engaging adult learners

Introduction:

Since as far back as the 1940’s, psychologists and philosophers had a theory that adults had particular ways in which they learned. Researchers believed that the practice and education should reflect these particulars in order to properly engage adults. This paper will go into the theory behind adult learning and a few influential people behind the theories. It will look at learner centered approaches to adult learning. This paper will also define the different learning styles as well as how to engage those learning styles. For the purpose of this paper an adult is defined as an individual in the age range of 18 or older, someone who has really started to experience life.

Adult Learning Theory

Adult learning has been studied by numerous philosophers and psychologists for years. Up until the 1970’s most of the theories of adult learning derived from psychology. One of the most important people to study Adult Education is, “James Robbins Kidd”. James Robbins Kidd published over 20 books and at least one thousand articles, reports, and papers. But of all his books, the one that was particularly important is, “How Adults Learn” which was published in 1959. It was later revised in 1973 and became a standard in the field.

James Kidd was thought of as a pioneer when it came to educational studies. Since James Kidd graduated high school at the age of 17, he dedicated his life to the study of education. After his first degree in 1938 he worked for the YMCA (from Canada to New York) in numerous positions while completing two additional degrees at McGill University. In the 1940’s he saw the increase in technology as a tool to further push his ideas of education through the use of radio and then into film and television. B...

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...properly do this. Depending on what the lesson was, will depend on which method you would use. There are some objectives you want to look at when deciding on the test procedures and material. First you want to make sure that the intent is specific. You want to make sure that the action you want accomplished is well understood. Then you want to make the outcome measurable. You want to make sure you can properly grade the results on quality and quantity. You will also want to make sure that the assessment is achievable. Is it reasonable to finish with the specified amount of time given? Next is, is it realistic to accomplish. Is the assessment a realistic goal that the student can accomplish with the information he/she was taught? Another factor you will want to look at is the time you give to accomplish the task. Is the evaluation a fixed time or is it opened ended?