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SECTION FIVE

Motivating adult learners

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SECTION FIVE Motivating adult learners

raining is an activity that strengthens an organization by increasing the productivity of its human resources. Enterprises have various sorts of assets, including physical assets such as buildings, land, equipment, facilities and so on. There are financial assets that may include cash, stocks, partnership shares, and many other types of investments that can be converted into money. Human resources are an asset too; just as facilities and financial resources determine the capabilities of an organization, to an even greater extent so do human resources. An organization that has highly developed human resources can do more, achieve its aims more efficiently, and do so at a lower cost than an organization with a poorly developed human resource. However, training has positive consequences that go beyond making the organization more effective. It also produces great benefits for individuals who make up the human resource. They become more valuable to the organization, but their value on the open labor market rises too. Since their worth is greater, they may command higher earnings, and the learning they gain should provide them better career opportunities throughout their working lifetime. This is why staff members should be eager to accept training opportunitiesthey gain as much as does the organization. If they are not eager, then further investigation is indicated, and the question needs to be asked, why would anyone not wish to take advantage of something that has such clear benefits? The answer to this question frequently is that staff members do not consider the training offered to be personally rewarding. Perhaps they believe that the training will not be worthwhile or would develop them in ways that they will not like. Other explanations are possible too. Maybe theyre simply not aware of the benefits. Because a learner oriented approach to training guides the concepts put forth in this manual, a lack of acceptance for training poses serious problems. Learner oriented training assumes that people who participate in training are active partners in the instructional process, not disengaged or worse, opposed to training. It is an obligation of those responsible for training to cultivate cooperation on the part of participants not merely to accept training but to become actively involved in the process. Actively committed learners will not only put forth the effort needed to master material, but will work with the trainer in defining and achieving learning goals. An important motivation for most learners should be that they are the chief beneficiaries of training. The organization naturally reaps a reward for good training,

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and this is the principal justification for it. But the learner actually gains more than any other party in the process. Trainers should find it possible to demonstrate that the cost-benefit ratio of training is heavily weighted in the favor of learners.

Motivation theories
Without a doubt the most well-known of motivation theories was supplied by pioneering psychologist Abraham Maslow. His enduring contribution to our understanding of motivation was the Hierarchy of Needs theory. According to Maslow, we can define five basic types of motivationsor needsthat guide human behavior. These five are arranged in a hierarchy so that the lowest level needs take priority over higher level needs. Maslows model suggests that by understanding the priority of human needs we as managers and trainers can tailor our planning responses to achieve the maximum result. At the most basic level, the need for survival takes precedence. Sometimes also called physiological needs, these include the need for food, water, oxygen, shelter, and procreation. Unlike other needs, these are innate; no one has to be trained to seek any of these. Unless these needs are satisfied, they remain in an individuals consciousness to become the prime determinant of behavior. When hunger, for instance, is a chronic or critical condition, it is highly unlikely than an individual (or a society for that matter) will be much concerned with higher order needs such as art, status, or grandeur. At the next level are security needs. Most people in the world are relatively well fed, well clothed, and well housed, so that physiological needs are generally satisfied. According to Maslows theory, when a need is satisfied it ceases to influence behavior; that is, it no longer acts as a motivation. But as one need is satisfied, new ones inevitably come into focus, directing the individual to new action. In the hierarchy of motivations the need for safety and freedom from threat arises when only when the basic physiological needs have been met. As security and physiological needs are taken care of, needs arise of a social nature. Humans are gregarious. We want to feel accepted in society, to belong, to

