PHR®/SPHR® Professional in Human Resources Certification Study Guide, Third Edition

2.5. Adult Learning Processes

The concept that adult learning processes were different from those of children was developed in the United States by Eduard Lindeman during the 1920s. Lindeman first promoted the idea that, for adults, the methods of learning were more important than what was being taught. His belief was that the most effective learning for adults took place in small groups where knowledge could be shared based on the life experience of the participants. Malcolm Knowles expanded on Lindeman's theories in the 1970s when he identified characteristics that set adult learning apart from the way children learn. The work of Lindeman and Knowles is the basis for the study of how adults learn known as andragogy. The definition of andragogy ...