how adults learn

KnowledgeStar© 2010

Part One: Some Deep Background

D4M2


Creating Great Adult Learning Programs

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Hello!This is my brain

trying to get inside your head …

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… to teach you how-to create great adult learning programs.

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If we really want to teach adults, then we really need to know

how-to reach adults.

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That means looking into the past when we first became learners, and our brains were hardwired

for learning.

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John Medina, one of the leading brain scientists tells us the following …

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“The brain appears to be designed to solve problems related to survival in an unstable outdoor environment, and to do so in nearly constant motion .”

Brain Rules by Dr. John Medina

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The keys to learning and teaching adults are hidden in that statement … solving problems … related to survival … in an

unstable environment …

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That means that we learn what we need to learn , and we are always re-learning, since

the world is always changing.

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This tells us that experience has always been the Best Teacher, and that practice, practice,

and more practice is the way adults learn new ways of doing things.

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This program will show you many of the hints, tips (and recently discovered tricks) for creating the most amazing

adult learning experiences.

Experiences that will change people’s lives.


As a teacher, you can’t ask for more.

Okay, let’s get started …

D4M2

Part Two:New Rules for Adult Education

Everything You’ve Been Told Until Now …


Okay, that’s not entirely true, but it got your attention and that’s half the battle … and a lot of what you will learn in this course is new and

is part of a proven and better way to put together adult learning programs.

D4M2

In the Beginning

“Let me tell you a story …”

In the Beginning

In the Beginning

“We’ll get to that part later …”

In the Beginning

The New Development Model

The new model for creating an adult learning program is easy to remember –

D4M2(pronounced D 4 M Squared)

D4M2 Defined

1. Define who needs to learn what2. Design using the rules and ideas you learn today3. Develop so you are creating an E=MC2 course (we’ll

cover that later – for now just remember E=MC2)4. Deliver a course with a short shelf life – one that can

be used right away

5. Manage the box in which you are creating the course6. Measure before during and after – way after - the

program ends

D4M2

D4M2 comprises the titles of the modules for this course. Follow the method

and you’ll find yourself scoring the winning goal in no time

Define

Learning Objectives - Define

At the end of this module you will be able to• Define clearly what you want people to know

or do as the first step• Understand the importance of knowing who

your adult learners are

1. Define

• Will you be teaching your adult learners as smart adults who know how to learn?

• What are the language issues and how do you plan to overcome them?

• Can you describe everything in simple easy-to-understand terms

1. Define

• Can you clearly see how the lives of the people taking your program would be better after the training?

• Is your language going to be informal?• Do you know how you are perceived by the

people in your program?

1. Define

• Do you know exactly what people already know?

• Are you aware of what people are actually doing?

• Can you clearly define what they need (not want) to learn?

1. Define

• Do you plan to build a community of learners after the training program?

• How will you define what they know?• How will you define what they can do?• Do you know how ready and able they are to

learn and use something new?

1. Define

• Are you planning to use the most useful tools for the learners?

• How will you support the training AFTER the initial learning experience?

• Do you understand why you have been successful with this group in the past?

1. Define

• Do you know why your training programs have been successful?

• Are you making sure to learn from those successful programs?

• Is your passion a big part of the program?

Remember - Define

Defining a program for adults is the first step - answer the questions that define your learners

Adults need to be treated like adults with adult brains – they already know how to learn

Develop a program that enables that learning process – treat everyone as brilliant - and you and your adult learners win!

Module 2

Design

Learning Objectives - Design

At the end of this module you will be able to• Understand that the design of a program is

the key to really solid adult learning• Know the basic strategies and rules for

designing great educational experiences

2. Design

• What is the best way to transfer the knowledge?

• What tools can your adult learners use?• What has worked for them in the past?

2. Design

• What influence does the culture have?• What disables their learning?• What enables their learning?

The All Important C-B-E’s

• A lesson must cover the following elements: • Cognitive – I Know• Behavioral – I Can Do• Experiential – I Can Adopt and Adapt

• The game of football is a great example of making sure each 10-minute lesson covers either one or more of the C-B-E’s

Knowing and Doing

Learning to play the game … You can read about football and say “I know”

how to play the game” but you can’t really play football

You can use a football computer game, practice passing or shooting a goal and say “I can” play football, but you still can’t play the game

Adopting and Adapting

Only when you go out for your first game where every ball and every kick and every day is different … when the sun shines, the rain falls, the wind blows, and the sky gets dark early …

Adopting and Adapting

… with every kick you take can you finally say

“I can adopt and adapt” what I know and can do under all these constantly changing circumstances … then you’re really learning to play football...

