How Do Adults REALLY Learn?

You've seen it happen a thousand times. A group of intelligent, experienced, interesting people have gathered for a workshop. They're laughing and talking over coffee and muffins; the conversation is animated, stimulating. Then they sit down at the workshop table, and suddenly turn into “students”....quiet, passive, waiting to be “taught”.

Most adults revert back to the classroom when they think about “training”. But research...and your own life experience...have shown that adult learners are different. They have different needs, they learn in different ways. Too many of the training programs we attend are designed like high school courses, where teachers teach and learners learn. Training programs and workshops designed for adult learners must reflect the way that adults really learn.

So what makes adult learners different?

Adults are people with a lot of experience.

Adults learn by relating new information to their life experience. Good trainers know how to use that experience: they draw examples and information from participants, use expertise that’s already within the group, and help group members to apply their new learnings to what they already know.

Every adult has a different learning style.

Some adults learn best by watching others do a task: some prefer to practice on their own. Some people like to be taught in a classroom setting: others prefer to do their own research. There are several different ways to teach any given skill: a good trainer will use a combination of techniques to match as many different learning styles as possible.

Adults are people with set habits and tastes.

Some adults need a morning fix of coffee; some require smoke breaks; some need to stretch every fifteen minutes: some like humour: some are offended by profanity.

But they all have one thing in common: they will find it hard to learn when their personal habits or tastes are violated. Effective workshops take the participants personal needs into account, and accommodate as many as possible.

Adults are independent.

In a school the teacher is clearly a leader, looked on as the source of discipline and authority. Adult learners, on the other hand , are independent, and should usually be able to moderate their own behaviour. Respect the participants, and help them to develop greater abilities in self-direction and responsibility.

 
Adults have group behaviours
Most adults have been part of many groups in their lives, and have developed ways of acting in a group. Some are aggressive, some are passive: all have social needs, and all want those needs to be met by the group. Some of these behaviours will help the group: some will hinder it. Effective trainers recognize participants’ needs in the group, and attempt to meet those needs in a way that is helpful for the group as a whole.

Adults are people with real work to do.

Most adult learners are taking a training course for specific reasons. They have real work to do, and there are skills and knowledge they need to do that work. Your training program should identify their real needs and meet them, rather than following a preset curriculum.

You must also respect their commitment to this training event. They’ve invested a piece of time in you: it’s your job to make sure they feel that investment was worthwhile.

Adults are people with real lives outside the training program

Most adults have other demands on their time...social, personal, professional...that sometimes make it hard to concentrate on the training program. Effective trainers will recognize this, and make sure that content is presented at an appropriate pace.

Adults can change

We’re all complicated people, the product of our cultures, our experiences, our interests and our beliefs. None of us like having those things challenged or altered: change is uncomfortable, and sometimes painful. And yet effective training means change: changing what you think, how you work, what you feel.

Effective workshops help adults change by establishing an atmosphere of trust, support, and openness, and by encouraging participants to experiment with new skills and attitudes in a friendly environment.

Adults respond to appropriate reinforcement

Most people respond well to positive reinforcement most of the time. The trick is determining what “positive reinforcement” means for each individual. Some participants react well to compliments, while others are embarrassed by public praise. Reinforcement used too often can seem condescending and insulting.

Effective workshops are built on appropriate levels and kinds of reinforcement.

Adults are people with valuable ideas to contribute

...and that includes you. What are your ideas about how adults learn best?