Running Head: ADULT LEARNING WORKSHOP

Adult Learning Workshop: How to Host Recruitment Events Leanna Patricio EDUC 513 Seattle University Spring 2013

ADULT LEARNING WORKSHOP Introduction In student services positions within admissions, outreach, and recruitment, or even for

student affairs positions in student life, there may come opportunities to hold events to showcase programs for prospective students. These events must engage students while helping to provide any information necessary before coming to a final decision. With that, it is important for the student affairs professional to be adept in holding these events, from managing logistics to marketing the event, to finding volunteers and recording the outcomes for improvements to future events. This 2.5-hour workshop is designed to give professionals and student leaders a foundation to hold successful recruiting events and uses multiple aspects of adult learning theories gained from EDUC 513 in its outline. Workshop Details Sponsoring Organization and Target Audience Since this would be open to current University of Washington employees, the sponsoring organization should be the Professional & Organizational Development Department, or POD. This office is responsible for providing professional development opportunities with regards to management, leadership, skill-building, and personal development. Oftentimes, employees professional development funds can cover the costs for these classes. A workshop such as this would be a great opportunity for the department to add another course to boost the Universitys employees skills sets. An option to look into would be the ability for student leaders to take the course as well, for a fee which their sponsoring club or organization could cover, since this workshop might cover the same content areas that are relevant to these student leaders needs.

ADULT LEARNING WORKSHOP Type of Event

For this content, it would be most appropriate to hold a single-session, 2.5-hour workshop during the work day. This way, employees could use this time as professional development, with supervisors permission. The workshop will be a starting point in planning an event, and it would be beneficial for attendees to have a specific event in mind that would take place in the coming academic year. A workshop is also an appropriate choice as opposed to a multi-session course because of the amount of information taught; multiple sessions are not necessary to provide all of this information. Finally, a workshop format where attendees would share ideas and communicate would be an ideal way to hold a learning experience, where it is more student-led and experiential. Elements of Adult Learning and Examples of Related Workshop Activities Postmodern Pedagogy Postmodern pedagogy is a form that is difficult to define and yet seems to be best understood by what it is not; most of the traditional learning experiences you might find in education fall outside of this pedagogy. With a workshop using this learning format, there will be a teacher, or more appropriately, a facilitator, but much of the experience will involve the students speaking of their past experiences with events while learning from each other on best practices. This format seems to follow the general idea of postmodernist pedagogy with a shaking up of student and teacher roles (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, p. 260, 2007). The facilitator is essentially a professional peer to the adult learners and would act this way in the classroom.

ADULT LEARNING WORKSHOP

Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner (2007) cite Bryant and Johnston to give a thoughtful take on postmodern pedagogy, stating that the purpose for adult learners is To articulate their own subjugated knowledges and to empower themselves in a variety of different ways and according to their own specific agendas (p. 261). Using this definition, most of the workshop would involve the adult students to follow this framework since they are using the course for their individual professionals needs. They will ultimately use the shared knowledge in whatever means they wish and the workshop activities will most likely shift from one to another based on their roles and departments. Visual Practice in Experiential Learning Experiential learning seems to be one of the most important factors in adult learning simply because adult learners have shown to excel in environments that are hands on and practical to their lives. One aspect of experiential learning through visual practices is an area that is used throughout this workshop. Within professions specifically, this visual practice is key in understanding the knowledge and applying it to practice in the real world. Merriam, Caffarella, &Baumgartner (2007) state that as a result of learning adaptive skills through experiential means, learners become more empowered to respond to their changing vocational environments (p. 168). Within this workshop, there is a hands-on brainstorming activity where adult learners will be able to take the ideas for their events and work with one another through the planning process, recording ideas on large sheets of paper placed at the front of the room. What makes this important is that it is simulating a visual learning experience that could also be brought into their everyday practice. By writing the information in front of the room throughout individual and group brainstorming, and then bringing ideas to a larger group discussion for feedback, this

