HOW ADULTS LEARN TODAY?

HOW ADULTS LEARN TODAY?

Resurging your training/coaching programmes

A friend recently shared how frustrating it was for her to attend a compulsory training at work, and exited with things that she’d already knew, or could’ve easily looked up on the internet.?She basically said that it was a waste of her time.

This started me to reflect my personal experiences on this matter and hence, write this article.

As a developer of my own programmes, I’m constantly creating content to suit my audience with these thoughts in mind.?

(a)???Authentic – Adult learners prefer something real, practical and applied.?If it’s something that can be easily researched through the internet, then it’s probably not worth talking about. They want to learn from our experiences, expertise and knowledge. ?

People want to know what you know and not what they already know.

?(b)???Build – Adult learners prefer to build on what they already know (or should know).?They prefer trainers/coaches to scaffold and jump-start what is relevant to help them be/get better.?

People want to know more of what they need to know.

(c)????Curate – Adult learners are already so well-informed and resourceful.?Instead of overloading and overwhelming ourselves with information today, trainers/coaches play the role of a curator/librarian of content, rather than a deliverer/teacher of content.

People want to know what they want to know.

(d)???Design - ?A good training/coaching programme is developed with the audience in mind.?With the same learning objectives, a programme can be designed in many ways to suit the learning styles, background experiences and profiles of our diverse adult learners.?I prefer to keep my sessions simple and straight to the point, rather than “pulling a rabbit out from the hat” with the latest virtual tools to impress my audience.

More often than not; back to basics, less is more and no-frills work better for me.

(e)???Engage – There are many ways to engage an audience. However, one of my favourite ways is to “turn the mic” back at participants and have them do most of the talking and sharing.?I'll always find opportunities to speak less and allow the audience to speak more.?A very simple start is to have someone read off your slide deck or a short article used.

?I’m reminded not only to “learn by doing”?but also, “learn by talking”.

?(f)?????Facilitate – Adult learners are really partners in learning.?No longer is there a "hierarchy" between trainer and participants, and we can always learn something from someone. A good facilitator is able to draw out participation, insights, learning outcomes and goals of each session, so that everyone walks away with something purposeful.?

Adult learning is about partnership and contribution.

(g)???Goals – When designing a programme, the learning outcomes are really crucial for me.?Although I have some “set menu” programmes, I prefer to customize content for my clients.?A needs analysis/coaching session comes in handy prior to the programme design and execution.

People want to know what they need to know, rather than what others tell them to know.

So, here are my brief A-to-G conversations from the heart about adult learning and working with adult learners.?

I’m sure we could go on with A-to-Z ideas, couldn’t we?? Enjoy!