Title: How to design for adult learners

How do adult learners learn?

Thanks to the work of Malcolm Knowles, we can expect these andragogical assumptions of the adult learner when designing courses:

1. Need to Know: Adults need to know the reason for learning, why the content is important and relevant.
2. Prior Experience: Adults draw upon their experiences to aid in their retention and transfer of knowledge.
3. Self Concept: Adults need to be responsible for their decisions on education, and involved in planning and evaluation of their instruction.
4. Readiness to Learn: The learning readiness of adults is closely related to the assumption of new social roles and developmental readiness.
5. Orientation to Learning: As a person learns new knowledge, he or she wants to apply it immediately in problem solving; adults learn by doing.
6. Motivation: As a person matures, he or she receives their motivation to learn from internal factors; the knowledge has personal payoff to an adult learner.

Resources

- Knowles, M. (1975). Self-directed learning. Chicago, IL: Follet.
- Knowles, M. (1984). The adult learner: A neglected species (3rd ed.). Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.
- Knowles, M. (1984). Andragogy in action. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
- Knowles, M. S., Holton III, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (8th ed.). New York, NY: Rutledge.