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CLASS 4:
Characteristics of Adult Learners and Learning Styles 

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Objectives:
At the end of this lesson you should be able to:

- Identify characteristics of adult learners.

- Develop an understanding of how adults learn.

- Describe the different individual learning and personality styles.

- Identify your own learning style preference and personality type.

In this lesson, we will explore some of the
characteristics of adult learners.

black and white 3d theater attendees adult learner roundtable discussion
 
Instructional Activities:
small red globe Start off by seeing how much you know about the myths of adult education with this pretest. 
The answers are available in the Class 4 folder on Vista.
small red globe Read Chapter 2 - "Exploring the World of Learning Theories" and
read Chapter 3 - "Theories of Learning" in The Adult Learner by Knowles et al..
small red globe Read the article "Guidelines for Working with Adult Learners"  by Susan Imel.
small red globe Do you agree with Assumptions About the Adult Learner? 
small red globe View the PowerPoint Presentation on Characteristics of Adult Learners and Learning Styles. Or download the presentation.
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Compare two articles (Zemke, R. & Zemke, S. (1981), 30 things we know for sure about adult learning. Training, June, 45-49 AND
Zemke, R. & Zemke, S. (1995)Adult learning, what do we know for sure. Training, June, 31-40. Determine if any changes have taken place in what is known about adult learning from 1981 until 1995. NOTE: These two .pdfs may take some time to load.
small red globe Take Soloman and Felder's Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire to determine your learning style preference. What areas did you have a moderate or very strong preference? Read explanations of the scales and implications of your preferences once you have your results.
small red globe Now take the Personal Style Inventory (Champagne & Hogan, 1979) to determine your personalilty style.  This is similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).  Read the description of your personality style - do you agree with it?  Do you think personailty style and learning style are related?  How can these be used in adult education?
Assignments: Discussion:

Personal Reflection Journal #1 is due at the end of this class (Feb. 8).  This journal will cover all of the readings, activities, and discussion from classes 1 through 4.  Review the description of this assignment in the course syllabus.  Upload your completed journal into WebCT Vista (under Assignments).

After completing the instructional activities, compile a list of 4-5 characteristics that describe you as an adult learner and share these with your class members in the course discussion board.  Also, include your learning style preference and personality style in your discussion board posting. And respond to at least one peer's posting.
 
Additional Resources:
Items in this section are supplemental; you won't be tested on them.  Included may be other points of interest or different approaches related to the topic.
 
 


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