Exploring the Changing Face of Higher Education: Instructional Technologies, Distance Education & Adult Learners by Cynthia D. Hollingsworth

The Influences of Distance Learning on Adults by Henry O’Lawrence

Adult Learner and Distance Education

My final blog entry for the semester will focus on the review of two articles: The influences of distance learning on adult learners and Exploring the changing face of higher education: Instructional technologies. distance education, and adult learners. The articles will be reviewed in relation to the topic of adult learners and touch on some important issues concerning adult learners and distance education. I will provide some additional literature and commentary to expand the discussion beyond the scope of the articles.

Adult learners and distance education is a topic that has been central to a lot of the research, professional work, and/or area of study for this class. However, many of the issues presented in these two articles are most relevant to the work of Rebecca and Allan.

A relevant area of discussion that emerged from Hollingsworth is related to the changing landscape of higher education. The article provides some examples of how institutions of higher education (IHE) are working to meet the needs of adult learners through the flexibility in calendar and scheduling, academic content, modes of instruction and availability of learning services. Specifically, the author raised the issue that, j6

…as recently as 1997, the Commission for a Nation of Lifelong Learners found that ‘many current higher education practices are ill adapted to the needs of employers and adult learners. They pose barriers to participation, including a lack of flexibility in calendar and scheduling, academic content, modes of instruction and availability of learning services ... (Hollingsworth, p. 253).

Schools of continuing education, such as NYU’s SCPS are well established in IHE. Other examples include Boston University and UCLA. For those schools that are well established and specifically target adult learners, have they ignored these issues? Are these new issues or are these old issues that need new ways of addressing them?

I would argue that the issues for the adult learner in terms of flexibility, scheduling, academic content have always been present. However, in today’s market the needs are changing. So therefore universities have to address the same issues but in a different way. Here’s a little excerpt from my dissertation that reviews the current situation related to continuing education:

The job market is constantly changing: new sectors are always in need of trained professionals, while, at the same time, other sectors become less likely to accept new graduates. There is an increasing need to supply the market with newly trained professionals. Consequently, the demands of employers act as a catalyst for curriculum and program changes in higher education (LaPidus, 2000). Larry Cuban (2002) has argued that, within universities, programs curricula are subject to the most changes in their structure, culture, and processes, therefore, when market changes occur, they may affect various programs of study... . Today, students are in a position to be more selective regarding their choices in the graduate programs. Students invest their time and resources in advanced degrees because holders of graduate degrees are believed to make one a more marketable candidate in many work contexts. It is incumbent upon such programs to recognize their obligation to the vast majority of students who use their graduate degrees as currency in the job market. Students are demanding more profession-related knowledge and practical skills so they may better prepare themselves to function in the workplace.

Some suggestions to address adult learners needs are:

• Just-in-time instruction
• Synchronous communication and increase modes of communication

Some examples of what universities and colleges are doing to provide more accessibility and flexibility for adult learners are:

• Reduced costs of degrees
• Increased online course/degree offerings

To further advance the discussion by Hollingsworth, O’Lawrence (2006) presented an interesting set of research questions directed at adult learners:

• What influences adult learners to participate in distance education?
• What motivates adult learners?
• What deters adult learners?

The findings indicate that adults enjoy the flexibility and self-tailored learning that distance education provides. These findings seem to support the literature in this area. However, self tailored learning in this article is defined as allowing student to learn at their own pace, in their preferred medium or in a more comfortable environment (O’Lawrence, 2006, p. 48). How do these findings relate to the literature we’ve been reading on constructivism, heutagogy, andragogy, and self-pace, self directed learning? In addition, O’Lawrence (2006) found that “the most significant drawback is that some of the adult learners lack self-discipline and time management skills” (p. 48). Wow! So what do we do? Do we design self-paced instruction for learners who have difficult managing their time and lack self-discipline to complete the self-paced “activities” or do we structure learning in a way that provides some flexibility for learners using techniques to help students manage their time and motivate them to engage in the classroom? Does self-pace learning translate into “I’m a busy adult and I want to complete my assignments when I have time?” Does it make sense for learning to happen at the pace of the student – can it or does it cause some discontinuity in learning the content. These are some important questions for us to think about and I hope we can discuss them during class on Tuesday.

For those of you studying adult learners and continuing education this is an excellent resource:

Kohl, K. J. & LaPidus, J. B. (Eds.), Postbaccalaureate futures: New markets, resources and credentials. Phoenix: The Oryx Press.