What is learning?
—Learning is something which takes place within the learner and is personal to him or her.
—Learning takes place when an individual feels a need, puts forth an effort to meet that need, and experiences satisfaction with the result of the effort.
Tip for trainers:
Develop a personal theory of learning and teaching. A sound understanding of theory is vital for good practice.
Characteristics of adult learning
Adult learning is different from child learning – ‘Androgogy’, not pedagogy.
It requires:
—facilitation not indoctrination
—learner-learning, not teacher-teaching.
Tip for trainers:
Use these characteristics as the basis for the design of learning programmes.
Role of the trainer
Learning rather than teaching should be the guiding principle for the educator. The role of the educator is that of a fellow learner with a special role - to become a facilitator of self-directed learning. Adults want to be able to position the offered knowledge and skills in the context of their experiences. They can learn from each other’s experiences and they need interactive training methods (open communication between facilitator and participant, and among the participants).
Tips for trainers:
—Master the subject of training.
—Respond in a flexible and respectful way to specific needs of the learners.
—Handle the programme in a creative and flexible way.
—Learn along with the participants.
—Guide, coach and support where necessary.
—Understand learning theory in order to practise effectively.
—Discover the perspective of the learner and the learning context.
—Decide on the most suitable approach.
—Choose and use appropriate methods.
—Monitor and evaluate progress.
The experiential learning cycle
The experiential learning cycle provides a framework for adult learning. It is based on the theory that real learning follows a continuous progression of experience-reflection-action.
—Experience: learners acquire new KSA (Knowledge-Skills-Attitudes) and seek out new information to support the experience.
—Reflective observation: learners process the information by reflecting on the experience.
—Generalization: learners think about how their new KSA relate to their own context, situation, and existing KSA.
—Active experimentation: learners apply what they have learned in the real context - this becomes a new experience.
Tips for trainers:
—Provide relevant experiences and information; ensure the learners are actively involved.
—Help the learners reflect through individual or group exercises.
—Help learners to structure and verbalize their new knowledge through questioning, probing, discussing.
—Help learners to try out new skills, solve new problems, test out their new knowledge in reality.
Learning styles
Different people have different learning styles.
—Active learners: ‘jump in and do it immediately’.
—Reflective learners: ‘wait and see, then try it’.
—Theorizing learners: ‘understand basic principles; logical; objective’.
—Experimental learners: ‘don’t believe it until I’ve tried it; problem-solvers’.
Tip for trainers:
For different topics or activities, start sessions at different points of the experiential learning cycle to help individuals with different learning styles.
Practical suggestions for teaching and learning
Drawing on adult learning strategies and the recognition that trainees have different styles of learning, a few practical suggestions for the design of learning and teaching programmes are presented below:
Tips for trainers:
—Build up and enhance learning techniques of learners.
—Start with specific issues, then move from the concrete to the general.
—Use small, manageable pieces of learning.
—Use an appropriate range of learning methods and materials.
—Try to use participatory learning and discovery learning approaches whenever possible.
—Encourage understanding, not memorizing.
—Provide opportunities for imitation.
—Allow learners to practise as soon as possible.
—Make it possible for learners to use their own style of learning.
—Allow learners to organize their own learning.
—Ensure that the learning does not stop at the end of the course.
—Leave the learners feeling that they want to learn more, and that they can continue on their own if necessary.
If you are training trainers, then the following strategies will be useful:
1. Begin by asking course participants to reflect on their own learning experience, identifying important personal learning, and describing the learning process they experienced.
2. Brainstorm on how adults learn with the following questions:
—What are the differences between the way adults and children learn?
—What are the implications for the design of training programmes?
—What are the implications for the delivery of training programmes?
3. Present the experiential learning cycle, using a large flipchart and cards with the different stages of the cycle. Build it up visually (see page 57). Provide the theoretical background to the concept of experiential learning.
4. Provide an example of learning with which most participants will be familiar, e.g. ‘riding a bicycle’. Ask participants how they learned to do this. Try to identify different approaches that participants used to learn this skill. Relate this to the four learning styles. Add these learning styles, using cards, to the experiential learning cycle chart.
5. Ask groups to identify strategies they have used or are aware of when training adults. What has worked well and what does not work well? Build up a series of ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of adult learning practices on a flipchart. Provide other examples if required.