The ABCs of Adult Learning: 10 Theories Every Educator Should Know

In his 1970 book, The Modern Practice of Adult Education, Malcolm Knowles emphasized that education should enhance adults’ ability to tackle challenges.

This learner-centered approach was revolutionary and laid the groundwork for many other adult learning theories that have since emerged, each offering distinct approaches and strategies.

Read on to see how these frameworks can help you customize your educational content and practices to better align with the diverse experiences of your students and increase learner engagement and knowledge retention.

TL;DR

Adult learning theories focus on how adults acquire new skills and knowledge differently from children.

The post covers the history of andragogy, key differences between adults’ and children’s learning processes, and ten influential theories that still shape adult education.

What Adult Learning Theories Are and How They Work

Adult learning theories are frameworks that explain how adults learn and gain new knowledge and skills, and what can be done to speed up the process and make it more effective.

These theories recognize that the firsthand knowledge the adults bring to the learning process influences how they engage with new information.

Adult Learning vs. Children’s Learning

Unlike children, who often learn for the sake of learning, adults are motivated by immediate needs and real-world applications. These fundamental differences between adult and child learning have led researchers and educators to develop specialized frameworks for understanding how adults learn most effectively.

What are Adult Learning Theories?

Adult learning theories are science-backed frameworks that explain how adults learn, in contrast to how children learn. The theories help educators create more effective training strategies.

While there are several adult learning theories today (like andragogy, transformational learning, and experiential learning), they all aim to help educators better understand how to facilitate adult learning processes and design a company training program that achieves better outcomes.

The educator Malcolm Knowles popularized the concept of adult learning theory in education or andragogy, in the 1980s.

Now, let’s take a closer look!

Andragogy: From Dependency to Autonomy

Creator: Malcolm Knowles  

Year of Creation: 1970

Overview: 

In andragogy, adults are viewed as autonomous individuals motivated to learn by their needs; for them, practical application is a crucial aspect, making learning immediately relevant.

Key assumptions: 

• Adults naturally take charge of their own educational paths and are accountable for the choices they make regarding their learning.
• They carry personal and professional experiences that form a vital backdrop for their new learning endeavors.
• Adults are eager to gain knowledge that addresses immediate, real-world issues or fulfills their professional needs.
• Learning should focus on solving practical problems or completing tasks, prioritizing real-world application over theoretical concepts.
• Adults are generally driven by intrinsic factors such as personal fulfillment and self-worth, rather than external incentives.
• Before investing time in learning something new, they need to grasp its relevance and significance in their lives. 

Thus, the instructor shifts from being a lecturer or content provider to serving as a facilitator or resource. 

Their goal is to create a collaborative environment where learners take an active, self-driven part in their education.

Implementation tip: 

Prioritize the interests, experiences, and goals of adult learners: offer choices in assignments, project topics, or learning modalities (e.g., group work vs. independent study). Then, facilitate discussions that allow learners to share their experiences and help them connect new concepts with what they already know.

Self-Directed Learning: Charting Your Own Course

Creator: Malcolm Knowles  

Year of Creation: 1975

Overview: 

Besides general andragogy, Malcolm Knowles contributed significantly to the concept of self-directed learning, emphasizing the role of learners in managing their own educational processes.

Key assumptions: 

• Learners have the authority to choose what they study, how they approach it, and when they engage with the material.
• Each individual establishes their own educational goals and targets.
• Instead of merely absorbing information, learners take an active role in investigating subjects and sourcing materials.
• They also consistently review their advancement and modify their approaches as needed.

Here, educators play a supportive role rather than a traditional instructive one. 

They act as coaches, providing guidance, resources, and feedback to help learners navigate their learning paths and create an environment for exploration and self-reflection.

Implementation tip:

Prepare tools and frameworks that will help employees set clear goals, create action plans, and track their progress.

Encourage collaboration and connection via digital platforms and add-ons. 

Experiential Learning

Creator: David Kolb 

Year of creation: 1984

Overview:

David Kolb developed his theory based on the idea that learning is a 4-stage cycle, where knowledge is acquired through experience, reflection, conceptualization, and experimentation. 

This approach emphasizes hands-on involvement paired with critical evaluation to convert experiences into significant learning opportunities. 

Key assumptions:

• The learner is an active participant, not a passive receiver of information.
• Learning bridges the gap between academic theory and practical, real-world application.
• Learning requires reflecting on experiences to gain a deeper understanding.
• Learning is a continuous process that occurs in all life settings.

In the context of experiential learning, the educator serves as a facilitator, designing activities that provide learners with hands-on experiences relevant to the subject matter.

