Malcolm Knowles’ adult learning principles may not be the most buzzworthy topic in L&D right now, but his work hugely influences the field. If you know Maestro, you know that our team of learning experts has spent countless hours thinking about learning and what creates meaningful, memorable learning experiences. From this, we’ve developed our four Learning Principles: core philosophies that synthesize the brightest ideas in learning theory and design, combined with our experience and expertise, to create a clear lens for inspiring change through learning. There’s no separating our work from Knowles’s, or that of any learning professional. It’s all interconnected and works together to push the industry forward.

Meet Malcolm Knowles, an educator who was passionate about understanding adult learners and what makes them unique. Let’s get to know Knowles along with his five assumptions of adult learners, and how to implement them into your next course strategy.

Who was Dr. Malcolm Knowles?

Malcolm Shepherd Knowles (1913–1997) was a prolific American educator well known for popularizing the term andragogy for adult education. In 1935, Knowles began working under Eduard C. Linderman, another educator who was part of the revitalization of andragogy as a concept, and continued his pursuit of mastering the art of teaching adults in both formal and informal settings.

Knowles spent his career theorizing about how older people approach learning in a way that’s unique compared to children, and from this, he developed five assumptions about adult learners.

To better understand Malcolm Knowles’ definition of andragogy, let’s look into these assumptions and why they’re important for those interested in adult learning principles.

Malcolm Knowles’ theory: Five assumptions of adult learners

1. Self-concept: Adults become more self-directed as they mature

The first of Malcolm Knowles’ adult learning principles is this: as adults move throughout life, they become more independent and self-directed. Adult learners want to have ownership over their learning journey. This is why learning experience platforms (LXPs) and the advancement of eLearning have been huge in the learning industry—these tools allow adult learners to take ownership of what they learn and how they learn it.

It can be easy to make assumptions about what learners might need—especially from the position of leadership, which might not be as connected to the day-to-day work of the people who actually need the training. Instead, consider giving your learners some freedom to make their own choices in their learning journey, whether that’s by allowing them to choose their learning paths or how they receive their information. There’s a time and place for formal learning, but a blended approach can help empower learners to take initiative and learn in the moment of need.

2. Learner experience: Adults bring a wealth of experience to the learning process

The second of Malcolm Knowles’ principles of adult learning is about the learner experience. Unlike children who are frequently learning things for the first time without previous experience, adult learners bring the richness of past education, jobs, and life events to learning experiences. Basically, don’t assume your learners are blank slates without first understanding the knowledge they bring to the table.

Even if the concepts and skills you’re introducing are new, remember that adult learners may have skills and lived experiences that they can reference to enrich their own process of discovery and growth. Finding ways to integrate this with discussion groups and debriefs can be an effective way to help your learners feel like you see the value they bring, too.

3. Readiness to learn: Adults want to learn things that help them accomplish relevant tasks

You might’ve heard that adults care a lot about the “why” behind learning, and that’s where Knowles’ next assumption about “readiness to learn” comes in. Unlike children, who absorb everything they can as they grow up, adult learners are more selective with what information they take in. Common questions you might hear learners ask include, “How will this help me?” or, “What’s really in it for me?”

This is why the planning stage of any eLearning course or training is pivotal: you need to make it clear from the beginning what your learners are taking away from it and why that matters. Develop activities in your courses that mimic real-world job scenarios, include interactive elements, and make sure that what learners walk away with is applicable to their everyday job role experience.

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4. Orientation to learning: Adult learners want to solve problems

Similar to readiness to learn, Malcolm Knowles spoke of adult learner orientation, noting that adults move away from subject-based learning, which centers around simply knowing about a concept, towards problem-based learning, which focuses on knowledge that tangibly contributes to problem solving.

Scenario-based learning can be incredible for teaching your adult learners problem-solving skills while avoiding costly mistakes on the job. See how this style of learning can engage learners and help them perform better in their roles.

5. Motivation to learn: Adults rely on internal rather than external motivation

Let’s delve into the final of Malcolm Knowles’ principles of adult learning: Knowles made an assumption about adult motivation to learn. While children have external sources of motivation to learn—including parents, teachers, or the societal push for higher education—once learners become adults, they no longer have those same external motivators. They get replaced by internal motivators, which are individual to each learner. 

Internal motivations for learners could be to get a raise or promotion, to improve their skills in a relevant area, or to improve their life both in and outside of the workplace. It’s important that companies spend time understanding what motivates their learners so that these motivators can be part of what shapes the learning development process.

Meet adult learners where they are

With a new understanding of Malcolm Knowles’ concept of andragogy and adult learning principles, consider how you can apply these assumptions to the learning experiences you create. At the end of the day, your learners want to feel that you believe in their talent, trust them to do well, and want to invest in their future. By applying Malcolm Knowles’s assumptions, you’ll be on your way to doing all three.

