Knowles’ 5 Assumptions Of Adult Learners
Visual

Vella's 7 Design Steps
Visual

Learner-Centered

Vella's 12 Principles for Effective Adult Learning Visual

Who?

Why?

When?

What?

What for?

How?

Where?

Consider number and profile of participants and who else may need to be there.

Consider why this course is important, why the participants need to learn the material and what the need is.

Consider the timing and length of the event.

Consider location.

Describe the content of the course; name the subject matter: what knowledge, skills, and attitudes will be taught?

The objectives: what participants will do with what they have learned.

Plan the tasks for the course.

Inductive Tasks - consider open question, grabber, or activity

Input Tasks - the presentation of the data

Implementation Tasks - active learning technique to apply new knowledge.

Needs Assessment

Safety

Immediacy

Sound Relationships

Assuming New Roles for Dialogue

Sequence and Reinforcement

Teamwork

Praxis

Engagement

Learners as Subjects of Their Own Learning

Accountability

Learning with Ideas, Feelings, and Actions

Discover what the group really needs to
learn, what they already know, what aspects of the course that we have designed really fit their
situations.

Create an inviting setting for learners.

Foster an open
communication process involving respect, safety, listening.

Program knowledge,
skills, and attitudes in an order that goes from simple to complex and from group-supported to
solo efforts.

Doing with built-in reflection, an ongoing beautiful dance of
inductive and deductive forms of learning.

The dialogue of learning is between subjects, not objects. Learners are not designed to
be used by others.

Equality?
conceptualize it, get a chance to feel it, and do something with it.

Experience the immediate usefulness of new
learning, what makes a difference now.

Whatever impedes dialogue must be courageously
addressed and eradicated. Whatever enables dialogue must be fearlessly nurtured and used.

Teams provide a quality of safety that is effective
and helpful.

Invite learners to put themselves into the
learning task ... into the delight of learning!

How do learners know they know?
What was proposed to be taught must be taught; what was meant to be learned must be learned;
the skills intended to be gained must be manifest in all the learners; the attitudes taught must be
manifest; the knowledge conveyed must be visible in learners' language and reasoning.

The student is at the center of learning. The student assumes the responsibility for learning while the instructor is responsible for facilitating the learning. Thus, the power in the classroom shifts to the student.

Self-concept

Adult Learner Experience

Readiness to Learn

Orientation to Learning

Motivation to Learn

As a person matures his/her self concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self-directed human being.

As a person matures he/she accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning.

As a person matures his/her readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the developmental tasks of his/her social roles.

As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal.

As a person matures his/her time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his/her orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject- centeredness to one of problem centeredness.

Watch Video

Take Quiz