Myers, Ken (kmyers@netg.com)
Mon, 5 Apr 1999 11:01:22 -0500
From: "Myers, Ken" <kmyers@netg.com> Subject: RE: IFETS-DISCUSS Digest - 2 Apr 1999 to 3 Apr 1999 Date: Mon, 5 Apr 1999 11:01:22 -0500
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Adult learners are not a single classification of learners. There are adult
learners who have a genuine interest or even a compelling need to achieve
new skills and abilities. There are adult learners who thought they were
through with learning following formal education. And, there are adult
learners who fall somewhere in between these two extremes. To say that one
approach or method will reach all adult learners is a silly assumption. We
are not sizing shoes here.
A large part of the learning process is driven by motivation. Several
factors influence adults and their receptiveness to learning. Adults will
learn when your instruction is providing them with a perceived or real
advantage. If you are increasing their value in society, then you will have
an attentive audience. What things increase value? "I can do it faster, I
can do it better, I can do it first, I can receive better compensation
because I can do it, I can catch up to the crowd if I can do it and I can be
something better if I can do it," are all adult motivators.
What you must also recognize is that most of the instruction given to adults
is changing their current practices. All of us empirically find our paths
through life and the things we know how to do are our safety nets and our
security blankets. We will not trade our blankets for promises,
information, speculation, unproven ideas, demands or any other useless data.
We will trade them in if you have a better blanket to give us.
John Keller through his ARCS model holds one of the key ingredients to adult
learners. I am not talking about the mechanics of gaining attention or some
artificial method for providing satisfaction. In fact, the real strength of
this model is in relevance and confidence. For adults, you must establish
relevance for things you wish them to learn and especially things you wish
them to adopt. You must also allow them to practice your new knowledge and
skills and provide them with feedback -- knowledge of their results. If
they have evidence that they are improving, they will use any method you
provide to continue to improve.
No matter what the forum, adult learners fail when instruction fails to
recognize their need to know they are getting better. You cannot expect
them to sit still and wait until some future date when everything you are
conveying to them will be made clear. You cannot dump information by the
shovel full into their lives and expect them to sort their way to the useful
pieces. I really think constructivists have offered a solution without
recognizing the problem. What is the problem? No one invests in
instructional solutions at a level sufficient to produce useful results.
Useful to who? Useful to the people who's behavior you wish to change. We
do a half baked job at putting together something to get the next
instructional intervention done and then we move on. No wonder
behavioralists fail to produce quality results. We ignore the basic
research sitting right in front of us. We ignore the basic daily regiments
exhibited by everyone we know. People do learn and one of the things they
have learned is to avoid instruction that has no basis in reality and that
expects them to be passive participants. What they have learned to avoid is
solutions that the teacher has obviously never used. What they have learned
to avoid are partially complete solutions that leave the actual application
up to them.
If we built mouse traps this way, the world would be overrun with mice. We
need to back up from the position we have assumed with our noses pressed
against the glass and look at the people who must endure the instruction we
create. If each learner was your best friend, how would you make sure this
thing you are trying to teach is something they are capable of learning?
What kind of time would you spend to insure they had adequate practice?
What kinds of questions would you answer to make sure you did not leave them
confused or frustrated? What is your obligation to them as a human being?
Now go back to your discussion and ask why people can or can not learn from
the environments we produce.
Ken Myers
Ken Myers
Senior Instructional Designer
NETg Research and Development
630 637-8903
Kmyers@NETg.com
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