GROOVE Toolkit_Final Version_090223

60 www.grooveproject.eu This project has been funded with support from the European Commission under the Erasmus+ Programme. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. [Project Number: 2021-1-CY01-KA220-VET-000033254] Knowles expanded upon this by providing advice for those providing adult education. This advice gives general oversight of the needs of adults while being educated: • Involve adult learners in both the planning and assessment of their training; • Learning is based on practice (both successes and mistakes); • Topics that have immediate applicability and effect on their personal and professional lives are most interesting to adult learners; and, • Adults learn better with problem-orientated education rather than content-orientated education (Pappas, 2013). These are important considerations to remember when planning lessons for adult learners. Many adult learners are pursuing education because it is necessary to know these skills for their everyday life – both at work and at home (EPALE, 2020). These motivations are important to understand when forming lesson plans as adult learners have different educational needs than children. Exploring Knowles’ pillars we can see that adult learners learn better when allowed to experiment with the educational material directly through problem-solving and hands-on experience. This is why experiential learning is highly successful with adult learners. Kolb & Experiential Learning Cycle An educational style that is helpful for adult education is experiential learning. Sometimes called learning through discovery, experiential learning was developed by David Kolb in 1984 and is based on a four-stage cycle of learning around educating through repetition. This process involves gaining new skills that can then be applied flexibly in a range of situations. Experiential learning is usually represented by a four-stage learning cycle in which learners discover by ‘touching all the bases’ of the cycle (McLeod, 2013). The four stages involve steps carried out by the learner to absorb as much information through practical use as possible: Concrete Experience Reflective Observation Abstract Conceptualisation Active Experimentation Figure 6 - Experiential Learning Cycle