One way to approach the question of whether teaching adults is different is by examining the types of learning in which adults engage. Adult learning has been classified as subject oriented, consumer oriented, and emancipatory. Only emancipatory education has been described as unique to adulthood, but even that claim has been challenged. As a…

Malcolm Knowles is attributed with developing the most cogent model underlying the assumption that teaching adults should differ from teaching children and adolescents. His andragogical model is based on the premise that adult learning differs from preadult learning. Two studies have examined whether teachers do actually use a different style when…

This edited transcription of a presentation by Susan Imel and Judy Wagner, of the ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, discusses the use of the Internet in adult education and family literacy programs. Issues discussed include models of technology instruction, adult learning characteristics, and World Wide Web sites of…

This fact sheet offers guidelines to consider when developing educational programs for adults. Characteristics of adults which affect learning are discussed under the following headings: adult life cycle; time orientation geared toward immediacy; broad base of experience; independent self-concept; and social roles. The importance of allowing…

The goal of emancipatory learning is to free learners from the forces that limit their options and control their lives and to move them to act for social and political change. Although emancipatory learning is commonly associated with adulthood, not all adult education fosters it, and not all adult educators align themselves with perspectives that…

Metacognition refers to the ability of learners to be aware of and monitor their learning processes. Cognitive skills are those needed to perform a task, whereas metacognitive skills are necessary to understand how it was performed. Metacognitive skills are generally divided into two types: self-assessment (the ability to assess one's own…

Research on various facets of adult learners' experiences in postsecondary education has established the following facts: (1) instructors who help adult learners connect their real-world experiences and what they already know to what they are learning in the classroom are perceived as most helpful and motivating; (2) adult undergraduates generally…

A form of group learning, cohorts, has become increasingly attractive to administrators, instructors, and participants in adult education. Basic academic skills cohort learning supports three types of knowing: instrumental, socializing, and self-authoring; whereas, in higher and adult education cohort learning, the development of critical…

In adult education, the term "accelerated learning" (AL) is usually associated with programs designed to meet the needs of adult learners whose many commitments prevent them from participating in traditional programs. Within the field of training and development, however, AL identifies an approach to learning that is multidimensional in…