Characteristics of Adult Learners

Adult learners are qualitatively different than younger learners. You certainly can “teach an old dog new tricks” by understanding the cognitive and social characteristics of adult learners. Using the right instructional strategies to maximize the learning advantages and address the learning challenges of adult learners can make all the difference in their success.

Adult Learner Cognitive Characteristics

1. Generally speaking, most adult learners share the following characteristics:
2. Tend to be self-directed and want control over their own learning
3. Have self-imposed cognitive barriers due to years of academic failure and lack self-confidence
4. Can be resistant to new ideas or approaches–are less open-minded than youth
5. Under-estimate their ability to learn
6. Desire pragmatic and relevant instruction that they perceive as valuable
7. Are intrinsically motivated
8. Interpret new learning in the context of old learning
9. Learn at a slower pace than that of youth
10. Are very concerned about the effective use of their time
Adult Learner Social Characteristics
1. Generally speaking, most adult learners share the following characteristics:
2. Can be resistant to group work
3. See teachers as peer partners in the learning process
4. Demand teacher availability and easy access
5. Want flexibility and see learning as secondary to other pre-occupations in their lives

Adult Learner Instructional Strategies

1. Adult learners need to be actively included in their own evaluation of assessment data. Students set personal goals and use learning activities that directly address assessment deficits and demonstrate incremental progress toward their short-term and long-term goals. Reading workshops can easily be individualized to allow adult learners to work at their own pace.

2. A few talking points may be helpful to bolster the confidence of adult learners and to provide the motivation needed for success:

“Unfortunately, some of your past reading instruction was poor; it’s not your fault that you have some skills to work on.” a.k.a. “blame someone else”
“You can learn in this class. If you come to class willing to try, you will significantly improve your reading, I promise.” I will be flexible and work around your schedule.
“I know you have tried before, but this time is different.”
“You will be able to chart your own progress and see what you are learning in this class.”
“Don’t give up. Adult learners can learn. Although they sometimes learn a bit more slowly than children, they learn at a deeper and more memorable level. The pay-off will be huge for you when you complete this class.”

Get Children to Do Homework

Parents often feel it’s their job to get their kids to do well in school. Naturally, you might get anxious about this responsibility as a parent. You might also get nervous about your kids succeeding in life—and homework often becomes the focus of that concern. But when parents feel it’s their responsibility to get their kids to achieve, they now need something from their children—they need them to do their homework and be a success. I believe this need puts you in a powerless position as a parent because your child doesn’t have to give you what you want. The battle about homework actually becomes a battle over control. Your child starts fighting to have more control over the choices in his life, while you feel that your job as a parent is to be in control of things. So you both fight harder, and it turns into a war in your home.

Over the years, I’ve talked to many parents who are in the trenches with their kids, and I’ve seen firsthand that there are many creative ways kids rebel when it comes to school work. Your child might forget to do his homework, do his homework but not hand it in, do it sloppily or carelessly, or not study properly for his test. These are just a few ways that kids try to hold onto the little control they have. When this starts happening, parents feel more and more out of control, so they punish, nag, threaten, argue, throw up their hands or over-function for their kids by doing the work for them. Now the battle is in full swing: reactivity is heightened as anxiety is elevated—and homework gets lost in the shuffle.The hard truth is that you cannot make your children do anything, let alone homework. Instead, the idea is to set limits, respect their individual choices and help motivate them to motivate themselves.

You might be thinking to yourself, “You don’t know my child. I can’t motivate him to do anything.” But you can start todo it by calming down, slowing down, and simply observing. Observe the typical family dance steps and see if you and your mate contribute to your child’s refusal, struggle and apathy. If you carry more of the worry, fear, disappointments, and concern than your child does about his work, ask yourself “What’s wrong with this picture and how did this happen?” (Remember, as long as you carry their concerns, they don’t have to.)

Guide Your Child—Don’t Try to Control Him

Many parents tell me that their children are not motivated to do their work. I believe that children are motivated—they just may not be motivated the way you’d like them to be. Here are some concrete tips to help you guide them in their work without having to nag, threaten or fight with them.

Ask yourself what worked in the past: Think about a time when your child has gotten homework done well and with no hassles. What was different? What made it work that time? Ask your child about it and believe what he says. See what works and motivates him instead of what motivates you.

Stop the nightly fights. The way you can stop fighting with your kids over homework every night is to stop fighting with them tonight. Disengage from the dance. Choose some different steps or decide not to dance at all. Let homework stay where it belongs—between the teacher and the student. Refuse to get pulled in by the school in the future. Stay focused on your job, which is to help your child do his job.

