Engaging the Adult Learner Generational Mix.

Abstract

Abstract Educators and Trainers both focus on learning theory when teaching. In the workforce, as well as in higher education, current literature pertaining to learners tends to lump into the same category. Scant research exists that reviews the learner through a generational lens. This paper examines the elements that engage and disengage learners in multiple classroom settings through a generational perspective. The authors suggest implications for education professional practices based on understanding as a teacher/trainer that generational characteristics influence expectations of how materials will be taught. Introduction How learn, preferences of learners, and characteristics of learners are fields of study packed with research and literature. In fact, workforce development, training programs, and human resource development professionals educate individuals - learners. However, the literature does not address the fact that the characteristics that are applied to all adults are in reality a mix of distinct generations of learners with different histories, preferences, and values. This lack of acknowledgement is concerning for any trainer or educator who teaches an adult authence, which may include a mix of generations and, within the mix, a variety of learning characteristics. In order to establish healthy training and educational programs which contribute to the well being of organizations, the learning styles, values, and preferences of each generation must be considered. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of three different generations of learners and to compare the elements that engage learners through a generation lens. Our data collection included approximately 60 students from two graduate-level courses who were asked to fill out surveys several times throughout the semester. Brookfield's (1995) Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) was adapted to fit the design of the courses, and the learners self identified their generation. The results were analyzed through both the andragogical model (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2005) as well as through a generational lens. Literature Review Malcolm Knowles (1977), an educator, developed the paradigm of Andragogy and is attributed with popularizing and operationalizing the concept, which is defined as the art and science of helping learn (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, p. 61). The practice of Andragogy, unlike pedagogy, puts the focus on the learner - the - and not on the teacher. Andragogy tends to emphasize the process of teaching over the content that is being taught. Knowles originally identified four andragogical assumptions which were later expanded to six in the andragogical model put forth by Knowles, Holton, & Swanson (2005). The model is part of a learning theory system and includes six assumptions about adults: (1) the need to know; (2) the learners' self-concept; (3) the role of the learners' experiences; (4) readiness to learn; (5) orientation to learning; and (6) motivation. Brookfield (1995), an education scholar, designed the CIQ which invites student reflections, perspectives, and insights on what constitutes their learning. The CIQ explores pedagogical, environmental, and relational sources of engagement, disengagement, excitement, and anxiety. The CIQ sustains Brookfield's idea of critical conversation among students so that they may increase their awareness of choices that foster and impede democratic processes in the classroom (p. 111). The CIQ used in this study served as a source of faculty insight into student learning preferences through self reporting data asked on the questionnaire. Generation Definitions Three distinct generations of co-exist in the workforce and higher education today, Baby Boomers, born between 1943 and 1960; Generation-X, born between 1960 and 1980; and the most recent generation, Millennia, born between 1981 - 2002 (Goldman & Schmalz, 2006). …

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