Abstract
The word trilogy is derived from the Greek words for three and discourse. It is my assumption this trilogy was not intentional. However, these three works of scholarship are connected in that each of them was developed to help us become better teachers of adult learners. The individual contributions of these texts illuminate the significance of being critically aware of who you are as a teacher of adults, who your adult learners are, your content, and the context in which you are situated.
According to St. Clair, the purpose of Creating Courses for Adults: Design for Learning is to “open the curtain a little on the backstage work and provide insights into the way that good teachers of adults do what they do and, equally important, why” (p. xi). The book includes 10 chapters that are guided by a nine-cell framework that is philosophically grounded in sociocultural learning theory. Within this framework, three central core factors are emphasized—the educator, the learner, and the context—and these core factors are thoroughly explained in Part One of the book. For me, this truly sets the tone for the remainder of the book as St. Clair wisely dedicated Part Two to discuss six decisions (one decision per chapter) that most teachers of adults must consider when designing courses. A main feature of Part Two is that every chapter is introduced by offering the reader a vignette to appropriately position the reader’s mind before explaining the importance of the educator, learner, and context within the decision being discussed in the chapter. Another distinct component of this work is St. Clair’s emphasis on the significance of considering the implications for learning transfer when designing courses for adult learners. Simply put, he tells us, “[Learning] Transfer is often the most important demonstration of the value of our programs” (p. 169) because “the whole point of the enterprise is that participants will take what they have learned in the course and apply it” (p. 168).
It is clear Brockett’s Teaching Adults: A Practical Guide for New Teachers eloquently achieved his goal to reach beyond the academy to share ideas with you in a way that can be read quickly and used as a resource that you can revisit from time to time as you face new challenges and questions in teaching adults. (p. vii)
The book includes 12 chapters that are theoretically steered by a framework that involves seven qualities that are essential to being an effective adult educator, and with affection, Brockett refers to them by the acronym TEACHER within the text. He takes it one step further and moves this framework to the core of the book in Part Two as he focuses on the four keys to effective teaching—know the content, the adult learner, teaching, and yourself. The most notable element of this book is the “Think About It” sections at the end of each chapter, because it continues to engage the reader by encouraging further discussion and provokes deeper thought and reflection on what it means to be an effective teacher of adults. In other words, this element provides a workbook-style feel for the reader that could be used as a useful tool for novice teachers of adults. In addition, at the end of each chapter he offers bibliographic information for additional readings and many of these readings are seminal works in the field of adult education. I think it is very important to introduce individuals who are unfamiliar with our field to the scholarly genealogy that exists and continues to extend with regard to teaching adults.
I was first introduced to Dan Pratt’s (1998) “five perspectives” as a master’s-level student and am delighted there is a second edition. While I will always appreciate the first edition, Five Perspectives on Teaching: Mapping a Plurality of the Good is a well-conceptualized reiterative analysis of five perspectives on teaching adults, and Pratt and his associates do a great job explaining the practical applications of each of the perspectives. With philosophical soundness, Pratt and colleagues carefully present the argument that we need “a plurality of perspectives on teaching that recognize and respect a diversity of teachers, learners, content, context, ideals, and purposes” (p. 4). This book includes 12 chapters and is divided into three sections. Section I provides an overview of the framework that guided the original research from which the five perspectives emerged. Evidently, Section II evolved within this second edition as “each chapter in this section represents a ‘mirror’ for readers to look into and see if they find an image of themselves” (p. 69). Section III affords the readers with insights on tools, such as the Teaching Perspectives Inventory, to thoroughly examine the five perspectives. From my perspective, the most impactful takeaway from this updated edition was Pratt’s critical perspective on the plurality of teaching and evaluating. Specifically, he calls attention to this notion of a “best or only way” to evaluate teaching and reasonably argues “such hegemonic assumptions regarding correct or best ways of teaching violates the central premise of this book” (p. 301).
All in all, these three books share one commonality: The key to being an effective teacher of adults is being in relationship with self, the learners, the content, and the context. I strongly recommend St. Clair’s and Brockett’s books to novice adult educators, and I think these are excellent texts to use in a master’s-level course that focuses on instructional methods in adult education. Both texts are easy to read and would be a great resource for nonacademics, and in particular, community practitioners. On the other hand, I do not recommend Five Perspectives on Teaching: Mapping a Plurality of the Good for novice teachers of adults because it may be difficult for them to “see the image of themselves” (p. 69) within the infancy stages of teaching. However, I strongly recommend this text for doctoral-level courses and believe this text is most appropriate for faculty development in higher education and other spaces of adult and higher education designed to identify best practices in teaching. Furthermore, I especially recommend this book for faculty in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine who desire to enhance the effectiveness of their teaching.