2. Some Design Rules

Each lesson must be no longer than 10-minutes.

(That is the maximum length of time thatthe brain can focus on a lesson.)


The learning goals of each module must be SMARTER

• Specific• Measurable• Achievable• Realistic• Time-based• Exciting• Recorded


All exercises find out who learned the lesson OR who missed the point – not who is right or wrong

2. Great Design

“Great design for adult learning is like building

a beautiful and strong web … it starts as a simple and strong thread between your brain and the brain of the learner, and then weaves every brain to every other brain.”

David Grebow Adult Learning Expert

2. More Design Rules

The benefits people will get from the course must be directly related to the

learning objectives

LO + B


Learning Objective

At the end of this course you will be able todevelop a small business plan


Benefit

At the end of this course you will be able todevelop a small business plan that will help you

find the funding you need to get started


Good LO + B

At the end of this course you will be able todevelop a small business plan that will help you

find the funding you need to get started

2. A New Design Idea

Soap opera in and soap opera out


Every 10-minute lesson starts and ends with a related emotional story. that helps adults enter the lesson and transition to the next one

Soap opera in and soap opera out


Why emotional? Our memory works best when there is an

emotion that anchors the lesson(Why? Not sure but we have an idea that it has

something to do with remembering to run back to the village really fast when you hear

the roar of a saber toothed tiger)


In other words , Emotion puts the “re” into remember…

(maybe we should have called it “remotion”?)

2. More On Design

• We’ve all heard that a picture is worth a thousand words. We’ve all heard a thousand words that weren’t worth 2¢, and a few words that were invaluable.

Whatever they are worth, use pictures• We’re not sure why pictures work so well in

adult learning programs, but they do. Graphics too (here’s an example …)

2. Design Law One

PowerPoint slides are NOT a course• If you use PowerPoint, here are the rules:

• You should always talk around a slide not use it as a script

• There is only enough room for three main bullets• A slide has a time limit of 1-minute before it blows-up

Death by PowerPoint is a pandemic! Each year millions die from the deadly PowerPoint Slide

Deck masquerading as a learning program!

2. Design Law Two

• It is REALLY important to remember that retention is key for adults who often forget more than they remember so use the Rx4

1. Revisit2. Reinforce3. Re-teach4. Refocus

2. Design


2. Design


1. Revisit

2. Design


1. Revisit2. Reinforce

2. Design


1. Revisit2. Reinforce3. Re-teach

2. Design


1. Revisit2. Reinforce3. Re-teach4. Refocus

2. Design Litmus Test

Here’s a litmus test for your program

Are you designing a course for adults that is more facilitating & discovering

and less leading & teaching?




and less leading & teaching?Yes?




and less leading & teaching?No?


The correct answer is alwaysYes.

Adult learning experiences are always more about facilitation and discovery

Remember - Design

Adults need to be treated like adults with adult brains – they already know how to learn

When you design a program, be sure it enables that learning process – treat everyone as brilliant - and you and your adult learners win!

Module 3

Develop

Learning Objectives - Develop

At the end of this module you will be able to• Know some of the key elements that go into

developing a great course that will enables the adult learning process

3. Develop

• Stick with what you have learned from the the D4M2 Method as you enter the Develop phase

• Make it as interactive as possible – more facilitating and discovering and less leading

3. Develop

• Make sure to keep in touch after the program and find ways to keep the learners together as a group

3. Develop

The Law of Chunking • “The magic seven, plus or minus two

(7±2) rule of thumb" George A Miller, 1950’s

• The human capacity to process information in short-term memory is limited to 5-9 chunks of information

3. Develop

Some important rules used by the best adult learning programs:

E=MC2

3. Develop

E=MC2 – The learning must be• Elaborate – which is why adults everywhere scratch

their heads when trying to learn, the brain must be challenged to switch on the learning connections

• Meaningful – they need to be able to take it home and use it immediately or it’s forgotten

• Contextual – most importantly, it needs to fit into their real and current lives!

