Assessing Adult Learning and Learning Styles

Adults have different learning styles which can either enhance or deter their learning. In the conversation that follows, I discuss the utility of assessing adult learning and the diversity of learning styles. Adult education literature is replete with discussions on characteristics of adult learners and adult learning and development. But how do we actually know if adults gained the knowledge they set out to learn? We know that there are several factors that should be taken into consideration when facilitating adult learning, but as adult educators and practitioners of the field, it is equally important that we learn and/or know how to deploy various approaches in assessing adult learning. In this chapter are brief discussions on adult learning, learning styles, and learning assessments.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Instruction Using Principles of Adult Learning

This chapter provides an overview of assessment of instruction using adult learning principles. The goal of this chapter is to examine the assessment process, describe effective assessment techniques and provide guidelines for instructor developed assessments. Bloom’s (1956) Taxonomy and the subsequent modification of levels of cognitive objectives provided by Anderson et al. (2001) are included. Various assessment exercises are described according to the modified levels of cognitive objectives. Instructors are guided in the process of developing their own assessments from objective tests to subjective essays. Readers are introduced to authentic assessment and provided ways of developing their own authentic assessments, including rubrics. Future trends of assessment practices are also discussed.

Using Assessment to Promote Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills in Adults

Adult education in the twenty-first century is tasked with developing skilled workers with critical thinking and problem solving skills that will allow them to succeed in a fast-paced and rapidly changing economy. Most adult education takes place in structured educational settings and course-level assessment is seen to be the strongest factor directing students‘ time and energy in such settings. Therefore, course-level assessment methods, which are the grading practices and methods within a course environment, should be used to promote critical thinking and problem solving skills in adults. This chapter describes formative and summative assessment methods and techniques that promote these higher order thinking skills in adults.

Working toward Self-Evaluation

I have not met many educators who say that they enjoy the assessment and grading of learners’ work, or find it rewarding. In my research on authentic teaching, when I asked participants what they did not like about teaching, the most common response was that they did not like grading. It was not that they minded giving feedback or comments; most people found giving feedback to be a natural and satisfying part of their practice, but they did not like “giving grades.” They worried about fairness, subjectivity, and the power inherent in being the one who judges the work of another person. They worried about “giving grades” acting as an obstacle to a genuine relationship with their learners, and they worried about students being focused on “getting grades” rather than learning.

Evaluation Models for Evaluating Educational Programs

This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the literature related to three of the many evaluation models that can be applied to programs providing services (training, teaching, counseling, or any type of intervention) or products to students, personnel, or program participants. The three models addressed are the CIPP Evaluation Model, the Kirkpatrick Four-Step Evaluation Framework, and the Outcome-Base Evaluation Model. These models are capable of helping decision makers assess the effectiveness and efficiency of programs or projects. The following discussion is based on over 50 different sources in the literature and focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of these models.

Formative and Summative Evaluation in the Assessment of Adult Learning

Assessment is an important, yet poorly understood, process in adult education. This chapter examines the differences between two important types of assessment/evaluation, formative and summative, and examines how these are incorporated into the literature of adult learning. Focusing on the literature of program planning in adult education, the authors identify a disagreement in the common definition of the terms and consider the impact this could have on educational planning for adult programs. Adapting a formative assessment model that focuses on short-, medium-, and long-cycle formative assessments, examples of all three types currently used in adult education classrooms are provided. The model is then telescoped out to the program level, where a long-cycle formative assessment is identified using a military graduate school as an example. The chapter concludes with a reiteration of the importance of formative assessment and a call to educators to more effectively incorporate it into adult learning.

Learning Contracts as Part of Instructional Design and Evaluation

The author, an instructional development specialist and faculty member with 35+ years experience, has been attempting, throughout her career, to encourage students to be more self-directing about their learning and to move away from the phenomenon she calls “whadyaget” in which students are only concerned about the grade they receive on an assignment, rather than the accomplishment the assignment represents. One solution to this problem is the use of contracts, specifically with mature adult learners. In a contract learning setting, students choose a contract which includes the “body of work” for which they will be responsible. Once completed, students will receive the grade for which they contracted. The author will report anecdotal evidence collected from at least ten years of using this method and also will discuss pros and cons of contract learning/grading, suggestions for improved implementation of the contract process and future trends in contract learning as they relate to adult education and, most recently, distance learning.

New Perspectives of Andragogy in Relation to the Use of Technology

This chapter examines technological factors that influence the conditions and processes of adult learning, and how adult educators can deal with those changes effectively. Technology can reinforce and enhance adult learning, providing a learning environment with tools and resources that the learner can explore and control, thus fostering more independent, adult-centered learning. Adult learning changes because of the need to learn how to use technology tools, the opportunity for expanded access to resources, the variations in designing and experiencing learning experiences, and the expanded opportunities to engage with these resources and with other learners. Several issues contextualize the realities and challenges of adult learning as impacted by technology: workplace learning and learning organizations, informal learning, distance education, globalization, the Digital Divide, and older adult learners. Emerging trends are also mentioned.

A Productive Decade of Andragogy’s History and Philosophy

With the foundation of andragogy having been laid, there was a serious attempt at investigating its value. Some felt that a broad scope was established in the practice to support growth in learners, with any mention of adult learning needing to include andragogy. Others perceived that andragogy produced unproductive debates along a binary path, with its being too caught up in individualization, the politics of exclusion, conformity, and de-contextualizing adult learning. However, some research revealed numerous dimensions of andragogy. The connection with distance learning became very strong and solid. New applications of andragogy were spawned into foreign language learning, internet learning, validation of the adult instructor’s perspective, the public school, emotional intelligence, and an interlinking with brain research. The long range projection of andragogy saw a strong resurgence in numerous research papers being put forward through conferences and publications with the world-wide foundation being established thorough documentation of the materials. Savicevic looks far into the future and credits Knowles with a meritorious place in the advancement of andragogy. Many new applications over an extensive period of time were increasing.

Transformative Learning and Ancient Asian Educational Perspectives

Scholars and practitioners all seem to agree that andragogy is not the only perspective and model in the field of adult learning. We no longer think of learning as democratic styles and methods versus authoritarian styles and methods. Rather, we now think of learning as a reflective process where learners may engage their whole body and mind in a critical manner. Worldwide, there are many rich traditions that we can contrast the theory of transformative learning with to improve our understanding, appreciation, application, and further research of this theory to practice. This chapter explores the connections of Ancient Asian educational perspectives with transformative learning for these purposes.