Creating a Learning Environment We spent a great deal of time discussing learning styles during our first class periods specifically as relating to adult learning. The focus of this class as evidenced by the title College Teaching is geared towards the teaching of college students who typically are going to be in the under-30 age bracket. As potential college-level and adult education teachers, I believe we also need to consider the particular motivations of the college students in addition to their learning styles. The motivations may be very different and may not be necessarily age related. Although one certainly cannot customize the class to accommodate the expectations of all class members I do believe it is necessary to understand these specific motivations. It could be that their attendance is due to simply an interest in the subject, a desire to get away from their normal environment, to meet a work requirement or for professional advancement or they just want the social interaction that an adult learning environment provides. Is it possible that at the higher college levels and graduate levels that the measurement of the amount of learning that took place during the course could be directly related to this motivation? Seeking to understand this motivation is something that I feel is rarely addressed at the college level and in most adult education environments to which I have been exposed. Perhaps teachers should seek an understanding or at the very least an articulation by the student what his or her expectations are of the class and the teacher and a real assessment by both as to the purpose of the students presence in the class. Once again, I understand that as teachers we cannot always take into account everyones expectations but at the very least we can challenge the students to think about why they are there and what they expect to learn. In a way this is taking them through the experiential learning cycle pr...