ADULT LEARNING WORKSHOP

allows for the adult learner to go through the motions in a realistic way. Experiencing this, rather than reading through the steps, is what will help the adult learner to go back and pull from this learning moment in the future. Reflective Practice in Experiential Learning One final piece to this workshop involves a one-minute paper where adult learners would reflect on an open-ended question such as, What is the biggest takeaway you have from this experience? or, What aspects of event planning do you still have questions about? Including the reflective one-minute paper has the hope that students have time for examining beliefs, goals, and practices, to gain new or deeper understandings that lead to actions that improve learning for students (York-Barr, Sommers, Ghere, & Montie, as cited in Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, p. 172, 2007) which they might not otherwise have from the workshop alone. Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner (2007) state that reflective practices with experiential learning is a type of deliberative orientation with an emphasis on the individuals discovery of meaning within that educational setting (p. 174). Directing the reflective piece in the experiential learning will allow for a deeper understanding of the impact of this new knowledge, although the thought of planning a recruiting event may seem surface level at first glance. It is important to create a meaningful learning experience no matter what the topic, but especially in professional education where reflection might be left out or not encouraged to be a part of the daily work environment. Conclusion As a form of irony, this workshop is meant to engage adult learners in holding an event to engage prospective adult learners. With any situation that involves educating adults, it is

ADULT LEARNING WORKSHOP important to note what motivating factors are behind their educational interests. During my interview with Elaine OBrien, Manager of Advising at South Seattle Community College, she noted that what motivates adult learners is different from that of traditional learners, but that the

emotions they feel are felt similarly (personal communication, 2013). By having this professional development workshop, the adult educator must understand that these learners would have a variety of motivation levels, whether they chose to take this course on their own accord or whether a supervisor made it mandatory in order to perform their duties. Either way, this workshop was designed to stimulate different learning styles as well as utilizing various adult learning theories and elements learned from my own adult learning experience in this class.

ADULT LEARNING WORKSHOP References Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

ADULT LEARNING WORKSHOP Appendix A Resources Knox, G. (n.d.). 40 icebreakers for small groups. Retrieved from http://insight.typepad.co.uk/40_icebreakers_for_small_groups.pdf Clinton, (2010, June 23). Catering tips: How much food is enough for your event? [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.caterista.com/blog/2010/06/23/how-much-food-isenough-to-cater-a-special-event/ Society for Human Resource Management (n.d.). 50 great recruiting ideas for your student chapter [Web page]. Retrieved from http://www.shrm.org/Communities/StudentPrograms/Pages/50ideas.aspx Charlwood eMarketing (n.d.). 10 tips for a successful online webinar. Retrieved from http://www.charlwood.com/online_webinar.html UIC College of Nursing Alumni (n.d.). Event planning checklist and helpful tips. Retrieved from

http://www.uic.edu/nursing/alumni/Event%20Planning%20Checklist%20and%20Helpful %20Tips.pdf

ADULT LEARNING WORKSHOP Appendix B Sample Workshop Outline I.

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VII.

Introduction (15 minutes) a. Go around room, introduce name and job title. i. Give reason for interest in this workshop (ice breaker). (13 minutes) b. Go over agenda for the day. (2 minutes) Brainstorming Activity to understand the needs of the individual recruitment events. (45 min total) a. Worksheet asking questions: (20 minutes, individually) 1.Recruitment program (For a degree? A student club or organization? Admissions into the university?) 2.Target audience 3.Target attendance number 4.Partnerships with other offices or departments? 5.Budget A. Food to be provided? 6.Season/Time of year 7.Location 8.Event topics to highlight 9.Staffing 10. Attendee Outcomes What should they leave with? b. Record on large paper and share with group. (15 minutes) c. Explanation. (10 minutes) BREAK (5 minutes total) Planning Presentation (40 minutes total) a. Go through planning process, using the brainstorming sheet to guide needs. (30 minutes) b. Questions at the end. (10 minutes) Day-of-Event Checklist (15 minutes total) a. Go over a sample checklist. (10 minutes) b. Reminders for them to be aware of. c. Questions. (5 minutes) Event Debrief (20 minutes total) a. Set meeting with all involved staff for insights and debrief. (10 minutes) b. Creating a template for future or recurring events. (10 minutes) Last Questions and Conclusion (10 minutes total) a. One minute paper on questions or comments of the workshop. i. To answer questions or comments via email to all participants afterward.