Review - Develop

Always use the E=MC2 approachMake a lesson no longer than 10 minutesUse chunking as a way to determine the right

amount of information to introduce in those 10 minutes

Make the lesson as interactive as possible

Module 4

Deliver

Learning Objectives - Deliver

At the end of this module you will be able to• Know some of the key elements that go into

delivering an interactive course in which adults learn from discovering the answers and from one another

4. Deliver

• Adults like to discover things – that’s why we eat oysters

• Adults like to use their bodies when they learn • Movement stimulates the learning centers of

the brain – sitting is good for things like watching TV

4. Deliver

• Take motion breaks every 10 minutes – I’m counting and there should be at least 3 in this program

• Motion can be practice, breaking into small groups to talk, anything but sitting and listening

• Test the program on the actual learner(s) to see if they get it and if not, why not …

4. Deliver the 4 “C’s”

The program should be more than just a single program … learning is a process … it requires the learners to stay in contact, to connect and communicate, to help one another continue to practice and really learn.

Review - Deliver

If you have done everything needed in the Define, Design and Develop stage the lesson should be able to almost deliver itself

Be sure to add value to the program – know your subject better than your learners

Add more value! Be a tutor, a mentor, a coach ... make yourself available

Module 5

Manage

Learning Objectives - Manage

At the end of this module you will be able to• Use the Best Practices we currently have when

managing a course developed for adults

5. Manage

Every program has limitations which are simply

Creative Opportunities to Manage• Time for development is always in short supply• The need to provide some adults with more help than

others is always a time management issue• Money … staying within budget is a like a Zen koan … I

have no idea what that means I just know it’s hard to do

5. Manage

• The amount of knowledge to be transferred is best broken up into many shorter pieces

• Charles Dickens knew that when he serialized his novels and created “The Cliffhanger” at the end of every episode

• The Cliffhanger is actually a good way to end each 10-minute ‘courselet’ … make them want to come back for more …

Review - Manage

If you follow the D4 steps, you’ll find that the pieces quickly fall into place

Just remember to keep your eyes on the knowledge you want to transfer from your brain to theirs … remember to build the web

Module 6

Measure

Learning Objectives - Measure

At the end of this module you will be able to• Understand why the standard measurements

used for adult learning are outdated and close to useless

• Use the new metrics that show you how much of the learning people have “adopted and adapted” over time.

6. Measure

Which of the follow sentences are not a good measure of a course for adults

6. Measure

“Everyone showed up and stayed to the end”

6. Measure

“Be honest …they had no choice!”

6. Measure

“They all applauded when we were finished”

6. Measure

“Another way of saying thank goodness it’s over!”

6. Measure

• The only good measure is to observe what was learned – during AND after the program

• For example, a survey done 6-8 weeks after the program is a good way to measure the impact

6. Measure

Why?You are not measuring how well anyone did

during the program , but how much each individual learned, and whether or not

they are using it

6. Measure

A longer timeframe is always a better measure

of how much the learning is really being used.

A shorter timeframe is not as good since it can only measure how much learning was

memorized, and then regurgitated on a test

6. Measure

Question: Remember all those tests you passed when you were in school?

How many of them could you pass right now?

6. Measure

This is all about the “E” in CBE – Experiential

6. Measure

This is all about the “E” in CBE – Experiential

Guess What? Experience is the best teacher after all

A New Definition

Here’s a new definition of learning to remember when you measure the

effectiveness of your program

Learning (verb)

Learning is the ability to adopt and adapt what you know and can do under an ever-changing

variety of situations.

Remember to Remember

Note: There will not be a test at the end so try and remember to remember

Review - Measure

The only important outcome of a program to be measured is how well the learner has adopted and adapted the lessons over time

Remember that real learning is not passing a test but learning something that changes the way you live your life every day

Adults don’t really require anything else from a lesson but a starting point, an end point, and a lot of time to practice, practice, practice

“Okay, now let me tell you that funny story about a course that raised the awareness of an entire village. It’s true, listen …”

Back to the Beginning

how adults learn

Education

adult learners

following d4m2knowledgestar

started d4m2knowledgestar

head d4m2knowledgestar

adult brains

initial learning experience

new rules

teaching adults