Yale Study on Adult Learning
The following learning principles are important to keep in mind when planning and conducting training activities for adults. They are adopted from Xavier University Train the Trainer Workshop, delivered by Edward E. Jones, Ed.D.
Motivation Learners must be motivated before they will learn.
Learning requires your student to take action. Often this action is internal and is initiated by the student. He/she freely chooses to act or not to act to do something to acquire the knowledge, attitude, or skill you are teaching. You cannot motivate your learners. Your learners have to motivate themselves.
"If I can't motivate my learners, then what can I do?" A motive is a desire in response to a need, which causes a person to act. A study (1980) by the American Productivity Center says, "Since motivation comes from within, a worker (student) is more motivated to perform well if he or she understands what is going on. The more I understand what is going on, why it is going on, how it affects me, and what's in it for me, the more I will tend to support... its goals."
How do I help my learners become motivated ?
Show your learners, "What's in it for me? Don't assume they feel your class or subject is useful and valuable to them. Show them the value or use. It's well to keep in mind that what's valuable for one person may not be valuable for another. It then becomes your job to show the whole class how every experience can be a beneficial learning experience.
| Use the learning itself as a motivator. When your learning sessions are rich and rewarding, when learners feel they have enlarged the limits of their minds, when they can see useful application for the things they'vejust learned, then they'll be motivated to continue to learn more. Motivation is internal but you have the responsibility to provide a positive learning climate. | |
| Use praise liberally. Call it positive reinforcement, a pat on the back, encouragement, and support for a job well done. Praise your learners for the little things they do well. Don't wait for the "big success." The key here is to praise often but be natural and above all sincere! Don't make things up because you'll be discovered as a phony. Learners want praise but they want genuine praise. | |
| Make course objectives clear when setting expectations. Then challenge learners to achieve them. For some, having a goal to attain is the motivation to attain it. Make sure that class work following is clearly relevant to achieving the objectives. This will help maintain the motivating challenge of striving to attain the goal. |
This is not a complete listing of motivators and motivating techniques. Such a list does not, and cannot, exist. Because each person is different, with unique qualities, experience levels, needs and desires, each will be motivated differently. Some will be motivated entirely by knowing "what's in it for me?" Others need a complex array of motivators.
Utilization The student must see a use for the material being learned
Your instructor role is specifically geared to helping people (the employees of your company or organization) do their jobs better. These employees / learners are looking for help with their jobs. Remember the adult learner is problem centered. If they cannot see how the subject matter will help them (be useful), they won't be inclined to try very hard to learn it.
Often you present material, which is "background" or "foundation" material. Well and good, but do make certain they realize the material is relevant and that you intend to build on it. Learners must see the connection between your "background" material and solid, usable job applications.
Show your learners how the material can be used.
Stimulus Learning is stimulated through the five senses
Your mind, like your muscles becomes active when the bodily senses are stimulated The learners who come to your classes are no different. Their sensory equipment must be activated before their minds will realize and accept the facts, concepts and skills you wish them to learn.
There are few stimuli that will activate all five senses simultaneously. Since you'll have to select among these senses, it will be useful to know that some are much more vital to the learning process than others. Here's a breakdown of how we learn what we know today:
| 75 % through the sense of sight | |
| 13% through the sense of hearing | |
| 6% through the sense of touch | |
| 3% through the sense of smell | |
| 3 % through the sense of taste |
Clearly, visual stimuli should have a large part in the learning process. But, you must also realize the more senses student uses while learning, the faster and more efficiently he / she will learn.
When an instructor uses words alone, learners retain some of the facts. They retain 3-1/4 times more information if he/she uses pictures alone. But they retain 6-1/2 times more if the instructor uses both words and pictures.
To stimulate learning through the senses:
| Use visual stimuli whenever possible to get your point across. Learners remember more of what they see. | |
| Appeal to several senses simultaneously for the most efficient learning. | |
| Use strong stimuli for greater response: vivid pictures, loud noises, and bright colors. | |
| Vary the stimuli. Repetition of even a strong stimulus becomes monotonous and weakens the desired response. |
A stimulating presentation requires more preparation, but if a subject is worth remembering, it's worth presenting so it will be remembered.
Interest The student must be interested in the learning.
You can't assume your student is interested in learning just because he's/she's in the class. We do know he'll/she'll be thinking about something that interests him/her. Your job is to generate interest in the course materials.
The difference between interest and motivation is subtle, for they often work in a cause-and-effect relationship. If interest is high, there will be little need for motivating a class. If motivation is applied throughout training, the interest problem is solved. We treat them here as separate to emphasize the necessity for including both in your classes: hold the learners attention and make them want to learn.
How can you keep learners interested?
| First, you, the instructor, must be interested. Learners quickly "turn off" to an instructor, who appears to be disinterested in the subject, is listless or seems tired or bored. | |
| Build interest throughout the session. The interest learners bring to class can quickly be lost. Arouse curiosity and increase enthusiasm as new material is introduced. Vary your methods. | |
| Hold interest once you've gotten it. Some tools you can use are: visual aids, student participation, humor, or a combination of these. Perhaps a change of pace in the presentation or in the physical surroundings will be necessary. | |
| You must also be interested in the learners. They'll respond to genuine interest and enthusiasm, which involves them personally. | |
| Get your student's interest aroused early in your session. You may want to consider some variety in your class opening. Instead of handling all the administrative material and then student introductions, start with an exercise that will have them interacting right from the start (team questions for you about the course, or "why I'm here and what I want to get out of this class" are a couple of examples). This approach gets them involved quickly, covers the introduction dilemma and starts your class with student interest high. |
If your trainees aren't interested, check yourself, not them. After all, they 're your trainees, in your class, learning your subject. And it's your job to keep them interested . Remember the materials, which keep adults interested and problem centered. And involvement creates interest.
