What Motivates Adults to Learn?

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What Motivates Adults to Learn?
(Last Updated On: December 16, 2019)

If you have ever had the opportunity to teach anything to adults, you can understand that it can at times be a challenge. Wouldn’t it be nice to break the code and figure out what motivates adults to learn. As I continue to explore Wlodkowski’s book, Enhancing Adult Motivation to Learn: A Comprehensive Guide for Teaching All Adults*, I am gaining further insight into what motivates adults to learn, as well as, strategies to engage adult learners. Wlodkowski and Ginsberg have put together a motivation framework that will help you help adults to learn. So far, I like what I have seen, and I have used their ideas in a recent learning presentation. If you are an adult educator, I recommend Wlodkowski’s book.

Wlodkowski points out that one of the most powerful motivators for adults is responsibility. Adults are responsible to not only themselves but they have responsibility to others; family, co-workers, organizations, etc. They learn to stay competent in their jobs. Adults are eager to learn about things that they believe to be relevant and practical. In the end, they want to be able to use or apply what they learn to help solve problems or to perform better.

Adults also want their experiences to count. Over time, adults have gained a considerable amount of experience, and as Wlodkowski points out, adults not only want their input  to be considered, but they also measure what they are learning against what they already know. They also want to be able to test what they learn in a realistic and practical setting.

It is important to create successful learning opportunities for adults as soon as possible, otherwise, their motivation to learn will diminish. Wlodkowski points out that adults will continue to be motivated to learn if the learning activity meets four conditions: success, volition, value, and enjoyment.

Wlodkowski and Ginsberg developed the Motivational Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching. Within this framework, Wlodkowski and Ginsberg incorporate four essential elements that will attend to the four conditions above:

  • Establishing inclusion
  • Developing attitude
  • Enhancing meaning
  • Engendering competence

By attending to these four elements, you keep focused on learner motivation. Each of these elements will be explored in more detail in subsequent posts, so please stay tuned.


* In the spirit of full disclosure, this is an affiliate link, which means that if you purchase this item through my link I will earn a commission. You will not pay more when buying a product through my link. I only recommend products & systems that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands.
Plus, when you order through my link, it helps me to continue to offer you lots of free stuff. 🙂 Thank you, in advance for your support!

8 thoughts on “What Motivates Adults to Learn?

  1. Mike

    Your middle paragraphs highlight one of the most significant differences between adult learners and traditional college students. Traditional students view themselves as learning things they will apply in the future, whereas adult learners learn things to apply immediately. Hence the marked difference between pedagogy and andragogy. (Speaking as an Ed.D.)

    1. Stan Skrabut

      Mike, I think you are right on target. As an adult learner and an student of adult learning, I do not like my time wasted. I want to know what I can apply right now.

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  5. Lilly

    Lilly
    What could we say motivates adults learners who are illiterate and are begging to learn, because they have massive frustration in what ever they do. They are always negative on what ever they do.

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