this could explain a lot
Oct. 29th, 2006 10:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
adrian_turtleOne of the texts I'm studying for the certification exam includes a section about how to design and evaluate various kinds of job training programs. Part of that is a description of how adults learn differently from children and need to be taught differently.
"Adults need to understand what is expected of them and have their own expectations acknowledged.
Adults learn most efficiently if they can relate new information to their own past experience.
Adults need to see a use for what they learn. It must fit into current needs and serve a useful purpose.
Adults need to feel in control of their own learning.
Adults learn more effectively if they are able to proceed at their own pace.
Adults take errors personally and are protective of their self-esteem. They learn better in a relaxed, anxiety-free atmosphere.
Adults need to consolidate what they have learned through actively applying it.
Adults need frequent opportunities to assess their progress.
If adults are unable to apply what they have learned immediately after training, much of the learning will be lost."
(Excerpt from ASQ CQE, from Learning Management Systems, 2.2)
Some children will put up with "you have to learn this even though it makes no sense," but they generally do better with context. Preschoolers learn better in a relaxed, anxiety-free atmosphere. They need to consolidate what they have learned through actively applying it (over and over and over and over and over and over and over ... adults may need this *less*.) I've taught little kids, big kids, teens, and adults - I've seen people of every age have difficulties when they can't relate new information to what they already know, or when they are pushed to learn at the wrong pace.
Everything they say about adult learners seems sensible enough, except the framing statement that adult learners are DIFFERENT from children. That transforms it to a frightening load of nonsense, and makes me worry about how many people might believe it. In retrospect, it could explain a lot of the problems with primary education, if enough people actually believe:
Children do not need to understand what is expected of them.
Children learn most efficiently when information is presented without connection to anything else they know.
Children need to feel adults are in control of their learning.
Children learn more effectively if adults are in control of the pace.
Children's self-esteem is not related to any errors they might make. Anxiety motivates learning for children.
Children have no use for self-assessment or application of what they learn; they learn to please adults.
I don't know if this is a widespread set of beliefs. It seems outrageous that anyone could teach actual children for more than a few days and continue to believe them...but beliefs about how things should be can be remarkably resistant to observation.
Adults learn most efficiently if they can relate new information to their own past experience.
Adults need to see a use for what they learn. It must fit into current needs and serve a useful purpose.
Adults need to feel in control of their own learning.
Adults learn more effectively if they are able to proceed at their own pace.
Adults take errors personally and are protective of their self-esteem. They learn better in a relaxed, anxiety-free atmosphere.
Adults need to consolidate what they have learned through actively applying it.
Adults need frequent opportunities to assess their progress.
If adults are unable to apply what they have learned immediately after training, much of the learning will be lost."
(Excerpt from ASQ CQE, from Learning Management Systems, 2.2)
Some children will put up with "you have to learn this even though it makes no sense," but they generally do better with context. Preschoolers learn better in a relaxed, anxiety-free atmosphere. They need to consolidate what they have learned through actively applying it (over and over and over and over and over and over and over ... adults may need this *less*.) I've taught little kids, big kids, teens, and adults - I've seen people of every age have difficulties when they can't relate new information to what they already know, or when they are pushed to learn at the wrong pace.
Everything they say about adult learners seems sensible enough, except the framing statement that adult learners are DIFFERENT from children. That transforms it to a frightening load of nonsense, and makes me worry about how many people might believe it. In retrospect, it could explain a lot of the problems with primary education, if enough people actually believe:
Children learn most efficiently when information is presented without connection to anything else they know.
Children need to feel adults are in control of their learning.
Children learn more effectively if adults are in control of the pace.
Children's self-esteem is not related to any errors they might make. Anxiety motivates learning for children.
Children have no use for self-assessment or application of what they learn; they learn to please adults.
I don't know if this is a widespread set of beliefs. It seems outrageous that anyone could teach actual children for more than a few days and continue to believe them...but beliefs about how things should be can be remarkably resistant to observation.
