The Learning Process

There is a vast body of literature about learning theory and probably as many definitions of what learning is. As a conceptual framework, learning theory aims to explain how we perceive, process, store, retrieve, reuse and transform information. Many theories have been put forward over the last century, but we will briefly gloss over the few that have represented the mainstream of this body of knowledge. Before we do that, though, if you think about what learning is, you will realise that

You would agree that we can't really see when or how learning is happening. As teachers, we cannot look at someone and say: "Hmmm... this person is learning. I can see it!" We have to have some behavioural demonstration that learning has in fact occurred. You would also agree that although the physical process of perceiving information and storing it into memory may physically develop in the same way, individuals process information in their unique ways. We all have preferred ways in which we learn. These are sometimes referred to as learning styles, but beware of labelling students and putting them into these 'learning styles buckets'. The following video puts forward the notion that learning styles don't exist. Whether you agree or disagree, it makes you think about good teaching.

Learning is not only about receiving stimuli and storing information; rather, it's about the meaning: how we connect existing and new information and how we transform it to serve our individual learning needs.

Characteristics of Adult Learners

Malcolm Knowles introduced the premise that adult learners have specific characteristics that will impact how they learn:

1. Adults need to have a reason to learn and know why they are learning
2. Adults bring a wealth of experiences and prior learning to new learning situations
3. Adults are self-directed learners: they take responsibility for their own learning
4. Adult learning focuses on solving "real world" problems
5. Adults are motivated to learn by personal factors, and they choose to learn when they are ready to learn
6. Adults are more engaged if learning is contextual, relevant and involves practical application

Although it is important to keep these characteristics in mind when designing learning for adults, it is also important to note that not all adult learners have these characteristics. In fact, you may find that many adult learners aren’t very self-directed and often need handholding and direction.

Reading Activity

• This section of Freeman's book "Creating Learning Materials for Open and Distance learning: a Handbook for Authors and Instructional Designers", available from the COL website, offers some good examples of the characteristics of adult learners.

Optional Reading

• Freeman's book "Creating Learning Materials for Open and Distance learning: a Handbook for Authors and Instructional Designers" is a great resource for consultation only.
  

• This paper from the proceedings of The Internet Society conference in 1996 is still valid today, as we continue to address changing educational paradigms. The paper is underlined by Knowles' principles of adult learning and focuses on the implications for content designers.

When designing learning for adults, showing through the use of examples, rather than just telling, will engage learners in richer, more meaningful learning experiences.

Web Resources: Optional Reading

If you are interested in reading some more about learning theory and adult learner characteristics, here are some additional resources:

• Knowles andragogy and adult learning principles
• Approaches to clinical education - this site addresses the adult learning principles and provides some good examples of teaching approaches
• Learning theory
• Various learning theories