Literacy
New York Trainer Corp
Resources
Adults
As Learners
Part of being
an effective instructor involves understanding how adults learn best.
Compared to children and teens, adults have special needs and requirements
as learners. Despite the apparent truth, adult learning is a relatively
new area of study. The field of adult learning was pioneered by Malcom
Knowles. He identified the following characteristics of adult learners:
- Adults
are autonomous and self-directed. They need to be free
to direct themselves. Their teachers must actively involve adult participants
in the learning process and serve as facilitators for them. Specifically,
they must get participants' perspectives about what topics to cover
and let them work on projects that reflect their interests. They should
allow the participants to assume responsibility for presentations
and group leadership. They have to be sure to act as facilitators,
guiding participants to their own knowledge rather than supplying
them with facts. Finally, they must show participants how the class
will help them reach their goals (e.g., via a personal goals sheet).
- Adults
have accumulated a foundation of life experiences and knowledge that may include work-related activities, family responsibilities,
and previous education. They need to connect learning to this knowledge/experience
base. To help them do so, they should draw out participants' experience
and knowledge which is relevant to the topic. They must relate theories
and concepts to the participants and recognize the value of experience
in learning.
- Adults
are goal-oriented. Upon enrolling in a course, they usually
know what goal they want to attain. They, therefore, appreciate an
educational program that is organized and has clearly defined elements.
Instructors must show participants how this class will help them attain
their goals. This classification of gaols and course objectives must
be done early in the course.
- Adults
are relevancy-oriented. They must see a reason for learning
something. Learning has to be applicable to their work or other responsibilities
to be of value to them. Therefore, instructors must identify objectives
for adult participants before the course begins. This means, also,
that theories and concepts must be related to a setting familiar to
participants. This need can be fulfilled by letting participants choose
projects that reflect their own interests.
- Adults
are practical, focusing on the aspects of a lesson most useful
to them in their work. They may not be interested in knowledge for
its own sake. Instructors must tell participants explicitly how the
lesson will be useful to them on the job.
- As do
all learners, adults need to be shown respect. Instructors
must acknowledge the wealth of experiences that adult participants
bring to the classroom. These adults should be treated as equals in
experience and knowledge and allowed to voice their opinions freely
in class.
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.
Barriers
and Motivation
Unlike children
and teenagers, adults have many responsibilities that they must balance
against the demands of learning. Because of these responsibilities,
adults have barriers against participating in learning. Some of these
barriers include lack of time, money, confidence, or interest, lack
of information about opportunities to learn, scheduling problems, "red
tape," and problems with child care and transportation.
Motivation
factors can also be a barrier. What motivates adult learners? Typical
motivations include a requirement for competence or licensing, an expected
(or realized) promotion, job enrichment, a need to maintain old skills
or learn new ones, a need to adapt to job changes, or the need to learn
in order to comply with company directives.
The best
way to motivate adult learners is simply to enhance their reasons for
enrolling and decrease the barriers. Instructors must learn why their
students are enrolled (the motivators); they have to discover what is
keeping them from learning. Then the instructors must plan their motivating
strategies. A successful strategy includes showing adult learners the
relationship between training and an expected promotion.
Learning
Tips for Effective Instructors
Educators
must remember that learning occurs within each individual as a continual
process throughout life. People learn at different speeds, so it is
natural for them to be anxious or nervous when faced with a learning
situation. Positive reinforcement by the instructor can enhance learning,
as can proper timing of the instruction.
Learning
results from stimulation of the senses. In some people, one sense is
used more than others to learn or recall information. Instructors should
present materials that stimulates as many senses as possible in order
to increase their chances of teaching success.
There are
four critical elements of learning that must be addressed to ensure
that participants learn. These elements are:
1. motivation
2. reinforcement
3. retention
4. transference
Motivation.
If the participant does not recognize the need for the information (or
has been offended or intimidated), all of the instructor's effort to
assist the participant to learn will be in vain. The instructor must
establish rapport with participants and prepare them for learning; this
provides motivation. Instructors can motivate students via several means:
- Set
a feeling or tone for the lesson. Instructors should try to establish
a friendly, open atmosphere that shows the participants they will
help them learn.
