Active Learning Strategies for Teaching Adult Learners

Abstract

Over the past 25 years, there has been a dramatic increase of non-traditional adult learners in colleges/universities. These adult learners have unique needs in the classroom, and teachers must utilize a variety of teaching methods to ensure their learning experience is positive. This chapter identifies who adult learners are and how they learn differently from traditional students using the theoretical foundation of androgogy, the study of how adults learn. Then the researchers define active learning and describe how to design practices/teaching methods that will encourage and influence an entire range of institutions in their attempts in developing ways of meeting the educational needs of adult learners. Finally, examples of teaching tools and methods are presented.