Adult Learning

Principles and Theories

Early Orientation Presentation for Adult Education

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 Presentation Goals
This presentation will discuss::
 Adult Learning Theory: What is Andragogy?
 Characteristics of Adult Learners
 Promoting Adult Learning
 Preparing for Instruction
• Strategies to Help Motivate Adult Learners
 Traits of an Effective Teacher
 Apply the principles of research based teaching,
evaluation, and assessment
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 Who Is An Adult?
 An individual who performs roles associated by
our culture with adults (worker, spouse, parent,
soldier, responsible citizen)
 An individual who perceives himself or herself to
be responsible for his/her own life.

Wlodkowski and Knowles

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 What Is Learning?
 Learning is a change in behavior.
 Change in knowledge or skill.
 Acquiring new information and knowledge is part
of everyday adult life.
 Adults seek out learning opportunities.
 Learning is an individual process.

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 When Adults Need to Learn
Imagine that you want to learn a new skill or
content area.
Think about what usually triggers that desire
to learn.
Think about how you would go about it.
Think about what would help you.
Think about what might get in your way.

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 What is Adult Learning?
Andragogy:
The art and science of helping adults learn.
 Adults learn differently,
depending upon
experience, aptitude, and attitude.
 These include . . . your individual characteristics,
the perceived value of the learning task to you, and
how much experience . . . you have had with the
topic in the past.
O’Connor, Bronner, and Delaney
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 Adult Learning Theory
 The andragogy model is based on several assumptions:
• Adults have the need to know why they are learning
something.
• Adults commit to learning when the goals and
objectives are considered realistic and important.
• Adults have a need to be self-directed.
• Adults need to be taught how they learn. (They are
influenced by the way they were taught which in
many cases is the very reason they are in adult
classes.)
7 Noe (2008) pg. 133
 Adult Learning Theory
Adults bring more work-related experience into
the learning situation.
Adults enter into a learning experience with a
problem-centered approach to learning.
Adults are motivated to learn by both extrinsic
and intrinsic motivators.
Need concrete experiences
to apply learning in real work.
Need feedback.
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 Self-Directed Learning

 Helps adults be self-directed

 Encourages transformational learning
 Promotes emancipatory learning and social action

Merriam and Caffarella

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 Characteristics of Adult Learners
 Control over learning.
 High motivation to learn.
 Pragmatic in learning.
 Learning may be a secondary role.
 Resistant to change.
 Adult learners are more diverse.
 Draw on past experiences in learning.
 Learning is often self-initiated.
 Learning is aimed at an immediate goal.
10 Houle, 1984
Ball, 1996
 Promoting Adult Learning
 Establish a climate conducive to learning.
 Design training to be approximately 1/3
presentation and 2/3 application and feedback.

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 Dialogue

 Helps learners make meaning.

The creation of nonjudgmental dialogue evokes the
meaning-making dialogue and internal thought.
 Takes time and effort to appropriately design
provocative open questions inviting participants to
significant, honest reflection.
 Encourages change that leads to unique, self-
identified, reflective, meaning-making learning
experiences
12 Vella
 Tips for Learning Success
 Provide enough information
 Allow students to work collectively
 Do not put them on the spot
 Emphasize immediate benefits. Learning is not its
own reward.
 Use Think/Pair/Share
 Small group activities provide learners an
opportunity to share, reflect and generalize their
learning experiences.

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 Implications for Developing Effective
Adult Education Programs
 Learning is not its own reward.
 Adult learning is integrative.
 Value adjustment
 Control
 Practice must be meaningful
 Self-pacing

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 Preparing For Presentations
 Plan a 2:1 ratio of preparation to presentation for
new classes.
 Research and plan presentations.
 Rehearse presentations.
 Don’t confuse students by presenting too many facts.
 Check learning frequently.

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 Adults have something real
to lose in the classroom

ego and self-esteem.

17 Zemke
 Preparing for Instruction
4-Step Method
Primary Steps:
Preparation
• Motivation
Presentation
Application
Evaluation

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 Preparation - Instructor
 Know the topic and your
capabilities.
 Determine the best way to
present the information.
Demonstration,
Illustration, Lecture
 Divide the lesson into
manageable parts.

