EDU 528, WEEK 6, PART 1: Establishing Inclusion Among Adult Learners

Slide # Topic Narration

Slide 1 Introduction Welcome Methods of Teaching in Adult Education. In this
lesson, we will discuss Establishing Inclusion Among
Adult Learners.

Next slide.
Slide 2 Topics The following topics will be covered in this lesson:

Understanding dimensions of intercultural nonverbal
communication;

Engendering a feeling of connection among adults; and

Creating a climate of respect among adults.

Next slide.
Slide 3 Understanding
Dimensions of
Intercultural
Nonverbal
Communication
The feeling of connection draws forth learners motivation
because their social needs are met. Feeling included,
people are freer to risk the mistakes true learning involves
as well as to share their resources and strengths.

The study of intercultural communication is becoming
more important because international migration is at an all-
time high. There are two fundamental nonverbal
differences between intercultural communication namely
space and time. In the United States time is considered as a
commodity that can be wasted, spent, managed, and used
wisely. In some cultures, they have a relational
understanding of time. Time moves to the rhythms of
nature, day, or seasons and concepts of seconds, minutes,
and hours have no real meaning.

Research has shown that cultures differ in the use of
personal space, and also kinesic behavior like facial
expressions, body movements, and gestures. It is possible
that a gesture may signal warmth in one culture, while the
same gesture signals something insulting in another
culture.
Differences in kinesic behavior can determine a number of
things in the learning environment such how one gets the
floor in conversation, shows deference, or respect,
indicates agreement or disagreement, and approval or
disapproval.

There are a number of dimensions of nonverbal
communications across cultures. These dimensions include
immediacy, individualism and collectivism, gender, power
distance, and context.

Next slide.
Slide 4 Understanding
Dimensions of
Intercultural
Nonverbal
Communication,
continued
Immediacy behaviors are actions that simultaneously
communicate warmth, closeness, and availability for
communication and approach rather than avoidance.
Examples of immediacy include smiling, touching, eye
contact, and being at closer distances. Immediacy
behaviors are also called expressive behaviors. Different
cultures display different degrees of immediacy or
interpersonal closeness. Some are contact cultures, those
that display a considerable amount of contact and stand
closer. Those that are low-contact cultures tend to touch
less and stand farther apart.

Cultures differ in terms of individualism and collectivism.
Some cultures like those of Europe, Australia and North
America north of Rio Grand tend to be individualistic.
Cultures like those of Africa and Latin America tend to be
collectivist. Individualists are focused toward achieving
personal goals, by themselves, for purposes of pleasure,
autonomy and self-fulfillment. Though individualism is
considered the backbone of democracy, it is also said to
contribute to loneliness, contribute to crime, and narcissism
in the U. S. society.

Collectivists are oriented towards collective goals,
togetherness, and for common good.

The extent to which a culture is individualistic or
collectivistic affects adult communication and non-verbal
behavior. People who are from individualistic cultures are
more remote and distant proximally. People from collective
cultures tend to work, play, live, and sleep in closer
proximity to one another. People from collective cultures
may suppress both positive and negative emotions that are
contrary to the mood of the group. Maintaining the group is
primary value. People from individualistic cultures
encourage people to express emotions because individual
freedom is a paramount value.

The gender orientation of a culture has a major impact on
role and communication behavior, including occupational
status, dress codes, the types of expressions acceptable to
each sex, the interactions permitted with strangers or
acquaintances of the opposite sex, and all aspects of
interpersonal relationship between men and women.
Gender dimension refers the rigidity of gender rules. In
less-rigid cultures, both men and women can express the
more diverse and less-stereotyped sex-role behaviors.

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Slide 5 Understanding
Dimensions of
Intercultural
Nonverbal
Communication,
continued
Power distance refers to the degree to which power
prestige and wealth are equally distributed in a culture.
This can be measured by using Power Distance Index or
PDI. In countries with high PDI, power is concentrated
only in the hands of the few rather than distributed
throughout the population. Most African, Asian, and Latin
American countries have a high PDI. Scores in the U.S. are
lower.

The way status is acquired also differs across cultures. In
places like India class determines ones status. In the U.S.,
power and status are determined by money and material
acquisition.

Emotional displays tend to be related to status in cultures
with high power distance. In high power distance cultures,
people are expected to show only positive emotions to high
status others.

Context is another dimension of intercultural
communication. A high-context or HC communication is a
message in which most of the information is either in the
physical context or internalized in the in the person. For
example, lifelong friends use HC messages that are almost
impossible for an outsider to understand. Low-context or
LC messages are in explicit code and must be elaborated
and are highly specific. Examples of LC messages include
legal briefs, or a computer language.

Communication is very different in HC and LC cultures.
People from LC cultures are perceived as excessively
talkative, overstressing the obvious, and redundant. People
from HC cultures are viewed as secretive, sneaky and
mysterious. They are affected by contextual cues.

