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Enhancing
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Motivation
to Learn
A Comprehensive Guide for
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Enhancing Adult Motivation
to Learn
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Raymond J. Wlodkowski
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Enhancing
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Motivation
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A Comprehensive Guide for
Teaching All Adults
Third Edition
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Copyright 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by Jossey-Bass
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Chapter One epigraph from The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter by Vivian G. Paley.
Copyright 1990 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Reprinted by permission of
Harvard University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Wlodkowski, Raymond J.
Enhancing adult motivation to learn : a comprehensive guide for teaching all adults /
Raymond J. Wlodkowski. —3rd ed.
p. cm. —(The Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7879-9520-1 (cloth)
1.
Motivation in adult education. I. Title.
LC5219.W53 2008
374.001 9—dc22
2007049555
Printed in the United States of America
third edition
HB Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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The Jossey-Bass
Higher and Adult Education Series
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Contents
Preface
The Author
1. Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
2. Understanding How Aging and Culture Affect
Motivation to Learn
3. Characteristics and Skills of a Motivating
Instructor
4. What Motivates Adults to Learn
5. Establishing Inclusion among Adult Learners
6. Helping Adults Develop Positive Attitudes
toward Learning
7. Enhancing Meaning in Learning Activities
8. Engendering Competence among Adult Learners
9. Building Motivational Strategies into
Instructional Designs
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31
49
95
125
171
225
309
377
Epilogue: Ethical Considerations for an Instructor
of Adults
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Contents
Appendix: Observation Guide for Culturally Responsive
Teaching and Learning (Adult Version)
439
Margery B. Ginsberg
References
Name Index
Subject Index
445
483
491
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Preface
When I wrote the last edition of this book, the question that
guided its conception was, How can instructors help all adults to
learn? If we consider only age, income, and ethnicity and race, we
have had societal changes in the last ten years that have expanded
this challenge significantly. Demographic trends and immigration
have increased the diversity of adults throughout postsecondary
and workforce education. More adult learners than ever before are
English-language learners. The number of younger nontraditional
learners and older adult learners in formal educational settings is the
highest it has ever been in the history of this country. Among these
learners are higher proportions of low-income students as well.
Although the enrollment rates for Latino and African American
adult learners in two- and four-year colleges have grown, fewer
than a quarter of those who enroll complete their degrees.
The increased linguistic and cultural diversity make teaching
adults today more exciting than ever before. We have more to
learn from each other and more ways to do it better. Our potential
as instructors has evolved with greater knowledge in multicultural
studies, cognitive and biological sciences, assessment practices,
online learning, use of the Internet, and the opportunity to use
brain-imaging technology to study learning as it happens.
We continue to have a responsibility to create learning environments that sustain the integrity of all learners as they attain
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relevant educational success. I am convinced that in conjunction
with educational policies that promote the common good, a powerful means to helping all adults learn is to go to the source, to
the energy—to human motivation. All adults want to make sense
of their world, to find meaning, and to be effective at what they
value—this is what fuels their motivation to learn. The key to
effective instruction is to evoke and encourage the natural inclination in all adults, whatever their background or socialization, to be
competent in matters they hold to be important.
As in the last edition, the model in this book for teaching
and planning instruction focuses on how to continually enhance
intrinsic motivation among all learners as part of the instructional
process. Dr. Margery Ginsberg and I developed the Motivational
Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching in 1994. It is based
on the principle that learning and motivation are inseparable
from culture. For over a decade, the framework has been applied
nationally and internationally with productive learning outcomes.
The Third Edition of Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn is
designed to be a practical and immediately usable resource for
faculty, trainers, educators, and staff developers whose primary task
is instructing adults in universities and community colleges, in professional and industrial settings, and in community organizations.
This book will also be very useful to part-time as well as full-time
faculty and administrators.
As in the earlier editions, deepening learner motivation and
helping adults want to learn are the major topics throughout this
text. Within the last few years, the number of books about teaching
adults seems to have doubled, but this is the only volume focusing
on motivation as a constant positive influence during learning. In
the chapters that follow, you will learn how to teach or train in
ways that make the enhancement of intrinsic motivation an essential
part of adult learning. Four chapters describe in detail sixty tested
strategies for eliciting and encouraging learner motivation. You can
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choose the strategies that best apply to your content and learning
situation.
Among the important additions are insights and examples from
the past nine years of application of the motivational framework
and the strategies introduced in the previous edition. With applications ranging from postsecondary education to communications
technology, in cities from Toronto to Tokyo, ideas advocated in
this book have been tried and tested. The results have not been
excellent every single time. Through correspondence and on-site
visits, I have learned the framework’s limitations and advantages and gained a more nuanced understanding of what can be
accomplished when teaching is focused on strengthening intrinsic
motivation during learning.
What is most exciting to me about this new edition is the
integration of a neuroscientific understanding of motivation and
learning within an instructional model responsive to linguistically
and culturally different adult learners. The research emerging from
a biological perspective of learning is used to provide insight and
confirm educational practices grounded in knowledge about adult
education, the social sciences, and multicultural studies. We are at
the beginning of a reciprocal relationship among adult education,
biology, and cognitive science, and each has much to learn from
the other (Fischer and others, 2007).
This edition has greatly benefited from instructors who use this
book as a text for their courses. Their experience and suggestions
continue to guide its development. As requested, there are more
practical examples and case studies to illustrate the motivational
framework and its strategies. In this edition, the sections relating
to feedback, self-regulation, and transfer of learning are also more
substantive than in earlier editions.
Any instructor who has searched for a straightforward, true-tolife, and useful book on how to enhance adult motivation for learning should find this book helpful. Because the focus of the book is
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on motivation and instruction, it does not discuss philosophy, curriculum, or policy in depth. However, there are references to allow
interested readers to pursue further study in most of these areas.
This book is mainly about face-to-face instruction. It can be used
for online learning because the motivational framework and most
of the strategies are applicable to this format. I have worked with
many instructional designers for online learning, and an example
of their instructional plans is included in the Chapter Nine.
Some promises to you the reader:
• A minimal amount of jargon. With the growth of technology in adult education and a neuroscientific perspective as part of this edition, I have had to work hard to
keep this commitment.
• A little bit of humor. It’s still great to have some fun
while you’re learning.
• Many examples. Instructors and learners continue to
ask for more.
• A practical and consistent way to design instruction that can
enhance adult motivation to learn any content or skill. This
is my professional raison d’etre. I have co-taught courses
in disciplines as removed from my background as dye-casting
and electronics to continue to extend this commitment.
• Motivation theory and methods positively supported by
my own experience Instructors have appreciated this
characteristic of the book. Nonetheless, please keep
in mind that my experience is not unlimited.
• A way to teach that respects the integrity of every learner This
promise is a lifelong work in progress. And I do have
mishaps, faux pas, and mistakes. I continue to videotape my teaching to see if I do as I advocate: to make
the learner’s history, experience, and perspective an
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essential consideration that permeates this approach to
instruction.
Overview of the Contents
This book focuses on the most important ideas and information
to make effective instruction a consistent motivational process
that enables optimal learning for culturally diverse adults and their
instructors. Chapter One offers a neuroscientific understanding of
motivation and learning with discussion and definitions of the
physiology of the brain. It also explores the intersection of cultural
relevance, adult learning, intrinsic motivation, and neuroscientific
understanding, concluding with a view of how instruction can be
a path to improving educational success for all adults.
Chapter Two addresses the characteristics of adult learners,
with particular attention to age, culture, and memory. There are
overviews of different orientations to adult intelligences including
multiple intelligences, practical intelligence, and emotional intelligence. The last part of the chapter offers a rationale for using a
macrocultural approach to adult instruction and learning.
Chapter Three discusses the core characteristics—expertise,
empathy, enthusiasm, clarity, and cultural responsiveness—that
are necessary for a person to be a motivating instructor. The
chapter outlines performance criteria for each characteristic so
that you can comprehend, assess, and learn the behaviors that are
prerequisites to enhancing learner motivation. It concludes with
Paulo Freire’s conception of critical consciousness as a guide to
creating a learning environment that contributes to the common
good of society.
Chapter Four introduces the four conditions—inclusion, attitude, meaning, and competence— that substantially enhance adult
motivation to learn. These motivational conditions are dynamically integrated into the Motivational Framework for Culturally
Responsive Teaching, a model of motivational theory in action.
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This model is also an organizational aid for designing instruction.
The framework provides guiding questions for creating instruction
that elicits diverse adults’ motivation to learn throughout a course
or training session.
Chapters Five through Eight provide the central content of this
book. Each chapter provides comprehensive treatment of one of
the motivational conditions: inclusion is covered in Chapter Five,
attitude in Chapter Six, meaning in Chapter Seven, and competence in Chapter Eight. These chapters describe in pragmatic terms
how each motivational condition can positively influence learning
among culturally diverse adults. They also describe and exemplify
a total of sixty specific motivational strategies to engender each
of the motivational conditions. Where applicable, I discuss each
strategy in terms of its cultural relevance, neuroscientific support,
and how it relates to adult learners. In most instances the strategies
are referenced to further readings that provide research findings
and examples of their use in educational settings.
Chapter Nine summarizes the previous chapters with an outline of all the motivational strategies and their specific purposes.