Kolb’s Model is a tried and true framework used by L&D teams everywhere, and our team is no exception. At Maestro, we’ve spent many years with our team and clients discovering what makes a powerful learning experience, and from that, we’ve built an arsenal of learning philosophies and principles that guide the work we do in learning and development.

Kolb’s learning model has deeply influenced how we approach learning design. In this article, we’re going to detail Kolb’s model for experiential learning, or Kolb Method, and explore how it informs the learning process.

Kolb’s Model: The Experiential Learning Cycle

Kolb’s Model helps us answer the following question: How do learners absorb knowledge and actually apply it? We wholeheartedly believe that learning is a process, not a one-time event, and Kolb’s Model helps us break that process down.

Rarely are learners able to take one course, watch a single video, or read a book and suddenly be able to apply a concept perfectly. Instead, people learn in a cycle, moving through four distinct phases. This is the part of the David Kolb Learning Model known as The Experiential Learning Cycle.

First, we learn something new. Next, we think about what we’ve learned and different ways we’d like to apply it. Then, we take what we’ve learned and apply it in the real world. Finally, we reflect on the experience and figure out where we could improve. From there, the cycle repeats.

Now that we’ve covered a brief outline of Kolb’s Model, let’s look at our team’s updated take on the cycle and how it works.

David Kolb’s Learning Cycle stages

Traditionally, the Experiential Learning Cycle of Kolb’s Model contains the following stages:

1. Concrete Experience
2. Reflective Observation
3. Abstract Conceptualization
4. Active Experimentation

Though these phases are numbered, Kolb’s Model is a cycle where learners can start and end at any phase.

Kolb’s theory has informed a lot of our decisions when it comes to learning design. Through our learning and application of the model, we decided to modify it to define stages that are more clear, succinct, and actionable—creating a modern take on the Experiential Learning Cycle.

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Our take on the stages of Kolb’s Model

1. Discover

Similar to the Concrete Experience phase in Kolb’s Model, this is the part of the process where the learner first experiences a concept or learns it. This can come in the form of watching a video, attending a training, reading a book, or interacting with the world around us. We call this the Discovery phase because it’s all about learning something new; it’s the start of the cycle and where the process of learning begins. In the “Tell, Show, Do, Review” blueprint for learning, this would overlap with the “Tell” phase.

2. Plan

Once a learner gains new knowledge, the next step is to reconcile that knowledge with their existing worldview and plan ways to apply that knowledge. This phase involves reflecting on the learning experience, reviewing what’s missing, and planning how to integrate new concepts in the real world.

Practically speaking, the Plan phase can be implemented into a course by processing and debriefing after introducing a new concept. This gives your learners the space to synthesize their knowledge and create a plan of action.

3. Apply

The Apply phase is similar to the Active Experimentation phase in Kolb’s Model. While all phases of the cycle are necessary, application is the most important. This is where concrete experience in experiential learning happens. It’s the phase that helps learning “stick” and shows learners where their knowledge gaps are. This phenomenon of application that exposes blind spots is also known as The Illusion of Explanatory Depth.

In learning development, an impactful application phase is perhaps the most critical part of the entire process: it’s where the rubber hits the road for learners. This phase is a great opportunity for learners to fail in a controlled environment through scenario learning or another form of immersive learning.

4. Reflect

In Kolb’s Abstract Conceptualization phase, the learner reflects in order to generate new ideas or modifications to what they’ve learned from their initial experience. In our Reflect phase, the learner reflects on their application experience and figures out where they need to grow before starting the cycle again. 

Reflection can occur in an unstructured and independent way by encouraging learners to spend time thinking alone, in a structured and independent way through the use of journaling about an experience, or in a structured and social way through things like coaching or debriefing discussions. In the “Tell, Show, Do, Review” blueprint for learning, this phase overlaps with the “Review” stage.

Kolb Learning Styles

In addition to the Experiential Learning Cycle, David Kolb also developed learning styles to illustrate different ways people naturally take in information.

Kolb’s four learning styles are Diverging (feeling and watching), Assimilating (watching and thinking), Converging (doing and thinking), and Accommodating (doing and feeling). In Kolb’s theory, people tend to favor one of these four distinct styles, impacting how they learn.

While we deeply value David Kolb’s contribution to learning and the experiential learning cycle, we take a different stance on learning styles: we don’t believe that people only learn in these four ways. In contrast to Kolb, we believe all learners benefit from engaging with learning in multiple ways, and the best way to learn something is to have a holistic, well-rounded learning experience. Sure, learning preferences exist—but wholly subscribing to the idea of learning styles comes with many risks.

Applying Kolb’s Model in L&D

So, how does Kolb’s model help companies improve their learning? First, it gives you a proven framework for architecting effective experiences that take learners through every stage of the learning process. It also helps you avoid a “one-and-done” approach to learning. Because people rarely learn something after a single exposure, Kolb’s model helps companies adopt a more process-focused approach. A constant cycle of learning opportunities for your team members is what will make them, and by proxy the organization, the most successful.