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Adult Learning theory, also known as andragogy, is the science and practice of teaching adult learners. Learning designers and HPI practitioners use adult learning theory as a guide to creating training and devising strategy. Being aware of how adults best learn, and what they want from the learning experience, allows us to effectively design instruction that is both rooted in real-world experience as well as collaborative and experimental.
A transformational experience
Parenthood is a huge transformation, a paradigm shift. When your baby is born, you are born as a parent and with that, a whole set of fears, excitement, and plenty of skills to learn. Yes, there are the technical skills that we develop as parents, and while I am not diminishing the value of changing a diaper in the middle of the night with the lights off, the internal traits and soft skills that we develop during parenthood are much more powerful.
My neighbor, who was 50 at the time, was trying to find a job in the Bay Area after a short gap in employment. She looked for many months and got second, and even third-round interviews, proving that she had the skills to move past the first filter, but then at the end of the road, she kept losing the race to younger job seekers. Whether this was real discrimination or just her perception, it is possible that age bias was at play. Ageism is a reality in organizations, especially in certain industries, and it creates a real fear as we age and try to imagine our future.
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