Chapter 2
Understanding Adult Learners
Andragogical versus Pedagogical Model
People have been brought up on the pedagogical model of learning that has dominated education and training for centuries. Because that has been the standard, people use that approach when they are asked to teach or train others. In brief, the pedagogical model makes the following assumptions:
- The teacher is responsible for the learning process, including what and how learners learn. The learner's role is passive.
- Because the learner has little experience, the teacher is the expert, the guru, and it is his or her responsibility to impart his or her wealth of knowledge. This amounts to an “information dump” through traditional means such as lecture, textbooks, manuals, and videos in which other “experts” share their knowledge and experience.
- People are motivated to learn because they “have to” in order to pass a test, advance to the next level, or earn certification.
- Learning is information-centered. The teacher “covers” the material so that the learner can acquire the prescribed information in some type of logical order.
- Motivation to learn is largely external. Pressure from authority figures and fear of negative consequences drive the learner. The teacher, in essence, controls the learning through rewards and discipline.
How and Why People Learn
Although adult education theorists differ on just how different adults are from children, most embrace the andragogical theory of adult learning. During the 1960s, European adult educators coined the term “andragogy” to provide a label for a growing body of knowledge and technology in regard to adult learning. The concept was introduced and advanced in the United States by Malcolm Knowles. The following assumptions underlie the andragogical model of learning, which Knowles now calls a model of human learning (Knowles, 1990).
Assumption 1
The first assumption involves a change in self-concept from total dependency to increasing self-directedness. The adult learner is self-directed. Adult learners want to take responsibility for their own lives, including the planning, implementing, and evaluating of their learning activities. This principle is often misinterpreted. Learner self-directedness does not mean the trainer abdicates responsibility for the plan or approach. From the beginning, the trainer establishes the training process as a collaborative effort. Throughout the process, the trainer and participant should be partners engaged in ongoing, two-way communication.
Assumption 2
The second principle addresses the role of experience, a principle unique to the adult learner. According to Knowles, each of us brings to a learning situation a wealth of experiences that provide a base for new learning as well as a resource to share with others. These experiences may be good or bad, but they will impact the way in which an employee approaches a new learning experience. Because people base their learning on past experiences, the new information must be assimilated. The wise trainer will find out what the participants already know and will build on those experiences, rather than treating participants as though they know nothing and must be taught like small children.
Assumption 3
The third assumption is that adults are ready to learn when they perceive a need to know or do something in order to perform more effectively in some aspect of their lives. The days of abstract theories and concepts are over for most adults. They want the learning experience to be practical and realistic, problem-centered rather than subject-centered. The effective trainer helps participants understand how learning a particular skill or task will help them be more successful, that is, how the employee can do the job quicker, easier, more efficiently.
Assumption 4
Fourth, adults want immediate, real-world applications. They want the skills and knowledge to help them solve problems or complete tasks. People are motivated to learn when they see relevance to their real-life situations and are able to apply what they have learned as quickly as possible. Therefore, learning activities need to be clearly relevant to the immediate needs of the adult. To be effective, deliver just-in-time training and emphasize how the training is going to make participants' jobs easier.
Assumption 5
Finally, adults are motivated to learn because of internal factors such as self-esteem, desire for recognition, natural curiosity, innate love of learning, better quality of life, greater self-confidence, or the opportunity to self-actualize.
Principles of Adult Learning
-
As you begin to design and develop any training program for adults, keep in mind these additional principles regarding how adults learn:
- Adults must recognize the need to learn.
- Adults want to apply new learning back on the job.
- Adults need to integrate past experience with new material.
- Adults prefer the concrete to the abstract.
- Adults need a variety of training methods.
- Adults learn better in an informal, comfortable environment.
- Adults want to solve realistic problems.
- Adults prefer the hands-on method of learning.
Learning Styles
Adults learn through a variety of ways. One person may learn better by listening; another may be visual or may prefer to read instructions. Someone else will need a demonstration.
Learning style refers to the way in which a learner approaches and responds to a learning experience. There are several learning style assessments available on the market including the following instruments, published in the Pfeiffer Annuals:
- Learning Style Inventory by Ronne Toker Jacobs and Barbara Schneider Fuhrmann (1984)
- The Learning Model Instrument by Kenneth L. Murrell (1987i)
David Kolb's Learning Style Inventory (1991) is used widely as a basis for other models and instruments. These, among others, are all excellent tools to help you identify learning style. The self-assessment process heightens your awareness that different people learn in different ways and sensitizes people to the importance of designing training that addresses all learning styles.
Determining Your Learning Style
To get a flavor for these style differences and to further your understanding of your preferred learning style, complete the learning style assessment in Exhibit 2.1, then score and study it.
