ADULT LEARNING TRAITS | MOTIVATING THE ADULT

 ADULT LEARNING PRINCIPLES

Adult Learning

As an instructor, you should have a basic understanding of how adults learn. Adult learners bring experiences and self-awareness to learning that younger learners do not. To understand adult learning, we should understand learning domains, learning styles, and how and why adults learn.

The Adult Learning Theory

Malcolm Knowles was the first to theorize how adults learn. A pioneer in the field of adult learning, he described adult learning as a process of self-directed inquiry. He advocated creating a climate of mutual trust and clarification of mutual expectations with the learner. In other words, a cooperative learning climate is fostered.

The reasons most adults enter any learning experience is to create change. This could encompass a change in (a) their skills, (b) behavior, (c) knowledge level, or (d) even their attitudes about things (Adult Education Centre, 2005). Compared to school-age children, the major differences in adult learners are in the degree of motivation, the amount of previous experience, the level of engagement in the learning process, and how the learning is applied. Each adult brings to the learning experience preconceived thoughts and feelings that will be influenced by each of these factors. Assessing the level of these traits and the readiness to learn should be included each time a teaching experience is being planned.

Adult Learner Traits

1. Motivation

Learning in adulthood is usually voluntary. Thus, it’s a personal choice to attend school, in order to improve job skills and achieve professional growth. This motivation is the driving force behind learning and this is why it’s crucial to tap into a learner’s intrinsic impetus with the right thought-provoking material that will question conventional wisdom and stimulate his mind.

2. Self-direction

Adults feel the need to take responsibility for their lives and decisions and this is why it’s important for them to have control over their learning. Therefore, self-assessment, a peer relationship with the instructor, multiple options and initial, yet subtle support are all imperative.

3. Practical and result-oriented

Adult learners are usually practical, resent theory, need information that can be immediately applied to their professional needs, and generally prefer practical knowledge that will improve their skills, facilitate their work and boost their confidence. This is why it’s important to create a course that will cover their individual needs and have a more utilitarian content.

4. Less open-minded

Adults are more conservative in their thinking and therefore, more resistant to change. Maturity and profound life experiences usually lead to rigidity, which is the enemy of learning. Thus, instructional designers need to provide the “why” behind the change, new concepts that can be linked to already established ones, and promote the need to explore.

5. Slower learning, yet more integrative knowledge

Ageing does affect learning. Adults tend to learn less rapidly with age. However, the depth of learning tends to increase over time, navigating knowledge and skills to unprecedented personal levels.

6. Use personal experience as a resource

Adults have lived longer, seen and done more, have the tendency to link their past experiences to anything new and validate new concepts based on prior learning. This is why it’s crucial to form a class with adults that have similar life experience levels, encourage discussion and sharing, and generally create a learning community consisting of people who can profoundly interact.

7. Multi-level responsibilities

Adult learners have a lot to juggle; family, friends, work, and the need for personal quality time. This is why it’s more difficult for an adult to make room for learning, while it’s absolutely crucial to prioritize. If his life is already demanding, then the learning outcome will be compromised. Taking that under consideration, an instructional designer needs to create a flexible program, accommodate busy schedules, and accept the fact that personal obligations might obstruct the learning process.

8. High relevance to real-life

Adult learners have high expectations. They want to be taught about things that will be useful to their work, expect to have immediate results, seek for a course that will worth their while and not be a waste of their time or money. This is why it’s important to create a course that will maximize their advantages, meet their individual needs and address all the learning challenges.

Motivating the Adult Learner

Another aspect of adult learning is motivation. At least six factors serve as sources of motivation for adult learning:

Social relationships: to make new friends, to meet a need for associations and friendships.

External expectations: to comply with instructions from someone else; to fulfill the expectations or recommendations of someone with formal authority.

Social welfare: to improve ability to serve mankind, prepare for service to the community, and improve ability to participate in community work.

Personal advancement: to achieve higher status in a job, secure professional advancement, and stay abreast of competitors.

Escape/Stimulation: to relieve boredom, provide a break in the routine of home or work, and provide a contrast to other exacting details of life.

Cognitive interest: to learn for the sake of learning, seek knowledge for its own sake, and to satisfy an inquiring mind.

COMPARISON OF ADULT LEARNERS AND CHILD LEARNERS

Adults differ from children as learners. An adult has assumed responsibility for himself/herself and others. Adults differ specifically in self-concept, experience, readiness to learn, time perspective, and orientation to learning. Traditional teaching applied to children is "jug and mug" with the big jug (the teacher) filling up the little mugs (the students). Students are asked to pay attention and have few opportunities to make use of their own experience (Klatt 1999).