Principles of Adult Learning

The outcome of Human Resource Development is performance improvement. A key component is learning, which is knowledge and expertise. Swanson (1996) defines HRD as that process of developing and/or unleashing human expertise through organizational development and personnel training and development for the purpose of improving performance at the organizational, work process, and individual levels. There should be a focus on constructing learning experiences that teach people how to think rather than what to think.

The way adults learn are different from the way children learn. In workplace learning we are teaching adults how to perform their jobs better. Knowledge of adult learning principles is necessary to effectively develop learning experiences that maximize learning. The way children learn was to be submissive. The child would put on their dunce hats, sit at their desks and let the instructor impart their knowledge onto the students. The focus here is on the “what.” In adult learning it is on the “why.”

Adult learning is defined as the process of adults gaining knowledge and expertise. Learners want to have control of their learning process. There are four phases of adult learning planning: (1) Determine what learning is needed to achieve goals, (2) create strategy to achieve those goals, (3) implement the strategy, (4) evaluate whether the goals were achieved and the process of achieving them.

Core adult learning principles consists of:

(1) the learners need to know,
(2) self-concept of the learner,
(3) prior experience of the learner,
(4) Readiness to learn,
(5) orientation to learning,
(6) motivation to learn.

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