Eva was excited to attend a training session on a topic of interest. She hoped to gain new knowledge and skills that would enhance her practices. However, it wasn’t long before the trainer lost her attention. The trainer spent the entire session reading statements from PowerPoint slides that were full of text. Eva noticed that her mind was wandering, and she was thinking about other things. She was having a hard time focusing on the content and couldn’t wait for the session to end. Eva was not engaged and afterward she couldn’t remember much of what was presented.

A few weeks later, Eva went to a training session that was super engaging. Within the first few minutes, the trainer had the learners involved and discussing the topic. The learners practiced the strategies that were presented and had time to reflect on what they had learned. Everyone was invited to create a plan of action for how they would implement the strategies presented. Eva left the session with greater understanding and immediately began to implement her plan of action.

Best practices for teaching adult learners include involving and engaging learners in the learning process. Adult learners need opportunities to practice, reflect, and determine how they will apply the information presented. When presented effectively, adult education can be a catalyst for change, empower individuals to reach their full potential and improve their quality of life. Therefore, it is essential that trainers implement the most effective strategies for teaching adult learners.

Adult Learning Principles: How Adults Learn Best

Malcolm Knowles was an American educator who wrote his first book on informal adult education in 1950. He proposed a comprehensive theory of adult learning that was different from teaching children (Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2014). His theory included adult learning principles for teaching adult learners. These principles can be summarized as follows:

• Adult learners have a need to know how learning will be conducted, what learning will occur and why the learning is important.
• They have a desire to be self-directed and take responsibility for their own learning.
• Adult learners have prior experience that can be a rich resource during learning.
• They have higher interest in learning content when the information being presented has immediate relevance to their employment or personal life.
• Adult learners prefer learning that is problem-centered rather than content-oriented.
• They are internally motivated and are looking to increase their job satisfaction or quality of life.
• Adult learners learn best when they have opportunities to make connections with the content, are actively involved during learning experience and can engage in the act of reflection to help them gain new insights and perspectives.

Wilson (2018) proposed that professional learning experiences for adults need to be transformed to mobilize optimum learning. It is essential that trainers use a variety of approaches to engage learners. Smith (2017) stated that adults must first understand why the information they are being asked to learn is relevant to them and then learners need to be given opportunities to be active participants in the professional learning experience. Likewise, trainers need to be responsive to the diverse needs of adult learners by being open to differing viewpoints, thoughts and experiences and creating respectful environments that promote inclusion and equity.

Effective trainers can use adult learning principles to guide their teaching practices. Adults learn best when content is relevant, and they understand why the information is applicable to them and their current situation; when they are given opportunities to use their prior knowledge to construct new knowledge; when they participate in a variety of intentional engagement strategies; and when they feel respected and have a sense of belonging. According to Pluth (2022), “the person that is doing, practicing, and applying content and information is the one learning the most.” We will now explore five best practices for teaching adult learners.

Best Practice #1: Start Strong

Why does a fireworks display hold your attention? Fireworks are engaging and you can’t wait to see what will happen next. As trainers, it is important to engage learners and capture their attention. In the book, “Secrets of a Powerful Presentation” (Meiss, Shumway & Pluth, 2017) the authors suggest that trainers should A.I.M. for a powerful opening by obtaining the Attention of learners, Involving learners early and often, and helping learners see the Meaning or relevance of the information being presented. Effective trainers start strong by involving learners within the first five minutes. Engaging learners quickly breaks their preoccupation with other things and gets them ready to learn.

One way to start strong is to “hook” the learner’s curiosity and pique their interest in learning more about the topic. This can be accomplished by telling an engaging story that relates to the topic, sharing a value statement such as, “the strategies you will be learning today will significantly increase your abilities to …” or ask a challenging question. One type of story that engages learners is a story that shares why the topic is important and grabs the learner’s attention (see the introduction).

Best Practice #2: Connection Before Content

When an adult learner feels connected, they are open to receiving new information and gaining new understanding. Andreatta (2018) stated that we are wired to work with others, as we have a need to belong, be part of a community and create meaningful bonds with others. Learners are more open to learning when they feel connected. As soon as learners enter the room, effective trainers start making connections by greeting each person. They take a few minutes to interact with the learners and find out more about them as a person.

