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Abstract
Educators and Trainers both focus on adult learning theory when teaching. In the workforce, as well as in higher education, current literature pertaining to adult learners tends to lump all adults into the same category. Scant research exists that reviews the adult learner through a generational lens. This paper examines the elements that engage and disengage adult learners in multiple classroom settings through a generational perspective. The authors suggest implications for adult education professional practices based on understanding as a teacher/trainer that generational characteristics influence expectations of how materials will be taught.
Introduction
How adults learn, preferences of adult learners, and characteristics of adult learners are fields of study packed with research and literature. In fact, workforce development, training programs, and human resource development professionals all educate individuals - adult learners. However, the literature does not address the fact that the characteristics that are applied to "all adults" are in reality a mix of distinct generations of adult learners with different histories, preferences, and values. This lack of acknowledgement is concerning for any trainer or educator who teaches an "adult" authence, which may include a mix of generations and, within the mix, a variety of adult learning characteristics.
In order to establish healthy training and educational programs which contribute to the well being of organizations, the learning styles, values, and preferences of each generation must be considered. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of three different generations of learners and to compare the elements that engage adult learners through a generation lens.
Our data collection included approximately 60 students from two graduate-level courses who were asked to fill out surveys several times throughout the semester. Brookfield's (1995) Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) was adapted to fit the design of the courses, and the learners self identified their generation. The results were analyzed through both the andragogical model (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2005) as well as through a generational lens.
Literature Review
Malcolm Knowles (1977), an adult educator, developed the paradigm of Andragogy and is attributed with popularizing and operationalizing the concept, which is defined as the "art and science of helping adults learn" (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, p. 61). The practice of Andragogy, unlike pedagogy, puts the focus...