Safe/Successful Start for Adult Learners
Students vary significantly in their learning abilities, and each learner has a distinct way of engaging in the learning process. Teachers and educators have skills and knowledge to curate their teaching methods to ensure maximum positive outcomes. Adult learners, as is with children, also require targeted learning structures, and the beginning of their learning program sets the tone for the entire period. The use of icebreakers is useful in establishing a positive tone because it eases the relationship between the learner and teacher; it assures students of a safe space and effectively kickstarts the learning process.
Nurses require continuous medical education as the field of healthcare diversifies almost always. A ‘let’s discuss’ icebreaker is appropriate for a nursing audience. This icebreaker begins with a topical suggestion from the instructor that the students discuss. If, for example, the educator intends to teach a topic on wound dressing, they begin by an informal conversation letting the nurses express their encounters with different types of wounds. They would start by saying, “Let’s discuss your experiences with wound dressing.” The students can discuss the topic question within small groupings in the class or may voice out their experiences to the general audience and the educator. According to Herrman, this method tells the class that the educator appreciates their levels of knowledge and their expertise (Herrman, 2019). This icebreaker changes the learning process from instruction to a collaborative discussion. The nurses identify their knowledge deficiencies, and this sets the learning curve as well as the content.
In a day’s work, a registered nurse assesses patients, offers healthcare services to patients, assists in doctor procedures, and provides information to patients. Education for nurses serves to advance their medical knowledge to deliver better services. As Herrman explains, nursing education addresses specific needs, which include; critical thinking, decision-making, and theory application in the clinical setting (Herrman, 2019). The nurses deal with a variety of clinical presentations and require the integration of previous experience and new education to be efficient. This icebreaker will identify and acknowledge their unique experiences, which initiates a good relationship between the students and the teacher. The icebreaker is appropriate for registered nurses as it starts a student-based learning structure that fills into what they already know.
Adults in penal institutions often show interest in getting their GEDs and take classes offered in prison. According to Gironda, “icebreakers are generally defined as warm-up activities or getting to know each other exercises that individuals will conduct to break the ice and facilitate communication.” (Gironda, 2019, pp.88). Consider the tension between inmates, and with the educator curbed with a criminal record and the shame of taking basic education classes in their adulthood, communication can be difficult to initiate. An appropriate icebreaker for such an audience is a game that diffuses the tension and delineates them from their inmate status. The game would begin as a ‘getting to know each other exercise’ that incorporates their expectation by taking the class. The instructor asks the students to describe themselves using one word and proceed to give a short prospect from the class. Other students will then try to guess what the others say until most of them have it right.
Adults locked up in penal institutions are known only by the term inmate or their numbers. Cai et al. (2019) identified that those that seek primary education while locked up in the institution need numeracy and literacy proficiency to help them when they get out. According to Patrie, knowledge gaps in communication skills, understanding human behavior, and specialized instruction for learning disabilities exist within correctional institutions (Patrie, 2017). The inmates engaging in this icebreaker are looking to advance their knowledge, achieve education targets they did not meet before being locked up, some may be violent, and opposing authority. The essential part of correctional education is how educators refer to people in the class. The icebreaker introduces the inmates to the educator, and they can relate to them by their name or by calling them students.
Establishing a relationship and technical definitions early in a learning program is crucial to the success of the program. According to Herrman, the use of less threatening or bombarding strategies at the beginning of learning creates ground for progression (Herrman, 2019). Educators need to ease into students incarcerated in penal institutions. These students face stereotypes both in being an inmate and wanting to get an education. As Gironda opines, icebreaker activities challenge stereotypes. The activity introduced above gives the inmates a chance to present information that describes them other than their criminal history. This activity caters to the specific needs and characteristics of the inmates and ensures a successful start of their learning program.
For a safe and successful start for adult learning, educators need to evaluate their audiences and curate their programs to suit their specific needs. Icebreakers are particularly efficient in creating a good foundation for adult learning classes. The icebreakers, designed for particular audiences, tender to the unique characteristics of each of the student set and sets the ground rolling for the learning program. Teachers create or reference to these openers to solve problems of communication between students and with them to ensure that the student-teacher relationship is productive and produces desired outcomes.
References.
Cai, J., Ruhil, A. V., & Gut, D. M. (2019). Prison-based Education: Programs, participation, and proficiency in literacy/numeracy. Washington, DC: Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies Gateway.
Gironda, L. A. (2019). Cross-Cultural Practices of Adult Educators in Blended Global Education (Doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University).
Herrman, J. W. (2019). Creative teaching strategies for the nurse educator. FA Davis.
Patrie, N. (2017). Learning to be a Prison Educator. Journal of Prison Education and Reentry, 4(1), 17-24.