In addition, it explains two ways to use the Motivational Framework for instructional planning, the superimposed method and the
source method. The chapter also provides five real-life examples
of instructional planning with discussions of how each plan has
been designed, using the framework and motivational strategies
from the book. With a discussion of the growing literature on
self-directed learning and self-regulated learning, this concluding
chapter presents useful suggestions for increasing the capacity for
lifelong learning among adults. The book ends with an epilogue
addressing the ethical responsibility of being an effective instructor
of adults.
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Acknowledgments
This edition has benefited from the insightful suggestions of
instructors, trainers, and students who have read and used this book.
Although they have had faith in its merits, they have also spoken
to its flaws. I am particularly grateful to David Brightman, senior
editor of the Higher and Adult Education Series at Jossey-Bass,
for his continuing support of this project and for his enormous
patience and guidance. I also want to express my appreciation to
Erin Null, editorial assistant at Jossey-Bass, for her responsiveness
and care, which contributed to the ease of completing this work.
In addition, I want to thank my friends and colleagues at Regis
University, George Brown College, and Edgewood College, where
I could apply these ideas in earnest and with the benefit of their
good will and support. Finally, I wish to thank Margery, Matthew,
and Dan for continuing to bring light to my eyes and warmth to
my soul throughout this and many other adventures.
Raymond J. Wlodkowski
Seattle, Washington
December 2007
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The Author
Raymond J. Wlodkowski is Professor Emeritus at Regis University,
Denver, where he was formerly director of the Center for the Study
of Accelerated Learning and executive director and founding member of the Commission for Accelerated Programs. He is a licensed
psychologist who has taught at universities in Denver, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Seattle. His work encompasses adult motivation and
learning, cultural diversity, and professional development. He lives
in Seattle and conducts seminars for colleges and organizations
throughout North America.
Wlodkowski received his Ph.D. in educational psychology from
Wayne State University and has authored numerous articles,
chapters, and books. Among them are Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn (Jossey-Bass, 1985), the first edition of which received
the Phillip E. Frandson Award for Literature; and Diversity and
Motivation (Jossey-Bass, 1995), which he coauthored with Margery
Ginsberg. Three of his books have been translated into Spanish,
Japanese, and Chinese. Wlodkowski has also worked extensively
in video production. He is the author of six professional development programs, including Motivation to Learn, winner of the
Clarion Award from the Association for Women in Communications for the best training and development program in 199l. He
has received the Award for Outstanding Research from the Adult
Higher Education Alliance, the Award for Teaching Excellence
from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, and the Faculty
Merit Award for Excellence from Antioch University, Seattle.
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1
Understanding Motivation
for Adult Learners
None of us are to be found in sets of tasks or lists of
attributes; we can be known only in the unfolding of
our unique stories within the context of everyday
events.
Vivian Gussin Paley
L
ike the national economy, human motivation is a topic that
people know is important, continuously discuss, and would like
to predict. We want to know why people do what they do. But
just as tomorrow’s inflationary trend seems beyond our influence
and understanding, so too do the causes of human behavior evade
any simple explanation or prescription. We have invented a word
to label this elusive topic—motivation. Its definition varies among
scholars depending on their discipline and orientation. Most social
scientists see motivation as a concept that explains why people
think and behave as they do (Weiner, 1992). Many philosophers
and religious thinkers have a similar understanding of motivation
but use metaphysical assumptions to explain its dynamics.
Today, discoveries in the neurosciences offer a biological basis
for what motivation is. Although this understanding is very far from
complete, what we know about the working of the brain can enrich
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Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn
and integrate fields as disparate as psychology and philosophy. From
a biological perspective, motivation is a process that ‘‘determines
how much energy and attention the brain and body assign to a
given stimulus—whether it’s a thought coming in or a situation
that confronts one’’ (Ratey, 2001, p. 247). Motivation binds
emotion to action. It creates as well as guides purposeful behavior
involving many systems and structures within the brain and body
(Ratey, 2001).
Motivation is basic to our survival. It is the natural human
process for directing energy to accomplish a goal. What makes
motivation somewhat mysterious is that we cannot see it or touch it
or precisely measure it. We have to infer it from what people say and
do. We look for signs—effort, perseverance, completion—and we
listen for words: ‘‘I want to . . .,’’ ‘‘We will . . .,’’ ‘‘You watch, I’ll give
it my best!’’ Because perceiving motivation is, at best, uncertain,
there are different opinions about what motivation really is.
As educators, we know that understanding why people behave
as they do is vitally important to helping them learn. We also know
that culture, the deeply learned mix of language, beliefs, values,
and behaviors that pervades every aspect of our lives, significantly
influences our motivation. What we learn within our cultural
groups shapes the physical networks and systems throughout our
brains to make us unique individuals and culturally diverse people.
Social scientists regard the cognitive processes as inherently cultural (Rogoff and Chavajay, 1995). The language we use to think,
the way we travel through our thoughts, and how we communicate
cannot be separated from cultural practices and cultural context.
Even experiencing a feeling as a particular emotion, such as sadness
or joy or jealousy, is likely to have been conceptually learned in the
cultural context of our families and peers as we developed during
childhood and adolescence (Barret, 2005).
Roland Tharp (Tharp and Gallimore, 1988) tells the story of
an adult education English class in which the Hmong students
themselves would supply a known personal context for fictional
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
examples. When the teacher used a fictional Hmong name during
language practice, the students invariably stopped the lesson to
check with one another about who this person might be in the
Hmong community. With a sense of humor, these adults brought,
as all adults do, their personal experience to the classroom. We are
the history of our lives, and our motivation is inseparable from our
learning, which is inseparable from our cultural experience.
Being motivated means being purposeful. We use attention,
concentration, imagination, passion, and other processes to pursue
goals, such as learning a particular subject or completing a degree.
How we arrive at our goals and how processes such as our passion
for a subject take shape are, to some extent, culturally bound to
what we have learned in our families and communities.
Seeing human motivation as purposeful allows us to create a
knowledge base about effective ways to help adults begin learning,
make choices about and give direction to their learning, sustain
learning, and complete learning. Thus, we are dealing with issues
of motivation when we as instructors ask such questions as, What
can I do to help these learners get started? and, What can I do
to encourage them to put more effort into their learning? and,
How can I create a relevant learning activity? However, because
of the impact of culture on their motivation, the way we answer
these questions will likely vary related to the different cultural
backgrounds of the learners.
Although there have been attempts to organize and simplify
the research knowledge regarding motivation to learn (Brophy,
2004; Stipek, 2002), instructors lack the resources and educational
models to consistently and sensitively influence the motivation of
linguistically and culturally different adult learners (Guy, 2005).
Both culturally responsive teaching (Wlodkowski and Ginsberg,
1995) and neuroscientific understanding of adult learning (Johnson
and Taylor, 2006) are recent areas of inquiry and practice in
adult education. As a result, instructors still tend to rely on their
experience, intuition, common sense, and trial and error. Because
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intuition and common sense are often based on tacit knowledge,
unarticulated understanding, and skills operating at a level below
full consciousness and learned within our cultural groups, such
knowledge can mislead us. Regrettably, some instructors in culturally diverse settings still grade for participation and believe students
should speak directly about personal or uncomfortable topics in
front of their peers. These teachers are not mean-spirited or rigid.
More likely, they are pragmatic. In general, they believe they get
more learner participation by grading for it, and they do not have
an effective alternative. And most important, such an approach
does not conflict with their values.
Without a model of culturally responsive instruction with
which to organize and assess their motivational practices, instructors cannot easily refine their teaching. What they learn about
motivation from experience on the job and from formal courses
is often fragmented and only partially relevant to the increasing
diversity in their classrooms and training sessions. However, there
are a significant number of well-researched ideas and findings that
can be applied to learning situations according to motivation principles. The following chapters thoroughly discuss many of these
motivational strategies and present a method to organize and apply
them in a manner sensitive to linguistic and cultural differences.
As we will see, current neuroscientific principles and research offer
considerable support for this model and its related ideas.
Why Motivation Is Important
We know motivation is important because throughout our lives
we have all seen the motivated person surpass the less-motivated
person in performance and outcome even though both have similar capability and the same opportunity. We know this from our
experience and observation. We know this as we know a rock is
hard and water is wet. We do not need reams of research findings to
establish this reality for us. When we do consult research, we find
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
that it generally supports our life experience regarding motivation.
To put it quite simply, when there is no motivation to learn, there
is no learning (Walberg and Uguroglu, 1980). In reality, motivation is not an either-or condition, but when motivation to learn is
very low, we can generally assume that potential learning will be
diminished.
Although there have been research studies of adult motivation to participate in adult education programs (Deshler, 1996;
Benseman, 2005), no major research studies thoroughly examine
the relationship between adult motivation and learning. If we define
motivation to learn as the tendency to find learning activities meaningful and worthwhile and to benefit from them—to try to make
sense of the information available, relate this information to prior
knowledge, and attempt to gain the knowledge and skills the activity develops (Brophy, 2004)—the best analyses of the relationship
of motivation to learning continue to be found in youth education.
In this field of research, there is substantial evidence that motivation is consistently positively related to educational achievement.
