6 Attributes of Adult Learning

Knowles' 6 Attributes of Adult Learning: 

Need to know — adult learners need to know why they need to learn something before undertaking to learn it.

Self-concept —adults need to be responsible for their own decisions and to be treated as capable of self-direction

Experience —adult learners have a variety of experiences of life which represent the richest resource for learning. These experiences are however imbued with bias and presupposition.

Readiness —adults are ready to learn those things they need to know in order to cope effectively with life situations.

Orientation —as adults mature time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his orientation toward learning shifts from one of subject-centeredness to one of problem centeredness.

Motivation —adults are motivated to learn to the extent that they perceive that it will help them perform tasks they confront in their life situations.