ADULT TRANSITIONS: 21 ST CENTURY THINKING TOOLS, SKILLS, COMPETENCIES

ADULT TRANSITIONS: 21ST CENTURY THINKING TOOLS,

SKILLS, COMPETENCIES

What are thinking tools, skills, competencies?A New Course with New Teaching Methods

Course OverviewIntroductions

Thinking Tools, Life Skills, Adult Competencies• What are these and why are they important?

Thinking Tools– Ability to solve problems, make decisions, think for oneself– The most important portable skills for the 21st Century

Life Skills– Adaptation, planning, conflict resolution, Three R’s

Adult Competencies– Basic literacy, health literacy, cultural literacy, citizenship literacy,

environmental literacy, communications literacy

• Can they can be taught?– YES! Provided it can be deconstructed and presented as

several discrete but interrelated skill sets

Creating A New Course. . .

• Course Background and History– This experimental course was approved three

years ago by the College of Education

– It has resulted in the development of new concepts and models:

• Second Adulthood • Essential Life Skills • Critical Thinking Model• Lifelong Learning Model • “WOW!” Dream Life Planning• Adult “Life Intervention” Model

Creating A New Course for Adult Learners

Course Design– Designed specifically for adult learners

– Practical learning with an obvious payoff

– Blends theory to practice

– Captures the historical significance of the Boomer generation, and connects this generation’s past-present-future

[No existing teaching models or similar courses]

Creating A New Course for Baby Boomers . . .

Course Teaching Methods• Uses all known learning techniques and modalities:

– Direct instruction (lecture, demonstration, discussion)

– Case studies, simulations, Socratic questioning, group learning, discovery learning, personal reflection

– Taps visual, auditory, tactile, emotional modalities

Course Overview

Course Organization

• Section 1: Understanding Adulthood

• Section 2: Paradigm Shift in Aging, Retirement, End-of-Life Issues

• Section 3: Essential Life Skills for the 21st Century

• Section 4: Re-defining Adulthood

• Section 5: Adult Interventions: Why, When, How?

Course Overview

Course Assignments• Connect past, present, future (thru analytical exercises)

• Read assigned Handouts and articles, participate in Group Learning Activities (case studies)

• Visit and observe adult service agencies in the community (e.g., hospice, senior center, independent living ctr)

• Complete weekly personal assignments and create a course Portfolio (including Reflection Journal)

• Complete Final Life Exam (group case study presentation)

Introductions

• Welcome

• Meet Your Instructors– Stephen Barnes, Ph.D.

• What Is the SDSU Interwork Institute?– Home to Department of Administration,

Rehabilitation, and Postsecondary Education (ARPE) in the SDSU College of Education

– Serves as research, teaching, and training center for adult learners, including those with disabilities

Introductions

• Let’s meet each other . . .

Course Overview

What is this course really about?

YOU!