Much more than children, adult learners will come to a class with particular expectations about what they want to get out of it. Sometimes these will be unrealistic, or impossible. The vital thing is that you find out about them, and both let them know which of their expectations will be met, and where possible, adjust your teaching plan to incorporate them better. Ask your students to make a list of their expectations near the beginning of the course, and either share them as a group or take them home to consider carefully. Giving some of the control of the outcomes of the course to your students helps them feel more fully involved and they’re likely to contribute and participate more. Check periodically if they think their expectations are being fulfilled. Bear in mind that this can also work two ways – in some situations it’s also appropriate for you to have expectations of your students. For example, you could explain that you expect them to prepare or study outside class, or that they will ask you if they don’t understand something.
To further check that you’re meeting the needs of the students in all ways, seek out feedback, both informally and in a more structured way. In class, watch for clues about whether the students are enjoying and understanding the course material. In some adult classes, there’s a tendency for learners to be too polite to tell a teacher when they don’t understand – for example, think of a highly enthusiastic information technology trainer who passionately explains every minute detail of a new piece of software, when the participants don’t even know how to open the program. Sometimes, these students will just politely wait out the two or three hours and leave knowing next to nothing more. Ask your participants questions to check that they understand what’s going on, and as above, provide a range of activities through which they can practice or rehearse new knowledge or skills. To get more formal feedback, it can be helpful to give your students a short, anonymous feedback form. Concentrate on the key areas of feedback you’re looking for, and also give space for other comments. My standard form looks something like “What’s difficult?”, “What’s easy?”, “What do you want more of?” and “What do you want less of?”.