Francisco Ojeda

Empathy goes a long way. It's one of the strongest tools we have to connect with a student. Once we connect with that student, and they're engaged, it makes the class really stick and gets them participating. We should bring our humanity forward, and lead with that. 

Making an environment with flexibility will expose, more effectively, the spots where students need help. Encouraging the asking of questions, or just asking where people feel they need help can go a really long way. Flexibility can expose the weak points in curriculum in a way that make the addresable. 

Caring is important. It's the cornerstone of learning, especially for adults. Learning and passion can be taught conveyed and effectively fostered. If it lacking, it can be repaired, and if its missing it can be found. 

Focus on the "why" and the "how" of an assignment. It will help ground the lesson. Also, breaking down tasks and concepts into their composite parts is very helpful. 

Aligning extrinsic and intrinsic motivators is the combination that will make you successful with adult students. If they dont have one of those two motivating factors, they won't be engaged. The two factors have to be approached holistically. 

The more autonomy an adult student has, the more they feel respected in their learning environment. This drives engagement. The onus is put on the student, and this can help us get the best academic outcomes. 

Creating a welcoming environment with clear communication is essential in security. Adults do best when expectations are understood. Once expectations are understood, the value of the class becomes a lot clearer and allows them to trust the classroom environment. 

Adult learners are very logical, and grounded. They want to see practical steps, which lead to practical results. They want to understand why things are happening. The sort of "I'm the teacher, and it's like this because I said so" type of teaching doesn't really work and can yield adverse results. Meet adult learners on their level.