Learning as an Adult

Source: Study Guide

Does higher education
seem like a foreign culture to you?

You have expectations
as you register for and take classes,
as well as work through your program in higher education.

Higher education also has expectations of you!
It has its own rules, patterns, and culture. There are important differences between private and public schools, community colleges and universities, liberal arts and research institutions, graduate schools, etc.

Key concepts in higher education
include disciplines/departments, scholarship, research , verbal orientation, tenure, collegiality, academic freedom, etc.
Take time to understand the culture of higher education.

Significant groups include faculty and students,
administrators and trustees, alumni, and even larger communities and legislators. They all are important resources. Staff also are there to help you, and wait for you to appear so that their services and centers can help you succeed.

Do you wonder about your skills
in finding your way around this strange land of higher education?

As an adult learner, you

• tend to be self-directed

• have a rich reservoir of experience that can serve as a resource for learning

• are frequently affected by your need to know or do something

• tend to have a life-, task-, or problem-centered orientation to learning
  as opposed to a subject-matter orientation

• are generally motivated to learn from within (internally/intrinsically)
  as opposed to being obligated, or subject to, external or extrinsic forces

Adult learners, as they return to, and progress through their education,

often question and reevaluate their original assumptions and motivation
as they use education to re-create their lives.

As such, your learning will be more successful if you

• Take an active role
  in planning, monitoring, and evaluating your education

• Discard preconceived notions
  about what college is and isn't; open your mind to the experience

• Choose subjects and courses that
  are most relevant to your job/profession or personal life
  that fit into your academic program

Course descriptors
important to adult learning

Outcomes	Process	Content
Shared responsibility for learning objectives Continuous negotiation, or openness to renegotiation Non-prescriptive; open to change Value process Intrinsic motivation	Integrates thinking and learning Problem-centered rather than content oriented Demand mutual respect & equality for learners Incorporate, promote dialogue & openness Recognizes the value of experience in contributing to learning Includes projects and/or active learning (as opposed to lectures and/or passive learning) Built in monitor for feedback and evaluation	applies learning to practical applications issue-centered curricula Multiple/diverse sources of information Variety of format