Knowle’s Assumptions – #1 The need to know
Posted by Mark Winegar on August 15, 2008
“Adult learners need to know why they need to learn something before undertaking to learn it.”
The investigator in this episode of The Twilight Zone needs to know something and we are compelled to follow the story. We all want to fill in the missing pieces of the mystery. We are compelled to solve the puzzle even though it doesn’t personally affect us. Why do we need to know?
Adult learners are more motivated to learn than traditional students because they tend to better understand their personal need to know. They need to know in order to better perform a job task. Some of them need to know in order to get a promotion. We all need to know so we can make a better life for ourselves or our families. Our need to know is tied to the survival instinct and that is a very powerful motivator.
Many non-traditional students come to campus with anxiety about having to compete with traditional students. They feel disadvantaged because they haven’t been in school for some time. They fear their study skills have waned and they might be right but they are not doomed. I find these non-traditional students skewing curves more often than fail. Why? Because they need to know.
Can this compelling need to know amongst non-traditional students be infused into the normal population? Perhaps it can to some dedree? Introducing each new topic with a brief explanation of how it is relevant to workers in the field can’t hurt. Try it!
It would be too mean to leave you hanging so here is the rest of the story.
Keep your students out of the twilight zone by telling them why they need to know what you are trying to teach them and how knowing will benefit them.
