"An old dog doesn’t learn new tricks" – have you ever heard this or even said it yourself? We are convinced: that’s not true! After all, everyone can learn to learn, even at an older age.
"I’m too old for this" is probably the most common excuse of older employees or course participants when it comes to the topic of further education – especially popular in software training. But don’t worry: this myth of learning in old age was debunked years ago! We have already discussed this topic in the blog and found that older people actually have certain advantages 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.
Tip: You can find the full article here: "What Hans doesn’t learn…" – The myth of learning in old age
What is true: Adults learn differently than children, after all, their basic requirements are different. In most cases, adults learn voluntarily, to develop personally or meet their professional needs. Adults also prefer learning in a communal way and bring a rich background of experiences and resources to 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 you can use this to your advantage when learning! Whether you want to learn yourself or are responsible for the learning process of others as a training manager: create the necessary space in the learning process to consider individual learning preferences. The motivation is crucial!
Supporting learning to learn with the right strategy
My colleague Laura has already reported in the blog about how learning strategies differ between children and adults. Therefore, I would like to briefly touch on the different learning strategies here:
Depending on your preferences, you should pursue a cognitive, a metacognitive, or a resource-oriented learning strategy. Usually, the learning process consists of aspects from all three strategies. No matter which you prefer – to make learning in adulthood easier for yourself, you should pay attention to certain things in every learning process:
10 Tips for learning to learn in adulthood
These 10 tips help you support your adult learners in training and workshops during the learning process:
Find a quiet place without distractions, and change it regularly.
Create a positive attitude towards the learning process.
Learn often, but in short units, in the spirit of microlearning.
Start with difficult topics and don’t put them off until the end.
Write down important points, preferably even by hand.
Plan conscious breaks before you need them when you are exhausted.
Set your own goals and regularly check them yourself.
Don’t forget to review what you’ve learned soon.
Do self-tests after each learning unit and check your knowledge.
Find learning partners and discuss what you’ve learned.
Secret tip: Active Recall instead of many repetitions!
Most people think they learn best when they read and repeat texts multiple times. However, there is a significant error in this: you think you know a lot because certain words and text passages seem familiar. Often, you skim the text only roughly afterward. But in the exam situation, you can’t remember because you lack the small cues. Therefore, according to the Active Recall method, it is much more sensible to actively recall what you’ve learned from your own memory without learning materials and texts, and to summarize the contents independently.
The next time you read a text to learn the content, it’s better to write down questions about the text that you then answer instead of summarizing the key information from the text!
Ideally, pass these tips directly on to your learners, whether in an online course or in the training itself. This way, you give 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. Provide participants with the opportunity to reach out to you directly with questions. Ensure a good learning environment from the start in the form of a learning culture where learning is genuinely desired! All of 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 focus on for a successful learning culture!
