CHAPTER 14

Adult Learning Principles and Training Techniques

“If I distrust the human being then I must cram him with information of my own choosing,
lest he goes his own mistaken way. But if I trust the capacity of the human and individual for
developing his own potentiality, then I can provide him with many opportunities and permit
him to choose his own way and his own direction in his learning. It is a basic trust – a belief
that this other person is somehow fundamentally trustworthy- this trust is something which
cannot be faked-It is not a technique”

-CARL ROGERS

We have heard time and again that learning is a continuous, life long process. How is that
people who are adults learns, especially when their formal education is already over? Why is
it that they learn certain things and not others? We require to examine these questions in
depth to understand the principles of Adult Learning.

Principle: 1

 Learning is an experience which is primarily controlled by the learner and not by the
teacher, trainer (group leader). Learning takes place in a situation in which teaching is
seen as a facilitating process that assists people to explore and discover the personal
meaning of events for them.
 No one directly teaches anyone anything of significance. People learn what they see
what they want to see, and hear what they want to hear, unless what is being taught has
personal meaning. People forget most of the content “taught” and retain only the
content which they use in their work or which is relevant to them personally.

Principle: 2

 Learning is the discovery of the personal meaning and relevance of ideas. Within broad
programmatic boundaries what is relevant and meaningful is decided by the learner and
must be discovered by the learner.

Principle: 3

 Learning (Behavioral change) is a consequence of experience. For effective learning,

giving information is not enough, e. g. people become responsible and independent
from having experienced authentic responsibility and independence. It is very difficult to
imagine independence.

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Principle: 4

 Learning is a co-operative and collaborative process. Through such approaches people

learn to define goals, to plan, interact and to try group arrangements in problem solving.
They develop a firmer sense of their own identification.

Principle: 5

 Learning is an evolutionary process. Implicit in all the principle and conditions for
learning is an evolutionary modal of learning characterized by free, open
communication, confrontation, active and personal involvement , freedom from threat,
and trust in the self.

Principle: 6

 Learning is sometimes a painful process. It is not easy to discard familiar ways of doing
things and incorporate new behavior. Some existing configurations have to change when
new learning takes place. Overcoming resistance to change produces pain. If growth is
to occur, pain is often necessary. However, the pain is usually followed by
appreciation and pleasure in discovery of an evolving idea or a changing self.

Principle: 7

 One of the richest resources for leraning is the learner himself. Situations which enable
people to become open to thenselves, to draw upon their personal collection of data
and to share their data with others, maximise learning.

Principle: 8

 The process of learning is emotional as well as intellectual. Learning is affected by the

total state of the individual. To create the optimal conditions in a group for learning to
occur, people must come before purpose. Who has to learn what matters more than
why something has to be learnt. Barriers to communication exist in people. To maximize
the acquisition and internalization of ideas it seems reasonable that the people’s
problems would have to be dealt with first.

Principle: 9

 The process of problem solving and learning are highly unique and individual. We need
to assist people to define and to make explicit to themselves the approaches they
ordinarily use so that they can become more effective in problem solving and learning.
As people become more aware of how they learn and solve problems and become

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 exposed to alternative models used by other people they can refine and modify their
personal styles.

Conditions which facilitate learning

We have examined some principles of adult learning in the preceding paragraphs. How to
induce the adult to learn is the question that the trainer has to ask himself. To succees in an
adult learning situation, the trainer should be aware of conditions that facilitate learning. He
should then create these conditions in the training events so that the trainees are motivated
to learn.

Condition 1

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere which encourages people to be active. The learning

process thrives when there is less teacher (group leader) domination and talk and more
faith that people can find alternatives and solutions satisfying to themselves. Learning is not
poured into people, learning emerges from people.

Condition: 2

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere which promotes and facilitated the individual’s

discovery of the personal meaning of ideas. A situation in which people are freely able to
express their needs rather than having their needs dictated to them.

No matter how permissive or unstructured a learning activity may be, there exist implicit
goals in the activity itself. Learning occurs when the goals and personal meanings in events.