Transfers Learners learn easily when they can make "transfers"
Learners always arrive in your class with some prior knowledge. They may already understand the basics of the subject; they may possess considerable misinformation; they may know nothing about the subject. They will have some knowledge or understanding about something, and it is your job to use that knowledge to enhance the learning process. We call this the principle of "Transfer."
Building on what a class knows, working from the known to the unknown, is termed "positive transfer." When prior knowledge interferes with the new learning, "negative transfer" is taking place.
Negative transfer can be avoided by emphasizing new learning as something to build upon. People resist changing ideas that they have long accepted. Instructing them in new ideas will be easier if they are not confronted with the necessity of unlearning the old ways.
Relating new ideas to known facts can effect positive transfer. Some of the mystery of a grill or oven is removed when a student can relate new information to something that is familiar to the student This allows him/her to grasp the new concept by having a mental picture to which the new facts can be tied.
To use the principle of transfer:
| Always proceed from the known to the unknown. | |
| Relate new ideas to familiar facts by analogies and comparisons. | |
| Emphasize new ideas, concepts or methods as better, not different from old ways. |
Logic The learner must see the logic of the material
Our thought processes may begin with our sensory equipment, but we do have such a thing as "think-power" which is rooted in the mind and which utilizes logical reasoning processes. All information entering the mind is screened by an analytical procedure that rejects, or at least questions, ideas that don't make sense. Use the principle of logic to prepare your lesson so it will be logical to this reasoning mechanism of the mind.
The principle of logic involves two things:
Each point must make sense by itself. The ideas or concepts you present must appear inherently logical. To help accomplish this, try these methods:
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The points must come in a logical sequence. Put your ideas in an order which establishes the clear relationship between points and which will be understood by the student. Logical sequences which can be employed are:
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Immediate Application Immediate application improves the learning
This principle directs you to try out the skills or verbalize the facts just acquired. In effect, tell your learners, "You've just leaned it; now do it, here in the classroom." As they begin actually applying what they've just heard or seen, they:
| Establish more relationships between the parts of the course. | |
| Perfect or test their understanding of the subject. | |
| Get involved. | |
| Develop still stronger motives for learning. |
The methods and techniques used for class participation can be used to apply the Principle of Application. The point here is: have learners do and verbalize as soon as possible after their exposure to new facts.
An effective way to use this principle is to have your learners give (write-present-discuss) an application of the concepts to their own situations "back home." This could be done individually or in teams. The key is to "do it now." Thus, the principle of "immediate application" is activated.
Participation Learners learn better when they are actively involved in the training.
If a student doesn't participate in the class - that is, doesn't say anything, or get involved other than sitting there - what does that tell you?
Such behavior can indicate how much the person is getting from the class. Sometimes these learners do get a lot but usually it is an indication of lower learning. A good rule to follow is the more participation - the more learning. Without active participation your learners won't be doing the thinking and applying that leads to increased learning. This is particularly true with adult learners who, for the most part, aren't used to long periods of uninterrupted sitting.
As an instructor you must plan for participative activities for everyone in the class. Give them things to do�this gives them a chance to ask questions and comment on the materials being taught. They feel they are a part of the learning situation and not just passive receivers. But, a word of caution is also in order. Participation just for participation's sake is a waste of time for you and the learners. To have them "break into small groups" because you like to do that isn't going to be effective. Make sure you have a planned purpose to your activity.
Active participation includes:
| Oral Asking questions of the whole class, assigning some learners to explain various sub-points or having them conduct a demonstration. Encourage voluntary contributions, challenge or questions. | |
| Written Working on group problems or exercises, individual tasks, "pop. quizzes, flip chart summaries, or case solutions. | |
| Group work Group discussions, small team exercises, role-plays, case studies, projects for later presentation. | |
| Physical Assembly of components -machines, instruments, or layouts; performing or demonstrating an activity (such as ringing a cash register, writing a ticket, checking in a guest at the front desk). |
This principle operates not only for the benefit of the student but for the instructor as well. With properly planned participation, you are now free to work with individual learners, observe student groups and prepare yourself for the next session. Learners don't want to see and hear only you all day and you will quickly tire if you have to be "on stage" all day.
Remember the principle of Stimulus - involving many of the senses? Participation is an effective way to get more of the senses involved and increase the learning. When we discussed Stimulus, we said that words alone are not very effective. We remember more of what we do and say than of what somebody else says or does - because we're involved. Don't use involvement for its own sake but to increase learning. So, get 'em involved!
Repetition Repetition assists learning.
The world of advertising knows well the effect of repeating a message. Stop and think how many times you've seen the same ad on TV or in print. They want to imprint the product on your mind. And it's the constant repetition that does it. Let's see how this works in training.
Notice each time you have a "refresher" session the Desirable Learning Curve holds constant (because your desired student progress hasn't changed) but the Forgetting curve shows less and less fall off. In other words, your learners are remembering more and getting closer to your desired learning level.
In his many cassette tape programs, Earl Nightingale tells his listeners, "a message read or heard several times a day for eight days is virtually memorized; at the end of 30 days the memory retains 90% of the message."
No, it is not expected that you repeat your message like a tape recorder in your classes, but it does show you how the mind works in retaining material and the importance of repetition in your learning situation.
