Adult Education Theories and Principles:

understanding how adults learn

Lynn Atkinson Tovar Ed.D.

Adult Education“is defined as any course or educational activity taken part-time and reported as adult education by respondents seventeen years old an over” (U. S. Department of Education, 1986)

Father of Adult Education-Malcolm Knowles

Self-Directed

Andragogical model of instruction Learner-centered vs. instructor-centered Learner is viewed as a mutual partner in

each of these steps Diagnosing learning needs Formulating objectives Designing a pattern of learning experiences Evaluating results

Andragogy Adults learn differently than

children Understanding learners are not

children they should not be treated as such

Assumption is that we learn by two methods Visually Interactively

Adults seek out learning experiences in order to cope with specific life changing events

They are certain to engage actively in any learning that promises to help them

Andragogy-4 different assumptions about adult learners Self-concept

Experience

Readiness to learn

Orientation to learn

Motivation to learn

Adults want to participate actively in the assessment of their own needs and in planning their own learning activities. They want to participate in establishing the goals and objectives of their learning and the evaluation of their learning.

Principles of Adult Learning Present new

information=meaningful and practical

Present information in a manner that permits mastery

Present only one idea or concept at a time=able to integrate it into existing knowledge

Use feedback and frequent summarization to facilitate and foster retention and recall.

Types of Adult Learning Knowledge Learning

Skill Learning

Attitude Learning

Knowles:Outlines 4 Basic characteristics of educational environments

1. Respect for personality2. Participation in decision making3. Freedom of expression and

availability of information4. Mutuality of responsibility in

defining goals, planning, and conducting activities, and evaluation

Knowles (1980) states: “the ideal situation is when a group is small enough for all participates to be involved in every aspect of planning every phase of the learning activity. The teacher, of course, retains responsibility for facilitating the planning by suggesting procedures and coordinating the process. But conditions are likely to be right for this maximum degree of participation only in small courses, action projects, workshops, and club programs. With larger groups the ideal situation can be approximated, however, by an imaginative use of sub groupings”.

What motivates adults to learn?

Becoming a better-informed person37%

Preparing for a new job or occupation36%

For the job I held at that time32%

Spending my spare time more enjoyably20%

Meeting new and interesting people15%

Carrying out everyday task at home13%

Getting away from the daily routine10%

Carrying out everyday task away from home10%

Barriers to learning…. Not enough time to participate in educational activities Individual and personal problems (including cost) Too difficult to succeed in educational activities Against the social norms to participate in educational activities Negative feelings toward the institution offering instruction Negative experiences with educational activities Results of educational activities not valued Indifference to educational activities Unawareness of educational activities available

Adult Education Theorist Malcolm Knowles Jack Mezirow Patricia Cross G. Grow Howard Gardner Howard McClusky

Mezirow’s-Perspective Transformation

Learning is understood as the process of using a prior interpretation to construe a new or revised interpretation of the meaning of one’s experiences as a guide to future action.

We appropriate symbolic models, composed of images and conditioned affective reactions acquired earlier through the culture or the idiosyncrasies of parents or caretakers

“Frame of reference”-we make analogies to interpret the meaning of our new sensory experience

Learning may be intentional, the results of deliberate inquiry, incidental, a by-product of another activity involving intentional learning, or mindlessly assimilative

Aspects of both intentional and incidental learning takes place outside learner awareness.

What? A belief in himself or herself A belief in his or her world All bound up with his or her affects

Intuition Imagination Dreams Spirituality Empathy Emotions Assumptions

Transformation Learning- involves participating in constructive discourse to use the experience of others to assess reasons justifying these assumptions, and making an action decision based on the resulting insight.

It is how we learn to negotiate and act on own purpose, values, feelings, and meanings rather than those we have uncritically assimilated from others-gain greater control over our lives as socially responsible, clear thinking decision makers

Cross’s Chain-of-Response Model Participation in a learning activity is the result

of a chain of responses to both psychological and environmental factors

Self-evaluation Attitudes about education

Life events and transitions-life cycle Graduation, marriage, retirements Account for 83% of the motivation to participate in

adult ed Information=opportunities/barriers

Grow’s Model-The Staged Self-Directed Learning Model 1991 Stage 1: learners of low self-direction who

need an authority figure (teacher) to tell them what to do

Stage 2: learners of moderate self-direction who are motivated and confident but largely ignorant of the subject matter to be learned

Stage 3: learners of intermediate self-direction who have both the skills and the basic knowledge an view themselves as being both ready and able to explore a specific area with a good guide

Stage 4: learners of high self-direction who are both willing and able to plan, execute, and evaluate their own learning with or without the help of an expert.

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences

(1993)

Evidence for the existence of several relatively autonomous human intellectual competencies

Linguistic (capacity to use language) Logical-mathematical (understand causal system) Spatial (visual skills exhibited by a painter or

architect) Musical (think in music, hear patterns) Bodily-kinesthetic ( use whole or part of body to

solve problems or do something) Interpersonal (understanding others) Intrapersonal (Understanding of self)

McClusky’s Margin Theory Adulthood is a time of growth, change

and integration in which one constantly seeks balance between the amount of energy needed and the amount available. Load of life-dissipates energy Power of life-allows one to deal with the load

Address when learning will most likely occur rather then learning itself.

Theories that guide Learning Behaviorist Theory Cognitive Theory Gestalt Theory Humanistic Theory

Behaviorist Theory Learner is like a machine. Input=

stimulus, how it is processed.Output=the response or result of learning.

The goal of learning is to produce a certain prescribed behavior.

Pragmatic instruction, behavior modification, computer-assisted instruction and repetition.

Cognitive Theory Human beings have a brain, which

separates them from other living things.

Their capacity to THINK critically and solve problems

Cognitive theory encourages didactic instruction, rote memorization, and standardized testing to identify problems.

Gestalt Theory Similar to cognitive Believes that the whole is more than the

sum of its parts=a gestalt The “whole” individual is always moving

back to equilibrium or more of a stable state

Gestalt theory prescribes organized and systematic instruction beginning with a simple concept and moving to the more complex.

Humanistic Theory All people are unique and possess

individual potential. All people have the natural capacity to

learn Encourage each individual to develop to

their full potential Advocates for discovery model,

understanding learning projects and self-directed inquiry and learning

Educators are aware that most learning in adulthood goes far beyond the simple memorization of facts. The expectation is that adults will somehow be able to put those facts to good use in their everyday living; whether as workers, parents, spouses, friends, and so on. Therefore, the processes of tuning and restructuring of information, as well as both declarative and procedural knowledge, become vital in adult learning.

Lifelong Learning

The process of learning that continues throughout one’s lifetime based on individual needs, circumstance, interests and learning skills.

The intimate relationship between learning and living is the trade mark for Adult Education.

Adult learning needs are generated by real-life problems, and adults wish to apply acquired knowledge and skills to solve these problems.

Education spread over the lifespan of the individual learner.

Are you facilitating and supporting lifelong learning adequately?