Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Krystal Fluellen
Post University
Everyone has their own perception and views on adult learning. Prior to
this course, I had my own misconceptions about adult learning that were quickly
erased as I captured new knowledge on the topic. There are three main
misconceptions that I had prior to this course. The first misconception was that
adult learners are those that are older in age, such as adults that are 35-55.
However, adult learners are in fact those from the ages of 18-senior citizens
learn the same way. However, every generation of learners and adult learners
have a specific way they were raised in general and that has affected the way
they learn best. The last misconception was that adult learners arent self-
educational path of an adult learner. After the end of this course and further
Prior to this class I truly believed that the age range for adult learners
included those that were above 35 and below 55. However, I now understand
that individual from the ages of 18 to senior citizens are included in the adult
furthering their knowledge. I couldnt understand why senior citizens would return
to school to further their knowledge at such an old age. One benefit seniors
receive for returning to school at their age is free tuition and tuition discounts
Krystal Fluellen Assignment 4
Chicago are opening their doors for senior citizens with free tuition. They believe
that colleges see the benefits in classes having generational differences. Some
retired senior citizens go back to study a different education route than the one
they have taken for most of their lives. They need to find ways to deal with age-
related concerns like leisure, retirement, death, and finances. They also look for
ways to stay busy and they find it in adult learning. When it comes to learning,
adults do not lose intelligence as they get older (Merriam, Baumgartner, and
Caffarella 2007). Most intelligence remains stable through the adult years with
also important that they reflect their teachings to suit all generations.
culture, personal struggle, and of course their generation period. There are
For each generation, there are certain techniques that dont work with them and
certain techniques that do. Some characteristics from each generation are:
Silent generation:
Boomers:
Gen Xers:
Self-reliant
Millennials/GenYers:
by generation. All adult learners vary by age and by knowing how to effectively
communicate and motivate a specific adult learner, you will gain more success
with them.
classrooms, educators reap the most success. However, throughout this module,
directed learning theory can be described as the practice when individuals take
the initiative of finding their learning needs and learning goals without help from
others (SDL, n.d.). One of the primary goals for colleges and universities is to
respected and welcomed and are able to set the pace and plan of their learning.
standby to assist them with the knowledge they seek out to receive, there are
also some end goals such as a certificate or degree. This can include using
deliberate setting (Merriam and Cafferalla, 2007). This can include a pottery
Krystal Fluellen Assignment 4
there are different ways and different environments one can implement self-
learners.
Throughout this course I have learned so much new information and it has
mine still stand, such as the need for collaboration in classrooms in addition to
generational gap learning theory, being a member of the Millennial era, I can
The respective ages of what is considered an adult learner was definitely a shock
to me and the reasons for senior citizens return to learning made absolute sense
directed learning amongst other topics and can now clarify the information to
References:
Krystal Fluellen Assignment 4
Bowe, M. (2014, August 05). Free School: A Secret Benefit for Seniors. Senior
benefit-of-being-a-senior/
https://post.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/courses/EDU643.30109906590
Documents/Can%20GenXers.pdf
https://www.td.org/Publications/Newsletters/Links/2015/02/Generational
Differences-in-the-Classroom
http://www.selfdirectedlearning.org/sdl-definition-rationale-background-2
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hilary-young/consider-going-back-to
sc_b_3894493.html
Krystal Fluellen Assignment 4