Uguroglu and Walberg (1979) performed a benchmark analysis
of 232 correlations of motivation and academic learning reported in
forty studies with a combined sample size of approximately 637,000
students in first through twelfth grades. They found that 98 percent
of the correlations between motivation and academic achievement
were positive. We can reasonably assume that if motivation bears
such a consistent relationship to learning for students as old as
eighteen years of age, it probably has a similar relationship to adult
learning. In support of this assumption, these researchers found
that the relationship between motivation and learning increased
with the age of the students and the highest correlations were in
the twelfth grade.
Perhaps scholars of adult education have been reluctant to
examine the relationship between learning and motivation because
the bond seems so obvious. As researchers have found (Pintrich,
1991), people motivated to learn are more likely to do things
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Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn
they believe will help them learn. They attend more carefully to
instruction. They rehearse material in order to remember it. They
take notes to improve their subsequent studying. They reflect on
how well they understand what they are learning and are more
likely to ask for help when they are uncertain. One needs little
understanding of psychology to realize that this array of activities
contributes to learning. In a study of adult learners in an urban university, researchers found that when adults perceived their courses
as supportive of intrinsic motivation, they were likely to receive
higher grades (Wlodkowski, Mauldin, and Gahn, 2001).
Motivation is important not only because it apparently improves
learning but also because it mediates learning and is a consequence
of learning as well. Psychologically and biologically, motivation and
learning are inseparable (Zull, 2002). Instructors have long known
that when learners are motivated during the learning process,
things go more smoothly, communication flows, anxiety decreases,
and creativity and learning are more apparent. Instruction with
motivated learners can actually be joyful and exciting, especially
for the instructor. Learners who complete a learning experience
feeling motivated about what they have learned seem more likely
to have a continuing interest in and to use what they have learned.
It is also logical to assume that the more numerous their motivating
learning experiences in a particular subject, the more probable it is
that people will become lifelong learners of that subject.
To maintain a realistic perspective, however, we need to
acknowledge that although some degree of motivation is necessary for learning, other factors—personal skill and quality of
instruction, for example— are also necessary for learning to occur.
If the learning tasks are well beyond their current skills or prior
knowledge, people will not be able to accomplish them, no matter
how motivated they are. In fact, at a certain point these mandatory learning factors, including motivation, are insufficient. For
example, if learners are involved in a genuinely challenging subject
for which they have the necessary capabilities, a point will come
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
at which further progress will require effort (motivation), whether
in the form of extra practice or increased study time, to make
further progress. Conversely, outstanding effort can be limited by
the learner’s capabilities or by the quality of instruction. Sports
are a common example for the limits of capabilities. Many athletes
make tremendous strides in a particular sport because of exemplary
effort but finally reach a level of competition at which their coordination or speed is insufficient for further progress. An example
of the influence of the quality of instruction is a learner who has
the capability and motivation to do well in math but is limited
by an obtuse textbook with culturally irrelevant examples and an
instructor who is unavailable for individual assistance. It is unwise
to romanticize or expect too much of motivation. Such a view can
limit our resourcefulness and increase our frustration.
One of the indicators of motivation that we most commonly
rely on as instructors is effort (Plaut and Markus, 2005). People
work longer and with more intensity when they are motivated
than when they are not (especially if there are obstacles). Motivated learners care more and concentrate better while they expend
effort, and they are more cooperative. They are therefore more
psychologically open to the learning material and better able to
process information. It is much easier to understand what you want
to understand. As Freud (1955, p. 435) said, ‘‘One cannot explain
things to unfriendly people.’’
However, it is important to remember that one’s cultural
background can influence perceptions of effort. For example, when
researchers asked what percentage of intelligence is due to natural
ability and what percentage to effort, the average percentage due to
effort reported by European Americans was 36 percent while Asian
Americans reported 45 percent (Heine and others, 2001). Because
we may vary to the extent that we recognize effort, as instructors
we need to be vigilant about seeing it because motivated learners
probably get more spontaneous encouragement and assistance from
instructors than unmotivated learners do. We are usually more
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Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn
willing to give our best effort when we know our learners are
giving their best effort, an important reciprocity that can affect an
entire class.
A Neuroscientific Understanding of Motivation
and Learning
What happens biologically when we are motivated to learn? The
neurosciences have confronted this question directly and provide
remarkable information about what happens within our brains and
bodies when we are learning. Although much of this knowledge
comes from laboratory studies and work with children (Merriam,
Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2007), much has been learned about
the basic structures of the brain and nervous system that provides
a biological understanding of motivation and learning. Although
this information is not definitive and has not been extensively
researched in terms of what happens when adults learn, there is
enough agreement in the field of neuroscience about basic structures and processes such as neuronal networks and the function of
neurotransmitters to inform teaching in adult education (Johnson
and Taylor, 2006).
This book aims to provide a primary understanding of this fundamental research and to use its findings to add support and insight
for those ideas that are within the realm of sound adult instructional
practice. Ultimately, our ideas about adult learning will need to be
considered in terms of their consistency with biological research
about learning. We need not make a scientific model preeminent
in adult education (Belzer and St. Clair, 2005), but we can use it
to strengthen and enrich our work.
An Overview of the Brain
At its most basic level, learning is a biological function, and
the brain is most responsible for this process. At this moment your
brain is engaged in seeing letters on this page, assembling them
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
into words, connecting those words with meaning, and forming
thoughts while it also blocks out distracting sounds like the air
conditioning, noises from the outside, and other people talking.
Your brain is doing not only all this, but it is also probably suppressing your attention to various odors, sights, and sensations, as
well as a few memories and your thoughts about what you might
do next after reading this passage. Your brain is also regulating
your breathing, blood pressure, and body temperature. And most of
the functions just mentioned are happening without any conscious
awareness on your part! The brain can do these many different
things simultaneously because it is so complex, possibly the most
complex object known to us.
Neurons
Recent estimates are that the adult brain has about 100 billion
neurons (Bloom, Nelson, and Lazerson, 2001). As illustrated in
Figure 1.1, neurons have a cell body, a single long branch known
as an axon, and multiple shorter branches called dendrites. The
junction where signals pass from one neuron to another is called
a synapse (see Figures 1.1 and 1.2). Current brain research supports
Synapse
Dendrites
Axon
Figure 1.1. Two Neurons Connecting
Source: Jensen, 2005. Used with permission.
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Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn
the idea that most learning and development occurs in the brain
through the process of strengthening and weakening synaptic
connections. Because each neuron may have anywhere from one to
ten thousand synaptic connections, the number of different patterns
of possible connections in the brain is about forty quadrillion, a
staggering number, literally beyond my comprehension.
Although there are other cells within the brain, such as glia
cells, the neurons are the basic functional cells that appear to
control learning. They encode, store, and retrieve information
as well as influence all aspects of human behavior (Squire and
Kandel, 2000). Neurons act like tiny batteries sending chemical
and electrical signals that create processes to integrate and generate
information (Jensen, 2005). The threshold for firing at the synapse
is determined by the amount of chemicals (called neurotransmitters)
released onto the receiving neurons (Bloom, Nelson, and Lazerson,
2001). At the synapse, these chemicals either excite the receiving
neurons and cause them to fire, or inhibit them from firing, or
Electrical impulse
Synaptic gap
Axon
terminal
Neurotransmitters
Receptors on
the dendrite
Figure 1.2. The Synapse
Source: Jensen, 2005. Used with permission.
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
modify their excitability. Examples of common neurotransmitters
are dopamine and epinephrine, which are involved in affecting our
emotions and mood.
At the most basic level, the extent to which a neuron is active
depends on the mass of its dendritic and axonal systems and its
overall chemical reactions. The total of all the neurotransmitters
arriving from all the dendrites to a neuron’s cell body at any moment
determines whether it will fire. When we learn something, such
as a new word or the name of a new acquaintance, connections
containing that information are made between neurons. Through
practice and repetition we strengthen the connections and ‘‘learn.’’
Neuroscientists have a cliché: ‘‘Neurons that fire together wire
together.’’ When we learn something, we are building networks of
neurons that represent what we are learning. According to Zull
(2002, p. 99), ‘‘It seems that every fact we know, every idea we
understand, and every action we take has the form of a network of
neurons in our brain.’’ The brain is constructed so that a smaller
unit of knowledge, such as visual recognition of the number 3,
is likely to be located in a smaller network of neurons. Small
networks are connected with other small and large networks to
resemble a forest of neuronal networks with tens of thousands of
synaptic connections. Just imagine the possible connections one
might have to the number 3! All of these connections are neuronal
networks (also called circuits) and are apparently dormant before
we think of the number 3, but active when we remember it (see
Figure 1.3).
From a neuroscientific viewpoint, at the micro level, learning
is long-lasting change in existing neuronal networks. When adults
learn, they build on or modify networks that have been created
through previous learning and experience. These networks are the
adult learners’ prior knowledge. This is an essential fact that we
will return to frequently, both as it pertains to adults’ everyday
learning and to their cultural perspectives.
An instructor cannot remove the neuronal networks that exist
in an adult learner’s brain (Zull, 2002). They are a physical entity.
