Engaging Adult Learners in a Vibrant Learning Classroom

Vanessa Tsang

Vanessa Tsang

Engaging Adult Learners in a Vibrant Learning Classroom

The ClassPoint in Classroom Webinar Series made its debut on 15 Oct 2021 with the topic of Engaging Adult Learners in a Vibrant Learning Classroom. This webinar attracted a crowd of corporate trainers and adult educators eager to find out how to engage adult learners while there are multiple competing demands exacted from them by the varied roles they play.

We had the privilege of having Dr. Yong Hsin Ning, a faculty member of Singapore Management University and an entrepreneur to give us some insights on engaging adult learners in view of such challenges.

Dr. Yong led us through the transformative journey of her teaching approach from one a teacher-centered to student-centered approach; stressing the importance of uncovering learners’ prior knowledge and the need to help them connect it to the new content (as illustrated in the figure below). This is an apparent shift in paradigm; from being a sage on the stage to one who is a co-constructor of knowledge.

How ClassPoint Helped

To do so, Dr. Yong uses EdTech tools extensively in her lessons to engage adult learners, citing ClassPoint as one of her frequently-used tools in the teaching process.

Uncover and Assess Prior Knowledge

In the example below, Dr. Yong used the short answer function of ClassPoint to uncover and assess learners’ prior knowledge while concurrently encouraging collaborative learning to take place. Within each team, learners had to discuss if the given case study was a good research design and to provide suggestions for improvements.

Instant Feedback for Both Teacher and Learners

Each team then uploaded their responses through ClassPoint’s short answer function and it enabled other teams to view, share their perspectives, and extend the discussion.

Learners were also able to receive instant feedback from Dr. Yong through ClassPoint’s annotation tools like highlighter and pens. 

Concept Reinforcement

In her concluding remarks, Dr. Yong further underscored the importance of reinforcement of concepts through in-& out-of-classroom experiences for learning to stick, as depicted in the figure below.

Evidence of Effectiveness

This “formula” has proven to be so effective for Dr. Yong’s adult learners, that in their evaluation of the course, the feedback given about her and her course was remarkable. The figure below shows the summary of the consolidated results.

But how did Dr. Yong do this so effectively to garner such astounding results and feedback from her learners? Watch the webinar here to find out. In addition, download the slides that were shared with the audience by clicking the button below.

Vanessa Tsang

About Vanessa Tsang

I’m an educator and trainer who’s very passionate about sharing different and fun ways to engage learners. I’ve been interested in creative teaching methods since I was a kid…my favorite movie and inspiration came from Dead Poets Society!

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