Since when have I become old!! - Characteristics of an Adult Learner
- Dec 21, 2016
- 2 min read
This link is taken from course content written by Dr. Gary Kuhne (Introduction to Adult Education) offered through Penn State's World Campus. In it, he states there are 10 characteristics of adults as learners - adults want more control, use their experience, are more motivated and pragmatic, learning is secondary and it must fit into life's 'margins', and adults are more diverse. These, I find, are common sense. Of course, as an adult learning now, I experience all these things. But there are an additional 3 characteristics that surprised me. Many adults lack confidence in their learning was perhaps the most surprising, not because I can't understand how an adult could lack confidence, but that I'm not alone in low confidence!! Although I excelled as a traditional learner, I found the transition to adult learning very challenging in post-secondary. I was overwhelmed by the expectation of thinking and taking charge of my own learning. After all, I had just spent 12 years being told what to think, how to think, and regurgitating the facts.
The second surprise was that adults are more resistant to change than youth. I had supposed that adults would in fact, be accepting of change as a normal part of life, and that children would resist the change more. But, as Dr. Kuhne states, many adults may have experienced change with adverse results. He implied that adults need to know 'why', not just the 'how'. This clears up my confusing, because we all need to know why, always.
Last is that adults must compensate for aging in learning. Not sure why this one surprised me. Perhaps because I still think of myself as that 20 year old learner in post-secondary (when did that change!!). But Dr. Kuhne's statement that "...adults tend to learn less rapidly with age, but what they learn is learned at a deeper and more integrative level." In my classroom, I do notice that my older students need more time to assimilate the information. I guess I haven't noticed their better critical thinking skills as much, because the aches and pains tend to preside!!
I found the article to summarize in easy terms, what, really, I already know ( but didn't realize!)
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