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That is why, as instructors, we cannot simply explain something
away, especially if it is a deeply held attitude or belief. Literally,
another neuronal network has to take the place of the current
attitude or belief. That biological development takes repetition,
practice, and time. Probably new dendrites must grow and new
synaptic connections must form and fire repeatedly. A logical
explanation or well-constructed argument usually does not have
the biological impact to cause the physical changes in a learner’s
brain that need to occur for a real alteration in the learner’s attitude
or belief. If a learner is ready to change a particular belief or attitude,
an instructor’s explanation may be more persuasive and change
can occur. In this case, the learner has developed the neuronal
networks through previous learning and experience which need
only minimal development or stimulation (our explanation) to
Simple network
Complex network
Figure 1.3. Neuronal Networks
Source: Jensen, 2006. Used with permission.
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
change the attitude or belief. However, in most instances, Robert
Mager’s aphorism holds true: ‘‘Exhortation is used more and
accomplishes less than almost any behavior-changing tool known’’
(1968, p. 39).
New learning may be able to lessen the use of and even replace
particular neuronal networks. Neuronal networks do weaken and
die with disuse (Zull, 2002). For all learning, the most pragmatic
approach to instruction is to find ways to connect and build on
learners’ prior knowledge, to begin with what they already know
and biologically assemble with them the new knowledge or skill
by connecting the established networks and the new networks. A
biological approach to learning requires us to find out what adult
learners understand and can do, to see such information as a foundation and a map for what we design for the instructional process.
The road to masterful teaching takes a compassionate route.
Brain Structures
With the development of neuropsychological tools such as
positron-emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic
resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers can study which brain
activities are regulated by which brain structures. Both of these
instruments are based on the principle that the part of the brain
that is most active during a task needs the most oxygen (Bloom,
Nelson, and Lazerson, 2001). Although these tools can scan the
brain and represent areas high in metabolic activity, they are
an indirect assessment of brain structures and their relationship
to human action. Based largely on these forms of neuroimaging
research and neurosurgery, neuroscientists have categorized areas of
the brain and nervous system, aligning them with particular aspects
of human functioning and behavior. According to this scheme, the
cerebral cortex—the outermost layer of the brain, which is responsible for all forms of conscious activity—can be divided into four
lobes that each carry out a set of actions (see Figure 1.4).
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Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn
• The frontal lobe. Located in the area of the forehead;
often called the executive; enables us to sustain
attention, make plans, solve problems, and form
judgments.
• The parietal lobe. Located at the top back portion of the
head; enables us to locate ourselves in space and process
sensory functions, such as messages from the skin and
muscles related to movement.
• The temporal lobes. Located above and around the
ears; enable us to hear, speak, and connect visual areas
to language areas, enabling us to see or hear what
we read.
• The occipital lobe. Located at the back of the head;
enables us to see and is involved in the process of
attaching emotions to memories and dreams.
Parietal
cc
ip
ita
l
Frontal
O
14
Temporal
Figure 1.4. Main Areas of the Human Brain
Source: Jensen, 2005. Used with permission.
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
The middle of the brain, also known as the limbic system or
limbic region (see Figure 1.5), represents about a fifth of the brain,
and is extremely important in helping us to feel what we feel about
our lives and the world. The limbic system is a group of brain
structures that regulate our emotions, those feelings that indicate
our motivation about anything. These six are among the most
important structures of the limbic system:
• The amygdala. A vigilant monitor that gives meaning to human experience on an immediate level. It
reacts to experiences before we consciously understand
them, especially those that appear threatening or dangerous (LeDoux, 1996). In situations of uncertainty, it
primes the brain to be alert and tuned to subtle cues
for further possible action (Compton, 2003).
Cingulate
gyrus
Frontal
lobe
Thalamus
Septum
Hippocampus
Amygdala
Hypothalamus
Spinal
cord
Figure 1.5. The Major Structures Forming the Limbic Region of the
Brain
Source: Bloom, Nelson, and Lazerson, 2001. Used with permission.
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• The thalamus. A relay station for almost all sensory
information (Bloom, Nelson, and Lazerson, 2001).
• The hypothalamus. Influences and regulates hormone
secretion. Because it monitors information from the
autonomic nervous system, it affects appetite, sleep,
sexuality, and emotions (Bloom, Nelson, and Lazerson,
2001).
• The hippocampus. Helps to form long-term explicit
(conscious) memories. Although it does not store memories, it integrates new memories with other memories,
a function very important to learning (Zull, 2002).
• The cingulate gyrus. Encircles the other structures of the
limbic system and appears to mediate communication
between them and the cerebral cortex (Bloom, Nelson,
and Lazerson, 2001).
• The septum. Appears to facilitate the release and
binding of dopamine, the neurotransmitter primarily
involved in creating positive moods and emotions. It
plays a role in maintaining and altering motivation
(Zull, 2002).
Although identifying these structures of the brain gives us a
basic vocabulary for discussing adult learning and motivation, we
need to remember that the brain is part of a nervous system that
extends to every part of the body. There is strong connectivity
within the brain and between the brain and the rest of the nervous
system. The brain works so well because its individual structures
are so efficiently interdependent.
This broader understanding of the connection between the
brain and the central nervous system can lead to some confusion.
In conventional usage, the neursoscientific literature does not
distinguish between neuronal networks and neural networks. When
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
it does make a distinction, neuronal networks are usually discussed
in relation to brain functioning, whereas neural networks are more
often discussed in relation to the central nervous system, which
includes the brain, the spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous
system. As I use these two similar terms in this book, I will follow
this distinction.
Our current knowledge of the central nervous system is still
inadequate to explain with specific certainty how the brain operates. The brain’s dynamism also makes it an elusive subject for
study. As Jensen writes (2005, p. 11), ‘‘Whether you are 2 or 92,
your brain is a cauldron of changing chemicals, electrical activity, cell growth, cell death, connectivity, and change.’’ For these
reasons we need to use our knowledge of the brain judiciously to
discuss learning and motivation. Before we carry out any instructional ideas based on neuroscience, we need to understand how
well they are integrated and consistent with our current models,
research, and practice in adult education.
A Neuroscientific Perspective of Motivation
Merging a neuroscientific understanding of motivation with current knowledge from psychology and education creates ideas that
are richer, more nuanced, more complex, and, fortunately, quite
promising. The brain has evolved over millions of years as the
major organ for ensuring human survival. In evolutionary terms,
the neocortex, the part of the brain fundamental to thinking, analyzing, and planning, is considered young because it has evolved
within only the last five to ten million years (Zull, 2002). As
human beings, we want to learn because learning is our means for
survival. Knowing what to fear and what to desire is essential to
our future. We use cognition to maintain control and to generally
navigate away from fear and toward pleasure.
The brain has an inherent inclination for knowing what it
wants. In human terms, that means relevance (Ahissar and others,
1992). We are compelled to pay attention to things that matter to
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us. Every moment of our lives is a competition among our senses
to perceive what matters most. Our emotions usually tell us this,
often before we can reflect upon the situation and especially when
we feel threatened. What matters is defined through our cultural
perspectives which carry language, values, norms, and perceptual
frameworks to interpret the world we live in.
As we experience our world, events that are accompanied by
feelings receive preferential processing in the brain (Christianson,
1992). Because they are salient for survival, emotions add importance to our thoughts and experiences. Structures in the brain
and their related neurotransmitters convey these emotions to us
moment by moment. For example, the neurotransmitter dopamine
is usually connected with feelings of pleasure and elation, and
norepinephrine seems to induce a state of arousal.
Although emotions capture our attention, we spend most of
our waking hours in mind-body states that are made up of sensations (for example, hunger and fatigue), emotions (joy and
anger), and thoughts (optimism and concentration) that combine
and recombine simultaneously (Damasio, 1999). These mind-body
states are made up of millions of neurons in complex web-like
signaling systems that represent our behavior. They are quickly
shifting neuronal networks that involve multiple structures of the
brain. Jensen (2005) draws an apt analogy when he compares their
operation to the dynamic atmospheric patterns we call weather.
From a neuroscientific perspective, when we are doing something,
these mind-body states represent our motivation. We are likely to
identify them by the emotion or mood most obvious to us at the
moment, such as ‘‘I’m getting bored with reading this textbook.’’
Although our mind-body state may seem stable as we proceed with
a task, in reality it is in a state of flux, diminishing, strengthening, or changing into another state. On the single page of a
book or in the span of five minutes in a course, we may go from
feeling inspired, to feeling frustrated, to feeling creative, and then
inspired again.
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
The theories of intrinsic motivation fit very well with a
neuroscientific understanding of motivation. As defined by Ryan
and Deci (2000, p. 16), ‘‘intrinsic motivation is entailed whenever
people behave for the satisfaction inherent in the behavior itself.’’
For example, people read a novel because they find it inherently
interesting. Behavior that people find intrinsically satisfying probably conforms to what their brains are physiologically disposed to
want and induces or is compatible with a positive mind-body state.
We know from psychological research that it is part of human
nature to be curious, to be active, to make meaning from experience, and to be effective at what we value (Lambert and McCombs,
1998). These are primary sources of motivation that reside in all
of us, across all cultures. When adults can see that what they are
learning makes sense and is important according to their values and
perspective, their motivation emerges. Such circumstances elicit
intrinsic motivation and probably facilitate a mind-body state conducive to learning. Intrinsic motivation is evoked; it is a physical
energy aroused by an environment that connects with what is
culturally relevant to people.
