University of New Mexico - Valencia Campus
Teaching & Learning Center
Adult Learning
A variety of sources provide us with a body of fairly reliable knowledge about adult learning. This knowledge might be divided into three basic divisions: things we know about adult learners and their motivation, things we know about designing curriculum for adults, and things we know about working with adults in the classroom. http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/adults-3.htm
Part of being an effective instructor involves understanding how adults learn best. Compared to children and teens, adults have special needs and requirements as learners. Despite the apparent truth, adult learning is a relatively new area of study. http://www.hcc.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/adults-2.htm
Adult learning is frequently spoken of by adult educators as if it were a discretely separate domain, having little connection to learning in childhood or adolescence. This chapter will examine critically this claim by exploring four major research areas (self-directed learning, critical reflection, experiential learning and learning to learn) each of which have been proposed as representing unique and exclusive adult learning processes. http://www.nl.edu/academics/cas/ace/
WHAT IS SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING? An estimated 70 percent of adult learning is self-directed learning. Self-directed learning has been described as "a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others," to diagnose their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies, and evaluate learning outcomes. http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/89dig.htm
Effective questioning is considered a vital component of adult education and an integral part of teaching in the medical profession. Contains a lot of other valuable information and links. http://www.uab.edu/uasomume/cdm/resources.htm#Questioning