30 Things We Know For Sure About Adult Learners

30 Things We Know For Sure About Adult Learners

When Ron and Susan Zemke first presented the 30 Things We Know For Sure About Adult Learners in Innovations Abstracts in 1984, their work became the de facto standard for defining what we know about adult learners and their motivation and designing curriculum or classes to meet their needs. The applications for library services whether book clubs, information resources, computer and Internet instruction or databases can help determine success for the programs and for defining the needs of these users. Adult learners, according to the Zemkes, want to learn with their peers, be able to be self-directed and desire problem oriented solutions. They want to learn because they need information and they want to be able to apply it. They want self-directed studies with guides to facilitate their learning.
They don’t like to take risks, be embarrassed or feel intimidated by information with which they are not familiar, but are willing to take the time to learn skills and techniques.

This means, when we design library programs for adult or lifelong learners, we need to keep these preferences in mind and make them programs that fit this particular audience rather than programs we like or can manage. I would desperately like to begin computer use training for seniors in my library, but it would be better to have the whole plan set before starting something that cannot be done well. It means being sure that instructors are on the same page and can use the 30 things to inform their teaching.

How to do what should be done?

NCES study- Programs for Adults in Public Library Outlets: This report published by the National Center for Education Statistics in November 2002, presents data on programs for adults in public library outlets. NCES collected data from public library outlets in fall 2000 concerning three general areas of interest for adult programming: adult literacy programs, programs for adult lifelong learning, and Internet access for adult independent use. Programs were defined to mean planned activities for groups or individuals that are offered by libraries to provide information, instruction, or cultural enrichment. This report provides information about the extent to which public library outlets offer adult literacy programs, the types of literacy programs offered (adult basic literacy skills, pre-GED, GED, family literacy, and English as a second language instruction for adults), groups for which literacy programs are specifically offered, and reasons that library outlets do not offer adult literacy programs. Information is also provided about types of adult lifelong learning programs offered by public library outlets including book or film discussion, cultural performances, recreational activities, employment and career guidance, college/continuing education guidance, financial planning/investment information, parenting skills, citizenship preparation, and computer/Internet instruction. The report also presents information about the extent to which public library outlets provide access to the Internet to adults for their independent use, and barriers to providing such access. The results were indicated for public libraries overall and also by the size based on typical library patronage for a week and population size/density- rural or urban. Only 17% offered adult literacy programs, those primarily for ESOL training. Most indicated a lack of staff or resources as the primary impediment with about half also indicating that other area groups were providing that service. The training was more often done in an urban library setting. Lifelong learning programs as defined above were offered by more than half of the libraries with many of these geared primarily towards senior citizens.

We almost all provide some kind of book discussion group, may venture into a knitting or quilting group and provide some cultural performances for our adult patrons. Internet training can be a bit more of a challenge between providing accessible computers and trained instructors and the varying levels of comfort the students may have with technology. It cannot be argued that the digital divide has definitely excluded many of our senior citizens and efforts need to be made to bridge the gap. The challenge is, as is so often the case with rural libraries and the small budgets and spaces we live with, how to squeeze one more thing from the rock…

http://www.nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2003010