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 Preparation - Students

 Put the students at ease

 Help them be part of the class
 Explain unclear or complex information in detail
 Motivate
 Outline the day

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 Motivation
 Demonstrate enthusiasm
 Require good performance
 Promote achievement and success
 Provide relevancy
 Use positive reinforcement
 Correct with sensitivity and empathy
 Encourage, Encourage, Encourage

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 Motivating Strategies
 Put materials into “bite-size chunks” which people
are able to understand.
 Use the whole-part-whole concept, showing the
overall picture followed by the details and then a
refresher with the overall picture.
 Add a little “spice to their life” by giving them some
degree of options and flexibility in their
assignments.

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 Motivating Strategies
 Create a climate of “exploration” rather than one of
“prove it.”
 Provide plenty of documentation for the learner,
usually in the form of hands-on experience and paper
documentation.
 Let the students work in groups, since they would
rather ask other students for assistance rather than ask
the course instructor.

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 Motivating Strategies
 Make the material relevant, as close to the actual
requirements of that person’s job.
 Explain why certain assignments are made and
their relevance to the overall course or training
sessions.

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 Motivating Strategies
 Keep the course requirements in
perspective to the amount of time for the
course (credit hours, for example).
 Make certain the student is equipped
with enough knowledge and skill to
complete the assignment, rather than
setting the person up for failure.
 Bend the rules, if necessary and
appropriate, so that the adult learner can
“push the envelope” and try new things.

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 Application

 To develop student skills:

Ensure students have the opportunity to perform.
Check for understanding and skill application.
Give immediate feedback and evaluation.
Safety must be continuously stressed and
modeled by the instructor.

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 Evaluation
 Takes place on two levels:
 Informal
- Maintain eye contact with the students.
- Ask brief questions to “spot-check”
learning.
 Formal
- Use written assessments.
- Evaluate performance demonstrations.

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 Assessment
 A process of gathering data for a purpose

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 Why Do We Assess Adult Students?
 Information and guidance for individual students
• Skill level placement
• What are my learning strengths and gaps?
• Am I making progress?
• Instructional planning
• (Before) What do these students need to learn?
• (After) Was my teaching effective?

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 Why Do We Assess Adult Students?
 Required reporting
•To the state and federal government
•Are we meeting state and local performance
targets?
•Are students making competency gains?
•Are students achieving their goals?

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 When to Assess
 Pre-Assessment – is used to determine what an
individual knows and can do. After assessment, the
teacher provides the student with his/her scores,
and information about strengths and weaknesses, as
indicated by the assessment.
 Post-Assessment – occurs as needed following
instruction in the skill area to be assessed. This
assessment provides evidence of learning
achievement and may include a grade or score.
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 Nine Conditions to Successful
Learning
 Gaining attention  Eliciting performance
 Informing participants  Providing feedback
of objectives  Assessing performance
 Retrieval  Retention and transfer
 Presenting new material
 Providing learning
guidance

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 Traits of an Effective Teacher
 Think of an instructor who motivated you.
 What were their qualities?

 Read the next slides to validate or expand the

qualities you considered as you remembered
your instructor.

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 Four Traits of Effective Teachers
 Expertise
 Empathy
 Enthusiasm
 Clarity

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 Expertise
 Competence
 Substance
 Content
 Experience

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 Empathy
 Meets student needs and expectations

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 Enthusiasm
 Show excitement
 Be vocal
 Animation
 Show you care about the subject
and the students
 Emotion
 Energy

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 Clarity

 Power of language
 Power of organization
 Thinking on your feet
 Critical to developing
connections with adult learners

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 Effective Teacher Qualities
 Set the “tone” of the class
 Demonstrate professionalism
 Create a learning environment
 Assess class timing
 Avoid obstacles to effective learning
 Ability to self evaluate

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 Mistakes An Instructor Must Avoid
 Do not pretend to know all the answers.
 Information must be based on fact.
 Do not promise to find an answer then fail to do so.
 If there is no exact answer, inform the students.

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 Adult Learning Principles and Theories
Closing Assignment
 Consider how will you apply this
learning in your instructional setting?
 Write a description of how you will
apply this learning in your
instructional setting. Be prepared to
share this work during Module 1.1.

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Follow-up Assignment: Websites
 http://lincs.ed.gov/
Literacy Information and Communication System

 http://calpro-online.org/pubs.asp.
California Adult Literacy Professional
Development Project (CALPRO) Resources
Guide

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