I went to two great session on Tuesday. The first was a discussion about designing classes and programs around adult learning styles by Mary Petrie and Anne Johnson of IverHills Community College. The presenters had so many great tips! Including a schedule page was #1 on their list also -- adults like to have all the information/due dates available on day 1 of the class. That of course is my experience also. Mary talked a lot about communicating in a positive, respectful manner and about being available on their schedule -- she holds office hours Tuesday evening from 9:00-10:00 (via Skype, email, and phone) and on Saturday. I try to be available Sunday evening and that is when I receive calls, on the rare times I do receive calls.
Adults are busy and very very scheduled, so they need rapid response times from us. That seems reasonable to me when we are talking about FT faculty, a bit of a problem for adjunct. We did all agree that posting times when you are online and available and what an expected response time would be was critical. Also a standardized schedule is helpful -- assignments always due the same day of the week and the same time is beneficial. Personally I know I couldn't keep track of a changing due day or time, so that makes sense to me.
Mary also worried about the reading skills of students, so includes a video "tour" of each assignment and of her syllabus.
Many more tips, but I am off to the beach. Photo credit to Classic Glass from Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbrannon/5456135712/, Egmont Key
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