How do adults learn

How Do Adults Learn?

The Big Picture….outcomes

Refresh knowledge and encourage CPD:

• Inside the brain – mysteries of learning • How we remember and forget• Making learning stick• Dominance• Styles• Pyramid• Attention span• Accelerated Learning

Link to your training experiences

1. Three things you could do to enhance the delegate’s learning?

2. Two things you could do that would reduce the delegate’s learning?

Brain Quiz…..Brain numbers answers: 18, 100,000, 75, 25, 100 billion, 300+ 1. Number of ? miles of blood vessels2. Your brain is ? % water3. It uses ? % of your energy4. Number of neurons ?5. Speed ? mph info. passes around your brain5. It stopped growing at ? age but is constantly rewiring itself6. When is your brain more active? Awake or asleep?7. Always creates true memories? 8. Your brain can not feel any pain?9. When you’re asleep it creates a hormone to paralyse you?10. Japanese researches may soon be able to put your thoughts and dreams onto a screen?

Brain Development

Reptilian

LimbicSystem

Neo-Cortex

* higher order thinking* problem- solving* understand meaning

* emotions* long term memory

* basic survival

The effect of stress and emotions on the brain…?

Stress:• Causes the brain to go Reptilian… • Blocks the Neo-Cortex and Limbic Systems

Emotions: • The on/off switch to accessing higher learning• Produces creativity….or anxiety

Memory - welcome to the Neuron…..

You have 100,000,000,000 of them in your brain

Memory

Three levels of memory1. Sensory: Holds information for a few seconds or less

2. Short-term: Hold information up to a minute Q: How many items can ST remember at any one time? Let’s test it…….

MemoryHow Many Words Can You Remember?

Plugs Lamp Apple Table Sway Plugs

Army Bank Fire Hold Worm Army

Clock Horse Colour Baby Sword Clock

Desk Hold Find Bird Rock Desk

Nine Swap Cell Ring Lust Nine

Memory

3. Long-term:

• Capacity to hold information is immeasurably large

• Information can be retained indefinitely

Forgetting Curve

Making Learning Memorable

• Demonstration

• Reading

• Teach others

• Lecture

• Discussion

• Audio-visual

• Practice doing

5%

sequencing

logic

facts

feelings

maths

language

words of songs

tune of songs

think in words

creativit

y

whole picture

arts

imagination

day-dreaming

see it

talk it

Left or Right brain Dominance?

Learning Styles

Flat Pack ….How do you go about assembling it?

Learning StylesVisual Learners:• Think in terms of pictures • Visual tools effective;• Handouts, text, slides, graphs etc

Auditory Learners:• Learn best by listening or speaking• Lectures, discussions, reading aloud etc

Learning Styles

Kinaesthetic Learners (tactile):• Learn best through touching, feeling and

experiencing that which they are trying to learn

• They remember best by writing or physically manipulating the information

Your Attention Span

Question: How long is the average delegates attention span?

15-20 minutes…..

In a session, when is learning at the best:Start, middle, end ?

BEM

What are the Implications for training?

Chunking• Break up the session into 15-20 minute mini-

sessions

• Separate the mini sessions by something active or different (ie review learning) lasting only 2-5 minutes

• To refresh the attention span

Accelerated Learning Cycle