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be included in groups of other humans. Yes, we even want to love and be loved. These are social needs, the desire for companionship, friendly relations with others, human contact, and so on. .ollowing satisfaction of social needs, there next arises the longing for esteem. The desire for a positive self image, for self-esteem, as well as respect and appreciation of others is found in the next higher stage of the hierarchy. The individuals sense of self-respect the feeling of respect by peers is essential for mental health and well-being. As described by Maslow, the first four of the levels of need are called deficit needs, that is, they arise from something lacking in life. The fifth and last level calls for personal growth and has been given the name self-actualization. This is perhaps the most difficult need to explain adequately. It is at this level of need that training can play a significant role. Self actualization is a complex concept, referring to human desire to grow and to develop to ones fullest potential. What it means, basically, is to attain a sense of fulfillment through development of ones abilities to the maximum extent possible, and to realize the satisfactions that come with that achievement. As people advance in their careers, they gradually shift their attention from issues such as their salaries and opportunities for promotion, to gaining a sense that they have done well in their work and in their lives by doing good for the larger causes of their society. Training can definitely to contribute to a greater sense of fulfillment through development of individual potentials. Training programs therefore should take into account trainees striving to realize their individual potentials and use this as a motivating factor in the design of programs. The person who is motivated by self-actualization is always in the process of finding new goals, new challenges, or new means of self-expression the search for the complete human being. Another important theoretical concept is the distinction between what are called intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. Extrinsic rewards are ones that are given by an organization or its management as an inducement for good performance. Among these are salaries (including salary bonuses and raises) and promotions. Organizations customarily use these as the primary tools for rewarding achievement among staff. These rewards are external to the individual and are therefore not within his or her direct control. Intrinsic rewards are ones that arise purely from ones activities in an organization. A journalist might get enormous satisfaction just from writing a well-crafted story or a producer might find great pleasure in sharing his productions as creative self-expressions. Rewards like these are inherent in the work we do and are not in the control of external agencies such as our boss or our organization. Recognizing both types of motivators can be important in training.

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Using motivational techniques in training

Some factors affecting the motivation of participants in training programs may be beyond your control. .or example trainees who have been told they must attend will probably have a very different perspective than those who have actively chosen to participate. Indeed, creating a situation where trainees actively elect to participate in a training program could be seen as an important first step in ensuring a strong motivation to succeed. Sometimes extrinsic forms of motivation can be used. Among the most common is the potential for future promotions or salary increases if a particular training program, or series of programs, is completed successfully. It undoubtedly has its place, but there are limits to the power of extrinsic motivation. Many researchers, most notably Vroom, found that once motivators like these have been awarded, they cease to be important motivations. The person who receives a raise quickly begins to take the reward for granted and is no longer motivated by it. In most cases intrinsic motivation will prove to be a more powerful force. When adults can see that what they are learning makes sense and is important according to their values and perspective, their motivation emerges. Like a cork rising through water, intrinsic motivation surfaces because the environment elicits it. Intrinsic motivation is an evocation, an energy called forth by circumstances that connect with what is culturally significant to the person. (Wlodkowski, 1999, p. 7) This section of the manual is concerned with how you can create learning environments that will elicit intrinsic motivation among the participants in your training programs. It builds on our earlier observation in the first section that adults learn differently from children and many adolescents. You will also be able to make connections with some of the ideas we introduced in section three on theories of training. In this section we will be presenting broad suggestions about ways to increase motivation, rather than specific recipes for success. The context of each training program is different and the skill of the trainer is in finding what will work in specific situations with those trainees. The remainder of this section is divided into two parts. In the first we note that the way you sequence the material being presented is crucial. You must take into account the expectations and prior experiences of the participants and help each trainee recognize the value of that training program for them. This involves recognizing at all stages, from design through presentation, that adults are active learners. You need to involve them in the learning process by adopting a learner centered approach. .inally, in the final section, we argue that you need to work hard to create a safe and supportive learning environment

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that frees trainees to experiment, question, and reflect on what they have seen and heard without fear of failure or embarrassment.

