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When adult learners embark on a new learning program, they bring many things with them: their life experience, and their family demands. They also have a sense of urgency when it comes to completing the program and financial constraints that gives them anxiety and pressure. With all this, adult learners look for learning programs that value their experience, respect their limited time, and can be relevant to their needs and preferences.

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This book is organized using Malcolm Knowles theories on adult learning. Every chapter addresses one of his assumptions about how adults learn:

1)      I need to know what, why, and how

2)      Involve me in the process of decision making

3)      Value my experience

4)      Connect my learning with my life

5)      I have my own reasons for learning: internal pressure, self-esteem, quality of life.
Even though the book is not a complete picture to adult learning education, it is a guide to get us started on this process.

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The authors argue that most educators prefer to use their own theories and methods. However, it is important to examine those theories and contrast them with renowned theories from experts in the field of pedagogy. At the same time, the authors make a clear distinction between pedagogy or the field dedicated to teaching children, and andragogy, which is specific for adults. Adults have their own needs when it comes to learning and should not be treated as children.

Following this principle, the authors use case studies to motivate us to examine each assumption described by Knowles:

1) Case 1 “Mr. PowerPoint” presents the story of a professor who likes to use slides to present his classes and doesn’t allow for student participation or questioning. It reminds us that adults need to know why they need to know something.

2) Case 2 “Teacher Seminar” presents the story of a group of teachers who are given lectures and not tasks and addresses the need for adults to be task-oriented in their learning. It also encourages educator to be more interactive to engage adult learners.

3) Case 3 “The Clinical Experience” presents the story of a professor using a lab for medical students to help them have a learning experience that reflects real life. This will be memorable for students and promote meaningful learning. This helps learners bring their own experience to class and combine it with new learning experiences.

4) Case 4 “Hurry to Class” presents the story of a professor who engages students with an activity at the beginning of each class and motivates everyone to be on time and participate. Here we are presented with the principle of self-directed learning, which helps adult learners make their own decisions about their learning.

5) Case 5 “Fear Factor” presents the story of a professor that is feared by everyone because he attacks anyone who criticizes him. This reminds us that people learn best when there is no fear, and that adults learn better when their efforts are rewarded and valued, not criticized or attacked.

6) Case 6 “Part of the Team” presents the case for transformative learning, learning experiences that change the way students act, not just in the classroom, but in their own life.

7) Case 7 “Constructive Knowledge” presents the case for constructivism or learning by doing and interacting. These ideas are based on Dewey, Bruner, Piaget, Vygotsky, and Gardner, and remind us that in learning, there needs to be a relation between human knowledge and social experience. Specially languages, are best learned when interacting with others.

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Here are my own conclusions. I really enjoyed Chapter 1, it presented theories on adult learning in a clear and engaging way.

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Chapter 2 I Need to Know What, Why, and How

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Chapter 2 I Need to Know What, Why, and How

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Adult learners are like the leaves on this Padlet, they come in different shapes and sizes, they have different backgrounds and have different colors and life spans. Many adults enroll in a study program late because they couldn’t afford it before, and, because they probably had to work hard to get the money to enroll. Most of them have dependents and might not have a strong academic background.

With all this in mind, teachers must consider the kind of learning experience they want to provide their adults learners with a clear and valid reason to attend class. Teachers must have clear objectives for the learning outcomes they expect from their learners. Teachers need to be patient, there is a lot of content to teach, but remember, you can’t teach it all! Identify the most important objectives, communicate them to students and take advantage of students’ experience. Also, teachers need to make the learning experience relevant to students so that they can move from just acquiring formal knowledge to applicable knowledge.

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“The final destination is important, but so is the journey”, this quote captures the essence of this section of the book, since here, the authors discuss different ways to deliver instructions for adult learners. The first thing to consider is to have a clear end in mind and follow this model:

STARTING POINT  -->   CONTROL POINTS  -->  FINAL DESTINATION

The authors present different strategies to manage a class, so that students have a more relevant role in the learning process:

1. Bookshelf Strategy: Input-interaction-output

2. The Rule of Ten and Two: for every ten minutes of teacher talk, students get two minutes

3. Group Response Cards: Cards for agreeing and disagreeing about a topic

4. Round the Clock Learning Partners: grouping technique to make learners interact with different partners

5. Exit Cards: at the end of every lesson or unit, students reflect on their own learning

6. Discussion Museum: learners respond to quotes, pictures, or other notes

7. Speed Discussion: two to four questions about content, students discuss in pairs.

In summary, planning is key to provide a meaningful learning experience. Always plan with the end in mind, explain relevance, create rich learning environments that promote learning and include reflection and assessment at the end.

