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(Unit 6) Topic 9: Exploring Adult Learning

3 Clock Hours of Early Childhood Education

Preconceived What?

​Topic 9 Page 7

Humans are tricky creatures.  Most of us know how children enter a learning experience with little or no background knowledge and build a foundation that later leads to more complex ideas. Adults are completely different! Adult learners enter a learning experience with a pre-built foundation. This sounds absolutely fantastic until you realize that everyone’s foundation is vastly different and sometimes this presents challenges.

Susan’s foundation was started 22 years ago and has been shaped and affected by many things. Just like the foundation of a home, she has walls, windows, doors, and a roof. Some of these elements are new and have been updated over her career. Others are original to the structure and have seen better days.   

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​Emma is just now building her foundation and is laying it piece by piece. Her training and education will support the walls and doors and roof as she shapes it into what is best for her career.  

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Ming​, on the other hand, has a foundation built with a structure that is constantly being updated. When she attends a conference or completes an online course she adds new things and updates others based on relevancy. No, her structure is not perfect but it is constantly evolving to fit the needs of her career field.  

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The existing structures that these learners have built encompass the preconceived notions and past experiences that they have about professional development. What they have done, seen, learned, taught, failed at and more are all encompassed in their structures and they bring those along to each new learning experience. The biggest challenge in designing, delivering, and assessing adult learning is those preconceived notions and past experiences. For some people they create massive roadblocks to their learning and for others they do not give them nearly enough credit and build upon them as strengths. Still, you will have people who will question each word you say due to their varied experiences. It is important to harness this schema, or prior knowledge, with the learners and use it to your advantage. ​​   

(Unit 6) Topic 9: Exploring Adult Learning​​​ * Navigation Menu