important that instructors challenge them and encourage them to learn a new skill, or even master a skill that they may not have a firm grasp on.


 * Reasons to Challenge Students**
 * Keep them motivated
 * Keep them interested
 * Prevent boredom


 * Ways to Challenge Students**
 * With assignments, essays and group projects
 * Make the tasks challenging and yet achievable
 * Implement subgoals at different stages of learning

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By being flexible and willing to adapt to the needs of the adult learners, the instructor can be a motivating force in the classroom!