Determine the purpose of the education program. Whether it is a college course, a company training session or a hobby workshop, every learning program has an explicit purpose. Determining the purpose early on will make it easier to design and plan effectively, as well as increasing the likelihood that the learners will walk away meeting that goal.
Create course plans designed around active learning. Adults need to be engaged during the learning process, and incorporating methods into the learning environment that allow them to be part of the process increase the effectiveness of the material. Group projects, frequent class discussion and even specifically designed activities and hands-on projects can make adult instruction more effective.
Outline the purpose of the learning program to the adult learners. Adults want to feel as if their time in the learning process is well-spent, so being honest with them up front about why everything being done will increase the success of the instruction.
Encourage adult learners to incorporate their own experience when answering questions in discussion. Adults are going to be more interested when they can apply the new material to what they know.
Support questioning during lecture and discussion. Any material presented as complete truth is more likely to be met with some form of doubt and skepticism.
Create a learning environment that is both supportive and challenging. Allow mistakes to happen and do not focus on punishment. Struggling through challenges will allow adults to learn, but failing to be supportive will increase the likelihood that they become defensive.
Provide learning material in well-paced manageable steps. This allows gradual understanding and mastery of the content.
Offer constant feedback. Adults want to know how they are progressing, and giving feedback throughout the learning process will allow them to understand their and improve their weaknesses.
Review material often. By summarizing the content frequently through progress reviews, adults learners will be able to see progress being made in the learning environment.