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The best kind of support is a chocolate biscuit: supporting mature learners in a post-pandemic world

Rebecca Pratchett Orcid Logo, Alison Walker, Caitlin Gilbert

SUSALT22 Advancing Student Engagement and Dismantling Barriers to Success

Swansea University Authors: Rebecca Pratchett Orcid Logo, Alison Walker, Caitlin Gilbert

Abstract

Anecdotally, mature students are credited with lower levels of digital competence and confidence. Prensky (2001) termed the phrases ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ to describe the difference between those who have grown up in a digital world and those that have adapted to it. Adults do no...

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Published in: SUSALT22 Advancing Student Engagement and Dismantling Barriers to Success
Published: Swansea 2022
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa60653
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Abstract: Anecdotally, mature students are credited with lower levels of digital competence and confidence. Prensky (2001) termed the phrases ‘digital natives’ and ‘digital immigrants’ to describe the difference between those who have grown up in a digital world and those that have adapted to it. Adults do not automatically turn to the technological solution, often turning to more familiar, non-digital approaches first. As education has become more digitised in recent years, departments and institutions have discussed ways of supporting mature learners to enhance digital skills. The pandemic brought the need for such support into the spotlight as teaching delivery moved entirely online for extended periods of time. In order to explore the experience of mature learners through the pandemic, interviews with full and part-time learners were conducted. This presentation will outline the results of these interviews, focusing on how digital competency and confidence have been impacted by changes to learning and teaching through the pandemic. We will address students’ use of both formal and informal support structures to support their learning, the roles that they play, and how they can be strengthened for future provision.
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Funders: Swansea Academy of Inclusivity and Learner Success