Feelers
Feelers are very people-oriented. They are expressive and focus on feelings and emotions. They enjoy affective learning and gravitate toward learning experiences that explore people's attitudes and emotions. Feelers thrive in an open, unstructured learning environment and appreciate the opportunity to work in groups and like activities in which they can share opinions and experiences.
Observers
Observers like to watch and listen. They tend to be reserved and quiet and will take their time before acting or participating in class. When they do decide to offer an opinion or answer a question, they are generally right on target. They enjoy learning experiences that allow them to consider various ideas and opinions, and they seem to thrive on learning through discovery.
Thinkers
Thinkers rely on logic and reason. They like the opportunity to share ideas and concepts. They prefer activities that require them to analyze and evaluate. They will question the rationale behind activities and will challenge statements that they perceive to be too general or without substance. The thinkers prefer to work independently and question the relevance of role plays and simulations.
Doers
Doers like to be actively involved in the learning process. They will take charge in group activities and tend to dominate discussions. They like opportunities to practice what they learned, and they are particularly interested in knowing how they are going to apply what they learn in the real world. They like information presented clearly and concisely and become impatient with drawn-out discussions.
Keep in mind that no one learning style is right or even better than another. The point is that each person learns differently. A variety of learning styles will be represented in any training session. To be effective, trainers must design their programs to accommodate style differences. Predictably, trainers use the styles they prefer. Although it is natural to use the style with which one is most comfortable, the most effective trainers will learn how to adapt their styles to meet the needs of all participants. You will have an opportunity to find out about your preferred training style in Chapter 3.
One note of caution: recent studies find that the scientific research on learning styles is weak and unconvincing. Psychologists and neuroscientists, who focus on the functioning of the brain and memory, question the credibility of learning styles theory. Although the validity of learning styles theory may be in question, there is little doubt that people do have a preference about how they learn. For that reason, learning styles assessments provide value by increasing awareness of these differences, thus providing a basis for choosing various methodologies.
Perceptual Modality
In addition to learning styles, an effective trainer must be able to understand the different perceptual modalities. According to M.B. James and M.W. Galbraith (1985), a learner may prefer one of the following six perceptual modalities, ways in which one takes in and processes information:
| Visual | Videos; slides; graphs; photos; demonstrations; methods and media that create opportunities for the participant to experience learning through the eyes. |
| Texts; paper-and-pencil exercises that enable the participant to absorb the written word. | |
| Aural | Lectures; audio recordings; methods that allow the participant to simply listen and take in information through the ears. |
| Interactive | Group discussions; question-and-answer sessions; ways that give the participant an opportunity to talk and engage in an exchange of ideas, opinions, reactions with fellow participants. |
| Tactile | Hands-on activities; model building methods that require the participant to handle objects or put things together. |
| Kinesthetic | Role plays; physical games and activities that involve the psychomotor skills and movement from one place to another. |
Research indicates that more adults are visual learners than any other perceptual style; however, a good training design incorporates all six modalities to ensure that all participants' needs are being addressed. Vary activities to create multisensory learning that will increase the likelihood of appealing to each participant's style. This multisensory approach also helps each participant reinforce the knowledge or skills acquired through the preferred modality.
Learning should be presented in a way that complements each person's preferred modality. For example, let's look at a design for training several people in a group setting to use a personal computer. The trainer includes pictures of the computer screen, illustrating what the person should see when he or she strikes a particular key. The trainer also demonstrates how to perform certain functions on the computer (visual). The training design includes print materials such as a manual and short application-oriented quizzes (print). For review and reinforcement, the trainer prepares an audio recording (aural). During daily instructional sessions, the trainer provides many opportunities for the trainee to answer as well as ask questions (interactive). Of course, the design includes multiple opportunities for hands-on practice (tactile). Finally, the trainer will create simulation activities in which the trainees will be asked to create “real-life” work-related documents such as spreadsheets, reports, and graphs (kinesthetic).
Another important consideration is that people generally learn by doing, not by being told how to do something. For example, a person learns more quickly how to reach a new location by driving the car rather than by observing as a passenger. So the more opportunities a person has to “try out” or apply the skills, the more likely he or she is to learn the skills.
Telling is not teaching or training. How many times have you said to yourself, “I've told him and told him how to do it, but he still gets it wrong”? Just because you tell someone how to do something doesn't mean he or she understands it or has developed the skill to do it.
Still other factors affect the speed at which people learn.
Psychological
Some people prefer the “big picture,” while others want a step-by-step process.
