It is better if as educators, ask students why is important what they are about to learn and if is meaningful for them in real life situations. Explain or provide an outline of the learning expectations before the beginning of the class.

2.    THE LEARNERS' SELF-CONCEPT - adults choose what they want to learn, they are responsible for themselves, and they are independent learners;

Adult learners are more autonomous that children and most of the times they feel comfortable with this, besides the instructor must provide the necessary tools to help learners to be successful in their autonomous learning.

 

It´s important to educators, help learners to find out they own learning objective based in their needs, interests and experiences. Give up control to students of the course to stablish agreements to work on the course content in an equal teaching-learning relationship.

The adult experiences are a valuable source, collaborative activities should provide the opportunity for adults to demonstrate their capabilities 

3.    THE ROLE OF THE LEARNER'S EXPERIENCE - to children, the experience is something that happens to them; to adults, is who they are; adults make use of their previous experience in the process of learning.
Encouraging learners to link learning with their experience detonates a better understanding of the learning material. 

 The course should considers group projects and interactive discussions, flexible content, involve learners asking them what activities they would like participate.

 Interactive activities such conversations improve their learning experience.

 

The instructor should create a learning environment where students share their experiences and ideas. For example: Reflections from a journal, short writing activities that motivates reflection or memories are assessments that contribute to this.

 

Adult learners need to apply what they have learnt as soon as possible. For this reason, educators must teach learners how to search information and get sources in order to solve tasks and learn independently. 

Ask adult learner about specific experiences with topics related with the course content. A discussion panel and forum help to achieve this.

 Learners wants to know how the knowledge address to the real life task and situations. The instructor should design activities that capture adult learners ‘attention and keep them engaged.

Authentic learning activities such as case studies,team problem solving and conducting interviews provide meaning. 

 The teacher should know or understand what motivates to adult learners, use this motivation to design the course and make the knowledge relevance according to their student’s motivation.

The instructor should be aware of providing a learning environment where adult learners feel valued, respected and appreciated

The use of games, simulate a podcast, social media and TIC´s, enhance students motivation

 

An approach to working with, and developing people, which uses work on a real project or problem as the way to learn. 

Participants work in small groups or teams or take action to solve a problem and learn how to learn from that action.

A learning coach works with the group in order to help them learn how to balance their work, with the learning from that work

Learning through experience results in actual physical changes in the brain so we may say that education is the art of changing the brain. 

Learning never ends - we experience it all the time.

3. Project-Based Learning

In Project Based Learning, students work in groups to solve challenging problems that are authentic and often interdisciplinary. Learners decide how to approach a problem and what activity to pursue. 

The learners gather information from a variety of sources and synthesize, analyze, and derive knowledge from it.

The learning is valuable because it is connected to something real and involves adult skills such as collaboration and reflection. At the end, the learners demonstrate their newly acquired knowledge and they ate judged by how much they have learned and how well they communicate it. 

Throughout the process, the teacher's role is to guide and advise, rather than to direct and manage students' work. 

 
4. Self-Directed Learning

 Self-Directed Learning is an example of informal learning. It is defined as the process in which individuals take on the responsibility for their own learning process by diagnosing their personal learning needs, setting goals, identifying resources, implementing strategies, and evaluating the outcomes. 

Three main categories are involved in self-directed learning:

1. the goals

2. the process

3. the learner

The experiences gained are a valued source of knowledge to share.

The decision of the adult learner to achieve a goal is a powerful engine to get the most of their learning.

Providing the opportunities to adult learners make and take decisions is part of their independency as learners.

Let students make decisions and listen to their input. Give them the chance to be part of the leaning process.

The learning process should be surrounded by interactive activities where adult learners solve problems.

Using the adult learners’ experiences is a useful source to apply it in the teaching and learning processes.

It is important to consider the use of different and vary of teaching methods due to the differences in adult learners’ needs and characteristics. This variation would make the learning process enjoyable and meaningful.

The learning styles are visual, auditory, read or write, and kinesthetic (VARK).

The four Adult learning styles are:

Step learner. Needs follow steps and is practical when learning.

Talk learner. Verbal communication is essential to learn.

Research learner. Focuses more on reading and knowing the general goal to learn.

Create learner. Producing and creating are ways to learn.

As educators we should consider that learners constantly change and a variation of activities would match to the different learning styles.

