How Technolgy Can be Better Used to Meet the Needs of Adult Learners
Professor Krista Hilton
Franklin University, Columbus, Ohio
Adult Learners:
Here’s one definition of adult learners. “Half the people in the room are secretly working
on their "real" jobs; half are so relieved not to be doing their real jobs, they've turned their minds
entirely off. Half already know half the stuff being taught and are playing Buzzword Bingo on
their Palms; half will never need to know more than half of it (Stewart, 2001, p.184)."
While those who have worked with adult learners may recognize the above
characteristics in some of their students, “Higher education institutions define adult learners by
using chronological age and additional factors such as delayed post-secondary enrollment, parttime attendance, full-time work while enrolled, financial independence, single parenthood,
military service, and lack of a standard high school diploma (Brookfield, 1986, p37).”
In the early 1970s Malcolm Knowles introduced the term "andragogy," in an attempt to
describe the differences between children and adult learners (Knowles, Swanson, & Holton,
2005). Andragogy is the antonym of pedagogy. In pedagogy, the concern is with transmitting
the content, while in andragogy, the concern is with facilitating the acquisition of the content.
(Reischmann, 2008). The characteristics identified by Knowles and others are:
The Need to Know. Adults want to know why they need to learn something before undertaking
learning (Knowles et al., 2005). Facilitators must help adults become aware of their "need to
know" and make a case for the value of learning.
The Learners' Self-Concept. Adults believe they are responsible for their lives (Knowles et al.,
2005). They need to be seen and treated as capable and self-directed. Facilitators should create
environments where adults develop their latent self-directed learning skills (Brookfield, 1986).
The Role of the Learners' Experiences. Adults come into an educational activity with different
experiences than do youth (Knowles et al., 2005; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). There are
individual differences in background, learning style, motivation, needs, interests, and goals,
creating a greater need for individualization of teaching and learning strategies (Brookfield,
1986; Silberman & Auerbach, 1998). The richest resource for learning resides in adults
themselves; therefore, tapping into their experiences through experiential techniques
(discussions, simulations, problem-solving activities, or case methods) is beneficial (Brookfield,
1986; Knowles et al., 2005; McKeachie, 2002; Silberman & Auerbach, 1998).
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Readiness to Learn. Adults become ready to learn things they need to know and do in order to
cope effectively with real-life situations (Knowles et al., 2005). Adults want to learn what they
can apply in the present, making training focused on the future or that does not relate to their
current situations, less effective.
Orientation to Learning. Adults are life-centered (task-centered, problem-centered) in their
orientation to learning (Knowles et al., 2005). They want to learn what will help them perform
tasks or deal with problems they confront in everyday situations and those presented in the
context of application to real-life (Knowles et al., 2005; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999).
Motivation. Adults are responsive to some external motivators (e.g., better job, higher salaries),
but the most potent motivators are internal (e.g., desire for increased job satisfaction, selfesteem). Their motivation can be blocked by training and education that ignores adult learning
principles (Knowles et al., 2005).
Kathleen Cerone (2008), writing in the Association for the Advancement of Computing in
Education Journal, expanded on these characteristics in her discussion of the implications they
carry for instructors working with adult learners.
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Adults need to be actively involved in the learning process.
Adults need scaffolding to be provided by the instructor. Scaffolding should promote
self-reliance, and it should allow learners to perform activities they were unable to
perform without this support.
Adults have a pre-existing learning history and will need support to work in the new
learner-centered paradigm.
Adults need the instructor acting as a facilitator.
Adults need consideraton of their prior experience. The instructor should acknowledge
this prior experience. Adults need to connect new knowledge to past events.
Adults need to the link between what they are learning and how it will apply to their
lives. They want to apply immediately their new knowledge. They are problem
centered.
Adults need to feel that learning focuses on issues thatdirectly concern them and want to
know what they are going to learn, how the learning will be conducted, and why it is
important.
Adults need to test their learning as they go along, rather than receive background theory.
Adult learning requires a climate that is collaborative, respectful, mutual, and informal.
