Characteristics of Adult Learners

Kolb Learning Cycle       Adult Learners	Youth Learners
Problem-centered; seek educational solutions to where they are compared to where they want to be in life	Subject-oriented; seek to successfully complete each course, regardless of how course relates to their own goals
Results-oriented; have specific results in mind for education - will drop out if education does not lead to those results because their participation is usually voluntary	Future-oriented; youth education is often a mandatory or an expected activity in a youth's life and designed for the youth's future
Self-directed; typically not dependent on others for direction	Often depend on adults for direction
Often skeptical about new information; prefer to try it out before accepting it	Likely to accept new information without trying it out or seriously questioning it
Seek education that relates or applies directly to their perceived needs, that is timely and appropriate for their current lives	Seek education that prepares them for an often unclear future; accept postponed application of what is being learned
Accept responsibility for their own learning if learning is perceived as timely and appropriate	Depend on others to design their learning; reluctant to accept responsibility for their own learning

http://online.rit.edu/faculty/teaching_strategies/adult_learners.cfm