The most important thing to remember about working with adult learners
I have to remember that the learner`s age is a huge factor in the learning process. according to the book authors Merriam and Cafarella "Whether adults lose their intellectual abilities as they age is still open to question for a number of reasons, including a lack of consistent research methodologies and tools. The most common response is to this important issue is that adult intelligence appears relatively stable, at least until the sixth or seventh decade. If a decline in functioning does exist, it appears to apply primarily to the maximum versus average levels of functioning. In reflecting on the issue of aging and intelligence, remember that myths promote powerful images, whether the myth is grounded in fact or fiction. It has been difficult for educators and researchers alike to give up the stereotype that young equals sharp and older means dull.”
What affects our learning as adult relates to the age factor and intelligence. It is noticeable that younger learners are quicker to learn with less required speed . On the con tray, older learners take more time in responding and red more time but the speed can be adapted and the learning pace can change. Additionally, our cognitive and motoric skills deteriorate as we get older especially after forty years old. For example my mother, at the age of 70 started to experience some loss of senses such as hearing, talking and responding. This decline affects the self trust and esteem.
Older learners suffer from memory decline especially after forty where it is hard to acquire and learn, organize new material. Decline in memory worsens with aging and a repetition becomes a necessity to acquire the knowledge.
It is i...
... middle of paper ...
...ll torn between my military identity and student identity, The transition between military and civilian life is very difficult. When I am at school, I still feel I need to maintain my military principals and the space between me and others, I enjoy the freedom and the simplicity of life. Learning becomes a joy and a gateway from the harshness. On the contrary, when I am back to my unit , I become more serious and less much less smiling ! Also my post traumatic disorder leads to feelings of depression, stress, sleeping difficulties and worry.
As an educator, I like to make sure that I can bring in an exciting learning experience into my classroom and to my students through motivational student centric learning, gaining my students` trust and implementing a culturally sensitive pedagogy with respect to my students` diversity, social backgrounds and home literacies
Merriam, S.B., Caffarella, R.S. &Baumgartner (2007) Learning in Adulthood: A comprehensive guide, san Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass
ADULT LEARNING THEORY 2 Adult Learning Theory Malcolm Knowles Malcolm Knowles (1913-1997) was a key figure in America’s adult education in the second half of the twentieth century (Smith, 2002). Early Life “Born in 1913 and initially raised in Montana,” Knowles seems to have had “a reasonably happy childhood. His father was a veterinarian and from around the age of four Knowles often accompanied him on his visits to farms and ranches” (Smith, 2002, para. 2). His mother also played a critical role in his character building. During his campaign for the scouting prize, he developed a technique that would help him compete successfully (Smith, 2002), which he always thanked his mother for. In 1930, He entered Harvard University with scholarship, where he spent four dynamic years. Although job opportunities were extremely scarce, he still managed to find a job in Phillips Brooks House at Harvard (National Louis University [NLU], 2005), “a university organization dedicated to social work” (NLU, 2005, para. 7); he also volunteered to participate in many activities with immigrants at Boston's Lincoln House Settlement (NLU, 2005). In addition, he accumulated experiences in communicating with youth groups and counseling for immigrant Italian families. He was even elected President in Harvard's Liberal Club (NLU, 2005). He was soon found to be caught up in the Depression; however, he was not defeated by either the delivery job for the New York Times in the Cambridge area, or the errands he ran as a water boy for the Harvard football team (Smith, 2002). With the desire to work in the field of education, Knowles managed to get a job in new National Youth Administration in Massachusetts, where he was involved in “finding out what skills local em...
In regard of your past experience with classes that you have taken in the past and how your performance was different when the information your learning were relevant to your interest or career, According to David Crawford, “Adult learners view learning as most desirable when it is relevant and can be used currently rather than as something to be accessed in the distant future” Crawford, D. L. The Role of Aging in Adult Learning: Implications for Instructors in Higher Education (2004,December)
Knapton, S 2014, ‘Brains of elderly slow because they know so much’ Telegraph Media Group, published in the Journal of Topics in Cognitive Science, viewed on the 22nd of march 2014
Intelligence is commonly thought to decline as we get older, however this is a flawed belief. Some may argue that there are various cognitive processes that are associated with changes in the brain that do deteriorate with time, however there are also other brain areas that increase their activity in older age. I believe a person’s ability to perform certain tasks may become slower as they get older, but this doesn’t automatically mean that they are cognitively getting less intelligent. There are numerous ways in which intelligence can be defined, although it is commonly defined as general cognitive skills, this means that it is a mental ability involved in the capacity of learning, reasoning, perceiving relationships and analogies, understanding, facts, meanings, etc. (Dictionary definition). However as Raymond Cattell (1963) described ‘intelligence does not generally consist of only cognitive performance’. Cattell and Horns theory (1966) emphasises that intelligence is composed of a number of different abilities that interrelate to form the broad term of intelligence. The main two factors are fluid and crystallised intelligence.
Mirriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether this happens at twenty or at eighty. Anyone who keeps on learning not only remains young but becomes constantly more valuable, regardless of physical capacity.';
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.
The Adult Learning Theories Essay assignment provides information on how learning takes place throughout different stages in life. The topic begin with how learning take place in humans, how one develops throughout various stages in life, the learning process, and blending adult learning and development experiences. The course content requires mastery because learning never ends once it begins at birth. The importance of knowing what is learned in each stage of life builds upon what is already learned which will lead to the next stage of development.
Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences. As adults mature they grow a vast base of experiences that could create a foundation of knowledge. People attach more meaning to learning they gain from experience than those they acquire ...
Learning and memory are fascinating. The world could not function without either. They both are used in many different fashions in a wide variety of places. Learning and Memory have been carefully studied by professionals but are also well known and used by the common people on a daily basis. I am one of those common people, a student who is constantly learning and making the most of my memory. Since enrolling in The Psychology of Learning and Memory class I have come to the realization that I encounter situations in my life that exemplify the very concepts I have studied. I have also learned that it is beneficial to apply the lessons learned in class to my everyday life. Positive reinforcement, learned helplessness and serial recall are a few among many of the learning and memory models that have come to action in my life and in my final reflections surrounding the course.
Adult learners need their learning to be timely and relevant. 5. What is the difference between a'smart' and a'smart'? Orientation to learn- It is life centered and focuses on tasks and problems, not subjects.
As a person grows old, it is inevitable to have both physical and cognitive changes happen throughout their lifetime. In an average life span, a person’s physical and cognitive changes will normally vary depending on what age group they are in. For example, it is said that from birth to age five, a child will absorb more information including how to talk, language, form relationships, and fine motor skills than any other age. It is also said that that most rapid decline in physical ability is in older adults ranging from a loss in eyesight to severe dementia.
The learning environment connects the classroom to the community through a democratic approach. This community based learning brings the world into the classroom so students can implement social change and challenge social inequalities. The curriculum focuses on student experience and taking social action on real problems such as hunger, violence, and discrimination. It is important to instruct students to explore in group settings so they can work together to analyze and develop theories that can help each other and make a real different in the world. As a future educator, it is important to not only to teach my students the issues in our world, but how we can work together to find
Some people belief that when they are old, their cognition will decrease, especially in decision-making and learning new things. On the contrary, older people have a wise brain and perfect skill because different skill of Cognition which is the process of knowing and understanding (longman dictionary) will peak at different time, some is soon while some take a longer time. Besides as people are ageing they have more experience as well as more knowledge to increase their ability to learn, that why we have a sayings like” the older, the wiser”. Furthermore, our brain is working as the same as our skin or body if only they take care of their brain in the right way they can keep their brains sharp for a certain extra time.On the other hand, people