Afterwards

In the many years since receiving my degree, I have taken a large number of workshops, observed myself during conversations and teaching situations, and noticed the following about myself:

• hands-on always is best for learning and remembering
• readings have to be interesting, relevant and well-written; anything that is dry tends to be forgotten
• my note taking skills have gotten tighter and more diverse (writing in margins, making lists, using the computer as well as writing by hand, learning computer applications by using them to create notes and lessons on how to learn them)

• making lists – not just for educational purposes – is hugely organizing and keeps me focused
• rules inequitably applied still rankle
• timeliness is important (getting what the learner needs when the learner needs it, both in terms of my teaching and my learning)

• I do not lack for conversation but a person’s earrings or interesting clothing will side track my comments for a few sentences
• while I used to ably focus on multiple items at one time, I now prefer to focus on one item at a time
• during the school year I am very sequential, but during summer and vacations I love being serendipitous, although in most situations I am happy to go with the flow

• my best learning comes from making personal meaning and relevance to my life
• I like to be creatively challenged and stimulated, and am project-oriented
• I prefer to work on my own but am known for being extroverted and easy to work with

• give me a task and I get right to it
• I like diverse groups
• I like the challenge and stimulation of teaching new courses or teaching the same courses in different ways

That’s my learning profile. Now it’s time to look at what research has to say about Adult Learning in general.