Condition: 3

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere which emphasizes the uniquely personal and

subjective nature of learning. In such a situation, people feel their own contributions and
their values as people are genuinely appreciated.

Condition: 4

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere which difference is good and desirable. If people

look at themselves, at others, and at ideas openly and reasonably, then they must have the
opportunity to express their opinions no matter how different they may be. Different ideas
can be accepted (but not necessarily agreed with).

Condition: 5

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere which consistently recognizes people’s right to

make mistakes. In order for people to learn they need the opportunity to explore new
situations and ideas without being penalized or punished for mistakes. The teacher (group

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leader) who feels and acts on the need to be always right creates a limiting and threatening
condition to learning (one who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything).

Condition: 6

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere which tolerates ambiguity. The open and fearless
exploration of solutions called for time to explore alternatives and proceed without feeling
any pressures for immediate and forthcoming answers.

Condition: 7

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere which evaluation is a co-operative process with

emphasis on self-evaluation. Self-evaluation and peer evaluations enable people to really
judge how much they have learned and grown. For learning to occur the individual in the
group needs to see himself accurately and realistically. This can be best accomplished
through self and group evaluation.

Condition: 8

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere which encourages openness of self rather than

concealment of self. People need to feel that they can try something, fail, if necessary,
without being humiliated, embarrassed, or diminished as persons. People can invest
themselves fully and openly in the process of learning when they know that no matter what
they say or express, it will not result in psychological punishment or penalties.

Condition: 9

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere in which people are encouraged to trust in

themselves as well as in external sources. Learning is facilitated when people begin to draw
ideas from themselves and others rather than relying on the teacher (group leader).

Condition: 10

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere in which people feel they are respected. A genuine
expression of care on the part of the teacher (leader) and a warm emotional climate
generate an atmosphere of safety in which people can explore ideas and encounter other
people without any threat. A safe atmosphere need not exclude personal confrontations
which often are effective catalysts for learning.

Condition: 11

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere in which people feel they are accepted. Accepting a
person means that we allow him to hold his values and to be himself. People need to feel
they have an option – to change or not to change. People who are busy defending
themselves are not free to learn.

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Condition: 12

Learning is facilitated in an atmosphere which permits confrontation and provides

opportunities for people to have their framework of values and beliefs compared and tested
with the framework of other people or the group. Confrontation is a proving ground which
enables ideas to be synthesized, new ideas to emerge, and people to change.

SUMMARY

Characteristics of Adult learners

 Pursue training with a sense of purpose

 Have some relevant knowledge or skill
 Are motivated by goals
 Want training to relate to the real world
 Need to have theory immediately applied to practice

What prevents Adults from learning?

 Being afraid of criticism

 Forgetting how to learn and take tests
 Negative memories of other training experiences
 Competing priorities
 Fear of committing mistakes

What works best in training?

 True – to – life examples and data

 Having individuals share with trainees
 Real-world case studies
 Freedom to draw own learning

Let us understand at the implications of the foregoing paragraphs for a trainer. In helping
adults people to learn the trainer has to create suitable learning events, opportunities and
environment. Some specific actions that the trainer could take are as follows:

 Use action-oriented, problem solving methods in which the learner takes part,
experiments and gains experience

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 Use examples, illustrations which would facilitate learning better than abstract concepts
 Make the climate non – threatening and open
 Avoid preaching, treat learners with respect and deal with them as equals
 Acknowledge learners knowledge and experience- convince them how the new inputs
are connected to their present experience and relevant for future
 Provide opportunities to learners to express their needs and voice their problems
 Allow learners to tackle issues/problems their own way. Do not prescribe ‘your right
way’
 Above all LISTEN. You would then set such a fine example to all others

What works best?

