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 As a training planner for many years, I often was discouraged by the reaction to my programs. I would sweat out writing objectives, pore over literature to get the latest information, gather appropriate visual aids and coerce experts into speaking to our staff. But more often than I’d like to admit, the reception to training was strictly “ho-hum.” And from discussions with other training coordinators, I knew this was not an uncommon reaction. But why this response to information that should have been important – even exciting to the learners? Whether you work with a training partner or do the training using internal staff, understanding these issues means we need to look at some basic tenets of adult education.

Through the years, educators and learning psychologists have investigated what, how and why adults learn. Some of the results of their research may surprise you. In this first of two segments, we’ll look at how age may impact learning style, and how adults perceive the benefits of instruction.

Does learner age make a difference?

There are certainly differences among generations, and this is evident in how adults like to learn. At the risk of stereotyping, the adult learners most of us will encounter fall into three groups. To be sure, there is variation within broadly defined groups, but they can still provide useful insight into behavior regarding preferred learning environments.

• Boomers (born 1940 – 1960). Boomers prefer to work independently. They’re sensitive to criticism and may have difficulty dealing with what they perceive as an authoritarian learning environment. Feedback needs to be diplomatic, yet clear in providing guidance about their grasp of knowledge. Trainers should focus on key aspects of a task, emphasize its importance and provide lots of time for independent practice. By the way, all of these traits can be handled admirably with computer-mediated instruction. 
• Gen X – (born 1961 – 1981). Gen X learners like frequent, personalized performance feedback, and flexibility in structuring their learning environment. Both of these traits lend themselves well to asynchronous online training, where computer-mediated instruction provides the content and feedback via evaluations at a time and place convenient for learners. Be sure to use relevant examples from current events, and reinforce why the information is important and how it fits together with the knowledge required to perform a specific task.
• Millennials (born 1982 – 2003). Millennials are very comfortable with multimedia and multitasking. In fact, they’ve come to expect it. This is a group that grew up using the internet and playing games online, so “edutainment” is a key factor in packaging instruction for them. Also, make the relationship between learning and the potential for increasing their earning power very clear.

There is some evidence that in situations where learners – regardless of generation – are unfamiliar with the information being presented they will revert to a more traditional pedagogical preference for instruction.

What’s in it for me?

Taken as a group, adults are more likely to be interested in knowledge that can be applied in very practical ways, such as solving problems they face in the work setting. After all, most people don’t search for answers to questions they aren’t asking. The challenge for trainers is to consistently show how knowledge can be applied in common situations that confront learners.

Robert Gagné, an educational psychologist, suggests asking a question or telling a story related to program objectives that draws upon the personal experience of learners, or describing a typical problem that information presented during the training will help solve. Another way to do this is to ask learners themselves how they think they can apply the new information.

You can make sure information you’re providing is practical by doing a task analysis. There are two benefits to this exercise. First, you can determine whether the individual steps and the correct sequence involved in task completion are easily discernible. This is valuable for editing and fine-tuning program goals and objectives. Second, important procedural tasks that might otherwise go undiscovered can be brought to light. For example, steps in decision-making that the competent worker uses to select or modify activities are not overtly evident to the casual observer, yet play a vital role in task completion.

Another characteristic of adult learners is that they prefer programs to focus on a single concept or theory. This bias appears to increase with age.

When it comes to showing adults what’s in it for them, the bottom line is this: focus on the essential knowledge that learners need to function effectively. Give them the resources – web links, white papers, publications – to pursue deeper knowledge if they’re so inclined. Show them why they need to learn what you’re teaching, and listen to them when they say they don’t understand why it’s important. It can make the difference between success and failure in gaining adult learner attention.

Next time we’ll look at how and why adults learn. Here’s a hint – it’s about more than just choosing between pedagogical and andragogical models.