A Learner's Survival Guide (Ruffino, 2010)
Define your education goals in writing
The first step is to determine what your long, medium, and short term goals are. Write them on paper and hang them up as a reminder to keep you focused. This will maintain a path to success and achieve the goals you have set for yourself. As Zemke stated, "increasing or maintaining one's sense of self-esteem and pleasure are strong
secondary motivators for engaging in learning experiences." (Zemke, 1984). There is nothing stronger to drive a persons will to succeed then motivation itself.
Make sure you have access to a computer/technology
Contact your school to inquire what tools are needed to complete the course. If you don’t have the tools, find out where can you obtain them.
If you don’t have a computer, find out where you can use one, if there are certain times of availability, and if reservation times are required. Maslow's heirarchy of needs states that the physiological needs, or human needs, tend to be required first and foremost before achieving higher-level needs.
Create an education schedule and calendar
If required, have a schedule prepared with blocks of time slated for assignments, readings and attending classes. Having time allotted for school will assist with procrastination and ‘I’ll do it later’ attitudes. There are only so many hours in a day, and if you push everything to the back-burner, it will only cause unneccessary stress and extra pressure. Finally, make sure you have a family calendar prepared to avoid any conflicts between the two. You always want to have enough time set aside for your family, so they don't feel neglected and schoolwork doesn't suffer.
Refresh your adult learner study skills
Learning skills are like any other skills - the more you practice, the easier it gets. Although being a SAHM poses the challenges of being out of practice, as along as you persevere, skills will improve and strengthen with time. You already have many demands and responsibilities as an adult learner; study skills will help you get the most out of the time you have set aside for the program.
Be prepared to write
The ability to express thoughts and ideas are very important aspects of a college degree program. Online courses require a lot of writing and communication via email, as well as forums, blogs and live discussion chats. It is essential that you demonstrate the ability to clearly write what you wish to convey to both teacher and peers.
Ask questions
Whenever you are unsure of something or need clarification, ask your instructor; chances are your classmates have the same question and may be too shy to ask. Being efficient will cause you to spend less time on unnecessary work and have more time to contribute to readings and assignments.
Apply what you have learned in your program to real life situations
You have the advantage as an adult learner with experience in the real world. Your classmates will benefit and find value in this, so share it with everyone. In having such vast experience, you should be more confident in the wealth of knowledge and value that you bring forth. Malcolm Knowles stated, "adults possess personal histories which defined their identities and served as a resource of experiential learning upon which new learnings can be applied". (Cooper, 2009).
Define your education goals in writing
The first step is to determine what your long, medium, and short term goals are. Write them on paper and hang them up as a reminder to keep you focused. This will maintain a path to success and achieve the goals you have set for yourself. As Zemke stated, "increasing or maintaining one's sense of self-esteem and pleasure are strong
secondary motivators for engaging in learning experiences." (Zemke, 1984). There is nothing stronger to drive a persons will to succeed then motivation itself.
Make sure you have access to a computer/technology
Contact your school to inquire what tools are needed to complete the course. If you don’t have the tools, find out where can you obtain them.
If you don’t have a computer, find out where you can use one, if there are certain times of availability, and if reservation times are required. Maslow's heirarchy of needs states that the physiological needs, or human needs, tend to be required first and foremost before achieving higher-level needs.
Create an education schedule and calendar
If required, have a schedule prepared with blocks of time slated for assignments, readings and attending classes. Having time allotted for school will assist with procrastination and ‘I’ll do it later’ attitudes. There are only so many hours in a day, and if you push everything to the back-burner, it will only cause unneccessary stress and extra pressure. Finally, make sure you have a family calendar prepared to avoid any conflicts between the two. You always want to have enough time set aside for your family, so they don't feel neglected and schoolwork doesn't suffer.
Refresh your adult learner study skills
Learning skills are like any other skills - the more you practice, the easier it gets. Although being a SAHM poses the challenges of being out of practice, as along as you persevere, skills will improve and strengthen with time. You already have many demands and responsibilities as an adult learner; study skills will help you get the most out of the time you have set aside for the program.
Be prepared to write
The ability to express thoughts and ideas are very important aspects of a college degree program. Online courses require a lot of writing and communication via email, as well as forums, blogs and live discussion chats. It is essential that you demonstrate the ability to clearly write what you wish to convey to both teacher and peers.
Ask questions
Whenever you are unsure of something or need clarification, ask your instructor; chances are your classmates have the same question and may be too shy to ask. Being efficient will cause you to spend less time on unnecessary work and have more time to contribute to readings and assignments.
Apply what you have learned in your program to real life situations
You have the advantage as an adult learner with experience in the real world. Your classmates will benefit and find value in this, so share it with everyone. In having such vast experience, you should be more confident in the wealth of knowledge and value that you bring forth. Malcolm Knowles stated, "adults possess personal histories which defined their identities and served as a resource of experiential learning upon which new learnings can be applied". (Cooper, 2009).