Characteristics of Adult Learners

It can be said that there are clear distinctions between adults and children in terms of their physical appearances, their social skills, as well as their cognitive skills. This difference between the two groups is also evident in their characteristics and how they learn.

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Some important characteristics of adult learners include the following: they are self-directed and take responsibility for their lives, they are results-driven, they tend to be resistant to change, they have a great resource of personal experience from which to draw upon, they are usually self-motivated, and generally have high expectations in the learning. Children on the other hand are very dependent on others for most of their upbringing and as such will generally rely on the instructor to provide the knowledge in the learning in the classroom (teacher-directed vs. student-directed). They also don’t have as many life experiences to share, so it may be more challenging to draw upon this during the teaching exercises.

As adults learn differently from children it will be very important to ensure that the leaning style is different as well, so that they stay engaged in the learning process. For example, as an instructor it will be important that I first set a comfortable “climate setting” (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 48) as described by Malcolm Knowles, an American educator who was well known for establishment of the theory of andragogy. This means that the physical space needs to be a comfortable environment, as well as there also needs to be a sense of respect and trust.

Another important teaching tool I would introduce into the classroom setting is to identify the “why” when teaching adults a new topic. As the article, written by Christopher Pappas, points out adults are generally more rigid to change and therefore need to hear this explanation so that they may well connect it with other established concepts they are familiar with. Once they understand the “why” most adult learners are then more receptive to engage in the learning. An example of this can be as follows: if I am teaching a course on a software application (i.e. MS Project), I will explain to the class how this application is of great value to learn as it can improve one’s job skills – which in turn can be tied back to their professional and personal development. This connectivity will again reinforce the adult learner’s expectations that the learning is not a waste of their time and they are more likely to actively participate and meet the challenge - as they tend to be goal oriented since the learning is relevant to them.

https://elearningindustry.com/8-important-characteristics-of-adult-learners

#andragogy