Teaching disadvantaged adults: strategies and approaches

Teaching disadvantaged adults could be one of the biggest challenges that an educator could face. Adults are already set in their ways. Their brains have already developed to the point where very little will be reshaped and habits are already set in. Not only can this pose difficulty when trying to teach something new to adults, it becomes an even harder task when trying to teach something novel to disadvantaged adults. Situational factors such as poverty, lack of complete grasp of the English language, and cultural factors could come into play and both negatively and positively affect their ability to learn and be taught (Kerka, 2002). A key concept in teaching disadvantaged adults is in the methods and materials chosen to appropriately affect their learning. An educator needs to make sure that these things are appropriate to an adult given their disadvantaged situation and that whatever method is chosen will place both disadvantaged adults on the same plane than those who are of better circumstance.

When choosing what teaching methods to use, an educator needs to be aware of the actual disadvantages that these adults have. It is not just enough to have in mind that these adults are not coming from the best background nor that they do not have the proper training, but an educator needs to actually know what it is that the adults are going through to better understand their situation (Kozma & Wagner, 2006). Most likely, these adults come from a background of poverty, of low socioeconomic status, and that in itself brings along an array of issues. From distractions to out right no educational background whatsoever, disadvantaged adults could range from those who barely know how to read or write, to those who have just fallen under unfortunate financial circumstances and needs an education to further themselves (Lyn & Ducklin, 1995). Either way, they pose almost the same issues when trying to teach them something new.

Having in mind that technology might not be as easily accessible to adults who come from a disadvantaged background, assignments that are solely based on technology should be limited, at least at first (Kozma & Wagner, 2006). It is not to say that computer-based assignments should be eliminated all together, but it should be taken into consideration that not only might an individual from a disadvantaged background not have access to computers as readily, they will most likely not know how to even use one. Coming from poverty means that they might not have been able to access one when they wanted to, and so they fell behind when it came to knowing how to use one. Many of these adults not only did not have all the schooling that they needed, but they also went to school during a time when technology was practically non-existent, so learning how to use a computer properly was something that they were unable to do, so therefore they might not even know how to use one properly, if at all.

Keeping in my mind all the aforementioned, the best teaching styles and methods are those that take into consideration all the limitations of the student. Allowing teachers to give these adults tutoring sessions could also be very successful. One on one teaching sometimes works better in a setting where the students really need help, and can fully benefit form the closer attention, which would be the case with disadvantaged adults. It is not just enough to teach the material, it will b necessary to assure that the adult is understanding everything (Kerkw, 2002). This can come in forms of bilingual classes until they fully adapt. Some disadvantaged adults have a language barrier that limits them in their understanding of materials, and by having someone who can properly translate concepts until the adult is comfortable enough with the mainstream English language, that could limit the amount of frustration felt by both the adult learner and the educator. Along with this same concept, the idea of providing them with mentors whom they can relate to, culturally, socially, and who have literally been in their place not so long ago, could give the adult learner more confidence, and as a result allow them to show better results (Kerka, 2002).