Adult Learning

A significant body of research indicates that frequently professional development and certification programs for teachers are simultaneously not adapted to how adults learn AND are not effective models for how teachers should engage students (National Research Council, 2000).

In addressing the former, it is important to think carefully about what adults may need that is different from what youth need (obviously, modeling activities that teachers might do with elementary school students without adapting them to the needs of adults is not the most effective approach). These may not be distinct from what youth need, but can be thought of as further along a developmental continuum.

Research indicates that adult learning must be responsive to (Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2011):

(1) the learner’s need to know,

(2) self-directed learning,

(3) prior experiences of the learner,

(4) readiness to learn,

(5) orientation to learning and problem solving, and

(6) motivation to learn.

Building on these ideas, research on learning more generally suggest that educator development is best when it is:

1) Learner centered - differentiated and individualized (programs should support adults to self-regulate, find relevance for themselves in the learning, orient towards their goals, construct their own knowledge, investigate questions, and evaluate more independently than younger students might).

2) Knowledge centered - pedagogical content knowledge (programs should support adults to focus on the interaction between teachers, students, and subject matter in the classroom - this is sometimes called the "instructional triangle" or the "instructional core." Programs for should not be anti-intellectual, and should instead challenge adults to see the complexity and nuances of expert level performance. Programs should provide adults with access and input from expert sources in the form of reading and instructors).

3) Assessment centered - test concepts and receive feedback (programs should support adults through multiple opportunities to cyclically deliberately practice, receive feedback, and improve as part of a high quality assessment system).

4) Community centered - collaboration in communities of practice (programs should support adults to engage with other learners to formulate understanding, learn the discourse of the profession, and work through common learning challenges).

5) Inquiry based - a constructivist process to test and evaluate practices (programs should engage adult learners in systematic opportunities to test and evaluate practices, emphasizing meta-cognition).

Sources:

Knowles, M., Holton, E., & Swanson, R. (2011). The adult learner, 7th Edition. Boston: Elsevier.

Little, J. W. (2006). Professional community and professional development in the learning-centered school. Retrieved from Washington, DC: National Education Association

National Research Council. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press

https://lincs.ed.gov/sites/default/files/11_%20TEAL_Adult_Learning_Theory.pdf

https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JOTS/Summer-Fall-2000/holmes.html