Developing Adult Learners: Strategies for Teachers and Trainers [Hardcover]

"...One of the most practical, down-to-earth guides to effective adult instruction to appear in the last three decades, this book is a must for anyone concerned about helping adult learners to experience developmental growth in any context..." (Choice)

"An absolutely indispensable trove of practical, concrete ideas for teaching and training adults. Enough theorizing and mythologizing! This is the real stuff!" (Laurent A. Parks Daloz, associate director, the Whidbey Institute, and author of Mentor: Guiding the Journey of Adult Learners)

"This book gives us educators and trainers of adults a solid framework for intentionally incorporating into our practice what we believe to be a central tenet of what we do--help learners develop and change. The wealth of practical strategies provided within this framework affords us a rich and well developed bank of materials from which to draw, no matter the content we teach or the setting in which we work. It is a highly useful resource that both new and experienced educators of adults need to pay attention to and apply in their practice as instructors and facilitators of learning." (Rosemary S. Caffarella, professor, Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Northern Colorado, and coauthor of Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide)

"Developing Adult Learners will be an invaluable resource for teachers and trainers wanting to build their practice on sound knowledge of adult development and learning. Its strengths are its practicality and its jargon-free style. The many helpful exercises and strategies suggested throughout the book can be used immediately to support adult development and learning in a range of different settings." (Stephen Brookfield, Distinguished Professor, University of St. Thomas, and coauthor of Discussion as a Way of Teaching)

"Most training is based on ideas about adult learners that are vague and often just plain wrong. Here is a book that will put you on target. Drawing on the best and most recent research on adult learning and development, the authors provide ways to align your training and development work with the ways that people actually learn and grow. A very solid and useful book." (William Bridges, author of Transitions, Managing Transition, and JobShift)

"The authors have achieved the rare feat of masterfully linking applied examples and explanations with scholarly literature--a balance that should prove equally valuable to beginning and experienced adult educators. This book should be a welcome addition to the libraries of teachers and trainers, as well as adult education policymakers and theorists worldwide." (Philip C. Candy, professor and deputy vice-chancellor (scholarship), University of Ballarat, Australia)

2001 Winner of the Phillip E. Frandson Award for Literature in Continuing Education

"An absolutely indispensable trove of practical, concrete ideas for teaching and training adults. Enough theorizing and mythologizing! This is the real stuff!"
—Laurent A. Parks Daloz, associate director, the Whidbey Institute, and author of Mentor: Guiding the Journey of Adult Learners

"This book gives us educators and trainers of adults a solid framework for intentionally incorporating into our practice what we believe to be a central tenet of what we do—help learners develop and change."
—Rosemary S. Caffarella, professor, Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Northern Colorado, and coauthor of Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide

Today's adult educators recognize that it is no longer sufficient for teachers to teach and trainers to train. This practical guide shows how to encourage learning and development while helping adult learners to become more aware of their personal growth and change. It not only offers a rationale for focusing on the experience and development of adult learners, but also presents a theoretical and conceptual framework of the intentions that guide educators.

The authors provide nearly seventy instructional activities--some of which can be done in a single session and others that can be done in a series of sessions or an entire course. These flexible activities are organized according to their focus on a particular learning strategy. No matter the content or setting, readers can select any activity and customize it to suit their developmental and instructional objectives. Most important, Developing Adult Learners highlights the compelling voices of teachers and students who have discovered the excitement of growing and changing through learning. It is full of pragmatic advice for faculty members, part-time instructors, workplace educators, leadership trainers, and anyone dedicated to helping adult learners achieve rich and rewarding experiences.