Adult Learners Are there differences between children as learners and adults as learners? Images retrieved on May 15/15 from you-may-not-know-about-teenagers-and-privacy_b_ html for-mandatory-parenting-classes/ you-may-not-know-about-teenagers-and-privacy_b_ htmlhttp:// for-mandatory-parenting-classes/

Image retrieved May 15/15 from

1.Adults are internally motivated and self-directed Adult learners resist learning when they feel others are imposing information, ideas or actions on them (Fidishun, 2000). How do you feel when someone is imposing things on you? Your role is to facilitate a students' movement toward more self-directed and responsible learning as well as to foster the student's internal motivation to learn. Image retrieved on May 15/15 from

To encourage more self-directed and intentional learning, as well as to foster the learner’s internal motivation to learn, facilitators should: Develop interactive learning exercises that are challenging, but not overwhelming; Show genuine interest in the thoughts, opinions and questions of their audience; Provide feedback to learners, as appropriate, that is both constructive and specific; and Support the disparity in learning styles by employing a variety of learning methods. Images retrieved May 16/15 from

2. Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences Adults like to be given opportunity to use their existing foundation of knowledge and experience gained from life experience, and apply it to their new learning experiences. How would you feel if you were treated like you were a blank slate, no life experience or knowledge to contribute to the learning environment? Image retrieved on May 16/15 from

Adults like to be given the opportunity to use their existing foundation of knowledge and apply their various life experiences to their own professional development. Therefore, facilitators should: Welcome opportunities for learners to share their interests and experiences; Draw correlations between past experiences and current problem- solving challenges; Facilitate opportunities for reflective learning. Image retrieved on May 16/15 from

3. Adults are goal oriented Adult students become ready to learn when "they experience a need to learn it in order to cope more satisfyingly with real-life tasks or problems" (Knowles,1980 p 44, as cited in Fidishun, 2000). Your role is to facilitate a student's readiness for problem-based learning and increase the student's awareness of the need for the knowledge or skill presented. Images retrieved May 16/15 from

To facilitate a learner’s readiness for problem-based learning and increase his or her awareness of the need for the knowledge or skill presented, content leaders should: Provide meaningful learning experiences that are clearly linked to personal/professional goals; Share real-life case studies that connect the dots between theory and practice; and Ask questions that motivate reflection, inquiry and further research. Images retrieved on May 16/15 from learninghub.org/index.php?id=28http://cardisa.hubpages.com/hub/10-Great-Personal-Goals-To-Set-This-Yearhttp://aetcnmc.org/studies/ learninghub.org/index.php?id=28

4. Adults are relevancy oriented Adult learners want to know the relevance of what they are learning to what they want to achieve. How do you feel if the information that is being presented is not relevant to you or your goals? Image retrieved on May 16/15 from

To support learners in their quest for seeking and identifying relevancy, facilitators should: Ask learners at the beginning of the learning experience what they expect to learn; Check for meaning, understanding and relevance (to the context of work) throughout the learning experience; Identify what skills, knowledge or expertise learners gained as a result of participating in the learning experience; and Determine how learners might apply what they learned in the future (and in the context of their everyday lives) Images retrieved on May 16/15 from

5. Adults are practical Through practical fieldwork experiences, interacting with real clients and their real life situations, students move from classroom and textbook mode to hands-on problem solving where they can recognize first hand how what they are learning applies to life and the work context. Images retrieved May 16/15 from

6. Adult learners like to be respected Respect can be demonstrated to your participant by: Taking interest Acknowledging the wealth of experiences that the student brings to the placement; Regarding them as a colleague who is equal in life experience Encouraging expression of ideas, reasoning and feedback at every opportunity. Images retrieved on May 15/16 from

Data in this presentation is taken directly from: Adult Learning Principles and What Makes Them Relevant them-relevant/ Adult Learning Theory and Principles Information retrieved on May 16, 2015