A neuroscientific understanding of intrinsic motivation confirms that we need to create learning environments that access
what biologically motivates adults from within. In addition, intrinsic motivation is probably more emotionally salient and varied than
it was originally conceived to be. We feel many different emotions
while learning, and they may not all be consistently positive. As
instructors, we need to pay close attention to the emotions of
adult learners and construct with them a learning environment
that supports the optimal expression of their emotions in service of
their learning. This topic will be addressed throughout this book.
Although Csikszentmihalyi’s theory of intrinsic motivation and
flow (1997) directly addresses the importance of feedback in learning, a neuroscientific perspective also emphasizes that feedback
is essential to the human need for survival. For how the brain
operates, this means the feeling of being in control. Feedback
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about one’s learning and behavior significantly contributes to one’s
sense of control and is vital to intrinsic motivation and improving
learning (Zull, 2002). Extensive coverage of strategies to enhance
feedback is found in Chapter Eight.
The Intersection of Cultural Relevance, Intrinsic
Motivation, and Neuroscientific Understanding
In 1996, Brookfield emphasized the need for a culturally relevant
perspective of adult learning: ‘‘The differences of class, culture,
ethnicity, personality, cognitive style, learning patterns, life experiences, and gender among adults are far more significant than the
fact that they are not children or adolescents’’ (p. 379). Today,
the cultural context is recognized as an essential consideration for
defining as well as facilitating adult learning (Merriam, Caffarella,
and Baumgartner, 2007). Theories of intrinsic motivation respect
the influence of culture on learning. They include the understanding that the learner’s perspective, language, values, and ways of
knowing must be considered in order to foster adult motivation to
learn (Wlodkowski and Ginsberg, 1995). When adults care about
what they are learning and know they are becoming more effective
at what they value by means of that learning, their intrinsic motivation surfaces like a cork rising through water. The instructor can
feel it when the learning environment has stimulated the adults’
neurophysiological propensity to provide energy for what matters!
Intrinsic motivation is governed to a large extent by emotions,
which in turn are socialized through culture. Emotions influence
task engagement, the visible outcome of learner motivation. For
example, one person working at a task feels frustrated and stops; a
second person working at the task feels joy and continues; and yet
another person, with a different set of cultural beliefs, feels frustrated at the task but continues with increased determination. The
response to the task—frustration, joy, or determination—may
differ across cultures because cultures differ in their definitions
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
of novelty, hazard, opportunity, and gratification and in their
definitions of appropriate responses (Kitayama and Markus, 1994).
Thus, a person’s response to a learning activity reflects his or her
culture.
From this viewpoint, culturally responsive teaching is necessary
if we are to teach all adults effectively. Even though the learners’ internal logic may not coincide with our own, it is present
nonetheless. To be effective we must understand that perspective.
Rather than trying to figure out what to ‘‘do to’’ learners, we should
‘‘work with’’ them to elicit their intrinsic motivation. Through relationships and teaching strategies, we access their prior knowledge
(existing systems of neuronal networks), as expressed through their
cultural perspectives, in order to build bridges between what adult
learners know and their new learning. Seeing adults as unique and
active, we emphasize communication and respect, realizing that
through understanding and sharing our resources we create greater
energy for learning. When it is working, excellent teaching and
learning is like breathing together.
Emotion, Memory, and Intrinsic Motivation
Research in the neurosciences and the field of intrinsic motivation
indicates that emotions are critical to learning. Not only do emotions largely determine what we pay attention to and help us to
be aware of our mind-body states, they also affect what we remember. We are much more likely to remember things that engage us
emotionally. It appears that the more powerful the feeling that
accompanies an experience, the more lasting the memory.
Long-term memory, durable neuronal networks, seems to be
strongly affected by emotions. We know now that long-term
memory is not a permanent trace or print of a past event. It
works dynamically, reassembling feelings and information from
our past into our present understanding. For example, during
stressful experiences, hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol
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are released. They heighten alertness and mobilize parts of the
nervous system responsible for movement. They also enhance
memory for the experience (LeDoux, 1996; Abercombrie and
others, 2003). These hormones are likely to have been present
while some of our strongest memories—such as those of births,
deaths, and romances—were being made. These chemicals help
to create a system of sounds, images, and locations represented by
neural networks that are activated and reintegrated among various
structures of the brain when they are stimulated by an experience
or object such as a question, a person’s face, or a particular
song (Shimamura, 2002). In the moment, we recall a memory,
unaware that thousands of neurons have fired in a particular pattern
involving multiple locations in our brain and nervous system.
The biological process of how emotions affect memory is
complex and our understanding is incomplete. However, we are
reasonably certain that moderate stress and positive emotions such
as satisfaction, joy, and feeling creative help us to retain what we
are learning and to reassemble what we have learned when we
need to recall it (Zull, 2002). Emotions also give texture to events
and help us to understand them. Because neurotransmitters such as
dopamine that are associated with pleasurable emotions tend to be
released in situations of moderate challenge and excitement, we as
instructors can create lessons that encourage these emotions and
consequently better memory for what is being learned.
In theories of intrinsic motivation, emotions are critical to
learning as well. Optimal emotional states for learning, such as
flow, have been extensively studied and documented across and
within cultures (Csikszentmihalyi and Csikszentmihalyi, 1988).
When people are in flow—whether at work, play, or while learning in a course—they feel totally involved, immersed in a seemingly
effortless performance, fully alive, and without self-consciousness
(Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). Often while being in flow, people report
feelings of joy, happiness, creativity, and capability. Emotionally,
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
intrinsic motivation is not static and does not remain constant
during learning or work. Flow is one of the most positive states
of intrinsic motivation. During this time we are fully absorbed,
emotionally positive, and very focused. In other intrinsically motivating situations we may be less consistently involved, only mildly
interested, and, at times, feel a bit worn or fatigued. Emotions are
labile, neurophysiologically undergoing chemical and biological
change. A mere distraction, such as the noise of construction work
outside the classroom, can disrupt our concentration. The processes
of reading, writing, listening, and problem solving undulate with
varying degrees of stimulation and appeal whatever their source.
My experience as a teacher and a learner is that intrinsic motivation often fluctuates during a learning activity. Overall, I may
judge my involvement as intrinsically motivated but with periods
when I am bored or disinterested. For an entire learning experience, it might be more accurate to gauge my intrinsic motivation
along a scale from mildly intrinsically motivated to deeply intrinsically motivated or in flow. However, such a measure does not
register all the possible emotions that I may have felt during the
learning activity, such as interest, wonder, and worry. Also, I know
from experience that the degree of value that adults have for an
activity affects their perception of how motivating that activity
is. For example, writing, at times, can be frustrating and tedious.
My value for it is obviously strong and there are periods when I
seem to be anesthetized from the tedium. But moment to moment,
it is my emotions that tell me the degree of my intrinsic motivation for the task at hand. Given the physiology and dynamics
of brain functioning, an understanding of intrinsic motivation as
a supple phenomenon is fitting. Eventually, intrinsic motivation
will probably be more accurately measured by an instrument that
has the capacity to measure intensity as a thermometer determines
temperature. Beyond brain functioning, this instrument will also
need to be sensitive to differing emotional states.
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Underserved and Diverse Adult Learners
in Postsecondary Education
As a field of study and advocacy, adult education has been a force for
increasing adults’ access to and success in postsecondary education.
Through political action, literacy efforts, and program development, adult educators have contributed to increasing the number
of adults who have earned professional certification and degrees
in two-year and four-year colleges. Partially but significantly due
to these efforts, nearly 40 percent of all college students today are
adults 25 years and older (National Center for Education Statistics,
2002). Programs responsive to the needs and development of adult
learners abound in industry, business, and college. If current trends
continue, more than 50 percent of all adults between 25 and 55
will be involved in some form of adult education by 2010 (Cook
and King, 2004).
However, success in higher education for historically underrepresented groups (African Americans, Latinos, and Native
Americans) and low-income adults continues to be a serious concern. In 2002, 29 percent of all 25- to 29-year-olds had completed
four or more years of college. For whites, the percentage was nearly
36 percent; for African Americans, 18 percent; and for Latinos,
slightly less than 9 percent. Although there has been improvement
since 1974 for each racial/ethnic group, the improvement parallels
the current disproportionate rates of progress. While the Latinos
who completed four or more years of college increased 3 percent
and African Americans increased 10 percent, whites increased
nearly 14 percent during the same period (Mortenson, 2003).
Research indicates that family income is a major factor affecting
college graduation. Forty percent of adult undergraduates, roughly
2.5 million people, have annual incomes less than $25,000 (Cook
and King, 2004). In 1995–96, among low-income adults who were
pursuing either a bachelor’s or associate degree, only 7 percent
achieved a bachelor’s degree and 8 percent an associate’s degree
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
within the next six years. In this same time period, 42 percent of
traditional-age students (18- to 24-year-olds) who were pursuing a
bachelor’s degree accomplished their goal (Cook and King, 2004).
