Learning for life

1. Learning for life Basic principles of adult learning

2. What is andragogy? Malcolm Knowles an American educator defined andragogy as: ‘… the art and science of helping adults learn.’

3. principles of adult learning • The need to know • Learner’s self-concept • Role of the learner’s experience • Readiness to learn • Orientation to learning • Motivation

4. 1. Need to know • Adults want their learning to: • meet their needs • be relevant • help them achieve their goals.

5. 2. Learner’s Self-concept Adult learners: • are self-motivated and self-directed • are independent • like to find their own way • can make their own decisions • want to manage their own learning.

6. 3. Role of the learner’s experience • Adult learners: • have diverse experience and knowledge • may have ingrained ideas about things • apply their life experience and knowledge to new learning • use their problem-solving, reflecting and reasoning skills.

7. 4. Readiness to learn • Adult learners: • are goal focused • want timely and meaningful learning experiences • need clear learning goals.

8. 5. Orientation to learning • Adult learners: • are practical – their learning should apply to their lives, job, etc. • want to be involved in planning their learning • focus on the aspects that are most useful to them.

9. 6. motivation • For adult learners, the best motivators are: • internal; for example: • increased job satisfaction • heightened self-esteem • better quality of life • personal growth and development.

10. hOW to help adultS learn • Encourage active participation • Offer meaningful, relevant and holistic learning • Ensure multi-sensory learning (using the 5 senses) • Give learners time to practice and reflect on learning • Give regular and useful feedback • Motivate further learning with recognition and rewards