Effective trainers can create connections with learners by establishing Climate of Care guidelines which are rules of engagement (Byington, 2019). Climate and Care guidelines are designed to help establish an emotionally safe learning environment where learners can collaborate, experiment, take risks and bring their authentic selves to the learning experience. Trainers can present guidelines to the group and ask learners to indicate if they are willing to follow them, or they can have learners create the Climate of Care guidelines together as a group. Examples of guidelines could include “All voices heard” or “Be respectful and attentive.”

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Best Practice #3: Communicate Intent, Debrief Experience

One way to intentionally implement learning experiences is to communicate your intent before the learning experience begins and then debrief the experience at the end.  The debriefing should give learners time to discuss what happened, why it is important and how they can apply the information to their work or life. Communicating the intent and debriefing the experiences leads to deeper insights and understanding.

Here is an example:

Communicate the Intent
Within a small group you will be analyzing a case study and practice using the problem-solving steps to determine potential solutions to the problem.

Learning Experience
Present a case study or scenario related to your topic.

Debrief
What was the purpose of the learning experience?

To practice using the problem-solving steps to determine potential solutions.

Why is it important?

Using problem-solving steps can assist you in determining solutions to challenges you face in life and at work.

How does this relate to your life or work?

When faced with a challenge, the problem-solving steps can be a strategy to use to determine potential solutions.

Best Practice #4: Use a Variety of Intentional Engagement Strategies

Effective trainers include a balance of content and engagement. Engaging learners does not mean that a training session is only filled with fun and games. Intentional engagement strategies and learning experiences are implemented to introduce, reinforce, and revisit content. Engagement strategies can be defined as learning experiences that challenge, motivate and actively involve learners. Intentional learning experiences give participants opportunities to share and learn from each other, reflect on what they have learned and make deeper connections with the content. Engaging adult learners in the learning process increases their attention, retention, and focus. It is recommended that you make a shift and engage learners every 5 to 10 minutes (Pluth, 2022). A shift is changing up the presentation by watching a video clip, completing a poll, or asking learners to discuss a question with a partner. Shifts help to keep learner’s minds and bodies alert. Variety is the key.

Here are several ideas on how to engage learners:

• Introduce concepts by having learners find the hidden words within a maze of letters.  Ask learners to share the words that they discovered in the maze of letters as well as additional words that are related to the topic.
• Reinforce concepts by inviting learners to write down one key point that they have learned. Ask learners to find a partner and share their key points with each other.
• Revisit concepts by creating a giant graffiti wall and invite learners to add a #hashtag to the wall that pertains to a key idea from the presentation such as #learnbydoing.

Best Practice #5: End Strong

Effective trainers “end strong” by sharing a relevant quote or story and give learners time to reflect on how they will apply the information presented into their practices. They ask learners to commit to applying at least one strategy into their practices.

Effective trainers are intentional in designing and delivering learning experiences that provide optimal learning by implementing best practices for teaching adult learners. Remember to start strong, make connections with learners, communicate intent, and debrief learning experiences, use a variety of engagement strategies, and end strong.

Remember, “It’s not about what trainers cover, it’s about what learners discover!”

References

Andreatta, B. (2018). Wired to connect: The brain science of teams and a new model for creating collaboration and inclusion. 7th Mind Publishing.

Byington, T. (2019). Lose the lecture: Engaging approaches to early childhood professional learning. Gryphon House, Inc.

Knowles, M., Holton III, E., & Swanson, R. (2014). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. Routledge.

Meiss, R., Shumway, P., & Pluth, B.P. (2017). Secrets of a powerful presentation: How to plan, prepare and present with polish. Creative Training Productions, LLC.

Pluth, B.P. (2022). Creative training: A train-the-trainer field guide. Creative Training Productions, LLC.

Smith, S.P. (2017). Adult learners: Effective training methods. Professional Safety, 62(12), 22-25.
jstor.org/stable/48690580

Wilson, S. (2018). Implementing co-creation and multiple intelligence practices to transform the classroom experience. Contemporary issues in education research, 11(4), 127-132.