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.

Looking to brush up on your learning strategy know-how? Now’s the time—it’s clear that the importance of learning in the modern work landscape will only continue to grow. As the world gets busier and more complex, organizations will rely more and more on their employees’ abilities to continually upskill, reskill, and adapt to new realities. Enter L&D.

As learning professionals, it’s our responsibility to craft effective learning strategies that create meaningful behavior change in learners. But time and again, learning experiences fail to meaningfully impact business goals or promote sustained behavior change. Sometimes that failure stems from not understanding how learning initiatives connect to overarching business objectives. Other times, it’s the result of a misalignment between what we think learners need and what they actually need.

No matter the case, our Learning Principles can help. By letting your learning strategies be propelled by a set of principles founded on the science of how people learn you will undoubtedly create more-effective and more-meaningful learning experiences.

Here at Maestro, we live and breathe by these four Learning Principles, which any learning team can apply to their own learning efforts:

LP. 01: Learning exists to create change
LP. 02: Learning is a process
LP. 03: Learning should meet people where they are
LP. 04: Learning works best when beautifully designed

We arrived at these principles after years of experimenting, honing our craft, and recognizing patterns in human behavior. The best part about them is that they’re universal and can be applied to any learning strategy.

Let’s dive into each of these fundamental principles and explore how to apply them to your strategies for learning.

LP. 01: Learning exists to create change

The goal of any learning initiative isn’t simply to deliver knowledge, but to deliver meaningful results. And by meaningful results, we mean a change in behavior. In successful learning experiences, learners not only attain new or improved skills or abilities; they apply them. No matter how you slice it, learning is about driving behavior change.

In order to facilitate real behavior change, you must be able to answer a few foundational questions. What change do you want to see in business performance, and how will you measure it? What do learners need to be able to do to reach our goal? Note that the answers to those questions aren’t always obvious. In fact, it’ll probably take some serious research on your part to answer them accurately. To truly create meaningful behavioral change, you must understand what is meant to change and why—and that requires thorough learner research. We’ll get into this a bit more when we explore Learning Principle 03, but for now, just remember that learner research is an essential foundational element of an effective learning and development strategy.

In that same vein, it’s important to note that learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and behavior can be influenced by more than just learning. The ABC Behavior Model is a useful tool to assess the environment, events, incentives, and reactions surrounding the central learning problem—the behavior you want to change—and how to address that knowledge in your learning strategy.

For instance, when you implement learner research tools like the ABC Model framework, you may find that a certain approach to learning—sometimes even learning itself—isn’t the best solution. You may discover that what you thought was the central learning problem isn’t actually the central problem, but a byproduct of a different root cause, like the environment or a lack of motivation. That’s why learner research is so critical. If you truly want to change your learners’ behavior, you must have all the information.

Once you have the necessary information to begin developing your learning strategy, start with the end in mind. What does success look like? By answering this question—informed by what you collected in the learner research phase—you’ll identify the north star of your learning strategy, which will shine a guiding light that will help you develop a learning experience that achieves meaningful results.

Practical applications for your L&D strategy

You know learner research plays a vital role in developing effective learning strategies, but how do you know if your learning experiences are actually creating behavior change? You measure the results.

As you evaluate the success of your corporate learning strategy, don’t fall into the trap of only measuring outputs—i.e. how many learners completed the course, how many passed the knowledge checks, and how long it took for the learners to complete each module. It’s equally important to measure the outcomes your learning experience created. Have customer service scores increased? Have operations improved their efficiency? Has there been an increase in conversions? Measuring outcomes over outputs helps you identify the positive ripple effects your learning initiative has created throughout the organization.

One great way to gauge your initiative’s impact is using an evaluation tool like the Kirkpatrick Model, which identifies the four levels of learner comprehension. While the lower two levels of the Kirkpatrick Model—Reaction and Learning—measure more surface-level outcomes, the top two levels—Behavior and Results—are where the magic happens. The top two levels measure whether or not your learners are applying the knowledge or skills they’ve learned, and how that application affects the organization.

As you employ the Kirkpatrick Model to measure the effectiveness of your learning strategy, consider the following measurement methods: for the Behavior level, you can use scenario-based assessments or on-the-job observation and feedback to assess whether your learners are actively changing their behavior. For the Results level, focus on how the learning experience impacted overall business performance.

As you design your next learning experience, consider these questions:

• What is the problem this learning initiative is meant to solve?
• What change do you want to see in business performance, and how will you measure it?
• What do learners need to be able to do to reach our goal?
• How do you plan to measure the outcomes of your learning experience, and why?

LP. 02: Learning is a process

Much like crafting a learning experience is a process, learning itself is also a process. Seldom is someone able to read a book, take a course, or watch a video and then apply a new skill perfectly on their first try. Learning isn’t a one-time event—it’s a process that spans a range of tools and time.

You’ve heard of the learning curve—well, there’s a forgetting curve as well. Research shows that, without repetition, learners only retain around 25% of new information a week after learning the material. That’s why learning strategies that implement ongoing and/or blended approaches to learning tend to make more of a lasting impact on learners. The more opportunities learners have to practice what they’ve learned, the better they’ll retain the information. With that in mind, consider using techniques like spaced repetition in your learning experiences to actively support learner retention.

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Practical applications for your learning strategy

When designing new learning experiences, we often recommend the Tell, Show, Do, Review model. Each stage of the Tell, Show, Do, Review model offers value for learners, but to achieve the greatest impact, you must take learners through all four stages of the learning process.

