June 15, 2017
Teaching Adults
Want a new challenge? Train adults! As adults are intelligent, inquisitive and usually motivated to learn. Adults are problem-center and looking for ways to improve a task at hand. As a good teacher for adults one needs to accept that the adult learner is self-directed and wants to be involved in the process. Furthermore, adults may or may not have been comfortable with the “school-like” method and hold positive or negative feelings about school and learning. As the professional, take note of the wide range of differences adults bring to a training session. Here’s a few quick tips to know about training adults:
Adults are Unique
- They know a lot, adults have a wide variety of experiences
- Adults have definite opinions, values and beliefs
- They value time
- Adults have varied learning preferences
- They like to patriciate
- Adults are looking for answers for the current problem
- They are seeking knowledge or skill for a specific purpose
Resistance to Change
- Adults have strong opinions and belief system that may resist “buy-in”
- Introduce new ideas or concepts and allow time to for adults think
- Encourage and permit adults time to explore new ideas
Fear of Failure
- Adults can be more sensitive to failure and looking foolish than youth
- They may be insecure and may not participate in discussion
- To balance the adult’s shyness by trying different teaching methods
Build Positive People
- Learn participants names
- Respect adult’s time – start and end according to schedule
- Be interested in individual’s accomplishments
- Acknowledge their contributions
- Encourage and promote discussion and interaction among all the participants
Learning can be fun, valuable and purposeful for adult participants. How we deliver the message is important for furthering our educational mission.