Teaching older adults should be a pleasurable experience. Their self-directedness, life experiences, independence as learners and motivation to learn are pure advantages.

Research shows that there is no decline in the ability to learn as people get older. If older people remain healthy, their intellectual abilities and skills do not decline. (Ostwald and Williams). Older learners have more highly developed cognitive systems and are able to make higher order associations and generalizations, The older learner relies on long-term memory rather than the short-term memory function used by children and younger learners for rote learning.

Sensory Losses

The human performance in aging can be improved through better design of both the physical and social environments.

In midlife vision and hearing may be among the first faculties to undergo changes.

Vision

The lens of the eye thickens with age, the lens may yellow and tiny muscles that control pupil dilation may become sluggish and respond more slowly. Knowing this, we can increase the lighting level in our classroom. A person in the mid seventies requires more than three times the amount of light required in earlier life. We have to reduce reflective glare. Glare can be distracting or uncomfortable and can contribute to visual confusion. Highly reflective or glossy floor and table surfaces, can contribute to visual dysfunction. You can look to lowering the blinds in your classroom.

Hearing

It becomes more difficult with age to hear high-pitched tones and voices. To help our students hear better we can reduce background noise if possible and speak in low tones slowly and distinctly. This will help people with marginal hearing losses to follow the conversation. In groups of more than six to ten, good amplification will compensate for varying degrees of hearing loss.

Memory Capacities in Late Life

When most adults experience memory losses, they are usually the result of the following: slowed response time, sensory dysfunction affecting the initial learning, even the form of information being recalled. Persons who have difficulty in free recall may be prompted or aided by written or illustrated matter that reinforces memory. In your teaching presentation keep this in mind and use visuals such as overhead transparencies, videos, PowerPoint presentations, pictures, etc. Arrange the seating in the classroom for informal learning. Comfortable seating will set the stage for learning.

Practical Perspectives on Educational Work With Older Adults

When an older student enrolls in a course, it probably has some tie-in with their life experience and current interests. They have a good many pertinent and sound ideas based on their lifetime and involvements and would like to share these ideas and experiences rather than simply being talked at. Courses for older adults must be designed for participation and involvement, not just reading and listening. In most cases, the teacher is the facilitator.

In a classroom full of adults ages 50 plus, the roles of student and teacher are often interchangeable. Because of their many experiences, discussions can continue far above the time allotted. The most successful classes are those in which the participants take an active role, not just during question and answer sessions, but also as program planners, moderators and discussion leaders. Older learners bring to the table an awareness of hearing and vision difficulties, lack of self-confidence and the elders’ slower pace. Elders can learn, but the learning process is slower than those of younger learners.

In ”Understanding Adult Intelligence,” published in the journal Adult Learning (April 1991), Robert J. Sternberg also discusses the effects of vision, hearing and attention problems on memory. He argues that compensating abilities counteract these losses. Sternberg believes that as people age the external or social aspect of their intelligence strengthens and can be used to adapt or shape their interactions. The older student feels that their learning is dependent in part on the discussion that happens in the classroom.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

The Older Language Learner http://www.thememoryhole.org/edu/eric/ed287313.html

Older Adult Education by Ronald Manheimer, Denise Snodgrass, Diane Moskow-McKenzie. Publisher Greenwood Publishing Group, October 30, 1995. ISBN: 0313288781.

BOOKS

Adults as Learners: Increasing Participation and Facilitating Learning by Patricia Cross (San Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass,1992). Cross proposes excellent ideas for working with various patterns of learning.

ORGANIZATIONS

The Older Learner. This is a division of the American Society on Aging, “Lifetime Education and Renewal Network”. They can be reached at learn@asaging.org and http://www.asaging.org/learn.html.

ARTICLE

“How Education Empowers Older Adults” by Barbara R. Ginsberg. In Activities, Adaptation and Aging Journal, vol. 25, no. 1 (Binghampton, N.Y.: Haworth Press, 2000. This is a 12- page article about the value of education for older learners and some specifics about the “My Turn” program at Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn, N.Y.

VIDEO

Grandma’s Off to College (VHS, 25 minutes; 2000); produced by Judy Robertson. To order, call the Knowledge Network order line at 888-566-9221. This delightful documentary video tells the story of one woman’s experience as a lifelong learner. Barbara Guttmann-Gee returned to school when she retired at the age of 65. She obtained a bachelor’s degree by distance education at 76, a master’s in women’s studies at 81 and an honorary doctorate at 86. Barbara Guttmann-Gee is a “Goal-oriented learner”.