Adult Learning: A Personal Evaluation

1. Adult Learning: A Personal Evaluation Louis Grauer Post University Professor Jill Luban Head of Household 21 and older

2. Intelligence and Aging • Normal Cognitive Aging (NCA) • NCA offered by Douglas and Whitla (1974) to explain the “normal” decrease in memory that impacts intelligence as aging occurs. • IQ Test • Adjusted for age to infer and compensate for gaps of intelligence related to aging (Dickson, Hiscock, 2010). • “Most agree that some decline in functioning occurs between age sixty and the early seventies, but the precise nature of that decline and more importantly its practical effect on learning ability are still in question” (Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2009, p. 369). No Easy Answer

3. Defining the Adult Learner “The adult education participant is just as often a woman as a man, is typically under forty, has completed high school or more, enjoys an above-average income, works full-time and most often in a white-collar occupation, is married and has children, lives in an urbanized area but more likely in a suburb than large city, and is found in all part of the country, but more frequently in the West than in other regions.” (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 55).

4. Nonformal and Informal Participation • This area of participation is difficult to assess since definitional problems exist (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, 2007). • Participation in this category can be listed as: • Supervised training • Mentoring • Self-paced studies • Attending conferences • Reading journals or magazines

5. The “Informal” Learning Project • A learning event that had to have occurred over “at least a two-day period, totaling at least seven hours of learning” (Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 61).

6. Motivation – The Big Picture • Extrinsic Motivators – Self-limited • Grades • Feedback • Accolades Joseph Sanacore states, “Although tokenism can be useful to immediately hook reluctant learners, teachers should not forget the big picture” (2008, p. 41). • Intrinsic Motivators – Long-lasting • Personal Experience • Relevant Experience

7. Why do We learn? • “The why of learning is the functional component that ties the what, where, who, and when dimensions to various sources of motivation” (Geary, 2009, p. 198). • Teachers – Ask why and then: • Provide opportunities for empowerment • Get to know why a learner is interested • Don’t cling to classroom management (rules/regulations) • Learners – Ask why and then: • Discover a passion and then ask “why”

8. Reference List Dickson, M. D., & Hiscock, M. (2010). Age-related iq decline is reduced markedly after adjustment for the flynn effect. Journal of clinical & experimental neropsychology, 32(8), 865-870. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1add6ede-f912-4a20-b15d-9c2ac9d69514@sessionmgr4&vid=5&hid=106 Douglas, P., & Whitla, D. (1994). Normal cognitive aging: Toward empirical perspectives. Current directions in psychological Science, 3(1), 27-31. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=e7bf9ee9-f503-4cae-bccc-1d655e878e01@sessionmgr113&vid=8&hid=104 Geary D. (2009). The why of learning. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=f3b5a583-5df1-4035-83b7-f73d44f7dad0%40sessionmgr104&vid=6&hid=104 Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. (3rd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Sanacore, J. (2008). Turning reluctant learners into inspired learners. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=75e96232-7c61-4350-b1ee-cfac75179b8e@sessionmgr12&vid=5&hid=21