 True to life example

 Experience sharing
 Real world case studies
 Freedom to draw own learning
 Action oriented problem solving
 Acknowledge knowledge & experience
 “Listen” and be an example

Doing Experience

Planning for action

Reflection

Analysis

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TRAINING TECHNIQUES

A training programme has a better chance of success when its training methods are carefully
selected. A training method is a strategy or tactic that a trainer uses to deliver the content
so that the training achieves its objective. Selecting an appropriate training method is
perhaps the most important step in training activity once the training contents are
identified. The various methods for Group training, Solo training and One to One training
are as under:

  Group Training   Solo Training

  Role-playing   Assignments
  Lecture   Programmed Learning
  Lesson   Project: individual
  Discussion: guided   Action Maze
  Discussion: problem solving   Computer Based Training
  Project: group   Interactive Video
  In-tray Exercise   Simulation
  Exercises: skills development   Guided Reading
  Exercises: group   Performance Aids
  Case Study: paper-based
  Case Study: incident   One to One Training
  Simulation   Guided Practice
  Business Games   Coaching
  Discovery Learning   Counselling
  Support Group   Mentoring
  Action Learning Set   Demonstration
  Brainstorming   Simulation
 Self-directed Learning Group.   Tutorial
  Field Trip
  Seminar
  Forum

All the training methods are not equally suitable for all the topics and in all situations. The
trainer has to judge as to which method is most appropriate to use in the specific
circumstances. According the Bass and Vaughan, training methods should be selected on
the basis of degree to which they do the following:-

 Allow active participation of the learners.

 Help the learners transfer learning experiences from training to the real life situation
 Provide the learners with knowledge of results about their attempts to improve.

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  Provide the learner with an opportunity to practice and to repeat when needed.
 Motivate the learners to improve their own performance
 Help learners increase their willingness to change.
Some of the important methods of training are discussed below:-

LECTURE

The Lecture is a time-honoured means of communicating with a group. Usually it implies a

one-way talk to a number of people by someone who is knowledgeable about his subject. It
normally covers a specific topic rather than a range of subjects and for it to be successful it
demands a high level of skill from the person delivering the lecture. Often a lecture is used
when it is necessary to convey messages to a large audience, since other methods of a more
participative nature would prove to be too cumbersome to operate. For an effective lecture
it is not only essential that the speaker is knowledgeable in the subject but is also skilled in
creating a learning environment in which he can get his message across. This requires an
understanding of the need of the audience. Creating the right conditions for learning to be
effective requires attention to a number of factors. Some of these are summarized below:-

 The environment must be suitable for learning. The trainees must be comfortable
and reasonably relaxed. Any distraction will inhibit learning.
 The needs of the audience in terms of subject matter must be ascertained in advance
because the group may not be a homogeneous group i.e. their level of knowledge of
the subject may vary considerably. A reasonable approach is to try to set the talk at
such a level that the less knowledgeable are stretched but are not totally out of
depth and at the same time requesting the more informed to bear with the speaker
until he has filled in some of the more fundamental information for the benefit of
the newcomers to be subject. It is also advisable to let the audience know from the
start exactly what they can expect from the speaker.
 The subject must be thoroughly researched, lecture carefully planned and care being
taken to structure it logically in steps separated by natural breaks. Both speaker and
audience need time to collect their thoughts between stages.
 Handouts and Visual aids should be used with discretion. It should never be assumed
that the use of training aids is essential for a lecture to be successful. These devices
should be used to reinforce and not to do the speaker’s job for him. Handouts are a
valuable means of consolidating and supplementing information provided in a

