Adult Learning Theories
How can knowing adult learning theories help you in your instructional planning for adult learners?
Adults learn differently than children. Children are trusting and inquisitive, explorative; whereas, adults seem to base their learning off of what they already know. Different theorists seem to say this same thing in different ways. A person develops as they age, learning in stages, this development is a series of tasks, life experiences serves as a resource for learning, and ultimately, we learn by doing. That all being said, you may have a classromm with varying age ranges. If you take into account all the adult learning theories, the classroom will be made up of students at different stages in their life with varying degrees of internal resources to help them learn. These students will all learn at different speeds and in different ways. In order to have balanced education, use a variety of educational activites in the classroom.
Adults are intrinsically motivated to learn. They have many personal and professional experiences upon which to attach the classroom learning. The concepts introduced in the curriculum are often familiar and take less time for these learners to understand, because of their breadth and depth of professional, real-world experience.
Because the adult learner is motivated and has a “coat rack†upon which to hang the knowledge, less time is needed in the classroom to meet the established learning objectives.
Remember that Principles of Management course you took 15 or 20 years ago? I don’t either. At the age of 19, I didn’t have any experiences with managing or being managed. Fast forward 20 years, and taking a Principles of Management class now specifically relates to experiences I have collected along my professional and personal journey. I have a place to hang that knowledge and therefore need much less time to understand the concepts introduced by a faculty member.
When teaching a new group of adult learners I find it important to check with the student where they are in their learning style and how they learn best. Since each student is an individual as well as a group I look at both. Also, my students track as a group and they learn to work together to support each other. Learning theories help me to frame my classroom and clinical experiences to meet the objectives of the course. Additionally, I have learned that adult learners will learn new content when they need the knowledge and I try to time my teaching to their need for it - so called the teachable moment.
When teaching a new group of adult learners I find it important to check with the student where they are in their learning style and how they learn best. Since each student is an individual as well as a group I look at both. Also, my students track as a group and they learn to work together to support each other. Learning theories help me to frame my classroom and clinical experiences to meet the objectives of the course. Additionally, I have learned that adult learners will learn new content when they need the knowledge and I try to time my teaching to their need for it - so called the teachable moment.
Jeff and Group:
I know that being aware of the different learning styles can help me teach adult learners. With that said, I try to explain things in different ways to appeal to different styles, and I vary activities for the same reason.
What I'd like some feedback on is: What are some things all of you (instructors) do to adjust your teaching style for different learning styles?
John
Knowing adult learning theories help me in planning my instructional style appropriate for individual learners. Knowing and reminding myself that they have prior experience lays a strong foundation upon which i am able to build new learning which is much easier for me make it interesting for each of them. I understand from the theory that teaching have to be interesting and meaningful for them to pay attention to. so when i teach a new group of student this is what i do: I take few minutes in my first class to find out who they are, what they think their experience is and what they good at, and establish a connection with them. Suguna.
John,
I try to plan at least one see, one hear and one do in as I cover nay topic. This usually hits most learners.
Jeffrey Schillinger
It is so interesting, because learning does not stop. I learn everyday somethingn new. When i teach mt adult learners i feel i am gowing, becoming more and more confident in what i teach. It is because adult learners are not just listening, but they are validating your knowledge. Sometimes, my students come to class with challenging practical questions which lets me explore more in depth about a topic or ways to accomplish a task.
Your post reminds me that we can also rely on the learner to apply the material in his or her own learning style outside of the classroom.
John
Knowing adult learning theories allows us more insight into how adults learn as well as how we should be instructing them. Not all adults can learn from lecture or reading alone; many need to also have a hands-on learning experience to grasp the information. In addition to this, adult learners need to be able to apply the information learned to their everyday lives, or they may not find the importance of learning the material. Knowing all of this helps me to create lesson plans that will implement various strategies of learning as well as being able to apply the material to my individual students.
Through understanding adult learning theories, I can focus my attention on providing different activities that will engage learners. I will design different activities that will incorporate the different learning styles. Instruction for students must be presented in as many different ways as is needed. It is also important for me to understand different learning styles of my students so that I can begin to design my teaching plan with these styles in mind.
This is also enjoyable for me as I learn new ways of presenting ideas. My students help me learn as well aas I help them learn new concepts.
This coming semester I am using a team-based learning approach in my classroom. The team-based learning focus will (hopefully) encourage student preparation.
Heidi,
What are one or two ofthe strategies you use to reach quieter students?
Jeffrey Schillinger
I have had a few quiet students that like to observe the others in class for a few weeks before they feel comfortabel enough to add to discussion. When I see these students observing, I let them know (usually during breaks and after class) that I am aware that they are only observing and ask them what they think of the discussions. Most of the time, after talking to me individually, they will begin speaking up in class because they feel more comfortable. Another thing I do for those quieter students is to show videos from YouTube (specifically cartoons that illustrate key points) which engages everyone in the class, even our self-defined "wall flowers"!
YOU CAN PLAN A VARIETY OF ACTIVITIES WHICH APPEAL TO ALL LEARNING STYLES.
Heidi,
Thanks for sharing this. Your peers may benefit from it.
Jeffrey Schillinger
One thing that I have found useful is relating the material to their lives. Adults at all ages, but especially those over 40 don't like to waste time on material they think will not help them or make their life easier in some way. Explaining how the material will do that is the first part of a lecture for me because of this. Once adults feel that the information is useful they buy in and are a lot more engaged.
That is a great way to determine what most students respond to best.
Using students' prior experiences is a great tool with adult learners. Their personal examples can really boost classmates understanding of concepts through showing concrete examples.
My knowledge and understanding of adult learning theories has helped to increase my faith that all learners can think and motivate me to help adult learners see thinking as a goal, and therefore actively seek to present challenging problem solving opportunities to my students while still providing a safe, risk-taking learning environment. Because of these theories, I know and understand how and why I should give adult learners time to learn and pay attention to their developmental readiness and sequence.
