Applications for Psychology in Adult Learning

The learning material should be relevant to their social positions and lifestyle, and because the learning material directly concerns their lives, they would want to be involved in the whole process – from the introduction of information to the outcome. Adult learners zero in to the elements that are of most relevance to their immediate needs and conditions. Those aspects that well give them the necessary knowledge and skill to resolve life-centered or problem-centered learning experiences.

Adult learning is having a clear picture of how adults learn and how this in turn affects the program planning process. Many adults are not sure about what they want to do with their lives after high school. There are many programs that will help you to decided, what you want to do with your life. This is where adult education programs can help you decided on the importance of education. There are three content areas that connects with adult learning and planning education within the adult. Knowles state that the adult learner, learns from their experiences. Experiences is how adults live their everyday lives and make concise

Adults are motivated entirely different in the way they learn. Adults are motivated to learn for various reasons such as professional development, potential advancement at work or simply continuing to improve ones lives, as one gets older. However, it is but practical to consider the ideas on how adults are motivated to learn, what principles of learning works, so that adult educators could likewise respond appropriately.

Looking at learning theories through two different views was interesting. In the article, Revisiting Adult Learning Theory through the Lens of an Adult Learner, it was the basic guidelines and idea of adult learning theories. In the article, Revisiting Adult Learning Theory through the Lens of an Adult Learner, the article was written from the view of an adult student and covered what some of the first article had addressed. Author discussed about how some adult learners make their own learning theories. Also, saw some of the pressures that adult students can be faced with and they were addressed in the article. It was about how some adult learners make their own learning theories some of the pressures

The theory of adult learning is the assumptions about how adults learn. Emphasizes the value of the process of learning in adults ("Adult Learning Theory," 2007). Malcom Knowles and American practitioner and theorist of adult education defined is as an art and science of helping adults learn ("Adult Learning Theory," 2007). Knowles also defined six adult learning principles as adults are internally motivated and self-directed, adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences and are goal orientated. They also relevancy oriented and are practical learners who like to be respected when in the classroom ("Adult Learning Theory," 2007). As educators, we need to foster the adult learner’s internal motivation to learn. Develop a rapport with the adult learner, encourage them to ask questions and explore concepts. Some adult learners come with years of experience and knowledge, with this as an instructor or teacher we need to harvest this information and have them apply it to their

Knowles posits that adult learners are self directed and autonomous. They are goal oriented, practical and must see and understand the relevance of any training. Adults bring an abundance of experience and knowledge, experiential learning, with them. Most importantly, “…adults need to be shown respect.” (Lieb)

"Education is life--not a mere preparation for an unknown kind of future living…The whole of life is learning; therefore, education can have no ending. This new venture is called adult education--not because it is confined to adults but because adulthood, maturity defines its limits." (Lindeman, E.1926p.6)

The adult learning theory Also known as andragogy is the concept of Adult learning as a science in the field of education. Created by Malcolm Knowles , the theory is comprised of four different concepts. A fifth concept was later added by Knowles. within these different concepts, Knowles set forth compilation of expectations for educators within the Adult Education community. Firstly, he suggests setting a corporative climate in the classroom for learning. (Knowles, 1984, p.76) An assessment of the learners needs and a compilation of objectives and educational activities to help learner reach needs

Today's workers need to prepare with continuous job training, growth and development. Given the increased age, experiences and diverse lifestyles of the working population, it is understandable that adult education practices must move beyond the traditional model of teachers and learners, while new skills, working with local companies to match their needs and sending staff into factories and other workplaces to spread the word about state and federal retraining assistance. While trying to decide how to rebuild your life after loss of employment and lack of job opportunities following the current recession, or devastated from a divorce? Adult students faced with other struggles; studies have shown that older adult students face different hurdles, family problems, and poor self-image. These along with poor time management, weaker academic preparation and a need for remediation an increased focus on adult learners and their needs can help. (armour)

I believe that the purpose of adult education programs is to foster the growth of the non-traditional student population. Students who have either been displaced or chosen to return to college for a variety of reasons. It is critical that we, as instructors and administrators, realize that each of these students may learn in a different manner. We must take into account known strategies such as Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences as we design and deliver courses within our chosen fields. I for one am primarily a very kinesthetic learner, and learn

ADULT LEARNING THEORY 3 significant mentors in his life—Eduard Lindeman. By reading Lindeman’s Meaning of Adult Education, he obtained a profound understanding of adult education, which later became his source of inspiration and concepts. Major Works In 1943, Knowles was recruited into the Navy, and began to read extensively in the field of adult education, which contributed to his final decision to undertake a master’s program at the University of Chicago (Smith, 2002). His adviser at the University of Chicago was Cyril O. Houle, who had been a role model in rigorous learning for Knowles. Carl Rogers, “the founder of 'client-centered' or 'non-directive' therapy” (Smith, 2004, para. 1), and Arthur Shedlin, an associate of Rogers, had also exerted a great influence on Knowles—he began to consider learning as an exciting incident. In 1949, Knowles gained his Master’s degree and published his first book Informal Adult Education, which was also his master thesis (Smith, 2002). In 1951, he became “executive director of the newly formed Adult Education Association. ” and also “attended a couple of summer sessions of the National Training Laboratories in 1952 and 1954” (Smith, 2002, para. 7). The founders of the labs—Kenneth Benne, Leland Bradford, Ronald Lippett and Kurt Lewin—consequently impacted Malcolm and his wife, Hulda, who co-authored books on leadership (1955) and

Basically, this article by Malcolm Knowles is a conglomerate of all aspects of adult learning. It outlines aspects of adult learning, theories of adult learning, and expands on them. The main idea of this article is to create awareness on the existence of adult learning, and to help instructors of adult learning to know how to go about it successfully. Additionally, the article is of help to adult learners to enable them to learn the most they can (Knowles, 2007).

One of the main theories of adult education comes from Malcolm Knowles who is often credited for putting adult education and adult learning at the forefront because of the researches he did on the topic and many papers and books he wrote about it. His idea of how adults learn was based on five basic principles. These first is that the motivation for adults to learn is more intrinsic as they may have greater self esteem or need to learn to achieve a better quality of life. The second is that adults are more experienced and that experience can be useful in the learning process as it is a form of resource. The third is “self-concept: As a person matures his self concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed human being[5]” meaning adults are independent and will not rely on instructor for everything. The fourth is that there is an increased readiness to learn information that may prove useful in their daily lives and fifth, adult become more task or problem solving oriented instead of learning by subject matter. The principles of how adults learn are presented in a way

My impression of adult education has changed immensely. First and foremost, the first lesson learned that teaching adults are a separate, intensive, and long debated process. Portions of certain theories learned illustrated below. I have extended knowledge about Meizrow (Transformational Learning) and Knowles (Andragogy). The six key features of Adult Learners are:

Gadbow believes it is the duty of adult educators to instill a life-long love of learning into their students, "helping adults learn how to learn is the most important thing a teacher ever does" (p. 53). The first responsibility of educators working with adults is to help them identify their learning styles and differences as well as other special learning needs, and then provide effective strategies to adapt to these individual learning needs (53). The author's contention that all learners are special means seeing the possibilities as well as the problems or particular needs of each student as they present themselves.