How do Adults Learn Best?

Training volunteer tutors allows you to model the many concepts tutors need to know to be successful, such as addressing multiple learning styles and providing a wide range of activities to keep the audience engaged. The Corporation for National and Community Service's Principles of Adult Learning provides a useful framework for designing training. These principles suggest that training coordinators:

Go by Train: A Bit of Etymology The word train, derived from the Old French trainer, came into use during the 15th century and literally means to draw or drag. While the notion of dragging tutors into service sounds neither pleasant nor appropriate, the word’s origin points the way to more current applications. The word train implies movement, a transporting from one place to another. Despite program differences and training needs, the end goal of training is the same: to take your program volunteers and participants from where they are today and deliver them to a place where they become more effective tutors.

• Incorporate input from trainees to establish the objectives for training
• Provide opportunities for self-assessment so that trainees can identify gaps between what they know and what they need to know
• Draw on the knowledge, skills, and cultural background of trainees
• Clearly state objectives at the beginning of a session and provide opportunity to revise those objectives
• Incorporate input on sequencing activities and check in frequently to see that needs are being met
• Plan training activities that emphasize learning by doing
• Take different learning styles—visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.—into account
• Establish a learning environment that encourages participation
• Select a physical environment that is conducive to learning
• Include evaluation and feedback on trainees' progress in acquiring needed competencies
• Include opportunities for evaluation and feedback on trainers' skill and overall training design