Adult Education

I am preparing to volunteer with Literacy Austin and they require that you take 6 hours of online courses. The courses last about an hour each. they are really good. You can check them out at the link above. They are free! I am on my fourth one and it is entitled Principles of Adult Learning.

Here is a paragraph that I just read:

When subject matter is relevant, motivation increases. The adult student is investing a lot (time, risk of failure, extra hours away from home/family, etc.) and wants to see a return on this investment. If this return is evident, motivation to continue to learn increases.

Meaningful content and relevance in the learning situation are essential to the adult learner.

The other content talks about being student-centered and respectful. This quote stuck out for me:

They don’t want to be treated like children who must wait until they are told something by the instructor.

I have read quite a bit on Adult Learning and am always amazed. The content of the articles I have read describes what I think learning in general should be. It is not different at all from what children should be experiencing in school. Adults come to learning with prior knowledge, adults need the content of what they are learning to be relevant to their lives. Motivation increases learning. I guess it gets emphasized so much because adults can walk away, but kids have to be in school...