Adult learning and self-directed learners

Abstract

Effective teachers recognise and realise that adult learning is facilitated by the teacher. Brookfield has debated the subject of adult learning at length, providing many examples. Grow's Staged Self-Directed Learning model builds on work by Hersey and is a helpful way to look at tensions that can arise if the learner's and teacher's levels are not matched. Some students appear to be Stage 4 self-directed learners, but turn out to be highly dependent students in a state of defiance. A group of highly resistant learners can coerce teachers into an authoritarian mode, and then frustrate them, at the same time being dependent on teachers and resentful of being taught. Work-based learning aligns with the principles of adult learning and represents the most accessible opportunities for self-directed learning during clinical work. The self-directed learner will take note of the patients they see and find out what subsequently happens during the care episode.