Academics · Adult Learning

Pick the format
you will keep showing up to.

In person, live online, self-paced, hybrid, a tutor or learning on the job: rate how each sounds, then add what you have to work with. A phone-only setup, a long trip or child care not yet arranged pulls a format down a point. The survey names the best fit and the questions to ask before you enroll.

Start the surveyWhat you get

Format surveys

The worked example is made up: a night-shift worker studying on a phone, a parent who needs child care for anything in person, and a retiree with a laptop and a long drive. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Academics · Adult LearningFree

What you finish with
A record per learner: goal, hours a week, free times, a 1 to 4 rating of six formats and the practical limits. Ranks the formats with a point off for each limit that applies, names the best fit and the runner-up, explains every format that sounded right but dropped, and lists what to ask the program.
Who it is for
Adults choosing how to take a class or program, and adult education staff helping them at intake.
Format
Browser survey with a saved record per learner. Prints one survey, every learner in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Adult Learning space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Note your goal and hours.
  2. Rate each format.
  3. Add your device and trip.
  4. Read the best fit.
  5. Ask the program.

Start the survey

Fit is mostly logistics

Three questions that decide a formatWhenSet class times, or anytimeFree time that stays thesame each weekHours left for practiceWhereA trip there and backCare arranged at homeA quiet place to workWith whatA computer, not only aphoneInternet that holds avideo callComfort with files andemailThree questions that decide a formatWhenSet class times, or any timeFree time that stays the same each weekHours left for practiceWhereA trip there and backCare arranged at homeA quiet place to workWith whatA computer, not only a phoneInternet that holds a video callComfort with files and email
A format that sounds right on paper can fail on one of these. The survey checks all three.

Preferences, not learning styles

This survey asks how you can attend and keep up, not whether you are a visual or an auditory learner. Research has not found that matching teaching to a learning style improves results. What does predict whether adults finish is practical: time that stays free, a way to get there or get online, and help between classes.

Online is not one thing

A live online class keeps a set time and a teacher you can ask; self-paced lessons trade that for flexibility and need more self-management. Studies of online and blended courses find blended formats do at least as well as face-to-face classes, but outcomes depend on support and access more than on the format’s name.

Sources

  1. Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., and Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles: concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105 to 119.
  2. Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., and Jones, K. (2010). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning (a meta-analysis). U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.
  3. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education. Adult education and literacy, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Title II (ed.gov).
  4. Federal Communications Commission. Lifeline and other programs for low-cost phone and internet service (fcc.gov).

The worked example is made up. The score is a planning aid: one point off for each practical limit, not a test of how you learn. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.