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Slide 6 Engendering a
Feeling of
Connection among
Adults
The core characteristics of empathy and cultural
responsiveness significantly influence the extent to which
create a feeling of connection among adults. A number of
strategies can be used to motivate adult students to learn.
These strategies embody the Motivational Framework for
Culturally Responsive Teaching. We will discuss these
strategies here.

Allow for introductions: It is important for you as an
instructor to introduce yourself to the group. Tell students
about yourself, where you are from and why you are
conducting the course. Learners should also be given a
chance to introduce themselves as well. This emphasizes
your interest in them as people. They can also learn each
others names. Self-introductions also help to reduce
tension that is always there at the beginning of courses and
training sessions.

Students should also be provided with an opportunity for
multidimensional sharing. Multidimensional sharing
provides insight or new learning relevant to the topic or the
subject being taught. Opportunities for multidimensional
sharing range from introductory exercises to personal
anecdotes to classroom celebrations. Multidimensional
sharing gives opportunities to break down biases and
stereotypes, and allow people to see themselves in another
persons world. Other opportunities for sharing include
informal ways such as potluck meals and recreational
activities.

Teachers will also need to concretely indicate their
cooperative intentions to help adults learn. Adults always
have a fear for what they learn because what they learn
directly influences their job performance and their families
relations. Learners need to know on the outset that the
teacher is there to help them, and that they are their
partners in solving their learning problems.

Teachers can also share something of value with their
adult learners. They can use a little humor with their
students. Students should know that there are times we do
not take ourselves seriously. There should be vitality of
laughter in the learning process. Let the students know
about some kind of your intense experience such as an
expected surprise or accident. This demonstrates to the
students the teachers have mutual concerns and a shared
reality. Sharing something about us with the students
allows them to see us beyond the image of an instructor.

Next slide.
Slide 7 Engendering a
Feeling of
Connection Among
Adults, continued
Collaborative learning mostly emphasizes the learners
exploration and interpretation of course material to an
equal or greater extent than the instructors explanation of
it. Instructors using collaborative learning do not see
themselves as single transmitters of knowledge; they see
themselves more as co-learners and co-constructors of
knowledge. Collaborative learning is an effective and
motivating format for nontraditional students,
underrepresented and racial and ethnic groups and working
adults students. Collaborative learning allows learners to
learn from diversity, taking advantage of the linguistic and
cultural perspectives that can be experienced in this
instructional method.

Studies have shown that learners benefit from cooperative
groups in a number of ways such as:

They acquire new attitudes;
They establish a shared identity with other group members;
and
They find effective peers to emulate.

Cooperative learning has a number of components:

Positive interdependence: When learners perceive they are
linked with group members in such a way that they cannot
succeed unless group members do. Each member has a
unique contribution to make to the group because of the
resources, roles, or responsibilities.

Individual accountability: Occurs when the individuals
learning is assessed, the results are shared with the learner
and the group, and each member contributes to the success
of the group.

Promotive interaction: The group members encourage and
assist each other to reach the groups goals. They share
information, resources, and also emotional support in case
of challenges.

Social skills: Facilitate communication that enables group
members to reach goals, got to know each other,
communicate accurately, accept and trust each other,
resolve conflicts constructively.

Group processing occurs when members reflect on their
group experience to identify actions that were helpful and
unhelpful and to decide what actions to continue or to
change.

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Slide 8 Engendering a
Feeling of
Connection Among
Adults, continued
The objectives of an instructional unit help the adult
learners to form a personal theory about the choices and
competencies for accomplishing tasks. The objectives must
be clearly identified for each instruction so that learners
can more clearly understand and discuss their expectations.
Clearly defined goals heighten learners sense of self-
control and capability. These goals let the learners know
what skills and knowledge they need to acquire and inform
them about what may be necessary to achieve those skills
and knowledge.

Most of the education has been impacted by the Blooms
taxonomy, a classification system of educational
objectives. The original version of the taxonomy had the
levels Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis,
Synthesis, and Evaluation. Knowledge is the list complex
level and Evaluation is the most complex. The taxonomy
was however been modified in 2001. The levels now from
the least complex to the most complex are Remember,
Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate, and Create.

The objectives use action words and learning objective for
each process. For example: The process create has action
words such as imagine, pretend, design, invent, and
envision, while Remember has action words such as
recognize, recall, define, describe, identify.

It is important to emphasize the human purpose of what
is being learned and its relationship to the learners
personal lives and current situations. Relevance is
neurophysiologically compelling. Adult learners are
looking for something that is connected to their real world.
For us instructors we must ask ourselves a question: What
are the human ramifications of what we are helping the
learners to know or do? If we understand this, then the
relevance of what we instruct will be clearer, and we can
think of ideas to make this meaning part of the learning
process. It helps us to know which social aspects of the
learning experience we want to emphasize. It is important
for the instructor to let the students know that we are not
just studying a specific skill, we are learning for human
purpose.