- Set
an appropriate level of concern. The level of tension must be
adjusted to meet the level of importance of the objective. If the
material has a high level of importance, a higher level of tension/stress
should be established in the class. However, people learn best under
low to moderate stress; if the stress is too high, it becomes a barrier
to learning.
- Set
an appropriate level of difficulty. The degree of difficulty should
be set high enough to challenge participants but not so high that
they become frustrated by information overload. The instruction should
predict and reward participation, culminating in success.
In addition,
participants need specific knowledge of their learning results (feedback
). Feedback must be specific, not general. Participants must also see
a reward for learning. The reward does not necessarily have to be monetary;
it can be simply a demonstration of benefits to be realized from learning
the material. Finally, the participant must be interested in
the subject. Interest is directly related to reward. Adults must see
the benefit of learning in order to motivate themselves to learn the
subject.
Reinforcement.
Reinforcement is a very necessary part of the teaching/learning process;
through it, instructors encourage correct modes of behavior and performance.
- Positive
reinforcement is normally used by instructors who are teaching
participants new skills. As the name implies, positive reinforcement
is "good" and reinforces "good" (or positive) behavior.
- Negative
reinforcement is normally used by instructors teaching a new skill
or new information. It is useful in trying to change modes of behavior.
The result of negative reinforcement is extinction -- that is, the
instructor uses negative reinforcement until the "bad" behavior disappears,
or it becomes extinct.
When instructors
are trying to change behaviors (old practices), they should apply both
positive and negative reinforcement.
Reinforcement
should be part of the teaching-learning process to ensure correct behavior.
Instructors need to use it on a frequent and regular basis early in
the process to help the students retain what they have learned. Then,
they should use reinforcement only to maintain consistent, positive
behavior.
Retention.
Students must retain information from classes in order to benefit from
the learning. The instructors' jobs are not finished until they have
assisted the learner in retaining the information. In order for participants
to retain the information taught, they must see a meaning or purpose
for that information. The must also understand and be able to interpret
and apply the information. This understanding includes their ability
to assign the correct degree of importance to the material.
The amount
of retention will be directly affected by the degree of original learning.
Simply stated, if the participants did not learn the material well initially,
they will not retain it well either. Retention by the participants is
directly affected by their amount of practice during the learning. Instructors
should emphasize retention and application. After the students demonstrate
correct (desired) performance, they should be urged to practice to maintain
the desired performance. Distributed practice is similar in effect to
intermittent reinforcement.
Transference.
Transfer of learning is the result of training -- it is the ability
to use the information taught in the course but in a new setting. As
with reinforcement, there are two types of transfer: positive and negative.
Positive
transference, like positive reinforcement, occurs when the participants
uses the behavior taught in the course.
Negative
transference, again like negative reinforcement, occurs when the
participants do not do what they are told not to do. This results in
a positive (desired) outcome.
Transference
is most likely to occur in the following situations:
- Association -- participants can associate the new information with something that
they already know.
- Similarity -- the information is similar to material that participants already
know; that is, it revisits a logical framework or pattern.
- Degree
of original learning -- participant's degree of original learning
was high.
- Critical
attribute element -- the information learned contains elements
that are extremely beneficial (critical) on the job.
Although
adult learning is relatively new as field of study, it is just as substantial
as traditional education and carries and potential for greater success.
Of course, the heightened success requires a greater responsibility
on the part of the teacher. Additionally, the learners come to the course
with precisely defined expectations. Unfortunately, there are barriers
to their learning. The best motivators for adult learners are interest
and selfish benefit. If they can be shown that the course benefits them
pragmatically, they will perform better, and the benefits will be longer
lasting.
From: Principles
of Adult Learning
Stephen Lieb,
Senior Technical Writer and Planner, University of Arizona Dept. of
Health Services
And
part-time Instructor, South Mountain Community College
The University
of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
http://www.arizona.edu
UA Campus Operator: (520) 621-2211
