The Adult Learner: Some Things We Know (In A Nutshell Series)

Discover strategies that work with the adult learner!

Based on the authors’ 20 years of combined experience, this illuminating text examines the challenge of teaching adults and reveals what really works when leading professional development training for educators. Ideal for new and aspiring staff developers, this resource presents research-based adult learner theory and reviews assumptions about adult learners, principles that guide adult learning practices, and adult responses to change. The authors discuss all aspects of adult training, including:

• Roles people play in group processes
• The three-tiered change process
• The evolution of professional development models
• Levels of information transfer to the classroom

The Adult Learner: Some Things We Know addresses the "warrior" who rises to the challenge of teaching the adult learner. The discussion is designed as a catalyst for dialogue about the adult learner and to uncover the complexities of teaching this rare and riveting species.

This book is organized around three interlocking themes: some things we know about the adult learner; some things we know about change; and some things we know about professional development. In the process of reading the book, the reader gets a glimpse into the research that supports the theory of the adult learner, into the principles that guide the learning practices of the adult learner, and into the strategies that "work in the work setting" for the adult learner.

Robin Fogarty, Ph.D., is president of Robin Fogarty and Associates, Ltd., a Chicago-based, minority-owned, educational publishing/consulting company. Her doctorate is in curriculum and human resource development from Loyola University of Chicago. A leading proponent of the thoughtful classroom, Robin has trained educators throughout the world in curriculum, instruction and assessment strategies. She has taught at all levels, from kindergarten to college, served as an administrator, and consulted with state departments and ministries of education in the United States, Puerto Rico, Russia, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Great Britain, Singapore, Korea and the Netherlands. Robin has published articles in Educational Leadership, Phi Delta Kappan and the Journal of Staff Development.  She is the author of numerous publications, including Brain-Compatible Classrooms, Ten Things New Teachers Need, Literacy Matters,  How to Integrate the Curricula,  The Adult Learner, A Look at Transfer, Close the Achievement Gap, Twelve Brain Principles, Nine Best Practices, and From Staff Room to Classroom: A Guide to Designing and CoachingProfessional Development.