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Dr. Gary Kuhne, in his presentation titled “Ten Characteristics of Adults as Learners”
also addressed the implications of Knowles’ characteristics.
Adults Generally Desire to Take More Control Over Their Learning
Adults tend to be self-directed in their lives, although responsibilities with jobs, families, and
other organizations can remove a degree of their freedom to act. Adulthood brings an
increasing sense of the need to take responsibility for our lives and adults strongly resent it
when others take away their rights to choose. They do not like being relegated to a "passive"
position.
Implications:
 Always seek to include the adult in the planning of educational efforts.
 Allow for self-assessment and evaluation
 Understand adult learners desire a peer relationship with instructors, rather than a
hierarchical one.
 Recognize that adults also expect greater availability of instructors.
Adults Draw Upon Their Experiences as a Resource in Their Learning Efforts
The adult's experience is a key resource in any learning effort. Adults have a greater
reservoir of life experiences simply because they have lived longer and seen and done more.
This is a critical distinction between adults and traditional learners. Consciously or
unconsciously, adults tend to link any new learning to their prior learning, a body of
knowledge that is rooted in their life experiences. They evaluate the validity of new ideas and
concepts in light of how the idea or concept "fits" their experience.
Implications:
 Take the time to get to know more about the experiences of our learners and seek to
help them to link new ideas to such prior learning.
 Encourage discussion on how new ideas fit the experience of learners.
Adults Tend to be Highly Motivated in Learning Situations
Higher motivation is linked to the fact that most adult learning is voluntary. Adults are
making personal choices to attend schooling, even when such schooling is tied to professional
development or job skills. Whenever an individual is able to choose to learn, s/he is much more
motivated to learn.
Implication:
 Spend less effort trying to motivate adult learners and concentrate our time on facilitating
the learning they are already motivated to pursue.
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Adults Are Pragmatic in Learning
Adults are particularly motivated to learn information that seems immediately applicable to
their situation and needs. They tend to be frustrated with "theory" that needs to be stored away
for future use or learning for the sake of learning. Certainly there are exceptions to this principle,
but the percentage of exceptions is quite low.
Implications:
 Tie the content of programs to the application needs of the learners.
 Always use needs assessment strategies
 Weigh the content of education toward the utilitarian, not the theoretical.
The Learner Role is Secondary for Adults
For most adults, the "student" role is a minor and secondary role. This is in sharp contrast to
traditional age learners for whom the learner role is both their primary social role and the main
basis for their self-identity. Adults fulfill multiple roles and these multiple roles inevitably
create conflicting and competing demands on the adult learner. Multiple roles cause most adults
have far less time and energy to read, study, or learn.
Implications:
 More flexibility in adult education programs than in traditional education.
 Give assignments far ahead of time
 Accept that jobs and families can create obstacles for the learner, and be willing to
extend deadlines for assignments.
 Accept that the learners will not see their educational efforts as necessarily the highest
priority in their lives
 Accept that learners will be preoccupied at times with other roles and responsibilities.
Many Adults Lack Confidence in Their Learning
Many adults have had somewhat negative learning experiences in their traditional schooling.
For a variety of reasons, they feel inadequate when it comes to learning through formal
educational programs. Still other adults, who may have done well in their earlier schooling, still
lack confidence for further schooling efforts due to what they perceive as rusty study skills,
poor reading skills, test anxiety, or other such learning barriers.
Implications:
 Employ learning strategies that build higher confidence in adult learners.
 Take the time to teach better study skills and ways of improving reading comprehension.
 Use collaborative learning approaches in the classroom can do much to alleviate
anxiety.(i.e., turn the classroom from a competitive environment to a collaborative one)
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Adults Can Be Resistant to Change
Learning often involves changes in our attitudes or actions. Adults tend to be somewhat
resistant to such changes because life itself teaches us that change is not always for the better
and that many of the outcomes of change are unpredictable.
Implications:
 Adult learners need more explanation of the "why" of changes, not just the "how."
 Link new concepts to older, understood, and accepted concepts for adult learners.
