Five years after retiring, Edna's life circumstances had changed dramatically. Faced with rising costs of living and a retirement diminished by the economic recession, Edna decided to take her relatively good health, determination, and drive back into the workforce. Edna was recently widowed and relied on social security and a small pension to pay her bills. While looking to earn additional income, Edna found that even part-time work in nearly every job she interviewed for required basic computer literacy and skills. Edna was a 65-year-old woman who had retired from her position after 30 years as an office manager for a small, private business. She went to high school in an era well before the common use of computer technologies. While on the job she had been trained on the use of typewriters, shorthand, professional courtesy and communication, file management, and conventional adding machines from other staff.

During the 1980s and 1990s, the office where Edna worked had been managed via manual, paper-based procedures and techniques. As personal computers made their way into mainstream society by the early 1990s, Edna did not believe that she needed to learn computers because of her approaching retirement. She saw computers as a tool for work use, not personal use, so she did not purchase one for her home. She felt that the steep learning curve was a poor investment of time and that the younger staff members would be better suited for computer-related office work. She did remain abreast of new innovations in the technologies she was already acquainted with such as typewriters, copy machines, and fax machines.

Given her situation, Edna decided to return to school so that she could learn computer skills at a local college. Edna's decision to seek training at the college level left her feeling nervous and anxious. She feared that she would not be able to keep up with the pace or the material. Edna normally had plenty of self-confidence because of the many achievements she had accomplished throughout her life. She had worked a job for 30 years, been married and raised a family, and had been an active member of her community. However, as she contemplated being in the classroom with students in their teens and twenties, the idea of learning new technologies was frightening. She feared feeling embarrassed by her lack of knowledge and her apparent lack of skills. She expected younger students to stare, laugh, and possibly even verbally criticize her as she tried to learn. Edna did not personally own a computer or have anyone in her close personal circle who could give her help outside of class.

Once class began, Edna showed up each day before class and would review and study the course content and readings. The instructor would lecture, demonstrate computer skills, and then ask students to repeat the skills he demonstrated. She sat in the front row of the class, directly in front of the instructor and would take notes as the instructor would teach. During hands-on activities, she would sit and observe or sit and write notes detailing the exercise. Edna would not ask questions or attempt to replicate any of the computer skills during class. Each day near the end of class, Edna would ask the instructor to stay after the other students were dismissed. During this time, she would ask a myriad of questions that she had written down during the class period. She would also ask the instructor for a repeat demonstration of all of the skills she had seen the instructor perform during the class. In essence, Edna would sit in class and then spend about 20 minutes of time outside of class with the instructor each day to personally receive the one-on-one instruction needed to help her understand the concepts of the course. The instructor felt that he was reteaching the course content, but Edna appeared to have a high level of satisfaction from the independent tutoring, and would state that each session made her feel more comfortable with the material.

After 2 weeks of attending class and having after class sessions, Edna had her first assignment to complete for submission and grading. The after-class sessions were helpful to her, but when forced to work independently on an assignment, she had difficulty remembering the steps and directions covered in class. While trying to complete the assignment, she felt confused and frustrated. She tried to follow the directions using the computer software but was eventually unable to complete the assignment. Feeling embarrassed, she did not. turn in her assignment at all. During the next class period, Edna sat quietly unengaged at her desk. The instructor noticed that she did not make much eye contact or take notes as frequently as before, and would not touch the mouse and keyboard unless he was near her desk. After class, she did not immediately request a one-on-one session with the instructor. The instructor noticed these changes in her behavior and sensed a problem. The instructor also realized that she had not submitted her assignment. During the next class period, the instructor asked Edna about her assignment and her progress in general. Edna told the instructor about her feelings and that she was contemplating dropping the class.

She made statements about how difficult it was for her to keep up with other students and about how she wasn't as quick as she once was. She also stated that while in class, she had a hard time with the pace of the instructor and the other students, and that she needed more time to take notes and study before attempting the computer skills which were being demonstrated.

The instructor was perplexed with this situation and was unsure about what to do for Edna. Prior to this conversation. and based on other after class meetings, he thought Edna was doing well. He was unsure about which actions to take, but encouraged Edna to stick with the class until he could consider the situation more carefully and give her more direct guidance.

Case Study Questions:

1. What study strategies would you suggest Edna use to assist her in learning to use new technologies?
2. How can the theories of motivation and learning be used to enhance the abilities of adult learners like Edna?
3. What (if any) impact does Edna's age have on her ability to learn computer-technology?
4. Did Edna have any bias or negative beliefs that affected her own performance? If so, identify these beliefs and bias.
5. How did Edna's past work experiences affect her learning of new, modem technologies?
6. What is the instructor's role in this situation?