Adult learners have specific needs and characteristics that differ from those of children. Below is an approach that anyone can easily use to engage adult learners in a variety of settings.
When was your last engaging learning activity?
Think about a great learning activity you experienced as an adult, one that really engaged you, challenged you, or connected you to peers.
What made it so memorable?
Maybe it was a break from the same old presentation, maybe it invited you to reflect on or bring in your past experiences, maybe it changed your practice or helped you make a personal connection to a dry or technical topic.
Adult learners thrive when principles like respect and relevance are honored: respect for their lived experiences and the knowledge they bring, and content immediately relevant to their daily work and life (Vella, 1994). Global Learning Partners (GLP) works with REL Mid-Atlantic to incorporate adult learning principles and practices into REL activities—including partner trainings, team meetings, and product development—to strengthen and improve learning experiences. We suggest (and we use!) the 4A Learning Sequence—Anchor, Add, Apply, Away—to teach any kind of content (Vella, 2014).
Below, we describe the 4As and how REL Mid-Atlantic applied them during a coaching event with the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS). DCPS is implementing a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) and wanted to refine its MTSS survey tool. To understand how staff perceive MTSS implementation, DCPS created draft survey items and asked REL Mid-Atlantic for feedback. REL Mid-Atlantic provided guidance based on best practices in constructing survey instruments to improve these questions and increase the likelihood that the data will yield actionable insights.
As you explore each phase, consider how you might apply this process to a previous or upcoming learning activity.
| 4A Phase | Description | REL Mid-Atlantic example |
|---|---|---|
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The first part of a learning task is the anchor. It grounds the topic you're facilitating to the learner and connects it to their experiences. This part of the task ensures relevancy by indicating why this information is important to them right now. | REL Mid-Atlantic staff used an open question to help DCPS participants (the learners) connect to the topic of good survey practices and their purpose for being there: "What is the clear attainable goal for your survey?" Learners were encouraged to individually reflect on the question and then share their thoughts with the full group. |
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The add phase is when you introduce new content for the learners to consider and grapple with. Share content creatively with slides, video clips, demonstrations, short readings, and more. | REL Mid-Atlantic staff shared succinct, evidence-based best practices for survey development through mini-lectures and PowerPoint slides. |
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Learners will then apply this new information. They get their hands on the information and begin to do something with it. By now, learners have tapped into their experience (Anchor) and have been offered new relevant content (Add). With this step, they are given space to apply the information and resources they need to complete the task. |
REL Mid-Atlantic staff demonstrated how to apply survey best practices by walking learners through the revision of a DCPS survey question. They then invited learners to use these practices in small groups to revise another survey question. |
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Away means learners are clearly invited to personalize this learning by naming how it will show up in their work outside of the learning event. The step is essential to help learners synthesize and transfer the learning. | REL staff asked learners to name a next step with this open question: "What is one idea or practice we discussed today that you plan to apply as you revise your survey?" |
