The Collaborative Teaching-Learning Mode: Health Education Professors and Adult Learning Principles.

Overview & Synopsis

A descriptive study using survey research techniques investigated the degree to which health education professors adhere to and practice the principles of adult education. The instrument used to measure acceptance of the adult education mode (collaborative style) was the Principles of Adult Learning Scale (PALS), a 44-item summative scale based on principles in the adult education literature. Responses were solicited from 400 practicing health education professors teaching college-level health education courses, with a 50 percent rate of return. The sample was predominantly male and the typical respondent held a doctoral degree and the rank of associate or full professor. Analysis of the data found significant differences in the acceptance and practice of the collaborative technique by health education professors. Though health education professors advocate learning as a lifelong goal, a gap exists in their knowledge base in relation to the adult as a learner and adult education principles. Significant differences were also found among health professors in regard to espoused philosophy; some regarded adult students as passive recipients of prescribed information, contrary to the collaborative mode and adult education in general. Finally, the study suggests that training is needed to move health education professors from lecturing and other limited instructional modes into a more learner-centered involvement with students. (KC)