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Understanding core characteristics of adult students is helpful in preparing to teach them. I want to use the four principles and 5 assumptions listed in this article to design my materials. It can also be used by the students to make sure they are aligning their presentations with audience needs.

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Understanding what motivates students is important for me as the instructor to best craft my course materials. Its also important for students as they prepare their presentations and provide feedback for their classmates.  If we (me and other students) know why a student is in the class we can help them the most.

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As eLearning designers, we have to understand adult learning psychology to create courses that appeal to them and make them want to learn what you want to teach. But... there is a challenge.

Most adult learners are anxious about being able to adapt to, and perform in a virtual learning environment. They also harbor negative attitudes about eLearning (due to bad courses they've taken in the past).

We have to overcome these obstacles by giving the learner compelling reasons to take our courses.

We have to get inside their minds and break the code: What motivates them to learn and what holds them back?

Before you try to decipher the unique species called the "adult learner," take a peek into the mind, thoughts, and the traits of an average adult. According to Malcolm Knowles, a pioneer in the field of adult education, the following two criteria distinguish an adult from a child:

He/she is an individual who performs one or more "adult" roles, as has been deemed by society. These roles include that of an employee, spouse, parent, a citizen who is aware of his rights and duties.

He/she is an individual who believes that he/she is responsible for what happens to them and wants to take charge of their own life.

This means your learners are adults with previous knowledge and fixed ideas about what works for them. They are busy and stressed-out folks who hate wasting time. They want learning experiences that HELP THEM meet their needs and achieve their goals.

You have to persuade adult learners to rearrange their busy schedule and make time to take your eLearning courses. But it is easier said than done.

Motivating adult learners can be quite a challenge unless you know what makes them tick and what compels them to prioritize and take action.

Below are some clues.

1) Job Relevance: They should be able to determine the need for the learning

Adult learners are almost always taking an eLearning course for a specific purpose rather than just for fun. Step into their shoes to understand their needs and aspirations. Also, consider the demands of their jobs, so you know exactly what skills they need to excel in their professional duties. Focus on giving them what they want: answers to their real-world problems.

Adult learners appreciate working towards clearly-defined goals (this is their main motivator, and that's why training must be short, relevant and useful). They hate the feeling of running around in circles and quickly become frustrated. Especially, they don't want to waste time on eLearning courses that will not provide any real-world transferable, applicable knowledge or skills.
Read: Stop Blah, Blah eLearning! 5 Rules for Creating Relevant and Fluff-free Courses
TO DO:

Create a need for your learners and convince them that your course is valuable to their job. Then keep reminding them WHY they are there. Here's how:

Begin every module by stating the learning objectives clearly.

Explain in detail how to carry out an activity.

Use analogies to relate new ideas to what learners already know.

Provide concrete examples.

End every module by reinforcing the learning.

Make sure all relevant information is visible and easily accessible, and there are no obstacles that keep your learners from reaching their goal efficiently.

2) Progress: They are interested in learning that aligns with their life goals

According to Teresa Amabile of Harvard, the lure of in adults. Adult learners' are interested in taking an eLearning course only if the learning aligns with their life goals and lets them advance in their career. They are motivated to engage with your eLearning course if you reveal to them progress is a powerful motivator what they can achieve by the time they complete it.

Employees who believe that their employers have their growth in mind will be more motivated to take an online course than those who feel they are treated as commodities in their organizations.

TO DO:

Show the learners a glimpse of the better future that awaits them after they complete the course. Here's how:

Incorporate videos of successful people or relevant experts related to the subject.

Give students the opportunity to constantly self-assess their progress and understanding of a subject.

Offer feedback to boost their efforts and encourage them in completing a task.

Provide a concrete proof of completion such as a certificate.

Build levels, grades, or other types of rewards and recognitions in your course to give the learner the gratification of knowing that he or she is making progress at the workplace.

