Learning in adulthood Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Learning in adulthood - Research Paper Example I was particularly interested in being able to know how learning could be facilitated at my age, considering all the constraints that I face. Thus, in all honesty, I was really looking forward to this course. Below is a summative expression of the things that I have learned in this course. I first provided a brief introduction to the significance of adult learning theories and proceeded to discussing the learning theories that I learned in the course. I then moved on to a discussion of the concept of adult development and the relationship between intelligence and aging. I concluded this paper with the significant realizations that I have gained upon completion of this course. Introduction to Adult Learning Theories Adult learning is one of the areas of modern educational psychology the aim of which is to increase adult’s interest in learning to the maximum level so as to provide the most effective outcomes for the learner. Knowledge acquisition of an adult is quite different f rom that of a young learner. Since adults are concerned with much more things than just acquiring an education, that is, a job and family responsibilities, many challenges tend to be associated with this learning process. Fortunately, there are a number of adult learning theories that can aid in the delivery of adult education and therefore increase the rates of success in this area. The succeeding sections will present a discussion of the special characteristics of adult learning. In particular, it will focus on the challenges faced by adult learning, and the theories that offer insights into the process of adult learning. In addition, certain references will also be provided towards the author’s own experiences in the field of adult learning. The challenges of adult education Adults are preoccupied with more responsibilities than young learners. They have family responsibilities to fulfill and job requirements to accomplish. As such, adult education is mostly done on a part -time basis and is even referred to as part-time learning. Adult education is affected by a number of challenges such as attitudinal barriers, institutional barriers, and situational barriers that make successes in this area quite difficult to come by. Adults tend to face education with negative attitudes that make them lack the confidence to pursue their studies. Oftentimes, this is further aggravated by prior learning experiences which lead them to think that education only reflects a teacher’s needs and not the learner’s importance. When adults take their courses with mostly young people, they tend to feel that they are in the wrong place at a wrong time, and end up feeling isolated and stressed with the experience. Institutional barriers also extend a certain level of challenge for adult learners. Institutional barriers come in the form of difficult schedules and policies set by some schools. For example, some schools insist that learning can only be done when two parties are present. Because adult learners have jobs and family responsibilities to attend to, they tend to be unable to become punctual and present in their classes and are thus given negative marks by their instructors. Even where learning is done online, learners face great difficulties to meet the set targets. Another common challenge to succeeding in adult learning is the presence of situational barriers. These are personal issues that prevent a learner from making up for a class. For instance, one may be financially unstable or unable to afford the expenses of textbooks, tuition, and transport in the midst of requirements for family support. Time management is another factor that makes the process of