Today, individuals of all ages attend self-enhancement classes, conferences, or workshops and use computer learning.  Learning in later life remains a potent force in maintaining mental alertness and physical health and for keeping in touch with life and the world. Lifelong learning is rapidly becoming routine for senior adult learners (1).

Teaching senior adult learners is a process that needs to be conducted thoroughly and cautiously. You will find some rocommendations and tips below to carry out this process efficiently and to avoid undesired situations:

Senior adult learners generally have a clear reason to attend a course, and the source of their basic motivation will be that reason. If you want to construct a good basis to attract their attention and motivation, you should get to know them and their story. They will bring a lot to the classroom, but you also should be flexible and patient with their learning styles. You will have to bend a little more than normal to accommodate what works for them. You should let them take a lot of notes and refer to them in practice and also you can let them ask questions, but you shouldn't let them dominate the entire class. On the other hand, senior learners are particularly sensitive to making mistakes and often don’t take too kindly to consistent error correction. They are typically not used to being corrected in front of a group, and even if your style is unobtrusive, you should give them time to acclimatize to this type of correction. You should emphasize the positive and focus on the good progress learners are making and provide opportunities for them to be successful and to show off their success (2).

A key role of the teacher is to reduce anxiety and build trust and self-confidence in the senior learner. Here are some of the things teachers can do to reduce stress and build self-confidence in older adult learners (3):

• To develop empathy between the teacher and learners, and among the learners, use humanistic techniques. 
• Don't use timed assessments that could make older students nervous. 
• Give extra time to senior learners to complete activities. 
• Try to promote a fun and comfortable classroom environment.

To provide comfort for senior students in the classroom (4):

• You should encourage learners to bring their own pillows, if more comfortable seating can't be arranged. Hard plastic or wooden chairs are most common in community and adult-education classrooms, and they are uncomfortable to sit on for long periods, even for the younger students. 
• Heating and cooling may need to be adjusted for your class.
• A short class length, regular breaks, and an occasional tea/coffee and cookies/cake at the end of a class, prevent fatigue and allow time for friendships between the students to form.
• Minimizing distractions is important for any classroom, but more so for senior classes where the available attention (and endurance) is more limited.

REFERENCES

1. Saxon, S.V.; Etten, M. J.; Perkins, E. A. (2014). Physical Change & Aging. Springer Publishing Company. 

2. What Every Teacher Should Know about Reaching Older Learners. Retrieved from:  https://busyteacher.org/10791-how-to-teach-older-learners.html

3. Seven Factors to Bear in Mind When Teaching Older Students. Retrieved from: https://kierandonaghy.com/seven-factors-bear-mind-teaching-older-studen…

4. Fergusson, K. (2018). Difficulties and Rewards of Teaching Seniors. Retrieved from:  https://owlcation.com/academia/Difficulties-and-Rewards-of-Teaching-Sen….