3) Trust: They are more influenced by messages that come from a trusted source or a figure of authority

Trust is a powerful tool for motivating people. Adults are not as trusting or naïve as children. They will believe in your message only after you have earned their trust and established yourself as someone who knows what is talking about. When learners trust the online instructor (or the source of the content), they will likely invest time in completing the training. Otherwise, they'll easily walk away.

TO DO:

Create eLearning courses that:

Sound and/or read like friendly advice or the wise words of a counselor.

Have clear requirements, or a pre-course preparation if necessary.

Provide different levels of support from online instructors.

Design clean and professional-looking courses. Studies show people don't trust badly designed websites.

4) Exploration: They want to learn by exploring, NOT clicking through a course

Adult learners are self-directed individuals who want to control the way they lead their lives. They want to be involved in and experience the learning first-hand.

Exploration is a powerful motivational tool. You should create eLearning courses that engage learners the way they are hooked to their favorite TV show or feel compelled to carry on reading a book or playing a video game. said it clearly Charles Jennings " Think experience, practice and sharing rather than content, content, content."

TO DO:

Banish passive learning and create an environment of "exploration" in the course. Here's how:

Consider gamification. When you set goals, throw in challenges, and provide rewards, learners will be instantly hooked.

Offer several opportunities for them to participate.

Invite them to solve a problem or a mystery.

Storytelling: When you weave your content within an engaging story, your audience will gobble it up. Stories feel more realistic than charts and statistics.

Provide learners a level of individual control as they complete the course. For example, provide them the possibility to choose the order of topics or areas that they can explore.

Create activities and assessments that make the learner think. Adult learners love nothing more than to connect the dots, find patterns, and figure out the answers themselves.

Make use of their previous experience. A simple "what if" exercise can effectively help you achieve this.

Also read:
Now that you know how the adult learner thinks and expects from you, you can design a truly motivating eLearning course that will answer his or her questions, resolve his or her issues, and empower him or her to build a better life. The adult learner has enough responsibilities and burdens on his shoulders; create a course that is his ally.

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Breaking the Code: What Motivates Adult Learners?

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As eLearning designers, we have to understand adult learning psychology to create courses that appeal to them and make them want to learn what you want to teach. But... there is a challenge. Most adult learners are anxious about being able to adapt to, and perform in a virtual learning environment.

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I have students do a persuasive speech on a topic of their choice as one of their main assignments. In the past, most students have picked very uncontroversial topics. This only required demonstrating their knowledge within lower levels on Blooms taxonomy. I want to change that to give them very controversial topics where they need to show the upper level thinking during development of their arguments within their persuasion. I can further assess their understanding.

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The hierarchy of Bloom's Taxonomy is the widely accepted framework through which all teachers should guide their students through the cognitive learning process. In other words, teachers use this framework to focus on higher-order thinking skills.

You can think of Bloom's Taxonomy as a pyramid, with simple knowledge-based recall questions at the base. Building up through this foundation, you can ask your students increasingly challenging questions to test their comprehension of a given material.

By asking these critical thinking questions or higher-order questions, you are developing all levels of thinking. Students will have improved attention to detail, as well as an increase in their comprehension and problem-solving skills.

There are six levels in the framework, here is a brief look at each of them and a few examples of the questions that you would ask for each component.

Knowledge: In this level students are asked questions to see if they have gained insight from the lesson. (What is... Where is... How would you describe?)

Comprehension: During this level, students will be asked to interpret facts that they learned. (What is the main idea... How would you summarize?)

Application: Questions asked during this level are meant to have students apply or use the knowledge learned during the lesson. (How would you use... How would you solve it?)

Analysis: In the analysis level, students will be required to go beyond knowledge and see if they can analyze a problem. (What is the theme... How would you classify?)

Synthesis: During the synthesis level of questioning students are expected to come up with a theory about what they learned or use predictions. (What would happen if... What facts can you compile?)

Evaluation: The top level of Bloom's Taxonomy is called evaluation. This is where students are expected to assess the information learned and come to a conclusion about it. (What is your opinion of...how would you evaluate... How would you select... What data was used?)

