CHARACTERISTICS OF ADULTS AS LEARNERS AS COMPARED WITH YOUTH

1. Adults are older. They have lived longer and have a different perspective on life. They no longer see life through rose-colored glasses, but as a set of realities.

2. Adults have had more experience. They have insights and see relationship not discerned by children. They have a sense of what is likely to work and what is not - sort of accumulated wisdom.

3. Adults have needs which are more concrete and immediate than those of children. They are impatient with long discourses on theory and like to see theory applied to practical problems.

4. Adults are used to being treated as mature persons and resent having teachers talk down to them.

5. A corollary of four is that adults enjoy having their talents and information made use of in a teaching situation.

6. Adult groups are likely to be more heterogeneous than youth groups. Differences increase with age and mobility. Adults come from a wider variety of backgrounds and intelligence levels than youth.

7. Adults can learn as well as youth; although they may not perform some tasks as rapidly as youth.

Adults learn as well as young people. People over the age of 40 have an advantage, when it comes to learning material which calls for good judgement or related to experience. Adults can do fast memorizing more efficiently than young children; however, youngsters retain the fact longer. The reasons adults may appear to learn not as well is based on reaction time, not intelligence. If time is not a factor, there is no difference in ability to learn.

Does aging have an effect on adult learning? Click here to play the I Want to be a Millionaire (oops wrong game) Adult Education and Aging Game Click here to continue regular slide show

A. Decreases about 1% a year after the age of 30. C. Doesnt materially change during adulthood D. Starts dropping off significantly after the age of 65. B. Increases about 1% a year until the age of 65. IQ in Adults

The Correct Answer is C. Contrary to popular opinion, IQ doesnt decline remarkably with age. A group of 50 year olds were given IQ tests that had taken 31 years earlier. They made higher scores on every part except math reasoning. Wechsler found test scores increased until 35 then declined very slowly after that. Next Question

A. Peaks around the age of 20. C. Peaks around the age of 40.D. Peaks around the age of 50 B. Peaks around the age of 30. Physical Strength in Adults

The Correct Answer is B. Physical strength reaches a peak around the age of 30. In England, Galton set up a booth at a National Fair and tested over 7,000 people for physical strength, his research and later research reveals 30 is the peak. However, physical strength declines slowly. Research at Harvard found physical strength dropped dramatically between 70 and 75. Next Question

A. In youth. C. In both youth and adults. D. In neither youth or adults B. In adults. There is a relationship between intelligence and speed of learning

The correct answer is A. In youth there is a correlation between intelligence and speed in learning. In adulthood, this is not true. Next Question

A. Age 15 C. Age 45D. Age 60 B. Age 30 The ability to hear peaks before

The Correct Answer is A Peak Performance in Hearing Occurs Before Age 15 Gradual decline until 65, then more rapid. Older people –Hear less and –Hear slower

Hearing As people age: –Men lose ability to hear high sounds. – Women lose ability to hear low sounds. This is one of the reasons why women talk more with women and men talk more with men in the older years

COMMON SENSE PRACTICE FOR MINIMIZING HEARING LOSS Sit people where they can see everyones face. Use small groups. Teacher should stand still. Teacher should speak, clearly, distinctly, and loudly.

COMMON SENSE PRACTICE FOR MINIMIZING HEARING LOSS Use more than one sense while teaching. Observe faces of students. Eliminate outside noises. Ask people to speak out if they cant hear. Repeat questions and answers.

A. Between 13 and 18 C. Between 40 and 55D. After 55 B. Between 18 and 40 The most acute decline in vision occurs

The Correct answer is C. Vision –13-18 Continuous gain –18-40 Gradual decline –40-55 Sharp decline –55 On Gradual decline

Vision Older Eyes Suffer –Vision loss in dim light –Narrowing field of vision –Slow adaptation to dark –Cataracts –Defective color vision SO……………..

Common Sense Practices For Minimizing Losses Associated With Age - Vision Illumination –More Direct Light –Dont Face Direct Light Eliminate glare White or Chalk Boards –Keep Clean –Use Large Writing Media –Use Sharp Color Contrast –Enlarged Type or Print –Avoid Abbreviations Seating –Seat People Close to Board End of Quiz on Aging Click here to continue with Adult Learning Characteristics

8. Adults attend classes often with a mixed set of motives - educational, social, recreational - and sometimes out of an overdeveloped puritanical sense of duty.

9. Adults are sometimes fatigued when they attend classes. –They, therefore, appreciate any teaching devices which add interest and a sense of liveliness variety of methods, audio-visual aids, change of pace, and sense of humor, etc.