Education Done Right

I learned to ride that green machine!

I strongly believe in being a lifelong learner. These have become buzz words for some, but for me I truly like to seek out new things to learn. I have found, however, that many programs designed for adults do not adhere to adult learning principles. Learning becomes boring and filled with rote memorization and what feels like “busy work” to get you through it.

I recently celebrated a birthday, and I decided the new thing i wanted to learn was how to ride a motorcycle. I purchased a motorcycle safety class for my birthday and was excited to learn a new skill. When I realized that half the course was online, I lost some of the excitement...my experience with online learning is that it is often “watch this video, take this quiz” over and over, ad nauseum. Upon starting the online portion of the course, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was built by someone who understood both online education and adult education! The content was broken into manageable 15–20-minute sections. Each section started with a friendly introduction by a person on camera, explaining the objectives and why it was important to learn them. Upon proceeding through the content each section had interesting pictures, graphics, gifs, and even interactive videos to demonstrate the concepts. The interactive videos were the most impressive. These were similar to what you might have with a virtual reality set up, where you could “ride long” with the instructor, and manipulate the video as you went, shifting the view to look in different directions as you would if you were on the bike!

Upon completion of each section there were reflections, where you could consider your own understanding and feelings about the material, and compare those thoughts throughout the course. Of course there was an assessment, but it also allowed you to retake it if you did not pass, and even if you did it reviewed your answers with explanations for anything missed so that you could still learn those items.

Completing the online portion earned you a certificate, which you then took to the in-person portion. During the in-person exercises again objectives and reasons were explained for each learning item, and each learner was allowed to practice with individual guidance and coaching as they worked on the skills. At the end of the full course, each student was evaluated on the very same skills they had learned online and practiced in person.

I was thrilled with the way the course was set up and conducted! Someone who knew the best practices for educating adult learners created this course, of that I am certain. The course was interesting, progressed smoothly and logically, and there were no surprises about what was expected. This is how any course designed for adult learners should be!

Thank you to Lone Star Bikers for their motorcycle safety course, and yes, I did pass and earn my license! On to the next thing...scuba diving maybe?