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 lecture but they must be well designed and reproduced and must be used at the
right time to be effective.
 The skills expected of a person delivering lecture differ very little from those required
of a public speaker. Some of the Do’s and Don’ts for delivering an effective lecture
are as under;-
 Adopt a natural, relaxed style. Never try to emulate someone else but project
your own personality.
 Be wary of doing anything which may cause offence to any member of the
audience.
 Body language should be positive; facial expression should be warm, friendly &
smiling; gestures & posture should reflect confidence & command and heart and
words should be in synchronization.
 The level of voice should be right for the distance it has to travel and the natural
acoustics of the room. Variation in tone and pace helps to maintain interest and
the speaker should try to refrain from speaking in a monotone. It is advisable to
raise your voice little bit while emphasizing and reduce your voice little bit while
illustrating.
 Use straightforward language which may be interpreted by everyone without
much difficulty. Sentences should be short and to the point. Jargons should be
used with care and only when it is known that the audience will understand it.
 Maintain eye-to-eye contact with as many people as possible. This makes every
member of the audience feel that the lecture is a dialogue between the speaker
and himself even though the words may not in fact be exchanged.
 Avoid temptation to address all your statements to one person who gives you a
warm feeling by hanging on to your every word and nodding sagely.
 Avoid reading lecture notes verbatim in the class. Subject headings on small
cards should be sufficient to provide necessary trigger.
 Avoid sweeping aside the views which don’t coincide with your views.
 Be honest with the audience. If a member of the audience knows more than you
on a particular subject, make use of the available expertise by encouraging him
to share his knowledge with everyone. Furthermore, most people will accept
that the man who knows all the answers has not yet been born. If asked a
question to which you don’t know the answer, it is better to admit it and promise
to find the answer for the questioner at some time later.
 Make use of the space available for movement. The movements should be
natural and not mechanical.

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  Dress appropriately for the occasion.
 Control your nervousness. Even the most accomplished speakers will be
apprehensive when they start but once having established rapport with the
audience, relax and enjoy the experience. Don’t allow yourself to be carried
away at fast pace by the nervous energy at the start, not giving yourself time to
think about what has to be said next.
 Avoid gestures of boredom and impatience with the trainers.
 Always end your lecture on a positive note. People like to go away feeling that
they have been stimulated and have been given food for thought. A brief review
of the main points of the talk and call for future action is desirable and puts
everything in proper perspective.
 It is desirable to thank the participants for their attention and participation.

DISCUSSION

The discussion is a common training vehicle which is useful for the presentation of ideas and
plans, particularly when the issues have to be clarified or expanded and the views of group
of people have to be ascertained. If the Discussion method is used with proper sequence i.e.
lectures, followed by discussion and questioning, it can achieve higher level knowledge
objectives. The discussion method can be of three main types:

 Directed discussion
 Developmental discussion
 Problem-solving discussion

The Discussion method consists of two-way flow of communication i.e. knowledge in the
form of lecture is communicated to trainees, and then understanding is conveyed back by
trainees to trainer in the form of verbal and non-verbal feedback that enables the trainer to
determine whether the material is understood. If yes, then definitely it would help out the
trainees to implement it at their workplaces and if not, the trainer may need to spend more
time on that particular area by presenting the information again in a different manner.

Questioning can be done by both ways i.e. the trainees and the trainer. When the trainees
ask questions, they explain their thinking about the content of the lecture. A trainer who
asks questions stimulates thinking about the content of the lecture. Asking and responding

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to questions are beneficial to trainees because it enhances understanding and keeps the
trainees focused on the content. For discussion to be successful, the trainer requires skill in
planning, careful preparation, encouraging the involvement of all the trainees, controlling
the discussions, summarizing the results of the discussions and ensuring that suitable action
is taken. For a discussion facilitator to be successful, he must be able to handle the debate in
such a way that the useful inputs are optimized and inappropriate offerings limited. He
should not allow the trainees to digress from the topic in hand and encourage them to be
brief. The time wasters like practice of some members to carry out private discussions
during the debate should be curbed diplomatically. The main uses of discussion method are:

 For problem solving exercises.

 For forming or moulding attitudes.
 For stimulating interest and constructive thought.
 For supplementing other methods.
 For reviewing/consolidating the learning.

CASE STUDY

The objective of the case study is to present the trainees with a realistic situation, giving a
considerable quantity of background information from which they are expected to analyse
and provide solutions to specific problems. Sometimes the information is totally fictitious
and is concocted in order to make the points in a very convincing way. More often, the case
study is a summary of documented real-life situation. The actual outcome is known to the
trainer and he is thus able to compare or contrast the trainee’s findings with it. Since the
true outcome may not be most expedient, it is more profitable for the trainees to explore
the various options that might be available rather than seek the “right” answer. Case studies
are normally examined in small groups. It is better to give different question to different
group to study in depth so that more ground can be covered in the full group session and
duplication is minimized. The main uses of case study are for:-

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  Problem solving
 Developing analytical skills.
 Gaining confidence in decision making.
 Changing/modifying attitudes.
 Introducing and consolidating other sessions.
 Team Work

The main advantages of case study method are it provides concrete subjects for discussion,
participants’ experiences can be brought into use and shared with others and this method
provides opportunities for active participation of all.

