5 Important Reminders for Teaching Adults

Every leader is a teacher; every teacher is a leader!  The two are intertwined.  I enjoyed our first morning with Dr. Jim Adams, Azusa Pacific professor for our Designing Learning Strategies for a Global Environment. Here is an acrostic as a summary to capture small part of what we heard today about adult learning.

To be more effective in leading and teaching people, especially adults, remember the word TEACH:

TENDENCY  Adults have a tendency to be self-directed.  We want to manage our own learning and not be told what to do; we want to be involved in our own learning and have choices.

EXPERIENCES  Adults have a rich resource of experience that we need to draw upon when teaching.  An effective teacher will connect and engage the personal and professional experiences with theory.

AWARENESS  Adults usually have an awareness of specific learning needs.  The teacher needs to tap into that awareness.

COMPETENCIES  Adults tend to be oriented toward competencies.  We want to gain competency in areas that will help us achieve our goals, desires and dreams.

HEART  We have to connect with the heart and intrinsic motivations.

Here is a video we watched in class on Malcolm Knowles on Andragogy, or Adult Learning.  Watch video.

What motivates you to learn?  Leave a comment here.

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