Understand How to Teach Adults and What Motivates Them
The most popular and well-known adult learning theory is Malcolm Knowles' andragogy. Andragogy is the art and science of teaching adult learners. This is in contrast to pedagogy which is the practice of teaching children.
There are six principles of andragogy. These principles are assumptions that can be applied to a group of learners and do not necessarily apply to individual learners.
Adults need to know why they need to learn something
Adults need to build on their experience to learn
Adults have a need to be responsible for their learning
Adults are ready to learn if it solves an immediate problem in their life
Adults want training to focus on solving this problem
Adults learn best when motivation is intrinsic
#1 Need to know why
Adults are far more motivated and learn much better if they understand why they need to learn something. The reason or motivation for learning should clearly benefit their lives, as they want to know what is in it for them.
Training should begin by explaining the learning objectives, the purpose of the training, and how it will benefit their life.
#2 Build on their prior experience
Adults have a wealth of experience that can be built on to help them learn. Tying their experience to the new materials can help them learn more, and adults can share their experiences with others to add to the training.
Connecting what people already know to what they are learning utilizes the wealth of experience adults carry with them, and doing so also makes learning more memorable and easier to understand.
#3 A need to be responsible for their learning
This is called self-concept. Adults need to feel in control of their learning in order to learn best. The majority of adults like to feel in control over their learning and have autonomy. If they do not have a say in what they are learning and how they are learning, they can lose motivation to learn.
Adults who are more self-directed in their learning are also more successful in achieving the desired learning. Encouraging adult learners to take control of their learning, offering learning strategies that can aid them in learning, and creating a learning experience that allows individuals to learn the way they prefer are all great practices.
#4 Ready to learn
Adults learn best when the training helps them solve an immediate, real-life problem. This is when they are ready to learn something new. At this time, they are motivated to learn when they see that learning solves a problem in their life.
Readiness to learn often occurs during major life changes. For example, imagine a person from a major city who has always taken public transportation and has never needed to learn how to drive. He gets a big job opportunity and moves to a suburban area where there is no public transportation. Still, he must get to work, so now he is determined to learn how to drive. This change in his life was the catalyst that motivates him to learn a new skill.
A need to perform well after a big job promotion can be another motivation to learn, or having to go back to school for a better career is another example. In the work environment, it could be that there is a new computer system that the employees need to learn to do their job. This is when they are ready to learn.
#5 Problem-oriented training
Adults learn best and are most motivated when the content of the learning is clearly oriented toward solving the problems they face. This means that the content and the learning practice should target specific knowledge, skills, and abilities that directly solve the problem.
Generic content that is not absolutely necessary to achieve the goal should be avoided. For example, if an adult is trying to learn how to drive a car, the content would not include the history of motor vehicles or the science behind how a car works. Instead, the content should only focus on the information needed to help the adult learn how to operate a car and navigate the situations they face on the road.
To motivate adult learners, help them identify the problem that the training will solve.
#6 Intrinsic motivation
The final assumption of andragogy is that adults learn best when their motivation to learn comes from within themselves rather than from external factors.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are both effective on adult learners, but intrinsic motivation has a stronger link to the success of their learning outcomes. A person may be motivated to attend law school if they come from a family of lawyers and their parents push them to become a lawyer as well.
However, there isn’t a strong drive to study law unless the desire to learn the subject comes from a deep interest or passion. Adults learn better if what they learn makes them feel better about themselves or if they see the value in how the learning will grow them as a person. For example, if a learner has a deep desire to be a great public speaker and wishes to portray confidence when they give presentations, they will be driven to do well in a public speaking course.
How to Remember the Principals
Remember the phrase “Every night, stars radiate over mountains.”
Every - Experience
Night - Need
Stars - Self-concept
Radiate - Readiness
Over - Orientation
Mountains - Motivation
