We all get a chance to learn every day, and as we grew from a child to an adult, the ability to understand things and absorb concepts changed. We get motivated by past experiences, environment, society, and other factors, which in turn, play an essential role in the entire adult learning process.

WHAT IS ADULT LEARNING THEORY?

Adult learning Theory for elearning

Adult learning theory is a field of research that examines various reasons for differences between the way adults and children learn. It suggests ways to teach adults more effectively.

The US Department of Education stated that there are various theories about adult learning in the scientific literature.

  • Andragogy

This theory emphasizes the importance of the adult experience. These experiences serve as a basis for future educational experiences. It also focuses on the significance of problem-oriented learning, which is essential for adult learners, as their work frequently involves problem-solving.

  • Transformational Learning

Transformational Adult Learning focuses on the importance of learning experiences.

  • Experiential Learning

Experiential Adult Learning focuses on learning through reflection and experience. This theory states that adults can learn through their experiences without the need for a teacher.

PRINCIPLES OF ADULT LEARNING

For adults to learn effectively, training must be designed to meet the following basic principles of adult education:

  • Self-Management

Adults are independent and self-governing, which means they live primarily in self-government and have their laws, beliefs, and values.

  • Learn by doing

Adults learn by direct experiences; therefore, their learning involvement should include participation, both active and practical, and offer feasible methodologies and procedures that will immediately change their daily lives.

  • Relevance

The content of the educational program must be meaningful and relevant to them, their lives, and businesses. They need to see clearly why and how it is important to them personally and how it applies to their lives.

  • Experience

Adults want to be able to draw on their past experiences to help them learn. Therefore, the adult learning needs to be reviewed so that the language they speak can be used.

  • All of the Senses

Adult learners need to be taught using multi-modal integration.  You must ensure that the learning interventions have appropriate and well-balanced delivery techniques that meet the needs of audio, visual, reading/writing, dependent, and independent learning preferences.

  • Practice

Adult learners often learn because the problem needs to be solved. Practicing skills in a controlled environment allows them to increase their self-sufficiency in new tasks that prepare them for independent action outside the learning environment.

  • Personal Development

The natural personal desires and ambitions of adult learners must be taken into account when planning and implementing adult education programs. Over the years, their participation in training programs often shifts from external controls (such as promotions) to internal controls, such as learning for fun or in the interest of learning something new.

  • Involvement

Effective adult learning programs should have plans for feedback and consultation. Every adult wants to have a sense of responsibility, control, and decision-making for their learning. They want to be involved in the planning, evaluation and consultation of their learning process so that they are fully part of its successful implementation.

HOW TO BENEFIT FROM THE ADULT LEARNING THEORY TO LEARN EFFECTIVELY

Adult Learning best practices LOGYMy

It is obvious how adult learning is completely different from how children learn. However, you may need to connect with your experience to learn effortlessly.

  • Make Use of The Best Technology

Adults like to learn on their own. So this may be the best choice for the proper use of technology. They can choose to learn in a form that is easy to navigate, contains no unnecessary information, and encourages you to learn more.

LOGYMy is a platform that allows learning more LIVE courses and new skills. It gives room to interact live with your instructor, record every sessions during the course and live interpretation. As an Adult, no matter your language you can easily learn, assess your performance and earn your certificate after the finishing a course.

  • Choose Visual-Based Learning

While applying adult learning, research revealed that adding additional visuals to text brings an 89% benefit to learning outcomes. This works incredibly well if there is limited information on the topic or learning it from scratch.

  • Use Audio

If you have encountered a complicated problem and find it challenging to learn and understand its concepts, the use of audio descriptions helps.

Audio clips better explain the concept, help separate the two related themes, and are also helpful in highlighting essential points.

For example, LOGYMy has a recorded session that allows the student to return to the recorded LIVE course and listen to it again.

  • Get Actively Involved in the Learning

Although exercises theoretically can be engaging, adults learn best when they participate in the teaching.

Instead of simply remembering facts and numbers, they can learn effectively by role-playing. This will help bridge the gap between theoretical and practical concepts.

Practicing and conducting practical experiments will not only help them learn better but also maintain their knowledge.

  • Exercise a Bit of Ownership

Adult learning is significantly different from how children absorb information, as children like to follow guidelines. However, this does not apply to adults who want to have some control over their learning experience.

Therefore, they may feel more comfortable learning in online courses as it allows them to learn at their own pace and in the comfort of their own home.

  • Make Use of Additional Materials

Adult learners must follow the requirements well. While learning by listening can be very effective for some people, others like to take notes and review written materials.

Learning needs vary significantly according to personal preferences and learning habits, which need to be considered

CONCLUSION

Although not all of the above factors apply to everyone, it is not wrong to claim that a wide range of people encounters similar experiences in adult learning.

To make your learning experience more enjoyable and memorable, understand your requirements, analyze what works for you and what doesn’t, and take the right steps! You can make you of LOGYMy to begin your learning process.


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