The competing demands of family and work as well as educational
challenges due to insufficient academic preparation likely combine
to lessen the chances of success in college for many low-income
adults. With 70 percent of current jobs requiring some form
of postsecondary education (Carnevale and Desrochers, 1999),
low-income adults are ensnared in low-wage occupations with little
prospect of moving themselves or their families out of poverty.
Historically underrepresented groups and low-income adults
are underserved students, lacking the accessibility and support,
financial as well as academic, to be successful in postsecondary
education. This situation is a critical issue for adult educators. In
2002, 50 percent of people living in poverty in the United States
were African American or Hispanic (U.S. Department of Labor,
2003). Their economic status is undeniably due to their lack of
education beyond high school and their historic underrepresentation in higher education. As adult educators, we have a moral and
professional obligation to render postsecondary education accessible and successful for all adults. In my opinion, this mandate applies
as well to trainers in business and industry, where educating adults
is an enterprise that matches or exceeds postsecondary education
in financing and resource allocation.
Improving higher education and making it more equitable is far
more than an altruistic venture. The nation needs to remain competitive with skilled and effective workers in a global marketplace
(Friedman, 2005). At the time of this writing, we are in the midst
of the largest immigration in the history of this country. Between
1991 and 2001 approximately 10.2 million people immigrated
to the United States (Constitutional Rights Foundation, 2006).
Today, this trend continues. In addition, there is an estimated
population of 12 million undocumented workers residing in the
United States. Such demographics emphasize the need for adult
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educators and trainers to make higher education and advanced
training accessible and successful for all adults.
Postsecondary education benefits the United States citizenry
as well as the individual. Higher levels of education correlate
with higher incomes, better health, and lower levels of mortality
(Lleras-Muney, 2002). Education is associated with lower rates
of crime, fewer illegitimate births, and less dependency on welfare benefits (Lochner and Moretti, 200l; Wolfe and Zuvekas,
1995). According to the U.S. Department of Education (1998),
college-educated adults (85 percent) are more likely to vote than
high school graduates (72 percent) and high school dropouts
(50 percent). From their review of postsecondary education and
employment, Anthony Carnevale and Donna Desrochers conclude
(2004, p. 33), ‘‘Adults who are not equipped with the levels of
knowledge and skill necessary to get, and keep, good jobs are
denied full inclusion and tend to drop out of the mainstream
culture, polity, and economy.’’
Among the greatest losses for our society when underserved
adult students are not present in our college programs are their
cultural perspectives and aesthetics. As microcosms of the broader
society, college courses often implicitly and explicitly perpetuate stereotypes and larger systems of inequality—for example,
conspicuous consumption without consideration of the common
good. Adult students from underrepresented economic backgrounds
and ethnic or racial groups can offer ideas, language, examples, and
frames of reference that can help majority groups examine ways
in which they may unknowingly use dominant beliefs and values
that inhibit the welfare of others. For example, individual freedoms
may favor the more privileged. And how government monies are
allocated is a topic likely to be more informed by adults from
different income groups.
In general, diversity as a broad category including race, class,
gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, and
other significant differences is central to education as preparation
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
to live and work within a global economy with many different
people. In fact, research with traditional-age college students indicates that when they are exposed in their courses to diverse perspectives through interaction with students different from themselves,
they develop more complex thinking skills and learn more (Gurin
and others, 2002). My personal experience with adult students
supports this finding. For a more equitable and effective pluralistic society, we need to learn with diverse adults. For the future,
diversity in adult education is an imperative and an opportunity.
Instruction as a Path to Improving Educational
Success among All Adults
Efforts to increase the success of adult learners in higher education
offer promising policies and insights. They include financial assistance, especially to low-income adults (Cook and King, 2005;
Choitz and Widom, 2003); stronger student support services
including academic advising, personal counseling, tutoring, and
remediation (Purnell and Blank, 2004; Flint and Associates, 1999);
a commitment to adult learners with a focus on meeting their needs
(Cook and King, 2005; Flint and Associates, 1999); and faculty
and instruction responsive to adult learners (Cook and King, 2005;
Flint and Associates, 1999; Grubb and Associates, 1999). Many of
the studies cited in this paragraph were conducted at community
colleges, where the majority of adult learners in postsecondary education are enrolled. However, the largest number of adult learners,
approximately 61 million, participate in work-related courses and
training (Paulson and Boeke, 2006). Unless specifically referenced
to higher education, all instructional methods, principles, and
models suggested in this text apply to this population as well.
No single policy, program, or response significantly raises the
persistence and degree completion of adult learners (Cook and
King, 2005; Flint and Associates, 1999). What is required is a
systemwide effort to improve a range of elements from financial
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assistance to instruction. Three books and reports that outline,
discuss, and offer examples of these elements and how they might be
implemented are Best Practices in Adult Learning: A Self-Evaluation
Workbook for Colleges and Universities (Flint, Zakos, and Frey,
2002), Improving Lives through Higher Education: Campus Programs
and Policies for Low-Income Adults (Cook and King, 2005), and
Promoting Student Success in Community College and Beyond (Brock
and LeBlanc, 2005).
The focus of this book is on how instructors, teaching, and
learning environments can enhance the motivation of all adults
to learn. Researchers have found that improvements in instruction
can contribute to increased student persistence and success (Grubb
and Associates, 1999; Kuh and others, 2005). Their suggestions
include more active learning, greater relevance of subject matter
to students’ lives, and higher levels of student engagement. Best
practices for adult learners in postsecondary institutions include
the same three suggestions as well as inclusive learning environments, use of the language of learners and their communities, and
assessment of learner competence through performance outcomes
(Flint, Zakos, and Frey, 2002).
Thus, we can see some convergence between the recommendations from research to improve adult success in college and the
literature about best practices for adult learners. This gives us
more confidence about what we need to do in the area of instruction to enhance adult learning and motivation. The Motivational
Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching (Wlodkowski and
Ginsberg, 1995), which forms the major focus of this book (see
Chapter Four), systematically includes these instructional practices
as an integral aspect of instructional design and teaching. Factors
of this motivational framework have been significantly associated with higher grade point averages (Wlodkowski, Mauldin, and
Gahn, 2001) and higher performance (Wlodkowski and Stiller,
2005) among adult learners. This framework can serve as an effective guide for educators and trainers as we plan and carry out our
Understanding Motivation for Adult Learners
instruction with adult learners. A strength of this model is that it
recognizes that human motivation is inseparable from culture and
at the same time understandable as energy resulting from biological
processes largely within the brain. This approach to teaching allows
for a useful integration of these two important sources of pedagogical
knowledge. In the next chapter we will deepen our understanding
of motivation to learn as it relates to culture and adult development.
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Understanding How Aging and Culture
Affect Motivation to Learn
The afternoon knows what the morning never
suspected.
Swedish proverb
R
eleased from comparison with youth, ‘‘old’’ can be hip, powerful, and aesthetic. Old is rhythm and blues. Old is marching
with Martin Luther King Jr. Old is hearing a scratchy vinyl record of
Edith Piaf singing lyrics of love and loss and knowing from your own
life she is telling the truth many times over. Old is Michelangelo’s
David. Old is the Kama Sutra. And old is the Taj Mahal. As James
Hillman writes (1999, p. 42), ‘‘When ‘old’ gains its definition only
by pairing, it loses its value. In a culture that has only identified
with ‘new’ . . . ‘old’ gets the short end of the comparative stick, and
it becomes ever more difficult to imagine oldness as a phenomenon
apart from the lazy simplicities of conventional wisdom.’’
In fact, the word old derives from an Indo-European root that
means ‘‘to nourish.’’ In medieval times, old meant ‘‘fully nourished
or matured.’’ Not that old is better than young or new; old is its
own thing—certain to be humbled by aging and death but also to
be affirmed for the character, perspective, and vitality it can offer
to life among all ages. Old is the nurturance of grandparents, the
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Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn
guidance of mentors, and the stories carried through our families
that give us an identity and a sense of connection with all living
things. As we will see in this chapter, older adults are a rapidly
growing group among adult learners, and their characteristics and
needs enrich and challenge adult education.
Characteristics of Adult Learners
It is a bit frustrating but understandable that in the field of adult
education there is no agreement on the definition of adult (Paulson
and Boeke, 2006). The term is culturally and historically relative.
Some cultures regard puberty as entry into adulthood, whereas
others use legal codes to permit and promote adult behavior. In
the United States, people can vote at eighteen but cannot drink
until twenty-one and, in particular instances, can be tried in
court as adults at fourteen. In conventional terms, being an adult is
often associated with having some kind of major life responsibility,
such as full-time work or dependents.
Chronologically, adults can be divided into three groups:
younger adults (18 to 24 years old), working-age adults (25 to
64 years old), and older adults (65 and older). Most students
attending traditional colleges where they board and are enrolled
full time are younger adults. However, most research and theory
in the field of adult education pertains to working-age adults,
who are assumed to work at least part time while going to
school. As the number of older adults continues to grow, they
are also of increasing interest in adult education. In the 2000
U.S. Census, older adults accounted for 12 percent of the total
population.
Today, 73 percent of all college students can be identified as
nontraditional learners (National Center for Education Statistics,
2002). They possess one or more of the following characteristics:
delayed enrollment into postsecondary education, part-time attendance, financial independence, full-time job, dependents other
Understanding How Aging and Culture Affect Motivation to Learn
than a spouse, being a single parent, and having a nonstandard
high school diploma. Most of these nontraditional students are
working-age adults, but some are young adults or older adults.
