What Skating With Students Reminded Me About Adult Learning
Last year, I decided to apply to be a substitute teacher in the local school division. The process went smoothly; I completed some online training to build awareness around respect in schools and accessibility – not unlike other training I have either taken or facilitated – and in September, I had my first day as a substitute teacher.
My career focus has been primarily on adult learning, and I thought this might be a great way to integrate other learning into my life, offer the skills I have in a different context, and create another pathway to engage in education, which I enjoy. My own learning is engaged as I watch teachers, students, and the interaction to better understand how to provide support in this new-for-me role.
It’s fun! At times, perhaps a little chaotic as I figure things out in various classes, but it’s fun. I love Grade 5/6 ELA, Kindergarten math, and Grade 1/2 science. I get to read books, talk about poetry and art, use flash cards, and support learning about oceans and continents. I also get to witness the really hard stuff embedded in life, but not always overt in other work I do – big wins, proud moments, disagreements, hurt feelings, and joy.
Recently, I helped some students with skating, and during that time, we solved missing sock problems, practiced turn-taking, struggled with staying in a line or a group, tied or buckled skates, and then tried to stay upright on the ice. There are a lot of “real-life” connections in there, all of which are relevant to how we learn as adults.
Malcolm Knowles, a renowned author in adult learning, introduced the following assumptions of Andragogy (assumptions of adult learning) to identify that adults learn best under the following circumstances:
1. Choice – adults want to decide what and when they learn. When learning is self-directed, it feels relevant – whether we learn to tile the kitchen floor in a renovation project, or take a leadership course to prepare for the next career step.
2. Experience – adults want to be able to actively use previously gained knowledge to inform today’s learning, while also actively engaging in learning by doing, not just watching or listening. Being able to share use and share their experiences to connect with the current discussion is key to successful learning.
3. Ready/Relevant – we often teach “what” and forget to teach “why”. Toddlers and small students aren’t the only ones who want to know “why?” or “how come?”. As adults, we care about whether what we’re learning is relevant to us, and when we don’t know why learning “this” matters, we lose the connection to the subject. Knowing the relevancy helps us become ready to learn. Adult learners must be ready to learn for them to be willing to engage meaningfully in any learning experience – whether a formal classroom, a conference, a workshop, or a seminar.
4. Practical/Problem-centred – unlike children who often learn one subject at a time, adults are looking for connected or integrated learning, asking themselves, “What problem is being solved?” Adults want to “do” their learning and have a real application for it.
5. Motivation – You can’t make someone learn, nor can you make them want to learn. The teacher, speaker, instructor, or facilitator may be great and may even have come highly recommended, but if the learner isn’t interested (motivated) to learn for whatever reason – the idea is new, it’s difficult, it challenges previous knowledge or understanding, or is related to technology or something else that slows us down – then learning becomes difficult and motivation or willingness diminishes.
Going back into the classroom in a different way has been a great reminder that everyone comes to the learning space differently. When we wonder why learning “didn’t land” the way we anticipated (for children or adults), it can be helpful to understand that engagement in the room is often related to learner choice, experience, readiness, relevancy, application, or motivation – whether learning to skate, building work-readiness behaviours, developing leadership skills, or something else entirely. Learning isn’t as neat or straightforward as we think. Often, we need to be exposed to ideas more than once before they truly take hold.
Just like the best conditions for learning to skate will be different for different students, the right conditions for adult learning will look a little different for everyone as well. Perhaps the focus shifts from prescribed outcomes and more to supporting progress, building confidence, and sustaining momentum.
Share your perspective on Knowles’ principles and which is the most important to you at dana@trellispathways.com.
Dana
p.s. Share your perspective on Knowles’ principles and which is the most important to you at dana@trellispathways.com.
References:
Peterson, Deb. (2025, May 15). 5 Principles for the Teacher of Adults. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/principles-for-the-teacher-of-adults-31638
Andragogy – Adult Learning Theory (Knowles) https://learning-theories.com/andragogy-adult-learning-theory-knowles.html