Take a break: If you feel yourself getting reactive or frustrated, take a break from helping your child with homework. Your blood pressure on the rise is a no-win for everyone. Take five or ten minutes to calm down, and let your child do the same if you feel a storm brewing.

Set the necessary structures in place: Set limits around homework time. Here are a few possibilities that I’ve found to be effective with families:

• Homework is done at the same time each night.
• Homework is done in a public area of your house.
• If grades are failing or falling, take away screen time so your child can focus and have more time to concentrate on his work.
• Make it the rule that weekend activities don’t happen until work is completed. Homework comes first. As James Lehman says, “The weekend doesn’t begin until homework is done.”

Get out of your child’s “box” and stay in your own. When you start over-focusing on your child’s work, pause and think about your own goals. What are your life goals and what “homework” do you need to get done in order to achieve those goals? Model your own persistence and perseverance to your child.

Let Your Child Make His Own Choices—and Deal with the Consequences

I recommend that within the parameters you set around schoolwork, your child is free to make his own choices. You need to back off a bit as a parent, otherwise you won’t be helping him with his responsibilities. If you take too much control over the situation, it will backfire on you by turning into a power struggle. And believe me, you don’t want a power struggle over homework. I’ve seen many kids purposely do poorly just to show their parents “who’s in charge.” I’ve also seen children who complied to ease their parents’ anxiety, but these same kids never learned to think and make choices for themselves.

I’m a big believer in natural consequences when it comes to schoolwork. Within the structure you set up, your child has some choices. He can choose to do his homework or not, and do it well and with effort or not. The logical consequences will come from the choices he makes—if he doesn’t choose to get work done, his grades will drop.

When that happens, you can ask him questions that aren’t loaded, like,

“Are you satisfied with how things are going?

“If not, what do you want to do about it?”

“How can I be helpful to you?”

The expectation is that homework is done to the best of your child’s ability. When he stops making an effort and you see his grades drop, that’s when you invite yourself in. You can say, “Now it’s my job to help you do your job better. I’m going to help you set up a plan to help yourself and I will check in to make sure you’re following it.” Set up a plan with your child’s input in order to get him back on his feet. For example, the new rules might be that homework must be done in a public place in your home until he gets his grades back up. You and your child might meet with the teacher to discuss disciplinary actions should his grades continue to drop. In other words, you will help your child get back on track by putting a concrete plan in place. Anfad when you see this change, then you can step back out of it. But before that, your child is going to sit in a public space and you’re going to work on his math or history together. You’re also checking in more. Depending on the age of your child, you’re making sure that things are checked off before he goes out. You’re adding a half hour of review time for his subjects every day. And then each day after school, he’s checking with his teacher or going for some extra help. Remember, this plan is not a punishment—it’s a practical way of helping your child to do his best.

When Kids Say They Don’t Care about Bad Grades

Many parents will say that their kids just don’t care about their grades. My guess is that somewhere inside, they do care. “I don’t care” also becomes part of a power struggle. In other words, your child is saying, “I’m not going to care because you can’t make me; you don’t own my life.” The truth is, you can’t make him care. Instead, focus on what helps his behavior improve. Don’t focus on the attitude as much as what he’s actually doing.

I think it’s also important to understand that caring and motivation come from ownership. You can help your child be motivated by allowing him to own his life more. So let him own his disappointment over his grades. Don’t feel it more than he does. Let him choose what he will do or not do about his homework and face the consequences of those choices. Now he will begin to feel ownership, which may lead to caring. Let him figure out what motivates him, not have him motivated by fear of you. Help guide him but don’t prevent him from feeling the real life consequences of bad choices like not doing his work. Think of it this way: It’s better for your child to learn from those consequences at age ten by failing in school and having to go to summer school than for him to learn at age 25 by losing his job.

When Your Child Has a Learning Disability

I want to note that it’s very important that you check to see that there are no other learning issues around your child’s refusal to do homework. If he is having a difficult time doing the work or is performing below grade level expectations, he should be tested to rule out any learning disabilities or other concerns.

If there is a learning disability, your child may need more help. For example, some kids need a little more guidance; you may need to sit near your child and help a little more. You can still put structures into place depending on who your child is. Oftentimes kids with learning disabilities get way too much help and fall into the “learned helplessness” trap. Be sure you’re not over-functioning for your learning disabled child by doing his work for him or filling in answers when he is capable of thinking through them himself.

The Difference between Guidance and Over-Functioning

Your child needs guidance from you, but understand that guidance does not mean doing his spelling homework for him. Rather, it’s helping him review his words. When you cross the line into over-functioning, you are taking on your child’s work and putting his responsibilities on your shoulders. So you want to guide him by helping him edit his book report himself, helping him take the time to review before a test, or using James Lehman’s “Hurdle Help” to start him on his homework. Those can be good ways of guiding your child, but anything more than that is taking too much ownership of his work.

