Jessica A. Curtis - Teaching Adult Learners

Copyright 2019 by Jessica A. Curtis

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Control Number: 2019941120

ISBN:978-1-4408-6544-2 (paperback)

978-1-4408-6545-9 (ebook)

23 22 21 20 191 2 3 4 5

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Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.

John Cotton Dana (18561929), Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations (2010)

Learning can be defined as the purposeful or incidental acquiring of information and skills throughout a persons life that affects his or her life in a cognitive, emotional, and practical way (Jarvis 2018, 25). Why would a book about teaching start with a definition of learning? Because that is the entire point and the goal of all teaching: the people who are being taught learn. While learning is often associated with formal institutions and certain periods of life, public libraries are in the forefront of resources and have the capabilities to offer lifelong learning opportunities to adult populations. Librarians and library staff who have an understanding of how and why adults learn can utilize that knowledge to enhance every transaction, from the basic reference interview to formal classes and programs.

The past one hundred years have produced a quantity of valuable research and theories on how adults learn so that instructors can package and present information in a way that increases a persons ability to learn. In its application to the library world, the vast majority of research and literature focuses academic libraries. These works address the particular situations and needs of college students, often focusing on the rising population of nontraditional, or older, students on campus. Adult learning theory and practice as applied to public libraries suffers in comparison to academic libraries in terms of research, textbooks, and professional literature. This work addresses how public libraries can take an active role in learning opportunities for adults. Libraries and their staff can use these theories, practices, and suggestions to maximize library talent and resources to become a recognizable agency of education, assistance, and advocacy to the public.

Library science education has traditionally addressed the teaching aspect of adult reference, adult services, or other adult-oriented degree tracks in terms such as information literacy, user education, bibliographic instruction, and programming (ACRL 2016). Some accredited schools are starting to offer course work in instructional design, which is associated with the design, implementation, and evaluation of instructional material. Instructional design, at least in terms of library job titles and descriptions, still applies mainly to an academic setting where instructional design librarians work with faculty to create classes, learning strategies, and online content to connect students with resources in a systematic, practical application of design and learning principles. These same principles and practices are equally applicable in a public library setting, where librarians create guided material for library resources, pathfinders, and other publicly consumed information in addition to reference librarians at the desk, on the phone, virtually, or in classes and programs.

This work is partly a plea and a rationale for accredited library programs to automatically build basic learning theory and instructional design elements into any curriculum track that involves interaction with an adult audience. It is also a demonstration and guide for students and those already in the field of the many ways that librarians can successfully teach individuals in their communities.