Interview with a Professional Teacher of Adult Learners

Denise KrollHE521-1: Teaching Adult Learners

Professor Margaret HeaterJuly 4, 2014

Agenda• Interviewee• Do you have any formal education in teaching adult learners?• What areas of your position do you see as a challenge?• What do you think you could implement to the courses to improve the

learning process?• What types of technology due you use in your classroom?• What do you like about your job?• What are your continuing education requirements?• What techniques have you been exposed to that are different from your

teaching style?• What advice do you have for someone starting out in the field?• Reflection• References

Interviewee• I interviewed Professor Mike Gastala• He is a part time instructor at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois

– He teaches Audio Production 1 and Live Sound Recording• Audio Production 1 is a required course that is part of the Audio

Core• The Live Sound Recording class is a requirement for the Audio

Design and Production concentration within the department of Audio Arts and Acoustics

• He has began teaching these courses in the Fall of 2008• In addition to teaching there, he is also a graduate from Columbia College

– He obtained a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Sound Engineering and a concentration in Sound for Pictures

• In addition to his teaching, he is freelance sound engineer and producer of a radio show

Do you have any formal education in teaching adult learners?• He does not have any formal education in teaching adult learners but, Professor Gastala

attends various teaching workshops provided by Columbia College• The last workshop that he attended through the Center for Innovation and Teaching

Excellence (CIT) was titled Gender Identification– He did not attend the course for the subject matter, as he was interested in the

teaching techniques used during the class– Incorporating different approaches allows his classroom to be more innovative

environment• In the course he learned an ice breaker technique titled ‘Silent Wall’

– The ice breaker is composed by the instructor who writes various questions on the board • Each participant is given a marker to answer the questions, write a follow up question to the

initial questions, or relate an experience to the question by responding with their experience. Students must stay silent during this

– Professor Gastala uses an interpretation of the icebreaker with his students. He uses the same technique except he uses it to gage students knowledge• He states this makes leaning more interactive but, allows him to determine if the student(s)

understand the concepts discussed

What areas of your position do you see as a challenge?

• Audio Production 1 Challenges – The students are very young and due to this, they have very poor

study habits– The class is more of a language course in which students have to

interpret and apply the terms prior to performing the concept• Reading terms verses learning the definitions

• Live Sound Recording Challenges– Students think the techniques learned and applied are specific to a

certain niche– Students that take the class don’t envision the need for the specific

techniques because they don’t intend to due work in the field (ex: music producers)

– Which in turn results in the students misunderstanding of fundamental concepts that apply to all aspects of the field in general

What do you think you could implement to the courses to improve the learning process?

• Live Sound Recording Improvements–More real world examples– Some of the material discussed is difficult to

relate to or interpret as it is hard to simulate an example• Can provide the concept, but can’t always

make a real life experience– The majority of the examples provided are

from his own experience within the field

What types of technology due you use in your classroom?

• The students use the following items in the classroom:

• Mac Computer• PowerPoint Presentations• Projector• LMS: Moodle• ProTools: audio editing software• Recording Mixer• Portable Recorders• Audio Interface• Email• Website: Wetransfer.com

What do you like about your job?

• The most rewarding portion of his job is seeing the students progress throughout their education– They initially start the program in his Audio Production

1 course• On a personal level, he enjoys hearing the students

interpretation of what the field consists of– Some students state they are only studying audio

engineering because they need to know this to be a music producer

What are your continuing education requirements?

• There are no continuing education requirements

• Columbia College hires a majority of their teachers because they are active in the field that they each in

• He attends a few seminars a year that are offered through the college – These courses allow him to learn new techniques

to make his courses more innovative

What techniques have you been exposed to that are different from your teaching style?

• Flip Classroom– Through the LMS Moodle, students view the lecture portion

of the course on their own time• The lecture supplements the text assignment

– Students are still required to come to class for the full length of time

– This provides more time to discuss the lecture concepts and how they relate to the hands on application• Allows the teacher to spend more time on the concepts that

students are struggling with

– The advantage is that all of the required in class lab work is completed since students cannot do the work outside class

What advice do you have for someone starting out in the field?

• Don’t panic• Spend a lot of time shaping the way your

instruction is performed– For example record yourself teaching so that you

do not sound monotone when providing instruction

• Consider the four major methods of learning– Varks Model

• Time management and organization

Reflection• After my interview with Professor Gastala, I began to see Knowles’ six

assumptions of adult learning really relate to adult learners• Specifically that adult centered learning allows participants to share their

specific experiences with others in the class (as cited in Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2007, pg. 84).

– In addition to teaching, he also works as a free lance sound engineer and radio producer in the field

• His background allows him to implement examples of his experience into the classroom instruction

• This form of “embodied learning is most often linked to experimental learning in the sense that we learn in an experience” (Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2007, pg. 192).– By relating his experiences in the field to the classroom instruction,

students gain a further understanding of the information, which promotes embodied learning or experimental learning

Reflection Continued• Professor Gastala follows Vark Model of learning when planning instruction in the

classroom• The Varks model states that “leaners have a preference of learning through

– Visual, – Aural, – Reading, – and Kinesthetic Learning” (Cherry, n.d.)

• The Varks model is similar to Amanns four part model of somatic knowing• The somatic model of knowing consists of “four dimensions of knowing:

– Kinesthetic,– Sensory,– Affective – And Spiritual” Learning (Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2007, pg. 194)

• Regardless of which model is being used during the incorporation of instruction, both models attempt to identify with the learners needs when teaching

References

• Cherry, K. (n.d.). VARK Learning Styles. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/a/vark-learning-styles.htm

• Merriam, S., Caffarella, R., & Baumgartner, L. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.