What makes an adult learning course enjoyable and well run?

[Noodge]

I have just started working freelance tutoring adults a couple of nights a week. I've done it before, but this is different as It's my own company.

If you've been an adult learner, or are a tutor, what has made a difference for you, what for you makes a course good, enjoyable to attend?

I ask becuase I want to eventually expand and drop my PAYE work if possible, so this new, first course I am tutoring needs go to well! I need good student feedback, happy students, the course to run smoothly.

Of course the basics are a good enthusiastic tutor who's helpful and knowledgeable on their subject. But are there other things that I may not have thought of?

I've done loads of adult learning and I would say that the only times I haven't enjoyed it is when I've joined a new group that have either been together ages and aren't particularly friendly and welcoming and/or the class is either too easy or too advanced for me so I either get bored/frustrated or lose confidence.

As an adult, you are choosing to spend your money and time doing the study, so generally I find that everyone is pretty invested, engaged and enthusiastic. It can be very variable though. My DM did French classes at an adult learning centre for years and she ended up leaving, because she found them so pedestrian and many of the learners really didn't progress and were only doing it so they could manage very basic interactions on holiday.

I agree with most of what has been said. Start on time. Have a short break if necessary but don't waste time. I prefer in person as I tend to focus better. I also think debate and collaboration (if the subject requires that) work better in person.
The main thing that has deterred me from classes in recent years is cost but that's probably a whole separate topic

I tutor postgrads online and one of the things I butted up against when I began was an "I pay your wages I want some service" entitled attitude from some Uk grads. For that reason I now only take international grads. They are mostly from cultures where elders and academics are deeply respected so they know who is in charge. This is obviously a different vibe from your class scenario which is a lot less intensive and official. I charge very high fees and help students on an individual basis because I want them to successfully complete their masters or doctorate. We are not there to chat. But even an unofficial atmosphere needs to be well organised and focused on what you want to achieve.

I know it’s hard to police this but if it is for total beginners, please let it be at a total beginner level!

I have tried so many total beginner craft courses where other people have obviously done it before and I have been totally left behind.

If you know how to set up your crochet need and can crochet a whole line you’re not a total beginner !

True, but if someone can do that but not build on it with the second line, then no other class is suitable for them and they'll turn up at yours.

In that sort of scenario I would set the 'I can set up and crochet a beginner line' lot, the task of producing each stitch perfectly uniformly sized, which slows them down, while developing useful skills, while I got the total beginners set up and started.

Those that manage it, have just produced examples useful to show the total beginners who aren't there yet, what they will later be aiming for, and why having uniform stitches makes a real difference when we get to row two.

A decent tutor will work to ensure no one is left behind, but there is also some responsibility to speak up if you are struggling. If the tutor's done their job properly in creating the atmosphere, it shouldn't be difficult, even if it's just to shake your head when asked how it's going.

People will always be at different levels, with some scared of failing, and others scared of not being the best. It's the tutors responsibility to raise the total beginners up, while deepening the slightly more knowledgeable's skills, but ensuring all concepts are being taught equally to both, and diverting competitiveness into something more useful to the group dynamics.

Everyone is on the same pathway, regardless of where they start, and part of the tutors job is to balance out the personalities and skill levels, so that everyone is seen, appreciated, and acquiring skills at the levels they seek, as well as able to feel comfortable and appreciated in the group, and not overwhelmed.
Being able to continuously differentiate and 'hold the group' is an essential skill that tutees have a right to expect from a tutor.

(I teach a range of art, theater, craft, cooking, tool use, and practical skills, mainly but not exclusively, to people who are homeless.)

Thank you so much all. Apologies, I should have definitely specified that it is online!

I am just compiling a welcome message for the student's forum. A lot trickier to word this in a way I am happy with than I previously may have thought!

I am just reading through all the responses and I'm very grateful for them all.

To answer some questions;

The course is under a governing body and is the introduction to a subject which can then lead on to the next level. The level following that is qualifying level, so it is an introductory course of sorts.

I have a guide on what to teach, strictly laid out, but I choose how to teach it myself and have written all lesson plans.

It's 22 weeks, and a huge element of it does involve talking to one another, so although I won't do 'cringey' introductions, there is an element of the students needing to know one another. The qualification will involve working with a variety of different people so this is important. I totally understand that it isn't the same as were they learning a craft or language or english/maths etc.

2 hours is too long without a break. People will lose concentration. A ten minute break helps.

Well there are no tablets of stone, but I think most adults can concentrate for 2 hours. Not in a lecture-style environment, but in a workshop/seminar environment where they are doing as well as listening.

Each to her own, but IMO a ten minute break is disruptive, particularly in an in-person class where everyone is in the same queue for coffee or wanting to use the same loos, so people are late back. It's easy enough to build in a discussion or brief Q&A half way through to re-energise people.

Interactivity - things like metimeter

Being sedentary for more than 45mins to 1hour increases risk of CVD over a lifetime. Better to move around for 5 mins half way through.

Try Human Bingo. Always goes down well with our students.

22 weeks is a long commitment even just in two hour sessions. You need a session to establish ground rules, format and expectations as well as get introductions out of the way. Presumably there is a minimum attendance and engagement to pass, for example. Do they need to spend time on top of the guided learning hours for “homework”, research or practical experience? Are they self paying or is it a funded course which has obligations on you to provide paperwork and maintain attendance

Once a week for 22 weeks sitting for 2 hours is not going to make a difference, particularly as we don't know the nature of the course and there may be some moving around anyway.