In the world of Adult Education, time flies faster than anywhere else. Some students leave after a semester, others - after they find their first job. Those with long-term goals stay longer or return to replace a job with a career. That is what I assist them with.
After a few years of teaching English for Speaker of Other Languages (ESOL), I accepted the offer to teach an IET (Integrated Education and Training) Introduction to Healthcare class. I chose to teach it because it gives me a unique opportunity to support a rapid development of students' language skills through building their content knowledge. It is genuinely exciting to see it happen.
One of the most attractive parts of the offer was that I was given a free hand in the development of the syllabus. As you can imagine, now, after the first semester, I have lots of new ideas on how to improve the class. Not in the least, that inspiration comes from my first cohort of students.
Before the last class, one of my students surprised me with a beautiful presentation about the reason she decided to pursue a career in healthcare. She created it entirely on her own. The presentation was color-coordinated and somehow captured my students' caring personality. Here is a screenshot of one of the slides:
My students' presentation reflects her approach to a vision board. (I always tell my students to create a vision board because it helps them realize their goals.) After carefully looking at the presentation, I realized two things:
1. Even though my approach is highly successful result-wise, it is rather tightly teacher-controlled.
2. My students possess valuable skills, which they often present on social media, and I do not create enough opportunities to let them use those skills for learning.
This blog is the result of my epiphany. I invite you to explore the ways in which technology and social media can be used for learning purposes in Adult Education.
Until next time,
Maria
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