The first Knowles principle in teaching adults is self-direction. Adults respond better in a learning situation where they have some control over the direction of their learning. They can help define the order in which they will learn things, the methods they will use for learning or the core of the subject matter itself. Adults respond better when they have a clear understanding of why they are learning what they are learning, and how it will apply to their real-world experience.
Adults bring their own experiences into any learning situation, and those experiences will help shape how they process new information. An adult-oriented teaching environment will be more successful if the teacher respects the experience of the students and welcomes input based on those individual experiences. Adults also learn better through hands-on experience than through methods such as lecture or memorization.
Knowles recognized that adults respond better to learning requests made of them if they can situate the lesson. This means they should see how acquiring the knowledge in question will improve their job situation or help them become more successful in any of their social roles. A teacher who can convey how classroom knowledge fits the real world will have adult students feeling more engaged and performing better.
Because adults are more oriented around their own daily needs, it is not surprising that when it comes to learning they are more interested in knowledge that is concrete and applicable. For example, in a word processing class, a teacher will have better luck teaching students with real world examples, such as creating a resume or memo, than simply teaching word processing theory and keystrokes.