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I started teaching when I was very young, and most of my students were older than me. I learned from them more than they learned from me. But they valued my experience in teaching and helped me grow as a teacher and a person. For that reason, I agree with this chapter because we should always take advantage of our adult learners’ experience and use it in the classroom. Here are some tools discussed by the authors:

The Power of narratives for adult learners: adult learners have their own life experiences, stories, and tales to tell. Use that to motivate your class to participate and learn.

Fictional narratives: take advantage of the great number of fictional books and stories written to enrich your learning environment. My students love “Reading Fridays”, where they select a book we can read and discuss in class.

History: history gives our students context to life events. Use historical facts to write letters, read books, and discuss current events.

Music: music is a great tool for learning, it connects students’ life experiences and preferences with learning. It’s very personal and it can be practiced anywhere.

Internet: There are many resources that can be used in class and outside.

Movies and Television: This is a great tool for learning languages. It’s a good way to practice and learn.

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INVOLVE ME IN THE PROCESS OF DECISION MAKING

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INVOLVE ME IN THE PROCESS OF DECISION MAKING

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Here, we start with a question: how involved are students in their own learning process? Do they feel as an important contributor in the design of class content? As teachers, we need to consider adult learners background and experience and make it relevant to their learning process. We must evaluate our teaching using these questions:

1)      Do they know I value their ideas?

2)      How do I respond to questions and challenges from learners?

3)      Do I offer students a chance to chose how they learn and are evaluated?

4)      Do I ask questions that promote learning?

5)      How have I adapted my class based on students’ feedback?

Adult learners need a sense of ‘ownership of their learning process. They need guidance in their learning process, but with enough freedom to feel they have some control over their learning. It is important to negotiate some of the assignments with students. That’s why an adult classroom looks more like a meeting room than a traditional class.

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How is this going to help get ahead at work? I have worked with adult learners since the beginning of my teaching career and I have discovered that they have a need to make learning relevant in their daily life. When you ask them about their reasons to learn English, they usually cite working or college demands, but if you dig deeper, they usually tell you their personal reasons: read books, watch a movie in English, sing songs, travel and communicate with others, etc. No matter the reason, teachers need to find the best way to make learning permanent and useful to students. Here, the authors present strategies to make assignments in class more relevant:

1. A change of venue: same assignment, different place can have a great impact on learning.

2. Make me five! Ask students to name more than one correct answer or option.

3. Designated Hitter: one student is assigned to summarize the information

4. Picture it…or sing it! Summarize information using a song, ad, poem, etc.

5. You’re a poet and you don’t know it! Students write a poem to summarize a topic.

6. Service learning: students learn by serving the community.

They more we challenge and motivate our students, the better chances they get to learn something.

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Most adult learners are workers who study when they have ‘free time’, but when is that? Adults have families, obligations, and working demands that consume most of their time. Most jobs don’t have a clear division between ‘working hours’ and ‘personal time’. I have students who work from 8 to 10 hours a day but continue working online when they get home. Teachers of adult learners must be aware of this, and be flexible enough to accommodate learning, but strict enough to promote personal commitment from students. Reflection can help adult learners identify their strengths and weaknesses and relax them enough to facilitate learning.  Here are some techniques to promote reflection in adult learners:

The Mirror: Reflecting on ourselves. Students evaluate their performance on a specific assignment to identify their best practices in learning.

The Microscope: reflecting on the small things and their connection with the big picture.

The Binoculars: to bring into focus the distant things (climate, politics, etc.) affecting my learning.

They can achieve these reflections through different activities, like lists, letters to a newspaper, opinion letters, newspaper article, etc. The objective is to motivate learners to use their own experience to solve a real problem and make the learning experience meaningful.

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In the Epilogue of the book, the authors encourage teachers to be fair, fresh, provide food for thought, and a foundation for far-reaching opportunities.

Being fair: although this is a subjective term, the main idea is to be mindful of your teaching decisions and values when asking your students to learn something, be open to suggestions, and create a learning community with learners and other teachers to promote meaningful learning.

Being Fresh: this is an open invitation to be a life-long learner. Sometimes, as teachers we think that we ‘know it all’ that we have all the answers, but things change quickly nowadays, and we must find ways to keep ourselves updated.

Providing food for thought: challenge students with new ideas, invite them to think outside the box and promote creativity.

Providing a foundation for far-reaching opportunities: be a bridge, connect the present to the future possibilities that your learners might have once they complete their learning program and can be transformed by the power or education.