Next slide.
Slide 9 Creating a Climate
of Respect among
Adults
Mutual respect is absolutely necessary in a learning
environment, adults feel safe, accepted and able to
influence the situation when appropriate or necessary.
There are a number of strategies that can be used to help
members of a learning group to avoid miscomprehending
their situation at the vulnerable time, at the beginning.

We need to assess learners current expectations, needs,
goals, and previous experience as it relates to our course
of training. Though conducting needs assessment of the
learners is helpful, learners may not have voiced some of
their perspectives, or there could be some temporary
experiences of which we are not aware. We can confirm or
adjust our expectations or prior assessments with
information gathered face-to-face during the opening part
of the lesson. We can ask students to state their
expectations in taking the course. We can ask learners to
give their perspectives, worries or concerns. A
questionnaire can be used for this purpose. This strategy is
very important in most situations where there is diversity.
Working with diverse students can be challenging, it is very
easy to leave out students in terms of their goals, and
experiences without knowing it. Usually people from with
High Power Distance cultures are not forthcoming with this
kind of information [concerns, worries, expectations].
Constantly checking them helps the adult learners to see
that we are caring.

To create a climate of respect we also need to explicitly
introduce important norms and participation
guidelines. Every learning group is distinctive. It develops
its own internal procedures, patterns of interaction, and
limits. Learning groups have norms that are formal or
informal. The norms the core constructs held in common
that can ensure safety and build community among
learners.

A norm can be confusing for those people whose culture
has not socialized them for it. Norms should be made
explicit.

There are a number of ways of implementing norms such
as:

State them as rules that govern the behavior of the group.
Incorporate the institutional norms of group members into
the learning group; and
Norms can also reach a consensus on which norms are
needed or need editing or specific discussion.

Next slide.
Slide 10 Creating a Climate
of Respect among
Adults, continued
When issuing mandatory assignments or training
requirements, give your rationale for them. All the work
that is given to the adult learners demands time, energy
and responsibility on the part of the learner. Adults hate
work that just keeps them busy for nothing.

Therefore, it is important to state the rationale of the work
that we give to students. They will accept the work
because they feel that we have carefully considered for
them, that we realize the benefits and the results of the
requirements. We show that we care for them and we
respect them. Learners need to understand the purpose of
the assignment.

To create a climate of respect among adults, we also need
to acknowledge different ways of knowing, different
languages, different levels of knowledge or skill among
learners. There is a general consensus that when you are
old then you know more. This is a myth, among other
things it does not state whether the things we have learned
are wrong, incorrect or misleading. But much as we know a
lot of things because of our age we have our limits.

Most adults feel intimidated when they realize that they
know less than the other participants in a course or training.
Sometimes this may just be a question of knowing things
differently or with a different language. We can let the
learners know that we would appreciate knowing when
there is a different way they understand something or a
different language they may use.

Next slide.
Slide 11 Check Your
Understanding

Slide 12 Summary We have now reached the end of this lesson. Lets take a
look at what weve covered.

We started our discussion by examining understanding
dimensions of intercultural nonverbal communication.
Here, we learned that there are two fundamental nonverbal
differences between intercultural communications namely
space and time. We also learned that differences in kinesic
behavior can determine a number of things in the learning
environment such as how one gets the floor in
conversation. Here, we also learned about the dimensions
of nonverbal communications across cultures. These
dimensions include immediacy, individualism and
collectivism, gender, power distance, and context. Different
cultures differ in immediacy behaviors; some are high
contact cultures while others are low contact cultures.
Some cultures are individualistic while others are
collectivist. We also learned that the gender orientation of a
culture has a major impact on role and communication
behavior. We learned how power index determines the
distribution of power and the acquisition of status in a
culture. Communication is very different in HC and LC
cultures. People from LC cultures are perceived as
excessively talkative. People from HC cultures are viewed
as secretive.

Next, we examined engendering a feeling of connection
among adults. Here we learned that a number of strategies
can be used to motivate adult students to learn. These
strategies embody the Motivational Framework for
Culturally Responsive Teaching. The strategies include:

Allow for introductions;
Provide an opportunity for multidimensional sharing;
Concretely indicate your cooperative intentions to help
adults learn;
Share something of value with your adult learners;
Use collaborative and cooperative learning;
Clearly identify learning goals and objectives; and
Emphasize the human purpose of what is being learned and
its relationship to the learners personal lives and current
situations.

Finally, we examined creating a climate of respect among
adults. Here, we learned that it is important to assess
learners current expectations, needs, goals, and previous
experience as it relates to your course of training. This can
be done in a number of ways such as using a questionnaire.
We also learned that to create a climate of respect we also
need to explicitly introduce important norms and
participation guidelines. There are a number of ways of
implementing norms such as stating them as rules that
govern the behavior of the group. Another strategy we
learned was that when issuing mandatory assignments or
training requirements, give your rationale for them. We
also learned that we, the instructors need to acknowledge
different ways of knowing, different languages, different
levels of knowledge or skill among learners.

This completes this lesson.