This Article reflect on Lindeman’s (1926/1961) quote that “the resource of the highest value in adult education is the learners experience”. Lindeman was of the opinion that adult education is more of experiential and self-directed learning which makes the adult learner responsible for how learning is perceived and applied.
In this Article, I will not just express my opinion in relation to Lindeman’s assertion but to be
reflective, expressing what I feel and why I feel so, while connecting same with my learning
experiences and observations.
Lindeman’s assertion as contained in the above statement resonated immensely with me, spurred anxiety and at the same time incited gratitude with a sense of nostalgia as I have been on a search for more ingenious ways to trigger experiential learning in the Early years of my teaching career.
The first time I was asked as an instructor to teach on the topic “how children construct
knowledge” in a class of about 30 plus adults, my approached was more hypothetical than
practical. I engaged theories that required practical and pragmatic participation of students;
however, my delivery was more hypothetical about the entire topic instead of allowing the
students to be hands-on, interactive and participatory. The consequence of my approach led to a
disconnect between me and the students and this was obvious in their feedback.
The adult learners were disorganized, disoriented and confused as they could not understand
how the theories are related, the implication and application of the theory to the topic. There
where lots of questions springing up in the classroom from students who were seemingly very
intelligent and would have appreciated the concepts better, but the learning process was devoid
of experiential and self-directed learning, and this is a fundamental difference between the adult learner as against a child.
Adult learning experience is critical for individual growth and societal development, providing a sense of purpose, intellectual stimulation, and the ability to traverse through difficult and complex tasks. It instigates critical thinking, expands the fronter of personal views, opinions, perspectives and construct problem-solving skills. Learning for adults helps adaptability and efficiency in individual lives and commercial activities/
The adult Learning helps the adult to develop a sense of purpose and satisfaction, allowing the
individuals to explore interests, acquire new skills, and give back meaningfully to society while
that of a child learning experience is more of fun and domain development.
Coming across Lindeman’s quote, immediately my attention was drawn to the obvious inadvertence of the teaching style that I adopted in my first class as an adult instructor. From an interpretative viewpoint of Lindeman’s assertion, a classroom that is instructor-centered rather than a blended approach of both student and instructor involvement will deprive the adult learner the opportunity of an experiential and self-directed learning which will in turn impact adversely on the perception and application of learning affecting the desired result.
Lindeman’s quote has inundated me with the mindset to deliver early years courses in a better
and more professional way by letting the adult student bring in their experiences and deliver the
lesson plan in a more pragmatic and proficient way.
Easy Learners 