Environmental
Sound, light, temperature, and seating can all impact learning. For example, sitting in a hard chair for several hours will put stress on the body, interfering with a person's ability to concentrate.
Emotional
Participants' motivation for attending the session will influence the learning process. Those who attend because they want to are more likely to have a positive learning experience than those who are there because their supervisors required them to attend.
Sociological
People are by nature social beings. Although some people do learn better alone, studies show that most people learn better and experience greater satisfaction with the learning experience when they are in pairs or small groups.
Physical
People's physical condition, including hearing, sight, general health, and energy level, impact their ability to learn. Most people have less energy in the afternoon. Trainers should keep this in mind when designing and developing their programs.
Intellectual and Experiential
People in your sessions will vary greatly in educational background, life experiences, innate intelligence, and abilities. That is why it's important to find out as much as possible about your participants before they attend training sessions.
Age
One of the frequent issues that comes up in train-the-trainer and coaching courses relates to the impact of age on the learning process. Managers, supervisors, and trainers often say that older workers are slower and more difficult to train.
To set the record straight, researchers are somewhat divided on the issue of age and one's ability to learn, depending on one's interpretation of learning. In general, research on adult learning shows that adults continue to learn throughout the years; however, they may take longer to learn new things (Sterns & Doverspike, 1988). Although younger folks seem to be more efficient when it comes to memorizing information, older people are better able to evaluate and apply information. Research findings show that change in adulthood is a procession of critical periods during the 50-plus years following childhood and youth. These periods consist of marked changes and experiences during which some of the most meaningful learning may occur.
Adults have a potential for continuing learning and inquiry that conventional wisdom has sometimes failed to recognize. Researchers, however, do recognize that physical changes play a part in the learning process. As we age, we may experience some hearing loss, lower energy levels, and slower reaction time. These factors should be taken into consideration; however, they should not be regarded as proof that older people are slower or have greater difficulty learning. By observing adult-learning principles as well as basic concepts of individual differences and accommodating them accordingly, a trainer can effectively train any adult.
Cognitive Overload
Our minds are like sponges as we soak up knowledge and information. When sponges are saturated, any additional water will run right through. Just as the sponge is overloaded, a learner can experience cognitive overload of his or her working memory. This working memory—the center of conscious thinking—has an estimated limited capacity of seven “chunks” or pieces of information. The limits on our working memory depend on the knowledge we have stored in long-term memory. A person who is quite comfortable with and knowledgeable about a subject can easily overwhelm those who are less familiar with the information. The challenge to the trainer is to present information in such a way that the participants do not experience overload.
Preventing Cognitive Overload
To prevent cognitive overload, use the following strategies when designing, developing, and delivering your training:
- Minimize the use of lecture. Boil down information into key learning points, checklists, charts, graphs, or other visuals.
- Have the participants do most of the work. When the participants do the work, they transfer new information into long-term memory, much like storing data in a computer. The working memory is now free to absorb the next chunk of information.
- Create chunks of content or information, and distribute or communicate it incrementally. Use a variety of activities to communicate the material.
- Design workbooks and other participant materials that present information in an easy-to-follow and easy-to-understand format.
- Create job aids for use during and after the training.
Application of Learning Principles
These concepts have certain implications for the trainer. The traditional or pedagogical orientation is concerned with content. Trainers are concerned with “covering” material in the most efficient way possible. In contrast, the andragogical orientation focuses on process, being attentive to the factors that either promote or inhibit learning.
Based on what you know about the adult learner and how learning takes place, take those principles and concepts and translate them into practical applications in your training programs. Consider the following points as you create a learning experience for your participants:
- Create a comfortable, nonthreatening learning climate in which people are treated as responsible adults.
- Involve participants in planning their training through interviews, advisory committees, and other up-front activities.
- Allow participants to engage in self-diagnosis by using questionnaires and assessment instruments both before and during sessions.
- Give participants an opportunity to set their own objectives by soliciting their input through presession questionnaires and assessment activities at the beginning of sessions.
- Give them an opportunity to evaluate their own learning through a variety of activities throughout the training program.
- Help them understand the “big picture” by pointing out how the particular training program relates to the business objectives and/or problems.
- Make the learning relevant to them, that is, show how it will help them, by using “real-world” examples and activities that connect with their frames of reference.
- Use their experience by asking them to share examples from their own situations.
- Actively involve the participants in the learning process by using learner-centered activities and structured experiences and by providing them with many opportunities to master the content.
The more you understand about how and why adults learn, the better equipped you will be to design training programs that meet participants' needs and obtain the results you want.
Before you begin to develop your training program, you also need to have a clear understanding of how your own style and approach to training may impact the participants' learning experience.