Adult Learning Theory and Professional Development

Video Transcription

In this tutorial, we'll look at adult learning through the lens of professional development. We'll examine three adult learning theories. And finally, I'll share with you some specific examples. Let's get started.

Professional development is also referred to as professional learning, professional growth, or continuing education. No matter what term you use, professional development is a major tool that we have at our disposal for improving student achievement and for fostering continuous improvement efforts in schools and districts.

Since teachers play the unique role of being both receivers of learning and facilitators of learning, it's important that we understand these research-based adult learning theories not only to help us design effective professional development that is going to engage our adult learners, but also so that we can be better adult learners ourselves.

The process of adult learning differs from the learning processes of younger students. If you think about it at a very basic level, teachers engaging in professional development are learning. And so these teachers as adult learners engaging in professional development need to have a deeper understanding of their own learning through these adult learning theories.

So let's talk in detail about three different adult learning theories. These theories are all research based. And they illustrate for us the conditions under which adult learners learn the best. So we want to consider these adult learning theories as we are creating any professional development plans or professional development activities.

The first theory is andragogy, which is arguably the most popular adult learning theory. Andragogy can be described as the art and science of helping adults learn. Andragogy focuses on the adult learning process instead of focusing on content as pedagogy does.

Malcolm Knowles is considered the founding father of andragogy. And his six assumptions of adult learning outline for us how adult learning differs from the learning of younger students. Any one of these assumptions can be used to help us shape the design of our professional development and instruction.

Knowles's assumptions of adult learning include assumption number one, self-concept, the idea that adult learners are going to want to have influence and choices in their learning opportunities. Assumption number two is experience. Adult learners have accumulated ever-growing reservoirs of experience, which we should use as rich resources in professional learning opportunities.

We can use these experiences as starting places for our instruction with adult learners. Instructors of adult learners may want to ask themselves what experiences their adult students are bringing to the situation.

The next assumption is readiness, the idea that an adult learner is going to feel that they are more ready to learn something that they are going to be able to use in their daily life. They're not going to feel as ready to learn something that they don't feel they'll be able to use. The next assumption is problem-centered orientation, which tells us that adult learners are going to be more interested or more engaged in learning opportunities that they see as immediately applicable in their present situations.

Assumption number five, internal motivation, tells us that adult learners are going to be more strongly driven by internal motivators than they are by external motivators. And the final assumption is the need to know, the idea that adult learners need to understand why they are learning something new.

Next, let's look at self-directed learning theory, which is connected to the work of Knowles, Houle, and Tough. This theory emphasizes the importance of the learner being involved in all stages of their learning process from planning to implementation to evaluation. The learner should be taking the initiative in all of these stages and making decisions about the methods and resources and content that will be used as well as the overall evaluation of the learning experiences.

There are four goals of the self-directed learner according to Caffarella-- aspiring to gain some new knowledge or develop a new skill, becoming more self-directed in one's learning, fostering transformational learning as a central element in self-directed learning, and promoting emancipatory learning, including supporting political action and social justice as crucial parts of self-directed learning.

When designing professional development with self-directed learning theory in mind, self-direction and teacher choices should be offered in order to ensure that teachers are satisfied with their professional development. In fact, research shows us that teachers who are allowed to choose the majority or even all of their professional learning experiences are more than twice as satisfied as teachers who do not have these choices.

It's therefore beneficial for us to analyze and potentially even alter our professional development plans so that they align with the principles of self-directed learning theory in order to increase teacher choice in PD and ultimately increase teacher satisfaction with PD.

Finally, let's examine transformational learning theory. This theory was first defined as a cognitive process by Mezirow in 1978. The idea in transformational learning theory is that learners should be critically reflecting on their learning experiences and having valuable discourse about those experiences. This will lead to the learner making any necessary changes as a result of the reflection and the discourse.

Another way to describe transformational learning is as a process of making meaning of one's experiences. The four main components of the transformational learning process are the learner's experience, the learner's ability for critical reflection, reflective discourse, and taking action.

A transformational learning approach to professional development may be especially helpful when the focus of the PD is on a need for transformation that has been identified at the school level. This may be relative to a particular topic or dimension that has been identified.

So let's take a look at two examples. First, let's consider a professional development goal of incorporating reading strategies into all curricular areas. The first action step, surveying teachers to determine their specific strengths and needs, is aligned with Knowles's assumption number one of self-concept and self-directed learning goal number one, aspiring to gain knowledge or develop a skill.

The second action step, identifying teacher experts who will be asked to share their knowledge with their colleagues, is aligned with Knowles's assumption number two of the learner's experience and component number one of the transformational learning process of the learner's experience.

The final action step, having teachers break into groups after a whole staff workshop to discuss and share ideas, is aligned with the second and third components of the transformational learning process, critical reflection and reflective discourse. This plan could be even better aligned with adult learning theories if there was more of a focus on goal three of self-directed learning, fostering transformational learning as central to self-directed learning.

Let's consider a professional development goal of implementing a new learning management system or LMS. The first action step, having technology staff and administration communicate with staff focusing on the why and how of the training, is aligned with Knowles's assumption number 6, the need to know.

The second action step, having teachers engage in self-reflection to identify any potential concerns with the new system, is aligned with assumption number two of andragogy, the learner's experience, and assumption number three of the learner's readiness. It's also aligned with self-directed learning goal two, having the learner be more self-directed.

The final action step, having the technology staff conduct training that includes ample time for practice and planning, is aligned with Knowles's assumption number 4 of problem-centered orientation, assumption 5 of internal motivation, and the fourth component of transformational learning, taking action.

Here's your chance to stop and reflect. Consider a recent professional development opportunity. How could that opportunity have been modified to be better aligned with adult learning theories? To dive a little deeper and learn how to apply this information, be sure to check out the additional resources section associated with this video. This is where you'll find links targeted toward helping you discover more ways to apply this course material. Thanks for watching. Have a great day.