Encouraging motivation through a learner centered structure

Prior experiences The idea that personal experience is the key learning tool comes as the first in a list of six Principles for Training and Design created by Milano and Ullius (1998, pp. 24-25). This conforms with our earlier observation that adults bring a wealth of personal experiences to any learning situation. Whatever you present in a training session will be filtered through those personal experiences. You have no choice over this. It willhappen. Even in those situations where it is not evident during the session it will still be happening silently within each participant. And after the session, when the trainer is safely out of earshot, the participants will compare their assessments, perhaps over lunch. But we are not suggesting you structure your training programs to use their personal experiences to reflect on what is being presented simply because it will happen anyway. Inviting adult learners to participate in this way also encourages them to be active learners who take responsibility for their own learning. It also demonstrates that you value their experiences and respect them. Vella (1994, p. 13) terms this a dialog of learning between two adults; the teacher and the student. What happens if the prior experiences of the participants conflict with the new way of doing things that the training program is designed to promote? Milano and Ullius note that this is not at all uncommon in training situations but they argue that you cannot sidestep this. Here again you must acknowledge it and deal with it within the training session. If your design encourages people to compare their previous experience with what is being presented, then the comparison can be processed in the training roomwhere other participants, as well as the trainer, can influence the learning. If the design does not call for the dissonance or resistance to be processed as part of the learning event, then it will come out in some other way or timewhen there is much less chance to influence the processing. (Milano & Ullius, 1998, p. 28) How can we create a safe learning environment in which these kinds of comparisons with previous experiences can occur without challenging the selfesteem of the learners? Milano and Ullius have suggested one approach. By asking participants to talk about ways it is done rather than ways you do it we engage participants experience while also making it safe for them to talk (p. 30).

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Prior expectations In addition to a broad range of experiences participants will also bring a set of expectations to the training program. Again, this is something you must take into account both in the design of your training program and the way you structure each session. During the needs assessment, and the early phases of program design, it can be very helpful to investigate what kinds of training expectations are likely to be found among the future participants. Sometimes these expectations are a result of prior training programs but they can also be based on school experiences that were much more passive than the learner centered approach we are suggesting here. Therefore, the first session is very important. It sets the tone and should include a clear explanation of what is to be done, how that will be achieved, and the roles of all involved. But avoid the first session simply being a one-way transmission of information from you to the group. When you invite their contributions, you create opportunities to show that this will be a regular part of the program. This brings us back to the idea of the dialog of learning described by Vella (1994). She notes that . . . if the learner sees the teacher as the professor with whom there is no disagreement, no questioning, no challenge, the dialog is dead in the water (p. 17). She continues by observing that the question of role is a delicate cultural issue (p. 18). In some cultures prior experiences, and the expectations they have created, will require taking a different path towards dialog, and it will take different forms. However, we would argue that its value in adult training makes striving toward this goal worthwhile. One of the authors of this manual was reminded of something that happened during a graduate training program in which he was a student. Part of that program involved learning some statistical methods to analyze data. A highly qualified person was provided and he began to present his standard undergraduate course. After several classes it became clear to him that, while we were obviously listening to what he said and studiously taking notes, there was little enthusiasm for the class. The passage of time clouds why it happened but he stayed after class one day and ate lunch with us in the organizations cafeteria. Over lunch we talked about our backgrounds and found aspects of his fascinating. He had worked on several major statistical projects that several of us had at least heard about. But he was amazed when he found that between us the class had taught virtually every age group of students in a variety of settings on four continents. In future weeks he sometimes stayed for lunch and the classroom discussions frequently included exchanges about how a particular statistical test might, or might not, be relevant in the work we did. Everyone involved enjoyed the remainder of the course much more, and we certainly learned more.