 Seek for incremental changes through our education efforts rather than global changes,
allowing the "proof" gained from such incremental change to encourage the adult learner
to explore yet more change.
Adults Are More Diverse
Adults vary from each other as learners in terms of age and experiences much more than
traditional age learners. Such differences can be used as a powerful resource for adult learning.
Through collaboration in small groups, adults can benefit from their variety of experiences.
Dialogue with other adults enables adult learners to perceive more nuances of application, and
possible problems with new concepts, then could ever be gained from private reflection.
Implications:
 Allow more time for interaction between adults to allow learners to network together to
sharing of perspectives and experiences.
 Make effort to present material in a variety of ways to accommodate different learning
styles.
Adults Must Compensate for Aging in Learning
Aging brings with it a number of physical complications that can impact on adult learning
efforts. The percentage of such complications increases with age. Such complications are not
really due to intelligence. Although the speed of learning tends to decrease with age, the depth
of learning tends to increase. In other words, adults tend to learn less rapidly with age, but what
they learn is learned at a deeper and more integrative level. As adults age, vision and hearing
can also create barriers in educational programs. As adult educators, we must pay much more
attention to sound and lighting when dealing with adult learners.
Implication:
 Pay more attention to the physical learning environment to compensate for aging issues.
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Study of adult learners by others (Rager, 2003; Marsick &Watkins, 2001; Conlan,
Grabowski, & Smith (2003) has also suggested three primary teaching methodolgies. They are:
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Action Learning: Work on a real project or problem as the way to learn.
Experiential/Situational Learning: Learning by doing; learner directly involved with the
material being studied rather than just thinking and talking aout the material.
Project Learning: Students work in groups to solve challenging problems that are
authentic and often interdisciplinary. Learners decide how to approach a problem and
what activities to pursue.
Self-Directed Learning: Informal and incidental learning is at the heart of adult
education because of its learner-centered focus and the lessons that can be learned from
life experience. It is defined as the process in which individuals take on the responsibility
for their own learning process by diagnosing their personal learning needs, setting goals,
identifying resources, implementing strategies and evaluating the outcomes.
Technology:
With the information presented here regarding adult learners and their needs, it is the goal
of this session is to brainstorm potential uses of currently available technology in better meeting
the needs of adult learners.
Possible Technologies:
Text, Email, Phone, Chat
Interactive Video Conferencing using platforms such as Elluminate
Bulletin Boards
Smartboard
Laptop/PC connections in classroom or online
Skype
Simulation software
YouTube/video clips
Creation software—PowerPoint, video presentations
Clickers http://ocio.osu.edu/elearning/toolbox/depth/clickers
Online Games online lectures (created and existing) http://www.tonybates.ca/2012/08/05/whatsright-and-whats-wrong-about-coursera-style-moocs/
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References
Brookfield, S. D. (1986). Understanding and facilitating adult learning. San Francisco: JosseyBass
Cercone, K. (2008). Characteristics of adult learners with implications for online learning design.
AACE Journal, 16(2), 137-159.
Conlan, J., Grabowski, S., & Smith, K.. (2003). Adult learning. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging
perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved 05/21/2013, from
http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Kuhne, Gary (n.d.) Course content, “Introduction to adult education.” Retrieved from
(http://www.coitweb.uncc.edu/~dcassidy/References/Ten%20Characteristics.htm on
05/24/13.
Knowles, M. S., Swanson, R. A., & Holton, E. F. III (2005). The adult learner: The definitive
classic in adult education and human resource development (6th ed.). California:
Elsevier Science and Technology Books.
Marsick, V. J. & Watkins, K. E. (2001). Informal and incidental learning. New Directions for
Adult & Continuing Education, v. 89, p. 25-34.
Rager, K. B. (2003). The self-directed learning of women with breast cancer. Adult Education
Quarterly. v. 53, no. 4, p. 277-293.
Reischmann, Jost (2004): Andragogy: History, meaning, context, function. Retrieved from
http://www.andragogy.net. Version Sept. 9, 2004, on May 24, 2013.