UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGES OF THE ADULT LEARNING

BY: NIKKI ANNE LYSSETTE V. CAMPOMANES BTTE-ELEC. 2

What is Adult Learning?

Adult Learning is the process whereby adults engage in systematic and sustained learning activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge,
skills, attitudes, or values. Adult Learning has also been referred to as andragogy (to distinguish it from pedagogy).

Andragogy are teaching strategies developed for adult learners. It is often interpreted as the process of engaging adult learners with the structure of learning experience.

THE CHALLENGES OF ADULT LEARNING

1. Internal and external influences on the adult learner both in their past and present experiences form these views. These views in turn form the adult learners motivation and barriers to learning.

2. Understanding which are the intrinsic and extrinsic factors affecting motivation and creating barriers to learning enables us to focus our efforts on the root cause of the problem.

Knud Illeris The Three Dimensions Of Learning

Functionality refers to the learning content and the individual's capacity and understanding thereof. Sensitivity stresses the importance of the individual's incentive for learning: motivation, emotion and volition.
The final dimension is that of Integration: the ways in which the individual can adhere the learning to make sense to him. This dimension focuses on interaction with fellow learners or the environment.

RATIONALE AND RELEVANCE-THE CHALLENGES OF ADULT LEARNING

Rationale
There are really three issues here: what is to be learned; how it will be learned; and why it is important. Spelling out the what and the how is not that difficult, but the why presents the challenge.

Relevance
If adults have an immediate need to know something, they are

more motivated to learn it. If you are teaching a class on appraisal

techniques to a group of managers who are about to begin the process of appraising employees for the first time, they will be more motivated to learn. There is no denying the power of the principle of immediacy. However, being aware of the principle of relevance enables an instructor to focus on future applications rather than strictly immediate needs.