Adult Learning Vs Child Learning

As I read ch. 16 of Merriam's Learning in Adulthood, I found this chapter very interesting because if focused on the differences between adult and child learning pertaining to life experiences and from a psychological point of view.

Merriam explains quite simply that child and adult learning differ because many adults learn from experiences in their lives. These experiences at times aid in learning or hinder learning. Where as with children, in most cases when a child learns something new for the first time, they accept this information as true and store it. The processing of learning for adults is different in that, adults learn based on past experience, they learn based on the social roles they carry out and most importantly, adults engage in learning as a means to make sense of life experiences (formulate answers).

Furthermore, at times adults need to be "de-programmed" because their perception on learning may feel like a negative experience and these values on learning need to be modified.

After reading this chapter and section, the main summary was that adults learn by the events that take place in their lives, the nature of these experiences (positive or negative), the developmental ability of the adult and aging factors. Based on this information, I am curious about the options of others on Adult Learning. Do you feel that Adult Learning is really "learning" or just the act of adults conceptualizing past experiences and making sense of preconceived assumptions?

Adult Learning

While we have been steadily reading and learning about adult learning, I decided to simple google the words “adult learning” and see what kind of articles come up. I found an article in the New York Times, called “How to Train the Aging Brain” which was published on 12/29/09. I found this article very interesting as it explains how the “aging” mind works. The article also attempts to disprove the notion that as the brain “ages” information is lost. Rather, the article provides information on studies that prove that with time, the brain actually improves upon the ability to learn and absorb more knowledge. As the article states, a method to beef the brain and improve is to challenge the mind and to oppose what you’ve always held as true. I found this point very interesting, because discussed the concept of thinking critically and its true meaning. Therefore, the article brings to light the concept of learning by thinking critically and challenging the mind.

In Merriam’s book, “Learning in Adulthood”, we’ve touch on topics like, adult learning, life long learners and self-directed learners. I would like to assume that the majority of us in the class are life long learners. I dare to make the assumption because all of us have decided to continue our education and take a course in training. Some of us are doing so for security in our current role as trainers, while others are simple taking the course out of interest in taking the career path. Both forms represent those attributes of a life long learner. I propose the question, are we life long self-directed adult learners? Or, are we inadvertently acting out on the impact that society has instilled in us?

For anyone who is interested, the link to the NY Times article is below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03adult-t.html