If your child asks for help, you can coach him. Suggest he talk to his teacher on how to be a good student, and teach him those communication skills. In other words, show him how to help himself. So you should not back off all together—it’s that middle ground that you’re looking for. That’s why I think it’s important to set up a structure; just put that electric fence around homework time. And within that structure, you expect your child to do what he has to do to be a good student.

I also tell parents to start from a place of believing in their children. Don’t keep looking at your child as a fragile creature who can’t do the work. I think we often come to the table with fear and doubt; we think if we don’t help our kids, they’re just not going to do it. But as much as you say, “I’m just trying to help you,” what your child actually hears is, “You’re a failure.” There’s an underlying message that kids pick up that is very different than what the parents intended it to be. And that message is, “You’re never enough,” and “You can’t do it.” Instead, your message should be, “I know you can do it. And I believe in you enough to let you make your own choices and deal with the consequences.”

Faith, Fears & Attitude

It’s a matter of choice, not circumstances, how we deal with a particular situation. Our attitude can influence our faith. It’s up to us to influence our decisions today, to make a future we’re dreaming about. Our attitude can change everything. You don’t necessarily have to be the best, but we can make our thinking run in a positive way, to make negative thoughts disappear. You can face anything in this world, if you have a will, strong enough to make you go ahead. We all live in a vicious cycle, but what matters the most is to be able to manage daily something that will add perspectives to our future. You can now take your personal road possible for your dream achieving, or if you are not ready yet to make this step, you have to go through some points, that I will count in a few steps:

1. MOTIVATION

People always needed motivation to face the reality, motivation to move ahead, motivation to overcome challenges, motivation necessary to bring you to success. Motivation makes us handle all the fears , lift your head up and move to your goals. Motivation was always needed when people had a difficult situation in their life, and the influence of the third person was to make him deal with his fears, to find the strength in you, to reach your limits. Motivation makes people be determined, makes them make decisions. But, still – you don’t have to get stocked in the trap of motivation. Sometimes you have to forget about it, and just do it, because some people might use it as an excuse, not to go on. Some people think, I don’t have enough motivation to work. That is an excuse that keeps you where you are. When you start doing the thing, that’s when the motivation comes.

2. TRUST

Trust has always been a skill that people needed to move forward. You need to be 100% sure, or want it so much, to find the trust in you. Some people think their environment does not fit their attitude and goal construction.  They always question themselves – what if? For this you need trust — The trust that you will be able to overcome all the challenges, the trust that you will learn and improve yourself, the trust that you can do it. Then you can look at your life from different views. Who is going to be next to you on the trip to success? — Of course, your family. Family can always be the trust that you need, and the motivation to show yourself that this process of achieving is not long-term.

3. FOCUS

Concentrate yourself on the things you have to do, rather than alarming situations. That is why I keep telling you about the priority list you have to make, to get rid of urgency. After you will get clear with your alarming situations, you can think and focus your attention and attitude on your goal reaching. Remember, that success is a journey, not a destination – All you need is a dream and a date, and focusing on these things make life easier for you. You must build trust and focus on it, with the help of your competence, and character. You will need to prove yourself that you can be an example for your family, first….and then for the others. You have to take things seriously, and if you really decided you are ready enough to move ahead, focus yourself and your attitude to do it!

4. ATTITUDE

Attitude Is everything. This is one of the main principles for personal grow, and achievement. You have to have the right attitude to lead yourself well, to self-manage your emotions, your priorities, you positive thinking, your time, and your personal grow, by living this experience. Yu have to know how to treat yourself, to achieve the maximum potential. The attitude to stay away from different circumstances and challenges is the best way what to start with. People who had disabilities, have had the right attitude and this brought them to success. People had no arms and legs, but they found their talents, and with the right attitude they did it. What excuse do you have to stop in front of the challenges, and complicate yourself, when things are in fact, so simple.

5. RESULTS

To have results, you need to follow all those 4 steps written above, but adding to them daily impact. Let’s say – how would it be like, if you wake up in the morning, and first what you see is your dream book. Give yourself this question? – What do I have to focus on today, to make it come true? What are you going to be tomorrow, you are becoming today. Things that you do day by day, make your future. The decisions you take today, will influence they day you live tomorrow. What you live today, is the result of the decision taken in the past. Doing the right thing daily, will influence on your future, and, depending on your dream size, in 5 to ten years, you will become what you always wanted to. The power Is in your hands, nobody has the right to take the decision instead of you. You can take your life in your hands, and decide for once, that you deserve to live the way you want to live.