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Creating a safe and supportive learning environment

A learner centered environment is one in which trainees not only feel safe to question what is being said, and to consider new ways of doing things, but is also an environment in which trainees are eager to do so. The first step you can take in creating the kind of supportive environment that creates this climate for learning is to recognize that most people who choose to enroll in a training program see it as a means to an end. There are other times when the pleasure of learning may be an end in itself but that is not always the case with training programs. As a result, it is important that you demonstrate at the very first session how successfully completing this program will help them achieve that end. It is also important for you to know why trainees are taking the course. This is information you may want to collect through a telephone call before the training program begins, asking those who are registered what they hope to learn and how they will use that knowledge. If appropriate, the objectives you have set can then be adapted to satisfy as many as possible. Less personal, but more practical with larger numbers of trainees, would be a brief questionnaire asking them similar questions and inviting them to contact you if they need further information. The early sessions should also be structured to allow for some rapid learning at the beginning of the program to demonstrate the utility of the material they will be covering. A safe and supportive learning environment also means one that allows for different learning preferences. As adults, the trainees will have had many educational experiences before they reach your training program. They know what learning style has worked for them in the past and, in most cases, remember only too vividly when they failed. In a relatively brief training program you can encourage the type of active learning that we have described throughout this manual but you also need to recognize that adults will have preferred learning styles that are very deeply rooted and cannot be changed overnight. While you can encourage change during a short training program it is also wise to structure it in ways that accommodate a wide range of preferred learning styles. .or example, some people prefer to jump straight into a discussion and work through what they think by exchanging ideas with others. You will also encounter trainees who prefer to sit back and observe what is happening. Do not necessarily assume that they are not engaged. Sometimes that will be the case, but with others it is simply a preference for a different learning style. Working in teams can often provide a context in which both preferences can be accommodated. Similarly, some people like to listen while others prefer to learn visually. The latter group create lists and when something puzzles them they map it out on a sheet of paper looking for the relationships between the various elements involved.

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It might seem that a lecture by you would inevitably ignore the learning preferences of those with a bias towards the visual. But you can accommodate both groups, and the vast majority whose preferences lie somewhere between the two extremes, by using visual aids, perhaps an overhead projector, and distributing an outline of the points you will be making. The strength of these learning preferences should not be underestimated. Undergraduate students working in honors programs are among the most academically gifted at any university in the United States. To complete their honors program they are usually required to complete an honors thesis. This is an extended piece of writing that also usually involves considerable research. As supremely successful students, both previously at their secondary schools and now as undergraduates at university, they have learned how to succeed. They know that for most assignments the trick is to get it right the first time. One submits an assignment and later receives a grade for it. There is rarely an opportunity to receive comments on an assignment, revise it, and then submit it again. They know they are stars at this game. But the honors thesis is a much longer piece of work, and to be successful it will almost certainly have to go through several drafts. This experience is often profoundly unsettling for these students. The methods that have brought them great success in the past no longer seem to be working. If they are to go on to graduate school, as many of them do, this experience will prove invaluable. However, changing their deeply engrained patterns of working, ones that have been handsomely rewarded in the past, is inevitably a slow process. We will end this section by emphasizing again the value of having trainees work in teams. Teamwork is itself both a process and a principle. Teams provide, in the adult learning experience, a quality of safety that is effective and helpful. The assurance of safety and shared responsibility available in teams has always proved welcome, no matter what the cultural setting. (Vella, 1994, pp. 18-19) Challenging what is being presented in a training session as the better way of doing things will probably seem safer when the challenge is not attributable to any individual. And, as we noted earlier, those challenges will occur anyway either inside or outside the session. It is much better that they happen in a context where they can be discussed openly. It may seem that life for you as the trainer would be easier if you simply avoided these potential challenges. But in the final judgement training is only successful if those who have participated in a program decide to adopt the ideas that were presented, or the skills that were learned, and adapt them to the particular circumstances of their own work. This is more likely to

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happen if their doubts and uncertainties about the proposed change have been addressed during the training program.

References
Milano, M. & Ullius, D. (1998). Designing Powerful Training: The Sequential-Iterative Model. San .rancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Vella, J. (1994). Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: The Power of Dialogue in Educating Adults. San .rancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Wlodkowski, R. J. (1999). Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn. Rev. Ed.. San .rancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.