Pros and cons of experiential learning

Implementation tip: 

Find ways to connect your classroom or your learners’ computers to real work locations. Create realistic scenarios and digital simulations to enable collaboration among learners and engage them in reflective conversations about their experiences. 

Transformative Learning: A Journey of Change

Creator: Jack Mezirow

Year of creation: 1978

Overview:

This theory explains how learners undergo deep, fundamental shifts in their worldview, beliefs, and assumptions when confronted with new experiences or information that challenges their perspectives.

It describes the process of critical reflection on one’s own experiences, moving beyond simply acquiring knowledge to restructuring understanding, often triggered by a “disorienting dilemma” and leading to more inclusive and empathetic ways of seeing the world.

Key assumptions:

• Learners must start with critical reflection to challenge their existing beliefs and assumptions. 
• They take an active role in exploring new ideas and integrating them into their lives.
• Engaging in dialogue with others is also essential for gaining new insights and perspectives.

Educators guide learners, helping them cope with disorientation and address the complexities of their thoughts and feelings.

Implementation tip:

Create physical or digital spaces where learners can confront their dilemmas safely. Then, follow up on these experiences with structured critical reflection sessions to allow learners to process their feelings and thoughts, leading to deeper insights.

Social Learning: Observation and Response

Creator: Albert Bandura 

Year of creation: 1977

Overview:

This theory suggests that individuals acquire new behaviors, attitudes, and emotional responses by watching and emulating others in a social environment. 

It posits that learning takes place through observation, imitation, and cognitive functions (such as attention, memory, and motivation), rather than solely through direct experiences or rewards.

Key assumptions:

• People gain knowledge and skills by observing role models, such as parents, educators, peers, and media figures, and then replicating their actions.
• For effective learning to take place, four key processes must occur: Attention (noticing the behavior), Retention (storing it in memory), Motor Reproduction (carrying out the behavior), and Motivation (the desire to engage in the behavior).
• Individuals are more inclined to adopt certain behaviors if they witness others receiving positive reinforcement for those actions.

Educators pose thought-provoking questions and foster discussions that help students connect ideas and learn from one another.

Implementation tip:

Develop and implement peer teaching strategies, and pair students with different strengths to enhance the learning experience for everyone involved.

Connect learners with peers in different locations, enabling them to share ideas, resources, and feedback via online platforms. 

Cognitive Learning: Putting Mind Over Matter

Creator: Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky

Year of creation: 1920s–1970s (Piaget), 1920s–1930s (Vygotsky)

Overview:

Cognitive learning is an interactive and mental-focused approach to education that emphasizes the ways that individuals think, comprehend, and process information, moving beyond mere rote memorization. 

This method engages the mind to forge enduring connections between new insights and prior knowledge, thereby enhancing problem-solving abilities, memory retention, and critical thinking skills.

Key assumptions:

• Learners engage with material by thinking critically, observing closely, and tackling problems.
• Integration of new ideas with previously acquired knowledge promotes a deeper, more meaningful understanding.
• Memory, attention, and perception are often more important than observable behaviors.

The educator serves as a guide and support system, creating settings that promote the active development of knowledge instead of passive absorption. 

They connect new concepts with learners’ existing mental structures (schemas), stimulate critical thinking by posing questions, and encourage the development of problem-solving abilities.

Implementation tip:

Break down complex information into smaller, manageable units or related groups (e.g., categories, lists), and introduce these concepts by building upon prior knowledge, starting with simpler ideas before moving on to more complex ones.

Constructivism: Building Your Own Base

Creator: Jerome Bruner, Lev Vygotsky 

Year of creation: 1960

Overview:

Constructivism asserts that learners actively build their own comprehension and insights about the world by engaging with experiences and reflecting on them, rather than passively absorbing information. 

It suggests that new knowledge is integrated into existing frameworks of understanding (schemas) through mechanisms such as assimilation and accommodation.

Key assumptions:

• New information is built upon what learners already know, serving as a foundation for further comprehension.
• The process of learning often involves social interactions, discussions, and teamwork.
• Learning experiences should be relevant and connected to the learner’s context.

Instructors and educators provide scaffolding (temporary support that diminishes as the learner becomes more proficient) to bridge existing knowledge with new concepts.

Implementation tip:

Shift the responsibility of finding information to the student, focusing on how to locate relevant resources rather than merely obtaining factual knowledge. Encourage debate and the synthesis of different perspectives, treating knowledge as something that emerges from varied viewpoints. 

