How to Apply Adult Learning Theory for Instructional Design
When you’re tasked with designing and developing a training experience, there’s a lot that goes into it—from collecting the content from your subject matter experts to writing learning objectives, determining the right modalities to deliver the training, and much more. And if you’re a new instructional designer, it can be easy to lose sight of what’s going to create the most effective learning experience. And it’s for these reasons that it’s important to have a foundational understanding of learning theory, especially if you’re creating training experiences targeted toward adult learners.
When we take a look at designing training and learning as a whole, it’s important to recognize that the creation and delivery of effective learning experiences differ depending on the age and experience level of the learner. For example, children learning to tell time or name all seven continents are presented with different tasks and expectations than high school students reading and writing about Shakespeare. And once a person completes formal schooling and enters adulthood—and ultimately, the workforce—learning continues as they and their organizations grow and change. For employees, their focus turns to performance (aka, being able to do something different or better that contributes to the success of the organization) rather than simply building a wide body of knowledge.
And so, when designing a training experience, you, as an instructional designer, need to be comfortable with integrating foundational learning theories into your solutions. These theories empower you to meet the needs of your learners and help drive results for your organization.
But let’s be honest: Not everyone is a learning theory expert who loves to dive deep into academic and sometimes quite abstract concepts. So, in this article, we’ll provide an introduction to some instructional design basics, including adult learning theory, how people learn, and andragogy vs. pedagogy. We’ll also take a moment to debunk the myth of learning styles.
How Do People Learn?
So, the first question we need to ask and answer is: How do people learn? This may seem like a relatively simple question, but it’s one that gets more complicated the more you dig into it. So, before we talk about how learning occurs, let’s start by first defining what learning is.
At its simplest, learning is a change in behavior—a person takes in information, acts on that information, experiences an outcome, and evaluates the result. Some results may reinforce continued behavior, and others may elicit a change in behavior. Whatever the case, learning will have occurred.
For example, let’s say you’ve been tasked with baking a cake for your friend’s birthday, but you’ve never baked a cake before. To help you accomplish this task, you may decide to follow a recipe or watch a YouTube video.
But does reading a recipe or watching a video mean you’ve learned how to bake a cake? Not at all! You’ve simply taken in information, which is only one part of the learning process.
So, you decide to try baking the cake, and after your first attempt, you’ll likely try a bite to see how you did. Depending on the outcome, you may discover that you over-mixed the batter or baked it at the wrong temperature. Whatever the case, as a result, you will have learned something new to help you change (and hopefully improve) your future banking attempts. And voilà, learning has occurred.
While the cake-baking example is a very simplified explanation of learning, it demonstrates the change in behavior that takes place via learning. What’s interesting about learning is that we all have a simple and intuitive understanding of how learning occurs. After all, from the moment each of us left our mother's womb, learning has been taking place. However, it’s when we’re put into a position of having to create learning experiences for others that things don’t seem so simple.
So, let’s now return to our initial question of how people learn. While there’s a large body of research about learning and human behavior, there are three main theories that form the foundation for understanding how people learn: Behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism.
Behaviorism
The first of the three learning theories we’ll take a look at is behaviorism.
Are you familiar with the science experiment where a lab rat pushes a lever and receives a treat as a reward? The rat’s learned behavior (pushing the lever) to receive positive reinforcement (the treat) is known as behaviorism. Over time, the rat’s behavior changed as researchers rewarded it for getting closer and closer to and interacting with the lever. Big names in behaviorism that you may have heard in education or psychology classes include Ivan Pavlov, John Watson, and B.F. Skinner.
When we consider our human learner population, behaviorism focuses on how people interact with the environment around them (whether at work, in school, etc.). The learner as an individual with unique characteristics and preferences does not apply in behaviorism because the learner is conditioned (aka changed) in response to experiences in their environments. Through receiving both positive and negative reinforcement, learners develop intended behaviors as they interact with stimuli in their environments. The resulting rewards and redirections reinforce desired behavior and direct the learner away from what is not desired.
From an instructional design perspective, we can use behaviorism to modify the learner’s behavior by controlling and changing the learner’s environment with intention. For example, you might…
Use rewards and feedback to reinforce desired behaviors (e.g., badges, certificates, or immediate quiz feedback).
Include repetition-based activities like drills or simulations to build mastery.