For instance, if you’re introducing learners to a brand-new concept, you might pair a Tell experience—like a verbal instruction or lecture—with a Show experience, in which you demonstrate and model a skill or behavior. You might then move into the Do stage, where learners apply their knowledge in a controlled environment—think simulations, role-playing, or scenario-based learning—and provide some form of Review afterward via feedback or coaching.

As you design your next learning experience, ask yourself these questions:

• How might learners practice the new behavior in a safe, controlled space?
• What tools exist to enable reinforcement and feedback loops?
• How do we make the learning experience just challenging enough?

LP. 03: Learning should meet people where they are

You already know there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Every learner audience—not to mention every individual learner—is unique. To deliver the best possible learning experience, you have to meet your learners where they are.

In a nutshell, meeting your learners where they are means understanding your learners’ day-to-day reality. As you conduct learner research, pay special attention to certain factors that may affect how they interact with your learning experience: what their behaviors look like today, how much time they have to devote to learning, and how they’ll be applying the information they learn.

Nowadays, most learners are busy individuals, and completing a training can easily get pushed to the side or deprioritized. What often motivates learners—no matter their level of busyness—is understanding what’s in it for them. What purpose will this learning initiative serve for them? How will learning the material help them? When you truly understand your learners, you’ll be able answer these questions accurately and effectively, and your learners will be far more inclined to engage in the learning experience.

Practical applications for your L&D strategy:

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: thorough learner research is crucial to the effectiveness of your learning strategy. A good place to start when it comes to learner research is simply asking the basics. What do your learners need to know? Why do they need to know it? What do they already know?

From there, if you have the time and resources to do so, we strongly recommend conducting a Learning Environmental Analysis, complete with learner interviews and field observation. If you’re unable to check every box in the LEA, try to check as many as you can. Learner research will be your best and biggest asset in developing effective learning strategies. And remember, in order to truly meet your learners where they are, you’ll need to approach learner research from a place of empathy. In other words, don’t assume you know anything, focus on feelings, and prioritize the “why.”

One final note on meeting your learners where they are: be sure to make your experiences as accessible and inclusive as possible. Ideally, your learning experience should cater to the needs of every one of your learners, no matter their background or circumstance.

Questions to consider when designing your next learning experience:

• What does your learners’ day-to-day look like? How will your learning experience fit into that?
• What is your learners’ motivation to change or adopt a new behavior?
• Does your learning experience effectively communicate the “why?”

LP. 04: Learning works best when beautifully designed

What is a learning professional’s secret weapon? Design (and yes, that capital “D” is intentional). We firmly believe that learning works best when beautifully designed. And when we say “beautiful,” we mean something more than just good-looking. Effective design is far more strategic than simply decorating your learning experience with a few images or using an appealing color palette. Every design decision you make should be intentional because the visual appearance of your learning experience has a huge impact on how the material is received.

A phenomenon called the aesthetic-usability effect explains that learners are statistically more likely to engage with visually pleasing material. They’re also more likely to subconsciously believe that aesthetically pleasing material has more value and credibility. Investing in visual design shows learners that high-quality learning experiences are an organizational priority.

But beautiful design isn’t all about the visual elements of your learning experience. This is where Design with a capital D comes in. The way you design the written material also has a great effect on learner comprehension. One of the most powerful methods you can employ when writing your learning experience is strategic storytelling. As humans, we are wired for storytelling, and stories are often the best way to introduce new concepts and ideas.

Effective learning design brings together the art of storytelling, the skill of writing, the beauty of visual design, the science of learning theory, and the challenge of working with constraints (platform, physical components, the learner profile, time, budget, stakeholders, and more). At Maestro, we believe in letting writers write and designers design because we know that the most effective learning experiences are created when visual and instructional design work together.

Practical applications for your learning strategy

We believe that every learner deserves consumer-grade design in their learning experiences. But we know that consumer-grade design takes time, talent, and resources to pull off. If you’re working with limited resources or lack of experience, or as an overloaded one-person L&D department, you can still create beautiful, effectively designed learning experiences. Simply play to your strengths and stick to a principled approach to learning design.

Anyone can rely on universal principles of good design to improve their learning experiences. Remember that design is often misunderstood as something looking good, but it’s much more—strategic, visual, and instructional design shape the solutions that our teams create for our teammates to experience. Evaluate every experience you create to ensure that the design intentionally serves the learning objectives. Do design and technology work together to produce the most effective possible solution? Is the entire experience cohesive and on brand?

If you’re still overwhelmed by the design aspect of your learning initiatives, consider working with a learning partner who can help you create something truly beautiful and effective. The best learning partners will possess the capabilities and experience needed to co-create the most impactful, highest-quality experiences with the least amount of stress.

Ask yourself these questions when designing your next learning experience:

• Does this solution address a specific problem, while also pushing beyond conventions?
• Does the design help the user understand both how to navigate the experience and the material itself?
• Does the design help the user understand both how to navigate the experience and the material itself?

Learning Principles drive effective learning strategies

At Maestro, everything we do—from visual and instructional design to video production and beyond—is guided by our four core Learning Principles. These principles help us ensure that every learning experience we create is built on a strategic combination of creativity and the science of how people learn. Because we know that great learning is about more than just delivering content; it’s about inspiring meaningful behavioral change.

There’s more to dig into when it comes to Learning Principles. Check out our on-demand webinar, 4 Key Principles to Inspire Change Through Learning. And while you’re at it, download a copy of our free Learning Project Design Brief to start mapping out your next learning experience.