Key Points About Adult Learners

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• Adults (individually and in collaborative groups) learn by doing.
• Adults come with a wealth of life experiences, values and world views, and learning styles which are tapped by effective teachers and team leaders.
• Adults are task-focused in their approach to learning.
• Adults need to "play" with their learning. In other words, they need to apply it to real world situations.

Adults learn best when:

• they have input into the selection of the content and even development of the learning experiences (or goals of a collaborative group);
• the learning is connected to the vast background of knowledge and experience that the adult brings to the table;
• the learning is both received and processed in more than one way;
• the learning is collegial and directed at solving specific job-related problems;
• the learner has ample opportunity to reflect on how to use new competencies; and
• following initial training, they are provided with ongoing support that can take the form of peer coaching or study groups. (Tate, 2004, pp.24-25)