Adult Learners
Students are often motivated to enroll in PACE classes for two primary reasons: professional development and personal enrichment. These students may be interested in upskilling to gain a promotion, reskilling to be a career changer, or adding a new area of knowledge specialization to their credentials. Many of our students have committed themselves to study a particular subject in depth and have registered for one of our professional certificates . Upon completion, these programs provide evidence that our students have mastered a set of specific professional skills. Some courses may also be used as credit toward degrees at other institutions based on their requirements.
Six characteristics of adult learners that describe what will best help them to learn include:
1. Adult students are mature people and prefer to be treated as such.
- They learn best in a democratic, participatory and collaborative environment.
- They need to be actively involved in determining how and what they will learn, and they need active rather than passive learning experiences.
- They are self-reliant learners and prefer to work at their own pace.
2. Adult students have needs that are concrete and immediate.
- They tend to be impatient with long discourses on theory, but prefer to see theory applied to practical problems. This doesn’t mean they are not interested in theory, but they also must see the practical application of the theory.
- They are task- or problem-centered rather than subject-centered.
- Their learning is not complete until it is expressed inappropriate action.
3. Adult students are more impatient in the pursuit of learning objectives.
- They are less tolerant of “busy work” that does not have immediate and direct application to their objectives or needs.
4. Adult students have useful past experience.
- They are more realistic and have insights into what is likely to work and what is not.
- They are more readily able to relate new facts to past experiences.
5. Adult students enjoy having their talents and information incorporated into a teaching situation.
- They bring their own experiences and knowledge into the classroom, which they like to use as a resource for learning.
- Give them practical learning activities to build on their prior skills and knowledge.
6. Adult students are sometimes fatigued when they attend classes.
- They appreciate any teaching devices that add interest and a sense of liveliness, such as a variety of methods, audio/visual aids, change of pace and sense of humor.
Please contact your Program Coordinator if you would like more information.
Communicating with Students
1. To reach students while keeping their contact information secure and confidential, it is recommended that you communicate with your students via UC Merced or Canvas email accounts.
- If you use your UC Merced email, you should list the individual email addresses in the blind copy field so that the addresses are not accessible to others.
- Only send emails to the student email under which they registered and is listed on your class roster.
- Not all PACE students will have a UC Merced email; however, the email with which they registered is considered official (and legal) communication.
- If teaching an academic course, you can securely and confidentially communicate with students using the Coursemail feature in Canvas.
2. Students and Group Projects
- For group project work, it is best practice for students to exchange their contact information with others students directly.
- Canvas will also allow you to set up online discussions for your students that are secure.
3. Staying in Contact with Students after Your Course Section Ends
- Under FERPA, it is not recommended to initiate contact with students unless it is for a Legitimate Educational Interest, and then it is recommended you use your UC Merced email.
- At the conclusion of the course, you may offer students your personal contact information so that students can voluntarily choose to make or maintain contact with you after the course has concluded; however, do not solicit or demand student contact information for this purpose.
- Staying in touch after the section ends for other non-academic purposes needs to be voluntary for the student. If you use LinkedIn for professional networking purposes, you can inform students that you are available on LinkedIn if you so decide.
- For more information regarding FERPA, please see the UC Merced FERPA website.
Students with Disabilities
The federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, as amended and other federal and state laws, as well as the University of California Guidelines Applying to Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability require that persons with disabilities have equal opportunity to enjoy campus programs, activities, and benefits.
Extension requires you to review the Faculty Resources page on the UC Merced Disability Services website for all information regarding students with disabilities.
Please contact your Program Coordinator for more information and/or assistance in accommodating your students.
Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct
At UC Merced, the Office of Student Conduct (OSC) oversees the student disciplinary system for reports of suspected student misconduct, both academic (e.g., cheating, plagiarism and unauthorized collaboration) and nonacademic (e.g., computer misuse, alcohol and other residence hall violations, theft, and conduct that threatens health and safety).
If you suspect student misconduct, either academic or nonacademic please contact your Program Coordinator and review the policies and procedures on the OSC website ( http://studentconduct.ucmerced.edu ).
If you have concerns about student behavior and/or classroom management, please contact the Program Coordinator immediately.
PACE recommends visiting the OSC website together in class to facilitate a conversation about academic integrity. It contains helpful resources for both students and instructors.
Finally, create an inclusive classroom. From the first day of class, set guidelines for discussion to ensure that everyone feels welcome expressing his or her ideas in class. Some instructors find it helpful to have a brainstorming session with students on the first day of class and to come to a group agreement about ground rules for respectful class interactions.