"An old dog doesn’t learn new tricks anymore" – have you heard that before or even said it yourself? We are convinced: that’s not true! After all, anyone can learn how to learn, even at an older age.
"I am too old for that" is probably the most common excuse made by older employees or attendees when it comes to the topic of further education – especially popular in software training. But don’t worry: this myth about learning in old age has already been debunked several years ago! We have already discussed the topic in the blog and found that older people sometimes even have a certain advantage when it comes to learning. After all, their prior knowledge is significantly greater than that of younger individuals. This allows information to be better connected to each other.
Tip: You can find the entire article here: "What Hansel doesn’t learn..." – The myth of learning in old age
What is true: Adults learn differently than children because their basic prerequisites are different. In most cases, adults learn voluntarily to personally develop or to meet their professional needs. Adults also enjoy learning collectively and bring a wealth of experience and resources into the learning process. Besides their prior knowledge and experiences, they have a different access to knowledge. Accordingly, their learning motivation also differs:
Adults are motivated by relevance and practical application.
Adults are intrinsically motivated and act problem-oriented.
Adults learn independently and at their own pace.
And that's exactly what you can utilize to your advantage when learning! Whether you want to learn yourself or are responsible for the learning process of others as a continuing education officer: create the necessary space in the learning process so that individual learning preferences can be considered. The motivation is crucial!
Support learning to learn with the right strategy
My colleague Laura has already reported on the blog how learning strategies differ between children and adults. Therefore, I would like to briefly touch on the different learning strategies here:
| Cognitive Strategy | Metacognitive Strategy | Resource-based Strategy || ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- || includes all aspects of immediate information acquisition, such as concrete learning techniques | relates to the control of learning progress, such as planning learning processes | focuses on the organization and the framework conditions of the learning process || Organization (making notes, highlighting or underlining important points) Elaboration (thinking of concrete examples, establishing connections) Repetition (reading multiple times and memorizing) | Planning (setting fixed study times and learning sequences from most important to least important) Evaluation (monitoring your own learning success) Regulation (regularly checking and adjusting learning steps if necessary) | Time Management (setting and adhering to study times and breaks) Learning Management (designing the workplace and providing necessary tools) Learning in Groups (learning communities, discussions/exchanges with others) |
Depending on your preference, you should follow a cognitive, metacognitive, or resource-based learning strategy. Typically, the learning process consists of aspects from all three strategies. No matter which one you prefer – to make learning in adulthood easier for you, you should pay attention to several things in every learning process:
10 Tips for Learning to Learn in Adulthood
These 10 tips will help you support your adult learners in training and education during the learning process:
Find a quiet place without distractions, and change it regularly
Create a positive mindset toward the learning process
Learn often, but in short units in the spirit of microlearning
Start with difficult topics and don’t postpone them until the end
Write down important points, preferably even by hand
Plan deliberate breaks before you need them because you are exhausted
Set your own goals and regularly review them yourself
Don’t forget to review what you’ve learned soon after
Take self-tests after each learning unit and check your knowledge
Find study partners and discuss what you have learned
Secret Tip: Active Recall instead of a lot of repetitions!
Most people think they learn particularly well when they read and repeat texts multiple times. However, a significant mistake occurs: you think you know a lot because certain words and text passages seem familiar. Often, you only skim the text afterward roughly. But in the exam situation, you can no longer remember because you lack the small supports. Therefore, after the Active Recall method, it is much more sensible to actively recall what you have learned from your own memory, without learning materials and texts, and to summarize the content independently.
The next time you read a text to learn the content, it's better to write down questions about the text that you will then answer instead of summarizing the most important information from the text!
Ideally, pass these tips directly on to your learners, whether in the online course or in the training itself. This gives your participants direct recommendations for action that they can implement independently. Support them in learning, for example, by sending regular reminder emails for your online course. Offer participants the opportunity to contact you directly with questions. Create a good learning environment from the outset in the form of a learning culture in which learning is actually desired! All these are factors that positively influence your participants' learning motivation.
Would you like to learn more about "Learning Culture in Companies"? Then download our free guide now and find out directly which five leverage points you can use for a successful learning culture!
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