Corresponding Verb Examples

Remembering: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce, state

Understanding: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate

Applying: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write

Analyzing: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test

Evaluating: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose, compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate

Creating: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write

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Using Bloom's Taxonomy for Effective Learning

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The hierarchy of Bloom's Taxonomy is the widely accepted framework through which all teachers should guide their students through the cognitive learning process. In other words, teachers use this framework to focus on higher-order thinking skills. You can think of Bloom's Taxonomy as a pyramid, with simple knowledge-based recall questions at the base.

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Most of my students work in highly technical and complex computer disciplines. It is difficult to teach them how to present information from that field to non-technical audience members. A video like this will help to break the ice into that topic.

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Melissa Marshall brings a message to all scientists (from non-scientists): We're fascinated by what you're doing. So tell us about it -- in a way we can understand. In just 4 minutes, she shares powerful tips on presenting complex scientific ideas to a general audience.

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The article provides 10 methods to use for more active learning for corporate training, which is what I teach. I think role playing and flipped classroom methods will be best for my class. Giving a scenario where students need create a plan for a public response to it and having them teach sections of the lesson are possible ways to increase active learning.

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In today's ultra-competitive work environment, the organization that trains in the most effective and efficient manner possible will always gain the upper hand. With emphasis on process, performance, and employee motivation as the keys to success, there is no denying the fact that learning has become a barometer of an organization's competitiveness.

However, the passive approaches employed for the past generation of learners are now obsolete. Classrooms and lectures are now slowly becoming a thing of the past. The preferred learning approach has now turned the way of active learning methods.

Now, put technology into the mix and things get a little complicated.

First, there is a definite need to adapt active learning activities. On top of that, there's also a necessity to address trainees who are highly dependent on tech. Utilizing active training methods in the classroom is already a challenge in itself; but now, active online learning has also become part of the equation.

This puts learning managers and professionals in a bit of a bind. Today's learning environment is more dynamic than ever. Adapting to and getting informed on the latest effective methods have become almost impossible tasks. Technology will keep on evolving; and so will the learners and learning methodologies.

It has now become an integral part of a learning professional's job to keep up with everything that's going on.

Keeping all that in mind, the learning professional's biggest challenge is effectively addressing the learning needs of this new generation of learners. Doing so will require them to use technology while simultaneously fostering an active learning environment and staying updated on modern learning approaches.

What actually is active training?

The concept of active learning has been around since the early '90s. Although the term covers a broad spectrum of different approaches, its main point is 'learner-centricity.' Active learning's main drive is to put the responsibility of learning at the hands of the learners themselves.

It is also the exact opposite of passive learning - where the relationship between learner and instructor somehow resembles that of an apprentice and master. In this instance, the instructor lectures while the student merely memorizes and assimilates.

Active learning methods, on the other hand, designate the role of facilitator to the teacher. Instead of merely a lecturer, the teacher acts as a guide. The facilitator's task is to let the learners learn on their own through the use of different active training activities.

The many advantages of active learning

There are a plethora of studies on the benefits of active learning. Research has proven that there is increased content knowledge for participants of the approach. In addition, development of critical thinking and problem-solving are two other benefits. Creative thinking, collaborative, and interpersonal skills also show great improvement when active learning methods are implemented.

The most important benefits, though, have something to do with learner motivation. This then leads us to the next important question concerning active learning methods.

How to promote active learning?

The most important element of success when setting up a proactive learning environment is motivation.

Studies have shown that active learning results in increased enthusiasm for both learners and facilitators. What's more, active learning also improves learners' perception and attitude towards information literacy. These are all critical attitudes in establishing an active learning environment.

Moreover, fostering an environment that values active learning methods is not only the responsibility of a select few (like the training department, for example); but it needs to involve the active participation of the entire community as well - from the CEO to the mid-management, to the rank and file.

10 active learning Ideas that involve technology:

Collaborative Virtual Classrooms

Collaborative virtual classrooms make online learning more engaging. Aside from the usual audio-video conferencing and chat features, virtual classrooms also provide synchronous and asynchronous annotation, communication, and resource sharing for facilitators and participants. It's a definite must-have for any eLearning platform!

