How to Successfully Teach Adults:

A Look at Adult Learning Styles and Teaching Strategies

Renee

Adults: Different from Children

Physical

Emotional

Psychological

Educational

Environmental

There are many differences between adults and children.

Click on the links to the left to learn about each one.

Physical

Adults are taller than children requiring different classroom furniture and set up to accommodate their size.

The pre-frontal cortex further develops in young adults, allowing for heightened intellectual capacity (Kuhn & Pease, 2006).

Emotional

Adults no longer suffer from puberty minimizing emotional outbursts.

Adults have concretely formed their opinion of school, teachers, and tests and can become hypersensitive to being asked to participate in activities that bring bad memories.

Psychological Psychologically, children are more immature and

unsure of their place in the world, who they are, and what they want to do and become.

Adults have a more mature and straight-forward in their educational desires. They know why they want this schooling, how it will help them, and generally, what is necessary to accomplish their goals.

These feelings provide an adult student with an intrinsic desire to learn and attend class, lessening the motivational load of the teacher.

Educational

Kuhn and Pease feel that young adults may even learn more effectively or rapidly due to their established foundation of knowledge in which to draw references.

When new material can be associated with previous knowledge, it is easier to learn, understand, and retain it causing adults to seem to learn new material much quicker.

Because of their previous knowledge, adults can contribute much more the classroom with their knowledge and previous experiences.

Environmental

Children have few responsibilities outside of the classroom that are limited to small chores and friendly engagements.

This gives younger students ample time to complete their homework and focus their undivided attention to their academic pursuits.

Environmental Continued…

Adults have to juggle a job (or several), a family, their schooling, and other weighty obligations.

Thus, while they have good intentions in the classroom, they are more likely to be absent or distracted from the general learning process

How to Teach Adults

Because of the critical differences between children and adults, teachers need to embrace this and change their teaching style.

They need to encourage adults to master more without making them feel force feed information, underutilized, and

stupid.

Adults and Children

When teaching children, teachers adhere to a teaching philosophy called “pedagogy.”

The approach is very effective

and focuses leadership and

power on the teacher to guide

the naive students down the

path of knowledge.

Adults and Children

When teaching adults, teachers embrace a different teaching philosophy called “andragogy.”

This approach notes that adults learn differently then children and focuses the attention on the students to drive their own learning while the teacher acts as more of a facilitator than a dictator.

Adults and Children

Click each link below to go to page PEDAGOGY ANDRAGOGY

Role Student Dependent Teacher Authority

Student Self-Directed Teacher Facilitator

Climate Formal Authority Informal Collaboration

Planning Teacher Determined Mutual Consent

Needs Teacher Determined

Determined by Age

Mutual Consent through Life Stage Analysis

Problem Focus on Societal Roles

Goals Learn for Future

Teacher Determined

Learn for Now

Mutual Consent

Learning Activities

Teacher Determined Mutual Consent

Evaluation Teacher Determined Mutual Consent(University of Phoenix, 2007)

Role - Teacher

Guide the students to their own knowledge rather Guide the students to their own knowledge rather than supplying them with facts. than supplying them with facts.

Teacher acts as a guide for students.Teacher acts as a guide for students.

Classroom Classroom practices inclusion practices inclusion with small learning with small learning groups. groups.

Role - Student

Adults are more likely to learn on their own time Adults are more likely to learn on their own time rather than waiting for the teacher to direct them.rather than waiting for the teacher to direct them.

Students drive class discussions based on their Students drive class discussions based on their previous experiences.previous experiences.

Students remain motivated to learn from internal Students remain motivated to learn from internal desire.desire.

Climate

Teachers utilize small learning groups and student driven discussions.

Students feel comfortable contributing to the class and their learning group.

There is more of a partnership between student and teacher instead of a dictatorship.

Planning

While adhering to the curriculum, students drive While adhering to the curriculum, students drive discussions and what material is covered.discussions and what material is covered.

Teachers need to prepare open ended and probing Teachers need to prepare open ended and probing questions that can utilize their students’ prior questions that can utilize their students’ prior

experiences to facilitate learning.experiences to facilitate learning.

Teachers need to be prepared for multiple Teachers need to be prepared for multiple scenarios presented by their students to scenarios presented by their students to make class and their suggestions effective. make class and their suggestions effective.

Needs

Instruction needs to reflect adult needs such as:

– Work related assistance– Societal needs– General education (without force feeding)

Needs will change with each new class, so students’ needs should be pre-assessed each time.

Goals

Unlike children, adults continue their education in a desire to learn for their career, financial, or pure educational need.

These internal goals further motivate adult students and should be addressed in the curriculum.

This not only allows for completion of these goals, but minimal classroom management efforts by the teacher.

Learning Activities

Learning activities should reflect the goals and needs of the adult students.

Curriculum should be adhered to and educational, but allowed to be driven by the students.

Although lecture style is common, class discussions, learning groups, and engaging activities tend to be more effective.

Evaluation

Formal Evaluations – Tests– Essays– Presentations

Informal Evaluations– Observation– Discussion

Adult learners should be aware of what and how their performance will be evaluated.

They should feel they have control of their learning and subsequent evaluation to achieve maximum participation.

Effective Teaching

Education is a privilege that can open the doors to anything.

Regardless of the age of the student, school and learning should be a happy event. Click on the icon below to view a movie on how to incorporate this joy into your own classroom.

An Effective Teacher…

Stimulates their students to learn.

Is skilled at directing the learning process while allowing the students to feel ownership.

Educates their students without force feeding them information.

Uses their student’s own interests to drive and connect the necessary curriculum.

Allows students to see the immediate value in their gained knowledge.

References

Google Images (2008). Retrieved April 4, 2008 from http://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi

Kuhn, D. & Pease, M. (2006). Do children and adults learn differently? Journal of Cognition and Development. 7(3), 279–293

Microsoft Office. (2003). Clip Art.

University of Phoenix. (2007). Principles of Pedagogy and Andragogy. Adult Learning: Theories, Principles, and Applications Course (EDD 511).