YoungAdultDifferences
From LiteracyTentWiki
Young Adult Learners
Does instruction look different for younger adult learners? If so, how?
When observing some adult literacy classes that specifically serve this population a few things stand out. This population needs A LOT of affirmation. Their interests are also different. They also have a shorter attention span. All of this impacts instruction. Do other people in the field have some insight into working with this population in the context of adult literacy education?
Stephanie Korber
6/22/05
I work at a grant site that serves 16-24 year olds in an economically challenged area of town. The site has two teachers, two case managers, a job readiness specialist, and a couselor. Even with all of these resources we find it very difficult to motivate these students and to see improvement. Many of them are being forced to come by their parents, grandparents, parole officers, etc. and don't really want to be there. A majority of them are well below grade level but think they will be here for a few months and then go get their GED. They get discouraged easily because of their misconceptions of what the GED entails. This school year we will be doing a lot more group activities and classes because the traditional self-directed approach to adult ed. does not work with this crowd. I would love to hear others' thoughts on what they do to motiviate their students.
Krista
7/29/05
Deja vu, Krista. My program recently completed a two year out-of-school youth grant, WIA Title II, and the whole process was an eye opener: for us, for the funder, and for our community partners. And, for reasons not named here, we are observing an ever increasing number of 16 - 20 year olds entering our program. Last program year it hit 20% in the night program. They leave school and return so soon, without achieveing the maturity and the experiences that are the foundation to success; they simply have the same expectations, the same behaviors -- and we have, very much, the same program structures that they did not succeed in before.
We now believe that these learners do have sufficiently different needs and situations to warrant a different program structure to succeed. The question for us is: do we have the resources to offer it? If not, do they have to "wait" until they reach a place in their lives which matches with what we can offer?
If we did have the funds, we learned two things first. (1) There has to be a staff person who genuinely loves working with this population, and who can turn that love into an effective force for success. Someone who can relate, but still be the responsible staff person. Someone who's on call when they need her/him, someone who can set limits but also recognize that their limits are often different from a middle-aged adult's. (2) Don't think in terms of a year. It can take years to achieve success. And after that young adult has achieved success and moved on, then follow up. Keep in touch for a year, more if necessary. Success has to be as much about them establishing themselves in the next step -- the job, the training program, the community college, &c. Helping to persist in success is as important as the moment of success.
Howard
08/01/2005