These two are approaches that can also be classified under active learning methods. Mind mapping and brainstorming are staple methodologies for any problem-solving activity. In these sessions, learners come up with ideas and post them on a board. As a group, the students then select the best ones and use those to come up with a solution. For these methods, there are available apps that allow learners to use their own device and collaborate with others in coming up with a mind-map or idea tree.

Here is another fun and engaging activity that involves the use of the company knowledge base. Scavenger hunts start off with a customer concern. The learner's task is to use the system and find the appropriate resource to address the issue. Not only does it familiarize the learners with the system, but it also prepares them to handle real-life customer scenarios.

Role playing is also another effective approach founded on active learning methods. Role playing simulates real-life situation that requires problem-solving skills. More importantly, it is also a medium for gauging actual performance. Role playing activities can include job simulations like customer interaction (facilitator plays the customer, learner the agent) through the phones, email, chat, or in some cases, virtual reality.

A combination of a scavenger hunt and role-playing activity, this exercise is one of the more effective active learning strategies for adults. The facilitator assigns a case-study (preferably taken from common customer scenarios) to a learner. The learner, in turn, makes sense of the data and uses the available resources to solve the case.

Online discussion boards are also one of many proven active participation strategies. Online boards are virtual boards where students can learn collaboratively. They post questions and answer queries. Most of the time, there is very little facilitator or subject matter expert intervention involved, with most answers usually coming from the other participants who are more knowledgeable on the topic.

In a nutshell, learning by teaching means that you allow learners to prepare and teach the lessons (or part of them) to their fellow students. Although it may look like the facilitator is taking a very hands-off approach in this method, it actually involves a very elaborate process where the facilitator is both moderator and subject matter expert.

Do take note that learning by teaching does not simply mean a presentation or a lecture presented by the learners. In this particular approach, the learners are the ones who are facilitating the session by engaging with fellow students. The facilitator ensures that the learning gets processed correctly and also lends a hand to the student-hosts. Webinars and online discussion boards are the usual media used for this methodology.

The Jigsaw Technique is another approach that fully reaps the benefits of active participation and collaborative learning. In this approach, learners are given a "piece of the puzzle" that they need to solve on their own. After this, they need to collaborate with other learners to finally complete the puzzle.

This approach would be a good addition to role playing and using data/tools to not only solve bigger problems but also gives participants a glimpse of the 'bigger picture.' It is a good exercise to let learners realize their role in the bigger picture by doing both individual and collaborative work and how those are all part of a process.

The flipped classroom is a fairly new term in the learning and edtech industry. Lessons are 'flipped;' meaning that most of the work like reading and research are all done outside of class. This goes in contrast to the traditional approach where most of the class time is used for lectures, and activities are assigned as homework.

Flipping a classroom leaves more time for the facilitator to implement active learning methods during class time. This concept works on making efficient use of class time with less (or no) lectures, and more time for activities.

GBL is, arguably, the most fun among all the active learning methods. Game-based learning, or gamification, is turning a certain aspect of learning (or business) into a game. There are available learning apps that let you do this, but you can also create your own! Just don't forget to apply the three elements of gamification - achievement, competition, and fun - into the endeavor.

There are still multitudes of activities for active learning methods out there. With the help of technology, learning managers and professionals have been presented more options on how to better The ever-evolving relationship between tech and learning methods
engage today's tech-dependent audience. Nevertheless, it will now only be a matter of time before tech advances again and learning methodologies evolve with it. Learning professionals just have to either keep up and adapt or get disconnected from their learners.

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10 Active Learning Methods for Super Engaged Corporate Learners

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In today's ultra-competitive work environment, the organization that trains in the most effective and efficient manner possible will always gain the upper hand. With emphasis on process, performance, and employee motivation as the keys to success, there is no denying the fact that learning has become a barometer of an organization's competitiveness.