1.Brain Dominance: The analytic information processing is sequential to the holistic simultaneous information processing, and the holistic spontaneous thinking style predominates from the reflective thinking style.

2. Sensory Modalities: This group
is divided into auditory
preferences, visual, tactile and kinesthetic elements in their occurrences of
flexibilities, preferences and non-preferences.

 3. Physical Needs: These
include preferences, non-preference, and flexibilities for movement; food
intake and oral stimulation; and for certain times of the day.

4. Environment: Preferences for sounds and music; room temperature; and study area.

Non-preferences
become weaknesses when they have to be used over longer periods of time. 

Preferences then become personal strengths when they can be used in
difficult learning situations.

The significance of conditioned/learned/acquired elements:

5. Social Aspects: Are
the aspect which learners prefer to study, the social interactions and the
subjects related to the learning process.

6.Attitudes: This
is about persistence, conformity, responsibility, the need for structure/guidance and
variety. The acquired learning attitudes, the reactions of a student to 'the system' as a
whole and show in which social setting someone can learn best. These elements
are not stable, they change several times in the course of life.

Adults can adjust their thinking based on new information. They possess the necessary set of experiences needed to undergo a significant thought transformation.

This theory revolves around two specific focuses: instrumental learning and communicative learning. The first relates to task-oriented problem solving, while the second emphasizes how people communicate their feelings, needs, and desires.

Adults must exercise control over learning decisions. Educators may act as supporting guides. Students must be ready to self-regulate and self-evaluate their learning goals.

 Experiential Learning

It is a hands-on approach, with actual experiences needed to make sense of new information. Adults will rely on real-world learning experiences to initiate reflection, review, and abstract thinking.

 Project-Based Learning

This adult learning theory revolves around the concept of “learning by doing.” Learners must demonstrate their knowledge by completing a project or overcoming an obstacle.
Action Learning

Learners need to exercise their critical thinking skills to isolate the problem and identify the solutions needed to resolve it. This theory can facilitate learning in a group setting.

It relies on collaborative skills, direct interaction, interdependence, personal accountability, and group interaction.

It is up to the student to discover new information, correlations, and truths. Instead of absorbing recited information, learners should seek out original answers to their questions.

The model suggests that information should be presented in a specific order, from the most rudimentary to the most complex. The idea is to help learners recognize connections between interrelated ideas.
Social Learning

The concept emphasizes the importance of observing, modeling, and imitating others’ behaviors and emotional reactions.

Learners must be able to navigate topics independently to fully understand the ideas they involve.

All learning experiences as responses to external stimuli. Learners, in this case, can be considered “blank slates,” who may develop specific behaviors based on their interactions with the environment.

Asserts that individuals actively partake in learning.

Learners process new information through individual experiences. The catalog of knowledge is constantly subject to change.

Source: https://www.neit.edu/blog/what-is-adult-learning-theory

 

                      

Adults tend to learn because they want to or they see the direct benefit of learning, rather than because they are told to or are expected to. Follow the principles of Self-directed
Learning theory

 

 

Adult learners rely heavily on their experiences when they engage in learning. Content that draws from real-world examples, relatable scenarios and builds on direct experience will lead to a more meaningful understanding of the subject. Use Social
Learning Theory.

 

 

Learner is given plenty of tools and information that will help them reach their goal. They need to set clear, achievable goals for themselves, and be driven to engage with the content to reach their goals. With Project-based
Learning, you can take advantage of this need to reach goals.

 

 

The immediate, short-term relevancy and the long-term benefits of engaging with the content should be highlighted in such a way that the learner will immediately dedicate themselves to learning. The principles of Andragogy would work well in this case.

 

 

Adults learn quickly and remember what they learn when they can turn around and apply that knowledge in their role. This concept works well with Experiential
learning

 

 

Learning by example is a powerful way of accessing new knowledge, allowing learners to quickly gain information and simultaneously avoiding common mistakes. This concept draws from Social
Learning Theory.

 

 

When developing a training program, an organization should provide many types of content, such as online courses, blogs, YouTube videos, webinars, apps, and conferences. Use the theory of Constructivism when developing training in
this area.

 

 

Adult learners respond positively to self-directed learning.

Being able to control how and when they learn means that they are more likely to be fully engaged with the content, rather than simply going through the motions of learning. Action Learning theory would be a good fit for this
principle, as it allows learners to have control over their learning process.