Use platforms like Twitter or LinkedIn to share information, have discussions, and connect learners with industry experts.

Multiple Intelligences: Beyond Mere IQ 

Creator: Howard Gardner

Year of creation: 1983

Overview:

The theory rightly suggests that human intelligence comprises a variety of separate and unique abilities. 

It recognizes at least eight forms of intelligence: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalist. 

This perspective indicates that people have diverse strengths, acquire knowledge in distinct ways, and tackle challenges through different cognitive strategies.

Key assumptions:

• Rather than being defined by one overarching skill, individuals exhibit a range of cognitive strengths.  
• The verbal and mathematical skills and the IQ score don’t fully define a learner’s potential.  
• Students can demonstrate their knowledge and understanding through projects, performances, or presentations — not just tests.

Educators must use diverse, multi-sensory materials (e.g., music, movement, journaling, group work) rather than a “one-size-fits-all” approach.

Implementation tip:

Instead of relying solely on lectures, incorporate videos, group work, hands-on activities, music, and field trips.

Use “choice boards” or project-based assessments that allow students to show their learning through their preferred intelligence (e.g., creating a song, building a model, writing a report).

Use surveys, inventories, or observation to understand which of the eight intelligences are dominant in your students.

Connectivism: Wired to Study

Creator: George Siemens, Stephen Downes 

Year of creation: 2005

Overview:

Connectivism claims that learning happens through the relationships formed within networks. 

It also highlights that knowledge exists not only within individuals but also in various external entities, such as databases and communities. 

The theory focuses on linking diverse sources of specialized information rather than merely memorizing facts.

Key assumptions:

• Knowledge is distributed across a network of individuals, websites, and databases, and effective learning involves the ability to navigate and leverage these connections.
• The ability to locate, filter, and utilize information (“know-where”) is more important than possessing static, outdated knowledge.
• Learners need to continuously update their knowledge, as information becomes outdated faster than before.

Educators guide, coach, and support learners, helping them manage complex information.

They also help them create personal learning networks (PLNs), directing them to experts, resources, and digital tools.

Implementation tip:

Use digital tools to help learners access information, with a focus on teaching them how to evaluate the credibility of sources.

Guide them to create their own posts, wikis, and networks to share knowledge with experts, peers, and online resources.

Situated Learning: Getting Contextualized Knowledge

Creator: Jean Lave, Etienne Wenger

Year of creation: 1991

Overview:

Situated learning theory states that learning is inherently a social activity that thrives in genuine, real-life situations rather than through abstract teaching methods. 

The theory focuses on the concept of “legitimate peripheral participation,” where learners transition from being beginners to experts by actively engaging in communities of practice.

Key assumptions:

•  Knowledge is deeply intertwined with the specific context, culture, and activities involved in its acquisition.
• Learning occurs within groups that share similar interests, where collaboration and interaction facilitate the development of knowledge.
• Learners begin at the edges of the community, observing and undertaking simple tasks, and gradually progress toward full engagement and mastery.

Educators guide students as they move from “legitimate peripheral participation” (novice) to full participation in a community.

They create learning environments that mimic real-world contexts (e.g., simulations, case studies, field trips) and break down complex, authentic problems into manageable parts to help learners develop skills incrementally.

Implementation tip:

Replace abstract lessons with real-world, complex, and ill-defined problems that require active engagement. Use simulations, internships, field trips, or case studies to mimic actual work environments.

Allow learners to begin as novices with simple, low-risk tasks on the periphery, gradually moving toward complex, central tasks as they gain proficiency.

Use tools like learning journals or post-activity discussions to help them connect their experience to theoretical concepts.

Choosing the Right Learning Theory for Your Audience, Goals, and Context

From andragogy to constructivism, the abovementioned frameworks are designed to enhance the learning experience and make it more effective. 

However, their successful implementation goes beyond surface-level understanding; it requires a deep awareness of your audience’s needs. 

For instance, if you’re training seasoned managers, andragogy can engage their experience effectively. Conversely, for new hires learning basic skills, experiential learning with clear feedback may be more appropriate.

The key to success is twofold: align your chosen theories with the skills and mindsets of your learners, and consider integrating multiple theories for a cohesive learning experience.

Useful Resources

Check out other articles about adult education on our blog:

• The 11 Best HR Tools for Streamlining Your Workflow
• What eLearning Is and How It Benefits Businesses
• The 70:20:10 Learning Model: How to Enhance It with Technology
• LMS Benefits for Recruiters, HR, Sales, and Commercial Directors
• The Ultimate Guide to Lecture Capture
• How to Build a Learning Culture