TEACHING STRATEGIES FOR ADULT LEARNERS: IMPLICATIONS OF LEARNING CHARACTERISTICS FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING-LEARNING TRANSACTION

Adult learners are persons above school age who did not have the opportunity of attending formal school early or might have attended but have educational deficiencies to remedy; hence they voluntarily opt to participate in various learning situations. As they go to learning centres, adults do not leave behind their varied experiences, personal and community problems and needs which they hope to solve with the knowledge and skills acquired through participation in educational programmes. They also possess common learning characteristics, which to some extent; determine the teaching strategies adopted by the instructors to enable learners derive maximum satisfaction of their expectations. This study examined the implications of such learning characteristics of adult learners and analyzed the appropriate teaching styles and strategies the instructor should employ in each case. Recommendations are made based on the observations of Malcolm Knowles, (1978) a pioneer in the study of adult learning.