Teaching and learning with an emphasis on real-world, complex, and collaborative activities.
Published in Chapter:
Adult Learners, E-Learning, and Success: Critical Issues and Challenges in an Adult Hybrid Distance Learning Program
Jeffrey Hsu (Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA) and Karin Hamilton (Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA)
Copyright: © 2010
|Pages: 22
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60566-788-1.ch007
Abstract
Adult learners have a set of specific and unique needs, and are different from traditional college students. Possessing greater maturity, interest in learning, and also career and life-oriented objectives, they have different expectations for their education, as well as different backgrounds and goals. This chapter examines what adult learners are, theories of adult learning, and the applicability of online learning to adult learners. Specific teaching methods and techniques are discussed for online and hybrid distance learning courses, as well as hybrid arrangements; encompassing teaching methods, types of exercises and activities, intensive course structures, block scheduling, and the use of modular course segments. Examples from an adult learner hybrid distance learning undergraduate program, Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Global Business Management, are also provided. Future trends and areas for further research conclude the chapter.