Of Participation and Motivation in AE

1. Of Participation and Motivation in AE Chapter 3

2. AE Participation (Johnstone & Rivera, 1965) (M & C, 1999, pp. 47-48) • J & R: Adult= 21+, married or head of household. AE activity defined as gaining “knowledge, information or a skill” (M &C, 1999, p. 47) through full time, part time or self-directed instruction. • Typical Adult Learner (1965): 50% men/50% women, under 40, HS grad or more, married, kids, suburb, white collar full time worker, above-average income. 22% participation/practical/skill oriented learning, White? (M & C, p. 47).

3. Adult Participation/Typical Learner in 1999 • NCES (2002): Adults=non-institutionalized people age 16+ who were not in elementary or secondary education; • AE=Adult education activities included: • adult basic education and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses • apprenticeship programs • some programs leading to a formal (typically college) credential • courses taken for work-related reasons • courses taken for reasons other than work (non-work-related courses) (p. v).

4. Adult Participation/Typical Learner in 1999 II • Typical adult learner (NCES, 2002): Woman (all races), ages 16-54, professional engages in more work-related courses, others engage in more non-work related courses, more highly educated=more participation, married/other. 46% participation overall.

5. Activity: Need 4 Volunteers • Segment of Family Feud

6. Barriers to Participation • Time • Money • Family responsibilities • Interest • Lack of confidence • Irrelevant to life situation (class issues—Jarvis, 1985)

7. Activity 2: Barrier Break-Out Session • Divide into groups of 4 • You plan AE activities for a living (as a trainer, health educator, whatever…) • Decide on a particular workshop topic, intended audience, location, MOST importantly decide on 4 barriers of potential participants. • HOW WILL YOU ADDRESS THESE BARRIERS IN YOUR PLANNING SESSION?

8. Motivation Influenced by… (Wlodowski, 1985) • Attitude: Combo of “concepts, info, and emotions” (p.45) that predisposes us to respond to situations and others in different ways. We learn attitudes. • New learning is risky and our attitude is important in the learning situation. • Think of a time when your attitude influenced your learning (positively or negatively). Where were you? What were you doing? Where was the learning taking place? If your attitude was negative, what steps could you have taken to improve it, if any?

9. Motivation Influenced by… (Wlodowski, 1985) • Need: “internal force that leads the person in the direction of a goal” (p. 47 ). Need turns into desire when person wants to achieve goal.

10. Motivation Influenced by… (Wlodowski, 1985) • Stimulation: “Any change in our perception or experience with our environment that makes us active” (p. 51). • Find a person that you do not know in the class to be your partner. • Recall what activities you used in your classroom or that were used by an instructor in a class you took as an adult that caught your attention. Discuss this with your partner and write down these techniques.

11. Motivation Influenced by… (Wlodowski, 1985) • Affect: “Feelings, concerns or passions of the individual or group while learning” (p. 52) • Write down a particular incident in a learning environment that involved your emotions. Howwas your learning affected (positively and/or negatively)? • We’ve read about incidental learning. Think of a time when incidental learning and emotion were tied together.

12. Motivation Influenced by… (Wlodowski, 1985) • Competence: People want to have “effective interactions with their world” (p. 54). • Question to ponder: Are we as adult educators responsible for helping people become more competent in our classrooms or are THEY responsible for their own change in competence?

13. Motivation Influenced by… (Wlodowski, 1985) • Reinforcement: “Any event that maintains or increases the probability of the response it follows” (Vargas, 1977 as cited in Wlodowski, 1985, p. 56).