The 8 Fundamental Principles Of Adult Learning That Every Course Creator Should Know

The 8 Fundamental Principles Of Adult Learning That Every Course Creator Should Know

course starter kit combo

Get Sarah's FREE Course Creation & Business Growth Training

The 8 Fundamental Principles Of Adult Learning That Every Course Creator & Training Professional Should Know

 

As professionals in the training and education space, it is essential that we understand the unique learning requirements of our adult learners to ensure that our training interventions are effective.

 

The process of engaging adult learners in a learning experience is known as Andragogy.

 

The term was originally used by Alexander Kapp (a German educator) in 1833, but was later developed into an adult education by the American educator, Malcolm Knowles who arguably stands as one of the most influential writers in this field.

 

Knowles distinguishes adult learning from the ‘pedagogical’ approach of child learning in a number of theoretical ways.

 

In my book ‘The Fundamental Principles Behind Effective Adult Learning Programs’  we explore how these theoretical concepts of adult learning apply to the way we design and develop our training programs and facilitate the learning experience; but here I have briefly summarised them to help you embed these principles into your courses and training.

 

It is believed that we take on the components of an adult learner between the ages of twelve to fifteen years old.
Therefore, variations of these principles of adult learning have become prevalent talking points in the development of training and curricula in recent years and are increasingly becoming more widely used in the goals of schools, colleges, training organisations, universities and, slowly, businesses to enable students and staff to become effective lifelong learners.

 

In order for adults to learn effectively, training needs to be designed in a way that meets the following core principles of adult learning:

 

1. Self-Directing

The first difference Knowles proposes is that adults are autonomous and self directing, meaning that they live under a large degree of self-governance and to their own laws, beliefs and values.

 

They need to know the benefits, values and purposes of a learning program. They need to know why they are learning what they’re learning. If they cannot appreciate the purpose or value, they will be reluctant to engage in the learning intervention.

 

2. Learn by doing

Adults learn through direct experience; therefore, their training and learning interventions must include active and practical participation and offer implementable techniques and methodologies that will immediately improve their every day lives.

 

3. Relevance

The content of a training program must be meaningful and relevant to the adult learners, their lives and their business. They have to very clearly see why and how this is important to them personally and how it applies to their life. The immediate use of the learning needs to be clearly understood by the learner.  If they can’t see how they personally can apply the learning to their own life and roles, it is suggested that motivation towards the training intervention will be significantly reduced.

 

4. Experience

Adult learners need to be able to draw upon their past experiences to aid their learning. Training needs to be contextualised to use language that they are familiar with. We need to select case scenarios and examples that they can relate to, as well as refer to their direct past life, work and social experiences to bring the meaning of the learning into their world as they understand it.

 

5. All of the Senses

Adult learners need multi-sensory learning and teaching methodologies. We must ensure that our learning interventions have appropriately proportioned delivery techniques that meet the needs of audio, visual, reading/writing, kinaesthetic, dependent and independent learning preferences.

 

6. Practice

Adult learners are often engaged in learning because a problem needs to be solved. Practicing skills in a controlled environment allows them to grow self-efficacy in new tasks that prepare them to act autonomously outside of the learning environment. The more an adult learner can practice new skills, competencies or the application of knowledge, the more transformational impact the learning intervention will have.

 

7. Personal Development

The intrinsic, personal desires and ambitions of an adult learner need to be considered when planning and delivering adult learning programs. As learners get older, their cause for participation in learning programs often moves from external drivers (such as getting a promotion), to internal drivers, like simply learning out of pure pleasure or interest in learning something new.

 

 8. Involvement

Effective adult learning programs have planned for learner feedback and consultation. Adults need to feel as though they have a sense of responsibility, control and decision-making over their learning. They need to be involved in the planning, evaluation and consultation of their own learning process to be fully on board with its successful execution. In terms of education, this requires the flexibility of the learning situation, the learning program and most importantly, the educator to actively involve the participant in a way that allows them to have a degree of control over what they do, or, in fact, how much they learn.

 

In my eBook, we take a look at the basics of what these principles mean for the learner, the educator and the overall considerations that need to be made in order to prepare an effective learning program.

 

You can learn more about creating and delivering effective adult learning programs in my Advanced Train the Trainer & Curriculum Design online course.

 

What does lifelong learning mean to you?

 

How does your training institution or business encourage lifelong learning?

 

Sarah Cordiner Social Links 🌐:

Social Media 📱:

Blogs and Resources ✍️:

5 Ways To Become a Well-Known Expert In Your Industry

Start Making Your Knowledge Work & Changing Lives Today

Take your knowledge out of your head and turn it into a profitable online business.

Dramatically increase your industry reputation, reach a global audience, gain a passive income and impact people's lives all over the world through your expertise.

Let me help you commercialise your IP, create and publish your courses and build a highly successful online business as a stand-out leader in your field of expertise.

Here are 5 ways that I can help you become a well-respected leader in your industry:

starter kit gold

FREE: Course Creation & Business Training

Get your FREE Course Creation & Business Training! FREE training to turn your passion, expertise & knowledge into a profitable online course, lift your global credibility & make a passive income!

Get The FREE Training
Book a Call

Book a Call with Me

If you have a number of questions, want one-on-one tech help or would just rather have a chat and guidance from me directly, you can book a call with me here.

BOOK NOW
the legends lab (1)

The Legends Lab

For those who are ready to become a stand-out leader in their field of expertise.

The Legends Lab is Sarah's ongoing coaching membership where you will learn how to become a well-known expert in your industry.

BECOME A LEGEND
plus

Concept To Course

Create and launch your online course or membership in just 30 days in my once-a-year course creation group coaching program.  Daily support, live calls, group learning and massive results, fast! 

JOIN CONCEPT TO COURSE
done for you course creation set up

Done-For-You Services

Why not just hand it over to the experts? I can create your course plans, set up your online school, create slides, connect all of your technology & software, create your email automations and more.

QET A QUOTE

Special Deals & Free Trials on my FAVOURITE Tech Tools & Software!

Click on the images below to get more information about the deals.

TekMatix is the market-leading all-in-one business platform, CRM and course creation platform.

It is your course platform, website, blog, email marketing software, ai bot, customer record management system, social media planner and auto-posting tool, calendar booking software, paid ads manager, sales manager and much much more. FIND OUT MORE HERE

Interact: Quiz making tool

AppSumo: Tech deals for business tools

Podcast.co Podcast hosting & distribution

Camtasia: Video Recording & Editing

Canva: Graphic Design

VideoAsk: Interactive Video Funnels

StreamYard: Livestream To Multiple Channels

TubeBuddy: YouTube Analytics & Competitor Data

Fiverr: Freelancers & Cheap Services

HeySummit: Host Summits and conferences

Creative Fabrica: Graphics, Illustrations and Images

Envatoelements: Unlimited Commercial Use Video Clips, B-roll, Audio, Music, Sound Effects

Loom: Record your screen and face videos

Course creation equipment that I recommend on Amazon

Latest Articles by Sarah Cordiner