One variation of the Case study method is “Action Maze” method. This method is a
development of the case study and consists of a problem and some suggested solutions.
The trainees choose one solution for their answer and this leads them to the next stage
when they are told what happens when this decision has been made. Some more
information is then given, and the process continues. After a while the trainees come to a
final solution which can form the basis for further learning. This method is mainly used for
decision making practice.

ROLE PLAY

Role play is a simulation in which each participant is given a role to play. Trainees are given
with some information related to description of the role, concerns, objectives,
responsibilities, emotions, etc. Then, a general description of the situation, and the problem
that each one of them faces, is given. For instance, situation could be strike in factory,
managing conflict, two parties in conflict, scheduling vacation days etc. Once the
participants read their role descriptions, they act out their roles by interacting with one
another. Role Plays helps in:-

 Developing interpersonal skills and communication skills

 Negotiation skills
 Conflict resolution
 Group decision making

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  Developing insight into one’s own behavior and its impact on others

There are various types of role plays, such as:

Multiple Role Play – In this type of role play, all trainees are in groups, with each group
acting out the role play simultaneously. After the role play, each group analyses the
interactions and identifies the learning points

Single Role Play – One group of participants plays the role for the rest, providing
demonstrations of situation. Other participants observe the role play, analyse their
interactions with one another and learn from the play.

Role Rotation – It starts as a single role play. After the interaction of participants, the trainer
will stop the role play and discuss what happened so far. Then the participants are asked to
exchange characters. This method allows a variety of ways to approach the roles.

Spontaneous Role Play – In this kind of role play, one of the trainees plays himself while the
other trainees play people with whom the first participant interacted before.

BRAINSTORMING

It is a technique used for finding solutions by means of stimulating ideas. Brainstorming is

based on the fact that it is possible to generate more ideas collectively than the sum of ideas
which would be produced individually. This arises from the interaction which enables one
member to trigger off new ideas in another. A small group of people with or without
conscious knowledge of the subject meet and contribute any suggestion or idea that comes
into their heads, no matter how fantastic or impossible it may sound. All suggestions are
encouraged and criticism is not allowed at this stage, although contributors are later invited
to explain their ideas. Subsequently, all the ideas submitted at the meeting are sifted and
assessed. Its main uses are in Problem solving and Consolidate previous learning. The
process of brainstorming demands discipline in order to overcome the temptation on most
people to pass judgment on ideas as soon as they are received. The main advantage of this
training method is that it uses participants’ experience and ideas and can get very active

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participation but at the same time it is time consuming, requires high trainer skills for
facilitation and chances are that some learners may not participate.

DEMONSTRATION

A demonstration is a presentation which illustrates a task, a procedure or the use of

equipment, showing the learner how to do it, but just watching an expert at work is not
enough to guarantee learning unless the learner has the chance to try it himself
immediately. This training method is suitable for any objective with specific procedure, skill
or reflex behaviour. The main advantages of this method are:-

 The learners have the chance to observe carefully and learn key points before trying
themselves.
 Learners can clarify their own learning needs during the demonstration and feel
motivated to develop the same skills as the trainer.
 It enables the trainer to monitor individual performance and correct errors quickly,
before they become established patterns of behavior.

Some of the limitations of this method are:-

 Takes a lot of time and effort to produce.

 Little or no contact between direct trainer and learners whilst it is actually taking
place.
 Can be too fast for the learners to absorb or understand what is going on when
several actions or skills are being demonstrated simultaneously.

Slower or less motivated learners may need to have the demonstration repeated, perhaps
individually before trying it themselves.

………………………

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