Welcome to our new subscribers!
To check out older issues, go here. You will find articles on Learning and Play, Planning Rest Stops, learning strategies and more.
In this issue, you will find:
Knowles Adult Learning Theory
How to take it back into your lives as learners
Resources
A surprise gift!
The Learning Pill Updates
And a way to Connect with me
Knowles Adult Learning Theory
Children and adults are fundamentally different.
For one children are still exploring the world and creating meaning. Their bank of experiences is just starting to fill up. Every day they discover something new, learn something new. As for adults, their bank of experiences is quite full. They know enough in the world to function and they guard and value this experience.
This key difference changes how children and adults learn. And therefore the rise of adult learning theories.
Some of the popular adult learning theories are - Knowles Adult Learning Theory, Transformative Learning Theory, Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory and Problem Based Learning.
We are going to unpack Knowles Adult Learning Theory today.
What is it?
Malcolm Knowles, an American Educator, came up with this to describe how adults learn. For any theory, it’s imperative to lay down your assumptions and Knowles made the following assumptions:
Why - Adult Learners need to have a very strong why of what they are learning. (I spoke about using ‘Why’ as a key component in ‘Designing your own learning journey’.)
Self-Directed - Adult learners are self-directed, that is they can plan, organise and carry out their own learning.
Experience - Learners bring their own experiences to the learning.
Problem Oriented- Learners want to apply their learning to do a task or solve a problem.
Intrinsically Motivated - Learners are driven by intrinsic motivation.
Relevance- Learners want to learn things that are immediately relevant to them.
Some of the key elements of a learning experience informed by these principles are communicating the why, giving lots of hands on practice, and less focus on instructions.
How to take it back to your lives as learners?
When embarking on a new learning journey, ask yourself the following questions:
Why do you want to learn this?
What is the underlying motivation?
Are you a self directed learner?
It’s important to be honest about this. In the past, have you been able to plan, organise and complete your learning by yourself. If not, is it because you were not motivated, or you did not have the skills to be a self-directed learner.If the honest response is ‘No, you are not a self directed learner’, plan for it, have a partner, or if you have a coach or instructor share what you need with them and on the side continue to build your skill to be a self-directed learner.
How is this relevant to you?
What problem do you want to solve or task you want to accomplish post this learning experience?
Can you connect what you are learning to things you have experienced?
Remember this is not a perfect theory, there is no perfect theory. It’s a way of making sense.
Frameworks and theories are like maps, they guide us to reach our goal. Use this one to do exactly that.
Resources
If you want to learn more about Knowles Adult Learning Theory, check out the following resources.
Blog Posts
https://www.learnupon.com/blog/adult-learning-theory/
https://educationaltechnology.net/andragogy-theory-malcolm-knowles/
https://www.wgu.edu/blog/adult-learning-theories-principles2004.html#close
Academic Paper
https://www.ncolr.org/jiol/issues/pdf/6.2.3.pdf
Videos
A Surprise Gift! 🎁
If you were looking for a learning experience that will help you with
Self Expression
Creativity
Confidence
there is a virtual workshop coming up!
Check out this space or follow me on LinkedIn to know more.
The Learning Pill Updates
We have completed 3 months of The Learning Pill and this is our 13th issue.
In the last 3 months, the number of subscribers have grown by 46%.
Our average open rate is 36% .
Thank you for reading and sharing your love with The Learning Pill. 🙏🏻🌻
Connect with me
Are you a Learning Experience Designer or someone who wants to get into this field and are looking for some support? Let’s connect!
I do 30 minutes call with young LXD professionals every Friday.
Book the call or share the link with someone who’d like to- https://calendly.com/avnivij3/30minAre you an organisation or a part of one who needs someone to design engaging and effective learning programs, build capacity of early career professionals, identify learning needs, reach out to me here- https://calendly.com/avnivij3/connect-with-avni
Thank you for reading The Learning Pill. If you liked this newsletter, share it with others who might like it.
Keep Learning!
Adios,
Avni