Provide clear expectations and learning objectives to guide learners and measure their progress.
Cognitivism
Next up for our three learning theories is cognitivism.
Sometimes, theories arise as a response to others; this is the case with cognitivism in the 1950s. Unlike behaviorism, cognitivism is focused on the mental processes of individual learners as they encounter information and related stimuli. Major cognitive theorists have been around since ancient times and the Renaissance (Plato and Descartes), but William James, John Dewey, and Jean Piaget brought cognitivism to the forefront in the late 1800s through the 1900s.
According to cognitivists, learners take in information in a process-oriented manner—much like a computer. This emphasis on what happens in the learner’s brain rather than the learner’s observable, measurable behavior shifts the focus to the learner’s way of knowing rather than doing in response to one’s environment.
That being said, cognitivism does not paint learners solely as information repositories. Instead, this learning theory emphasizes learners’ ability to not only store information but use it as problem solvers and active decision-makers. Learners are self-regulated—especially as adults—meaning they can measure their own progress on a task and adjust as they see fit. As learners continue encountering information and activities, they build what are known as schemas. A schema is like a container with walls or boundaries that organizes knowledge into a unit based on relevance or experience.
To weave cognitivism into your instructional design practice, first consider how to tailor your solutions to learners with individual needs. What might learners need in terms of information, practice, and support to achieve the intended outcomes of your training? For example, you might…
Break content into manageable chunks and organize it logically to reduce cognitive load.
Use mnemonics, visuals, and storytelling to help learners retain and retrieve information.
Connect new material to prior knowledge and include opportunities for reflection and self-assessment.
Constructivism
Third and finally for our learning theories, we have constructivism.
In comparison and contrast with behaviorism and cognitivism, constructivism asserts that learners’ experiences are used in interpreting what they are learning. Depending on the individual learner’s past accrued knowledge and experiences, the learner will construct their own knowledge. This knowledge frames their perception of future tasks and events. Pioneers in constructivism include Jean Piaget, John Dewey, and Lev Vygotsky.
Constructivism is, by its nature, collaborative. Learners share their experiences and shape each other’s knowledge acquisition. The instructor or course creator is not the expert imparting knowledge. Instead, the learner derives meaning from their interactions with the facilitator and fellow students as they draw upon their past experiences to create knowledge. The learner’s unique, personalized point of view results in every lesson or task resonating differently within each person.
It is important to note that as learners progress throughout life, they continue gaining knowledge and experience. Therefore, their interpretations of constructed realities will continue evolving as well. Learners not only respond to stimuli (behaviorism) and process internally (cognitivism), but they also reflect on information in light of their experiences. Learners are constantly updating and rebuilding schemas (as we discussed above in the Cognitivism section).
Instructional designers can integrate constructivist principles by focusing on the learner’s experiences and ability to share and reflect. For example, you might…
Design scenario-based learning or problem-solving activities that reflect real-world challenges.
Encourage collaboration and sharing through group projects, discussions, or peer feedback.
Provide opportunities for reflection and personal connections to the material (such as journaling or storytelling).
How Do Adults Learn?
Okie dokie! So, now that we’ve taken a look at some of the theories that underpin how people learn, we now need to turn our attention to how learning takes place, specifically as it relates to adult learners.
Let me ask you this: Have you ever been a student in a learning experience (classroom, eLearning, webinar, etc.) where you felt as though your needs and interests were not met? This uncomfortable feeling of misalignment probably happened because you were an adult learner who was being taught with pedagogy-based rather than andragogy-based principles.
But what the heck are these terms, and why are they important to instructional design?
Andragogy vs. Pedagogy
In 1980, education researcher Malcolm Knowles disrupted instructional methods by releasing his assumptions of adult learners. Knowles stated adult learners—generally speaking, people over the age of 24—had different motivations and needs than children and adolescents. He used the term andragogy (meaning “man-leading” in Greek) in contrast with pedagogy (”child-leading” in Greek).
Andragogy’s focus on the adult learner brought to light adults’ drive to actively participate in their learning experiences and contribute to the planning and direction of events like training. Adults seek problem-centered learning with a clear, immediate application at the forefront. In contrast, pedagogy puts the instructor at the center of the learning experience. The learner does not participate as readily in the planning and outcomes of the event, and content and standards tend to dominate rather than the learners’ practical takeaways.
