Objective 1: How do adults learn?

Malcolm Knowles is an educator and researcher who studied the way adults learn beginning in the 1970s. Knowles first proposed his adult learning theory based on his observations of men participating in educational programs at a YMCA. Adult learning theory is also referred to as andragogy. While well-meaning, Knowles didn’t have a large number of adults to observe at first. They were also all men. Since that time, he and other educators and researchers have continued to explore how adults best learn. They have determined that grouping all types of learners together simply based on their age is limiting. Researchers now have new thoughts on adult learning theory. Their research suggests six assumptions that experienced learners bring to their learning. These learners can be of any age, but most apply to adults.

The six assumptions about experienced learners are:

Adults are more self-directed than younger learners. Most adults have fairly stable personalities and ways of doing things. Most adults have more experiences that may better prepare them to take more control of their learning compared to novice learners. Novices are people who are new to something, like young children. Not all adults are fully self-directed, and so you need to work with adults on a case-by-case basis. Those who are more self-directed can do things more independently.

Adults have life and work experiences that influence what and how they learn. It's understandable that adults have more life experiences than younger people. Their experiences will still vary, especially when it comes to using technology. When you work with someone without a lot of technology experience, you need to help them develop background knowledge and skills about technology. Other adults will bring some technology experiences to your partnership.

Adults can better identify they have a need to learn. Adults often face dilemmas or situations in which they realize they have to learn new things. This is different from going to school where students may feel they don’t have much say in what they need to learn. Fortunately, most of the adults you work with will want to learn new things about technology. They will most likely be highly motivated to learn.

Adults are often motivated to learn because they have a real-life problem to solve. Many adults will have a problem related to their lives, work, or families that they want to solve right away. You may turn them off if you try to show them things they don’t see an immediate need for. Just-in-time coaching opportunities are an especially helpful way to support adult learners. Use the problems they share as just-in-time opportunities to learn.

Adults need to know the reason to learn something new. Adults want to know what they are being asked to learn, why they need to learn something new, and how they will learn it.

Adults are more internally motivated to learn. Adults are considered more likely to be internally motivated to learn and don’t need to rely on extrinsic motivations. Extrinsic motivations can be things like grades or rewards. This is likely based on a combination of their life experiences and being able to take a longer view of the importance of new learning. Internal motivation can have the greatest impact on learning new things.