Adults’ emotional states are inextricably tied to their abilities to learn. To learn, an adult must be emotionally comfortable with the learning situation. When we feel afraid, our brains shut down to learning and new information can’t be absorbed. 

Adults come to the learning process with a wide range of previous experiences, knowledge, interests, and competencies. The more explicit these relationships (between the new and the old) are made through discussion and reflection, the deeper and more permanent the learning will be. 

Adults want to be the origin of their own learning and should therefore have some control over the what, who, how, why, when and where of their learning. Adults must see a need for the learning they’re engaging in before the learning can take place. 

Adult learners do not automatically transfer learning into daily practice. Adults need direct, concrete experiences for ap- plying what they have learned to their work. Adult learners need a lot of practice including guided practice that incorporates receiving feedback. 

Because of our life and work experience, adults have a task-centered or problem- centered orientation to learning. When trainings are developed around problem solving, then adults will learn the content with the intention of using it.