Instructional designers must be mindful of adult learners’ needs and expectations in order to design experiences appropriate for them. The typical information dump with a quiz may check a box at an organization, but does it provide problem-centered learning? The short answer is no! Andragogical principles help instructional designers make training more than a requirement or break from everyday work.
Check out this article to learn more about Malcolm Knowles's Principles of Adult Learning and how you can apply them to your own instructional design projects.
Cognitive Load Theory
So far, we’ve taken a look at some of the foundational theories about how people learn along with the unique qualities of adult learners. The next important learning theory you need to know as an instructional designer is John Sweller’s Cognitive Load Theory.
John Sweller released his cognitive load theory in the late 1980s. If you’ve ever walked out of a classroom or clicked away from an eLearning feeling overwhelmed, you have experienced too great of a cognitive load for your brain’s processing capacity.
Rather than seeing more information as better, Sweller argues that the brain can only handle a limited load of information at a time. Much like a sponge that cannot absorb any more water, the ability of the brain to move information from working memory into long-term memory can be hampered by cognitive load.
According to Sweller, there are three types of cognitive load:
Intrinsic Cognitive Load: This refers to the inherent complexity of the material itself. Some content is just naturally more challenging (think advanced math formulas vs. basic arithmetic). The complexity depends on how many elements learners need to process simultaneously as well as the depth and accessibility of their prior knowledge.
Extraneous Cognitive Load: This type of load comes from the way information is presented to learners. Poor design choices—like cluttered slides, unnecessary animations, or irrelevant content—add extra strain on the brain, making it harder to focus on the actual learning.
Germane Cognitive Load: Unlike the other two, germane load is the good kind—it refers to the mental effort learners invest in understanding and organizing information to build meaningful connections. This is where learning really happens.
From an instructional designer’s perspective, cognitive load theory should be leveraged when making design recommendations, storyboarding, and developing a deliverable. IDs should always ask themselves whether what is being said, seen, and done contributes to a learner’s transfer of knowledge from working memory to long-term memory. On the other hand, are any of these elements contributing to the load (and thus may be able to be reduced or removed)? The last thing an instructional designer wants is to create a deliverable that actually makes it harder for a learner to learn!
What About Learning Styles?
Now, before we finish out this article on the different learning theories you need to know as an instructional designer, we’d be remiss if we didn’t take a moment to address the concept of learning styles.
Let’s be honest; we’ve all heard people describe themselves as visual, auditory, or hands-on learners. The popular myth of learning styles dominated both K-12 education, higher education, and even learning and development for quite some time. People quite often took an assessment and received a result, which provided them with a “style” of learning (visual, etc.). Both learners and educators believed that by focusing instruction on a particular style of learning, the learner had a better chance of achieving the intended outcomes.
However, learning styles have been debunked. According to a 2014 report published by the American Psychological Association, researchers determined little scientific basis for learning styles. They also discovered that learners tended to identify with their assigned style(s) and study to match the style rather than adapt to instruction. Furthermore, instructors and designers focused on customizing learning experiences to hit on specific learning styles; however, all learners benefit from a blend of instructional methods. These findings result in learning styles no longer being considered a reliable learning theory.
Instead of designing your training content with learning styles in mind, consider designing for what’s most effective for the content and skills you’re teaching, along with the outcomes you’re seeking to achieve. For example, if what you’re teaching requires hands-on practice, then designing a hands-on training experience is what’s going to be most effective.
What’s Next?
So, now that you understand some of the fundamental theories that underpin what we do as instructional designers, what’s next? Well, theory alone isn’t enough to help you design and develop better and more effective training solutions—you need to take the theories and figure out how to apply them in a practical way. This is where instructional design methodologies and models come into play!
Instructional Design Basics:
Instructional Design Methodologies:
Instructional Design Models:
The Bottom Line
If you’re new to instructional design, understanding adult learning theory is like having a GPS for your instructional design work—it guides your decisions and helps you create meaningful, impactful training. From tailoring solutions to adult learners’ needs to managing cognitive load, these principles provide the foundation for effective learning experiences.
Now it’s your turn! The next time you’re tasked with designing training, think about the theories we’ve covered. What motivates your learners? How can you organize and present content in a way that sticks? And most importantly, how can you empower learners to apply their new knowledge in the real world?