PRINCIPLES OF ADULT LEARNING

B R SIWAL

NIPCCD

Characteristics of Adult Learners

Their self-concept moves from being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directing person.

They accumulate a growing reservoir of experience that becomes a foundation and a resource in their learning.

Their readiness to learn becomes increasingly oriented to the developmental tasks of their social roles

Their time perspective changes, they need to see the immediate application of the knowledge not a future use or application of the knowledge.

Their reason to learn changes from external motivators to internal motivators.

Assumptions about Adult Learning

1.Adults need to know why they need to learn something 2. Adults need to learn experientially 3. Adults approach learning as problem-solving 4. Adults learn best when the topic is of immediate value. 5. Adult view learning is an active process in the construction of meaning

The Laws of Learning

The Law of Doing

Students don't learn as the result of what trainers do, but as the result of what trainers get them to do. This basic principle is equally important for students and trainers to understand. The student who expects to learn by simply sitting back and listening is likely to be disappointed

The Law of Effect

People tend to accept and repeat responses that are pleasant and satisfying, and to avoid those that are annoying. If an adult finds that he is learning to read and enjoying the process as well, he will tend to keep returning to class. In short, "nothing succeeds like success".

The Law of Exercise

The more often an act is repeated, the more quickly a habit is established. Practice makes perfect - if the practice is the right kind. Practicing the wrong thing will become a habit too, one which is hard to break. The tutor should be sure that her students are performing a skill correctly.

The Law of Primacy

First impressions are the most lasting. This means that those first lessons are all-important. The tutor should arouse interest, provide subject matter that meets the student's needs, and help him to learn it correctly the first time

Nine Principles of Adult Learning

Motivation – Participants must want to learn, they must be ready to learn and there must be some reason to learn.

Factors to be considered for Motivation:

The material must be meaningful and worthwhile to the participant, not only to the trainer.Not only must the participants be motivated, so must the trainer. If the trainer isn’t motivated, learning probably won’t take place.As mentioned under Appropriateness the trainer sometimes needs to identify a need for the participants to be there. Trainers can usually create motivation by telling the participants that this session can fill that need.Move from known to the unknown. Start the session at a point the participants are familiar with. Gradually build up and link points together so that everyone knows where they are expected to go in the learning process.

Primacy –

The things that participants learn first are usually learnt best so the first impressions or pieces of information that participants get from the trainer are really important. For this reason, it’s good practice to include all of the key points at the beginning of the session.

Factors to be considered for Primacy:Again keep sessions to a relatively short period of time; twenty minutes is about right as suggested with the law of Recency.The beginning of your session will be important as you know that most of the participants will be listening; so make it interesting and put lots of important information into it.Keep the participants fully aware of the direction and progress of their learning.Ensure that participants get things right the first time you require them to do something.

2-way Communication –

The training process involves communication with the participants, not at them. Factors to be considered for 2-way Communication:Your body language is also included in 2-way communication: make sure it matches what you’re saying.Your session plan should have interactions with the participants designed into it.

Feedback –

Informs both the facilitator and the participant need information from each other. The facilitator needs to know that the participants are following and keeping pace and the participants need feedback on the standard of their performance.

Factors to be considered for Feedback

Trainees should be tested frequently for instructor feedback.When trainees are tested they must get feedback on their performance as soon as possible.Testing can also include the trainer asking frequent questions of the group.All feedback doesn’t have to be positive, as some people believe. Positive feedback is only half of it, and is almost useless without negative feedback.

When a participant does or says something right, acknowledge it (in front of the group if possible.)Prepare your presentations so that there is positive reinforcement built into it at the very beginning.Look for someone doing it right as well as always looking for someone doing it wrong.

Active Learning

Participants learn more when they are actively involved in the process. Factors to be considered about Action Learning:Use practical exercises during the instructionUse plenty of questions during the instructionA quick quiz may be used to keep the participants activeIf at all possible get the participants to do what they are being instructed in.If the participants are kept sitting for long periods without any participation or questions being asked of them it’s possible for them to nod off or lose interest in the session.

Multiple-sense learning – Learning is far more effective if the participants use more than one of their five senses. Factors to be considered about Multiple-sense learning:If you tell participants about something, try to show them as wellUse as many of the participants’ senses as necessary for them to learn, but don’t get carried away.When using Multiple-sense learning make sure that the sense selected can be used. Ensure that it’s not difficult for the group to hear, see and touch whatever it is you want them to.

Exercise –

Things that are repeated are best remembered.

Factors to be considered about Exercise:

The more we get trainees to repeat something the more likely they are to retain the information.

By asking frequent questions we are encouraging exercise or overlearning.

The participants must perform the exercise themselves; but taking notes doesn’t count.

Summarize frequently as this is another form of exercise. Always summarize at the conclusion of a session.

Get the participants to recall frequently what has been covered so far in the presentation.

The law of Exercise also includes giving participants exercises to carry out.

Pitfalls of Training Adults

Don’t treat adults like a children.Ensure that the Adults you’re teaching want to learn.Ensure that Adults feel there is a need to learn before you teach them.Don’t throw statistics and facts at adult learners. They are goal-oriented and opportunity driven, not statistically driven.Use their experience to help out their learning.Adults learn best in informal environments, and pleasant social atmospheres