Although nontraditional students are considered at greater risk of
failing to complete a degree, nearly one-third of them succeed.
Maybe what is actually at risk are the generalizations made about
them.
The focus of this book is on working-age adults, nontraditional
college students, and older adults. Unless specifically stated otherwise, all strategies, principles, and models proposed in this text can
be applied to them.
Women make up the majority (approximately 65 percent) of
adult college students 25 and older. They compose approximately
65 percent of this population (Aslanian, 2001). Three reasons
primarily explain why they outnumber men: (1) there are more
women than men in the general U.S. population 25 and older;
(2) more women view education as a path to success; and (3)
women today have more opportunity to go to college than previous generations due to changes in role expectations and family
support.
Among students 25 and older, approximately 12 percent are
ethnic or racial minorities (Aslanian, 2001). This adult minority
population is much smaller than the overall minority population
in higher education (approximately 30 percent), especially in community colleges. According to the National Center for Education
Statistics (2001), 39 percent of African American, 54 percent
of Hispanic, 47 percent of American Indian, and 38 percent of
Asian American and Pacific Islander postsecondary students attend
community colleges. In some community colleges in large urban
areas and in the West and Southwest United States, minority students have become a majority. As Berta Vigil Laden has observed
(2004), ‘‘The term minority is being replaced with the more descriptive terms racially diverse and emerging majority to convey more fully
these students’ presence in institutions of higher education.’’ Many
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of these community college students are 25 and older or are younger
adults with characteristics of working-age adults such as full-time
jobs and dependents. We are witnessing a cultural transformation
whose beginning is most strongly felt in community colleges. All
these groups of adult learners share a common goal: they want to use
the knowledge and skills they acquire to enhance their careers or
professional opportunities—for better jobs, higher salaries, coveted
promotions, or simply staying competitive (Aslanian, 2001).
Another national trend is the increasing number of older
adults working full time and participating in adult learning.
Over 2 million adults 65 and older participate in work-related
courses and training (O’Donnell, 2005). Not only does learning add purpose to life for many older adults, it also appears to
improve their health (Campbell, 2006). Researchers from multiple disciplines concur that learning is essential to a satisfying
later life (Manheimer, 2002). Learning during older adulthood
appears to be related to better physical vitality and cognitive
functioning.
Prior postsecondary education may increase older adults’ desire
for learning. Some scholars believe education is addictive and that
the more education people have had, the more they will want,
especially in later life (Mehrotra, 2003). Postsecondary education
may establish a desire for intellectual activities such as reading,
reflecting, and problem solving. Continuing these pursuits sustains brain-cell growth and higher cognitive functioning among
older adults (Diamond, 2001). In this respect, college-educated older adults may be more likely to value learning for its own
sake (Purdie and Boulton-Lewis, 2003). Because they often are in a
position to choose what they learn, older adults are more likely to
find learning intrinsically motivating. The Gerontological Society
of America has confirmed the understanding that aging is about
adding life to years, not years to life. As adult educators, we can
help make this self-fulfilling prophecy come true.
Understanding How Aging and Culture Affect Motivation to Learn
Specific Effects of Aging
We have described the benefits of learning for older adults. The
potential for a satisfying and vital life seems greater than ever
before. But there are also many myths and stereotypes about older
people, frequently negative ones. Let’s take a closer look.
It was once thought that aging was a barrier to learning. This
seems less so than ever before. Improved sanitation, nutrition,
hygiene, and advances in medical drugs and treatments have
increased life expectancy in most industrialized countries. As of
2006, the average life expectancy in the United States was 77.8
years (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). Since the early 1990s, it has been
documented that people remain more active and feel physically
better for longer in their older years (Smolak, 1993). Adults
over 85 are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2003). With
the vitality projected by popular icons like Gloria Steinem and
B. B. King, even 70 no longer seems old. (This seems ever so true
as I enter my early sixties.)
There are significant culturally related differences as people age.
For example, women live longer than men (U.S. Census Bureau,
2006). To put this generalization in perspective, between the ages
of 65 and 74, there are 83 men for every 100 women; among
people over 85, there are only 46 men for every 100 women. As
we grow older, women eventually outnumber men by more than
two to one. In addition, there is far less ethnic or racial diversity
among older adults. The percentage of the U.S. population that
is non-Hispanic White increases with age from 79 percent of
people between 55 and 64 years of age to 87 percent of those who
are 85 and over. This decrease indicates some of the disparities
in income, living environments, disease exposure, and available
medical care between the majority population of this country and
its racial/ethnic minorities.
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Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn
Although racial/ethnic inequalities persist, becoming older does
not mean automatic physical, emotional, or mental deterioration,
and the effects of aging differ from person to person. As people
reach their 40s and 50s, they undergo changes in vision, cardiovascular and respiratory functioning, reproductive potential (among
women), and muscular and skeletal resilience (Bee and Bjorkland,
2004). Beginning slowly, this decline usually accelerates as people enter their 70s. Compensation can offset this deterioration.
Eyeglasses, hearing aids, medications, increased illumination, and
increased time for learning are some of the ways to equalize learning
opportunities for older adults.
Central Nervous System, Vision, and Hearing
According to longitudinal studies, most normal, healthy adults can
be efficient and effective learners well into old age (Schaie, 2005).
Although considerable individual differences exist, the intellectual
capacity to learn declines only modestly until most people are in
their 80s. Variables that reduce the risk of intellectual decline
among older adults are absence of chronic diseases, a favorable living environment, an active lifestyle, a partner with high cognitive
functioning, satisfaction with one’s life, and continued involvement with learning (Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2007;
Campbell, 2006).
Because of research on the aging brain, aging is no longer seen as
inevitably leading to brain damage and decline. Aging is now seen
as a much more complex phenomenon: through reorganization
and plasticity the brain can sustain a productive and happy life
far into the older years (Reuter-Lorenz and Lustig, 2005). There is
evidence that the brains of adults in their 70s and 80s continue to
produce new neurons for cognition (Prickaerts and others, 2004).
The combination of physical exercise, stimulating environments,
and continued learning appears to be able to increase brain cell
growth and connections throughout life (Willis, 2006).
Understanding How Aging and Culture Affect Motivation to Learn
Older learners may require more time to learn new things
because, on the average, their reaction time is slower than that
of younger learners (Schaie and Willis, 2002). This is due to
changes in the central nervous system. However, individual older
adults differ substantially in this regard, and the type of task
makes a significant difference as well. For example, putting a
puzzle together or hitting a button to respond to the identification
of a symbol is far different from creating an effective business
plan or providing legal advice about a real problem. Speed of
response by itself should not prevent anyone from learning what
he or she wants to learn. Allowing older adults to control the
pace of educational experiences and their exposure to educational
materials is an excellent strategy to accommodate any decrease in
reaction time.
Some people believe that because of the decline in vision,
reading is a serious problem for older adults. However, in the
absence of disease or serious impairment, the normal physical
changes of the eyes can be accommodated through the use of
eyeglasses and brighter light. Older adults do have more difficulty
rapidly processing visual information and should be allowed more
time and control for extracting information from printed materials, computer screens, photographs, films, and other screen projections (Pesce and others, 2005).
The decline in hearing has also been well researched (Bee and
Bjorkland, 2004). Hearing difficulty affects more than 25 percent
of adults over the age of 65, and more than 50 percent of males
over the age of 75. In addition to hearing loss, as people become
older they may also develop a ‘‘translation’’ problem. Rapid speech
is more difficult for older adults to decipher. In addition, adults over
50 usually have some impairment in discerning very soft sounds
and high-pitched sounds. Attending to the acoustic environment
and moderating the speed of presentation and verbal delivery can
help older adults adjust for this sensory loss.
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Intellectual Functioning
As a psychologist, I am among those who no longer regard
intelligence as a unitary property. Rather, intelligence seems to
make more sense and be a much more useful concept when
understood as consisting of multiple factors or a number of different intelligences. Standardized intelligence measures such as the
WAIS-III or earlier WAIS-R are very academically oriented rather
than being sensitive to an adult’s capacity to solve real-life problems. Their narrow framework, cultural bias, and low correlation
with work performance caution against using these standardized
intelligence tests to make decisions about most adults (Tennant,
2005).
Multiple Intelligences
If we understand intelligence as the ability to solve problems or to
fashion products that are valued by one’s culture or community,
we realize intelligence cannot be conceptualized apart from the
context in which people live. There is always an interaction
between individuals’ biological proclivities and the opportunities
in their culture for learning. Thus there exist multiple ways to be
capable and to demonstrate intelligence.
According to Howard Gardner (Checkley, 1997) people have
the capacity for at least eight intelligences (see Table 2.1). Individuals differ in the strength of these intelligences. Some perform best
when asked to manipulate symbols of various sorts (linguistic and
logical-mathematical intelligences), whereas others are better able
to demonstrate their understanding through a hands-on approach
(spatial and bodily-kinesthetic intelligences). Rather than possessing a single intelligence, people have a profile of intelligences that
combine to complete different tasks. This means that tools and
techniques are part of one’s intelligence and its use. The Inupiat
hunter who must discern sea, stars, and ice from a small boat on
the Arctic Ocean meets an intellectual challenge as profound in its
own way as that faced by a systems analyst deciphering the federal
Understanding How Aging and Culture Affect Motivation to Learn
Table 2.1.
Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
Intelligence
Example
Core Components
Linguistic
Novelist,
journalist
Logicalmathematical
Scientist,
accountant
Musical
Composer,
guitarist
Spatial
Designer,
navigator
Bodilykinesthetic
Athlete,
actor
Interpersonal
Therapist,
politician
Intrapersonal
Philosopher,
spiritual
leader
Naturalist
Botanist,
Farmer
Sensitivity to the sounds, rhythms, and
meanings of words; sensitivity to the
different functions of written and spoken
language
Sensitivity to and capacity to discern
logical and numerical patterns; ability to
handle long chains of inductive and
deductive reasoning
Abilities to produce and appreciate
rhythm, tone, pitch, and timbre;
appreciation of the forms of musical
expressiveness
Capacities to perceive the visual-spatial
world accurately and to perform
transformations on one’s initial
perceptions and mental images
Abilities to know and control one’s body
movements and to handle objects
skillfully
Capacities to discern and respond
appropriately to the moods,
temperaments, motivations, and desires
of other people
Access to one’s own feelings and inner
states of being with the ability to
discriminate among them and draw on
them to guide behavior; knowledge of
one’s own strengths, weaknesses, desires,
and intelligences
Capacity to recognize and classify plants,
animals, and minerals, including grass,
all varieties of flora and fauna, and rocks
Source: Adapted from Viens and Kallenbach, 2004; Checkley, 1997.
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budget at a computer terminal. The crucial question, then, is not,
How intelligent is one? but, How is one intelligent?
Practical Intelligence
Day in and day out, what is called practical intelligence may be for
most people the paramount intelligence during the adult years.
Tennant and Pogson describe practical intelligence as that which
emphasizes ‘‘practice as opposed to theory, direct usefulness as
opposed to intellectual curiosity, . . . and commonplace, everyday action or thought with immediate, visible consequences . . .
it seeks to do, to move, to achieve something outside of itself,
and works toward that purpose’’ (1995, p. 42). When applied
in a particular domain, practical intelligence is often referred to
as expertise. As such, practical intelligence is often based on prior
experience. In their particular area of expertise, most experts
show quick, economic problem solving and superior memory
(Chi, Glaser, and Farr, 1988).
Robert Sternberg (1997) is a leading scholar and researcher
in the area of practical intelligence, which he views as what
most people call common sense. According to him, being successfully intelligent involves thinking analytically, creatively, and
practically and choosing effectively how and when to use these
abilities. The main component of practical intelligence is tacit
knowledge—‘‘knowledge that reflects the practical ability to learn
from experience and to apply that knowledge in the pursuit of
personally valued goals’’ (Sternberg and others, 2000, p. 104).
Practical intelligence is a promising area of research for adult education. Understanding this ability may help people to develop greater
capacity for effective performance in their careers and avocations.
Emotional Intelligence
In 1995, Daniel Goleman joined the forum about multiple intelligences with his advocacy for emotional intelligence. Although
his conceptualization is quite similar to Gardner’s descriptions of
Understanding How Aging and Culture Affect Motivation to Learn
interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence (see Table 2.1), it is
based on the intellectual model proposed by Salovey and Mayer
(1990). According to Goleman (1995), to be successful in life one
must sensitively use the five domains of emotional intelligence:
knowing one’s emotions, managing one’s emotions, motivating
oneself, recognizing emotions in others, and handling relationships. Recent neuroscientific findings (see pages 17–20 in Chapter
One) have given Goleman’s ideas additional support. In addition,
researchers who have studied emotional intelligence in the workplace have found it to be a promising construct (McEnrue and
Groves, 2006).
An integration of current research and theory suggests that
intellectual capacity during adulthood is a combination of genetic
expression, experience, and knowledge that displays continued
growth and highest potential in culturally relevant, real-life situations. As adult educators, we can explore these rich ideas about the
human intellect and use them to enhance our educational practices, but with a constant critical understanding. The construct of
intelligence has a history of being oversold.
Memory
Memory has received a good deal of attention by researchers in
learning. Working memory, the initial processing and storing of
information that occurs within approximately five to thirty seconds, becomes more problematic as adults age (Bee and Bjorkland,
2004). A common example is increasing difficulty remembering several new names just after being introduced at a party.
Generalizing about long-term memory, the capacity for retaining information for minutes or years, is complicated. As people
get older, they have more problems transferring (encoding) information into long-term memory. They also have more difficulty
retrieving memories. But storage of encoded memories is fairly constant as people age (Hoyer and Roodin, 2003). Older adults appear
to process information more slowly, especially when it is complex.
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Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn
They also seem less inclined to seriously consider material they
see as irrelevant or confusing (Bee and Bjorkland, 2004). When
information is learned well, and new material is integrated with
prior knowledge, older adults remember and use this knowledge
into old age.
Age differences in memory are far less dramatic when material
is familiar and meaningful. Retention of factual knowledge such as
vocabulary or news events shows little if any decline from young
adulthood through old age (Hoyer and Roodin, 2003). Generally,
older learners are likely to have the most problems with initial learning and subsequent recall when learning activities are fast paced,
complex, or unusual. They usually are not as efficient as younger
adults in acquiring, organizing, and recalling new information.
In Adults as Learners, Pat Cross (1981) has made several practical
suggestions for helping older adults with memorization: (1) present
new information in ways that are meaningful and relevant; (2)
include aids such as mnemonics, advance organizers, and checklists
to help older adults organize and relate new material to prior
knowledge; (3) present at a pace that permits mastery in order
to strengthen long-term memory; (4) present one idea at a time
and minimize competing intellectual demands; and (5) summarize
frequently to facilitate organization and retention. To this list I
would add (6) encourage taking notes on any items of interest and
(7) facilitate the application of the new information to relevant
issues and problems as soon as possible.
Many other instructional suggestions can be made in relation to
characteristics of adult development. They are distributed throughout this book in relationship to specific motivational strategies.
Participation
Earlier in this book, we indirectly addressed the topic of participation in Chapter One’s discussion of the accessibility and retention
of underserved adult learners in postsecondary education. In
a broader sense, participation—undertaking learning projects,
Understanding How Aging and Culture Affect Motivation to Learn
courses, and programs—has a long history of research in adult
education. Carol Aslanian’s research (2001) provides insights on
this topic for both continuing and postsecondary education. Her
findings indicate that adult participation is usually due to a life transition that motivates the person to want to learn. The decision to
participate in learning at a particular time is triggered by a specific
life event. Given a choice among seven possible life transitions, 85
percent of the adults in her study named a career transition such
as changing or advancing their careers. For 71 percent, the specific
triggers also related to career events such as seeing a job downsized
or having to use a computer for the first time. In seeking education,
adults in her study looked primarily for quality (program, faculty,
course, degree) and convenience (location, schedule, length of
time to complete program) as criteria for selection. In general, life
transitions and triggers vary culturally.
From a sociological viewpoint, unequal access to wealth and
power is the foremost explanation for some adults’ lower educational aspirations (Deshler, 1996). There is little doubt that
such social factors as unemployment, schooling, home background,
government support for or neglect of education, and provision of
education in languages other than English powerfully affect the
consideration of formal learning for adults. The third edition of this
book addresses ways to foster inclusion in learning environments
and support adult learners’ participation, because their motivation
is frequently more vulnerable than that of younger learners.
Cultural Diversity and a Macrocultural Perspective
The impact of culture on the human perspective is formed by a
complex interaction: we each construct our own reality by interpreting the external world on the basis of our unique experiences
with it and our beliefs about those experiences. Neuroscience offers
biological support for this remarkable intricacy. As Zull notes,
‘‘The diversity of individual brains is infinite’’ (2002, p. 248). In
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adult education, research on cultural diversity usually focuses on
age, gender, race, ethnicity, and income relative to access to and
success in higher education.
As noted earlier, this information is extremely important, especially for program and policy decisions. In the classroom and
distance learning we need to go further than statistics and generalizations about cultural groups to respond to cultural diversity; we
need to see adults as individuals with complex identities, personal
histories, and unique living contexts. For example, a person is not
just older or just African American or just female; she is older,
African American, and female. This example is still too simple
because it does not include her religious/spiritual beliefs, sexual
orientation, income status, or profession, among other possible cultural characteristics. Culturally, a person has a variety of identities
that are woven into a personal history and lived in an individual
context. As Trina Gabriel advises in an article about Gen Xers of
color (2003, p. 25), ‘‘There is no one way for members of various
racial or ethnic groups to view the manner in which race or ethnicity affects their lives.’’ And there is no one way for an instructor
to view adult learners based on the obvious aspects of their culture.
The foremost challenge of education and training, at every level
and in every venue, is to create equitable and successful learning
environments for all learners. Realistically accomplishing this goal
means respecting the cultural integrity of every learner while
enhancing every learner’s motivation and learning. Responding to
the intricacy of every individual’s multiple cultural identities and
the cultural diversity found throughout educatio...
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