Adult learning cycle

Adult learning cycle

If you evaluate the results of a training programme, it is not uncommon to find that the
trainees do not do, or are not capable of doing, what the training programme was set up to
enable them to do. There are many reasons why this may occur; one cause of failure is
poor design of the training event, due to incorrect assumptions about the way in which the
trainees will learn to do the job. This paper discusses the way in which people learn, and
suggests how a trainer can make use of the "Adult Learning Cycle" to design more
effective training events.

The Adult Learning Cycle describes how adults normally learn new things in an everyday
situation. It is a model of the way people learn in a natural setting, not in the classroom. It
enables the trainer to make use of a powerful and natural learning strategy which most
adults apply automatically, if given the chance, and which they can also apply to
advantage in a formal training situation, if given the opportunity by the trainer.

Think back to something, which you learned recently. It does not have to be a piece of
theoretical knowledge: it may be something which you learned to do, a skill or ability; or it
might be a new insight which you gained into something you already knew about or could
do. It could also be a fact or a piece of knowledge. Now, if that thing you learned is
something important, something which you can actually use, something which you will
remember in the future, then there is a good chance that you learned it through applying
the "adult learning cycle". You underwent some experience or did something which
caused you to step back and think about what you had experienced or done, and from this
you generalised a rule about how things work which you can now apply. This is the basis
of the Adult Learning Cycle.

Many training programmes begin with theory; practice only comes later. The Adult
Learning Cycle takes the opposite route: it is an experiential learning cycle. There are four
major steps in the cycle, the first of which is always experience. The steps are:

- experiencing (seeing, doing an activity);

- processing (reflecting on, discussing the activity);
- generalising (inferring from the experience at a higher level of abstraction some
"truth" about how things work);
- applying (making use of the generalisation to change behaviour to become
more effective).
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The cycle is illustrated on the following page.

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 Adult learning cycle

1. EXPERIENCING

Doing/seeing
something
4. APPLYING 2.PROCESSING

Using the Insights Reflecting

3. GENERALISING

Abstracting from
experience to life

Compare this with the way most training programmes are organised. Training usually
reverses this cycle, beginning with generalisation (readings, lectures, theory), then
reflecting (questions, discussions, further explanations), followed by experiencing (through
exercises or hands-on work). The step to application takes place after the training event.
The fact that training works contrary to the normal flow of the learning cycle makes it a
strange experience for most adults. They often complain about being treated like children
and about not being taken seriously.

One can improve the effectiveness of training, and make it more interesting for adults to
participate in, if the training programme is adjusted so that it follows the learning cycle.
Instead of beginning with the third step of the cycle (Generalising), one begins with the
first step (Experiencing). The trainer sets up situations, settings and environments, which
are most likely to provide the trainees with the desired experience (step 1). The trainer
then provides a structure for the reflection discussion or feedback, which enables the
trainees to share reactions and observations and think through the experience (step 2).

If the trainees are to make use of the training in their real work, they will have to transfer
what they have learned from the structured learning experience to the unstructured
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experiences of everyday life. The trainer enables them to do this by using his/her
knowledge of the topic under discussion to clarify the points and help relate them to
potential application (step 3).

Finally, to conclude the session, the trainer helps trainees to plan how they will apply what
they have learned to help them work more effectively (step 4).
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The figure below indicates how the trainer structures the activities with the group in order
to make most use of the natural cycle of learning.

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 Adult learning cycle

1. EXPERIENCING
Provide learners with situations to
stimulate the process of
experiencing: e.g. role plays,
simulations, case studies, films,
demonstrations, questionnaires

4. APPLYING 2.PROCESSING
Enable trainees to make plans
Structure reflection,
for and decisions about
discussion and feedback for
incorporating this learning into
thinking through the
their work: e.g. discussing
experience: e.g. observation
strategy, setting targets,
lists, structured conversation,
defining and sharing
implementation steps
3. GENERALISING sub-group work

Help trainees to generalize from

this specific experience to real life
situations and generate rules for
behaviour in real life: e.g.
structured conversation, lecturettes,
short courses, visualization on
board, summarizing, concluding

If approached using this principle, training events can be made much more "true to life",
and trainees can be given the feeling that their experience and accumulated expertise is
of value in the training event.

For the trainer, use of this approach requires a change, from the traditional image of
training as "pouring knowledge into empty vessels" where the expertise of the trainer is
central, to a new image of the trainer as a facilitator, helping the trainees in their natural
learning process.
© MDF copyright 2011
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