ADULT LEARNING
THEORY
LLG 2: GALIT COHEN, ANDREA WRIGHT, ELIZABETH UPHAM
BALANCING SCHOOL, HOME LIFE, AND WORK
WITH ADULT LEARNING
Managing school, home life, and work with
adult learning in the digital age is a
balancing act.
Tips for successfully ‘doing it all’ and how
Adult Learning Theories are integrated will
be shared.
BALANCING SCHOOL, HOME LIFE, AND WORK
WITH ADULT LEARNING
TIP:
“Review life, work, family
commitments, and travel
before enrolling in a class
or semester.”
BALANCING SCHOOL, HOME LIFE, AND WORK
WITH ADULT LEARNING
• All genuine education comes about through experience.
• Skinner’s operant conditioning is conducive to making it
all work and facilitating learning.
• Jarvis model of learning is social, interactive
phenomenon, and involves mind/body/history.
(Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner 2007).
BALANCING SCHOOL, HOME LIFE, AND WORK
WITH ADULT LEARNING
• Even as adults, we don’t have control on many issues or
our lives.
• We can become bombarded with external pressures from
school and work and quickly burnout
• As busy adults, must find ways to deal with erratic
predicaments as the arise
BALANCING SCHOOL, HOME LIFE, AND WORK
WITH ADULT LEARNING
TIPS:
1. Accept that there is never going to be
complete, harmonious balance
2. Shuffle your priorities as necessary
3. Reinforce your personal support
system
4. Cut yourself some slack!
5. “You time” is essential and NOT selfish
BALANCING SCHOOL, HOME LIFE, AND WORK
WITH ADULT LEARNING
TIP:
UNPLUG “Take time to be in
the moment and enjoy family,
friends, and environment”
BALANCING SCHOOL, HOME LIFE, AND WORK
WITH ADULT LEARNING
• McClusky’s Theory of Margin
focuses on the relationship
between load and power
• Margin = (Load/Power)
• The more margin one has the
better he/she can deal with the load
Load Factors
Consist of
Internal/External Factors
Career
Power Factors
Physical -- strength, energy, health
Social -- ability to relate to others
Socio-Economic status
Mental -- ability to think, reason
Goals
Economic -- money, position, influence
Personal Expectations
Skills -- what the individual knows how to do
Open Forum
• What are some tips and tricks you used to
balance you out work, life and school?
REFERENCES
• Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M.
(2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
• McClusky, H. Y. (1974). Education for aging: The scope of
the field and perspectives for the future. Grabowski & W.
D. Mason (Eds.), Learning for aging (pp. 324-355).
Washington, DC: Adult Education Association of the USA.