Teaching Adult Learners

Lifelong Learning

Teaching

Adult Learners

Jennifer Wolff American College of Education TECH5103: Online Learning and Teaching Dr. Susan Sutton July 21, 2004

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Adult learners, often defined as those aged 25 and over (Joseph, 2024), bring a unique set of challenges, characteristics, and needs that differ from younger learners. Institutions and instructors should consider these aspects to create a positive learning environment geared toward their adult learners to set them up for a successful educational experience.

Adult Education

Challenges Faced by Adult Learners

Internal Challenges:

• Managing time for work, education, and family
• Learning difficulties from lack of prior knowledge, low self-confidence, or interest in course materials.
• Technological trouble in internet communication, computer skills, and accessing necessary information.

(Kara et al., 2019)

Challenges Faced by Adult Learners

External Challenges:

• Job conflicts such as scheduling/overload, financial problems, and lack of support.
• Home conflicts such as technical trouble anc lack of support or space for study.

(Kara et al., 2019)

Challenges Faced by Adult Learners

Program-Related Challenges:

• Feelings of isolation from low interaction with other learners and instructors/tutors.
• Institutional-created difficulties from course requirements, learning materials, and demands of program, as well as lack of support.

(Kara et al., 2019)

Characteristics of Adult Learners

• Adults are self-directed and prefer to determine their own process of learning.
• Adults bring rich and diverse experiences and backgrounds.
• Adults are typically motivated by practical goals and relevance of material. They have specific goals in mind as they engage through an education program.

(Diep et al., 2019; Joseph, 2024; Kara et al., 2019)

Effective Strategies to Meet the Needs of Adult Learners

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• Provide clear expectations and course objectives, as well as guides to course structure.
• Connect materials to life experiences, with opportunities for reflective discussion.
• Include support for technology, such as site or app guides and instructional videos.

Exitence Needs: technical support, system functionalities, transparancy

Growth Needs: competence, relevance, autonomy

Relatedness Needs: online interaction, instructor facilitation, sense of belonging

ERG Theory (Diep, et al., 2019)

Instructor's Role

In adapting to the diverse challenges and needs of adult learners, the instructor's role shifts from a "subject expert" to a "performance coach," providing social, management, and technology guidance and support.

(Ammenwerth, 2017)

Creating a Positive Learning Environment

Constructive Feedback

Respectful Environment

Active Engagement

Foster respectful interactions by "demonstrating polite behavior, acknowledging varied opinions, and encouraging open discourse" (p.10).

Give quick, personal, and detailed feedback, focusing on growth.

Participate and encourage students to participate in conversations.

Availability

Accommodate Diversity

Use Technology

Make yourself easy to contact and create a sense of approchability. Be responsve to questions and concerns. Be supportive in feedback.

Strengths, difficulties, learning styles and interests can be recognized and used to adapt to students' needs.

Online materials and resources give active ways of learning

(Joseph, 2024)

Conclusion

Reentering the realm of formal education can be daunting for adult learners, faced with balancing work, courses, and family. However, adult learning institutions and instructors can acknowledge their students' diverse circumstances and create courses that meet their needs while using their unique backgrounds to lead to a positive and successful experience for lifelong learners.

Resources

Ammenwerth, E. (2017). Titles. AISHE-J: The All Ireland Journal of Teaching & Learning in Higher Education, 9(3), 3121-3129.

https://research.ebsco.com/c/36ffkw/search/details/uord55ainr?db=eue

Diep, A. N., Zhu, C., Cocquyt, C., De Greef, M., Minh Hien Vo, & Vanwing, T. (2019). Adult learners' needs in online and blended learning. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 59(2), 223-253.

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=eue&AN=138188703&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=ns083389

Joseph, T. (2024). Adult learner-educator dynamics for success. IABS Journal, 1(7), 2-15.

https://research.ebsco.com/c/36ffkw/viewer/pdf/hlsd4mwenf

Kara, M., Erdogdu, F., Kokoc, M., & Cagiltay, K. (2019). Challenges faced by adult learners in online distance education: A literature review. Open Praxis, 11(1), 5-22.

https://research.ebsco.com/c/36ffkw/search/details/dwo2vd34xv?db=eric

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¿Tienes una idea?

Con las plantillas de Genially podrás incluir recursos visuales para dejar a tu audiencia con la boca abierta. También destacar alguna frase o dato concreto que se quede grabado a fuego en la memoria de tu público e incluso embeber contenido externo que sorprenda: vídeos, fotos, audios... ¡Lo que tú quieras!

¿Tienes una idea?

Con las plantillas de Genially podrás incluir recursos visuales para dejar a tu audiencia con la boca abierta. También destacar alguna frase o dato concreto que se quede grabado a fuego en la memoria de tu público e incluso embeber contenido externo que sorprenda: vídeos, fotos, audios... ¡Lo que tú quieras!