Both children and adults can be unmotivated to learn. This lack of motivation can appear for different reasons, though. For kids, a lack of motivation mostly stems from disinterest in the subject being taught or a feeling that learning isn’t worthwhile. Adults, meanwhile, become unmotivated if, for example, the lesson doesn’t appear to have relatively short-term advantages for the adult. Establishing what the adult wants from her education can help a teacher increase motivation. For instance, if the adult student desires a job promotion, crafting a lesson around skills that will help her achieve this should motivate her.
A subject that’s often taught to both kids and adults is language. For example, adults may learn a foreign language through evening classes. But different teaching strategies are employed for each. For kids, especially younger children, play activities can help develop speaking and language skills, since just communicating with others can improve children’s grasp of language. Activities that assist kids with developing language include role-play and songs and rhymes. Adults, meanwhile, are often more self-conscious about practicing language skills than kids and may wish to understand why they’re doing certain activities. Working in pairs, away from a teacher’s constant scrutiny, may work best in this situation.
A key difference is that in general, adults are more self-directed than kids, as noted by Stephen Lieb of the Arizona Department of Health Services on the Honolulu Community College website. This means that they’re more used to working independently and perhaps even selecting their own topics that they wish to cover. They also desire greater responsibility and freedom within the learning tasks they approach. Kids, on the other hand, are less independent and typically require greater direction from teachers than adults do. This means that lessons with children are more likely to use a traditional, instructional teaching style. When teaching adults, meanwhile, educators need to facilitate learning and show students how to accomplish tasks independently.
When teaching children, educators will often instruct students to complete a task and supply them with the facts and materials needed. Discussion work will be common but limited; kids generally won’t, for example, give feedback on how their learning is going. Adults, meanwhile, are more used to the real world and may be accustomed to giving their views, such as in team meetings where they work. As a result, adult education tends more toward two-way learning, with students contributing as much as they’re instructed through seminars.