Facilitator of Adult Learning

There are two paths through this Course. On the Facilitator path you proceed completely on your own, without feedback. On the Certified Facilitator Path you will be given expert feedback on the course you create at 7 intervals during the course and awarded a Certified Facilitator of Adult Learning Certificate.

Many training programs still follow outdated models—expecting adults to memorize information without context or sit through hours of video content without interaction. This course is based on you creating your own course, with your own content.

The following are the pre-test questions for Module 1.

Answering them will give you a general idea of the content explored in the module, but remember—these questions are just a starting point. The heart of the module lies in your reflection, experience, and integration of the material. Approach each question with curiosity, and let it open the door to deeper learning and personal insight.

Discover the key principles of adult learning and how shifting from traditional teaching to a learner-centered approach enhances engagement and retention. This lesson explores Malcolm Knowles’ andragogy model, emphasizing self-directed learning, real-world application, and effective facilitation strategies for adult education.

Explore the core principles of andragogy, where adult learners thrive through self-direction, experiential learning, and real-world application. This lesson highlights strategies for engaging adults, fostering participation, and creating meaningful, competency-based learning experiences.

Effective facilitation in adult learning environments goes beyond delivering information; it requires creating a dynamic, engaging, and inclusive experience that empowers learners to take ownership of their education. The following components illustrate best practices in adult learning facilitation, supported by examples and research-backed strategies.

Discover key strategies for effective adult learning facilitation, including fostering engagement, self-direction, and collaboration. This lesson explores techniques for creating a supportive learning environment that enhances participation, retention, and real-world application.

Discover the transformative principles of Transpersonal Education, a holistic approach that integrates cognitive and emotional learning for self-realization and growth. This lesson explores Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, self-transcendence, and practices that foster peak experiences, deeper wisdom, and lifelong learning.

Learn how to create clear, participant-centered learning objectives that enhance engagement and real-world application in seminars and workshops. This lesson explores the domains of learning and effective goal-setting strategies to transform passive instruction into impactful, results-driven education.

Explore the Cognitive Domain of Learning and how Bloom’s Taxonomy enhances critical thinking, problem-solving, and skill development. This lesson covers strategies for writing effective learning objectives that move beyond memorization to real-world application and deeper engagement.

Empower learners beyond knowledge by fostering confidence, values, and real-world application through the Affective Domain of Learning—a hierarchy that moves from awareness to internalized action. By creating inclusive learning experiences that inspire self-belief and engagement, educators can transform training into meaningful personal and professional growth.

Develop hands-on skills effectively with the Psychomotor Domain of Learning, which guides learners from awareness to mastery through structured practice and real-world application. By integrating demonstrations, guided response, and skill adaptation, educators can ensure learners confidently perform, refine, and innovate within their fields.

Learn how to create clear, participant-centered learning objectives that enhance engagement and real-world application in seminars and workshops. This lesson explores the domains of learning and effective goal-setting strategies to transform passive instruction into impactful, results-driven education.

Now it’s time to focus on the Learner. How they learn, what motivates them to learn, what teaching strategies help them learn and what prevents their learning..

Each of us has a personal preference or way of viewing our world. We will use in this module a personal style inventory and learning theory based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator which views individuals in 4 dimensions or continuums of personal approaches to learning.

Explore each of the Personality Type Topics. You may wish to read about yourself first! Then read about the opposite of you to give you insights into someone with a completely different style. Make copies and give this test to your co-workers, family and friends.

Explore each of the Personality Type Topics. You may wish to read about yourself first! Then read about the opposite of you to give you insights into someone with a completely different style. Make copies and give this test to your co-workers, family and friends.

Extroverts make up approximately 75% of the population and are highly attuned to their external environment, including culture, people, and activities. They make decisions based on social expectations and external demands, often seeking engagement and variety.

Intuitors make up approximately 25% of the population and prefer to focus on possibilities, theories, and big-picture thinking rather than concrete facts and details. They are drawn to invention, abstract concepts, and imaginative exploration, often becoming bored with routine tasks or information that lacks a broader conceptual framework.

Sensors make up approximately 75% of the population and prefer to focus on the concrete, real, and tangible aspects of life. They value structure, factual accuracy, and the here-and-now, often becoming impatient with abstract theories or intuitive thinking.

Feelers make judgments about life, people, and situations based on empathy, warmth, and personal values. They prioritize emotions and human connection over impersonal logic and analysis, seeking harmony and understanding in their interactions.

Thinkers excel in careers that require logic, analysis, and structured decision-making. They thrive in roles that emphasize problem-solving, critical thinking, and objective evaluation.

Perceivers are natural gatherers of information, always seeking more knowledge before making decisions. They are open, flexible, and adaptive, able to see multiple perspectives and appreciate all sides of an issue.

Judgers are decisive, firm, and goal-oriented individuals who prefer structure, order, and clear plans. They value closure and completion, setting goals and sticking to them with determination.

Find Your Tribe! Teach with Compassion for Everyone. Teaching strategies for 16 different personal learning preferences.

18 Teaching Methods to Inspire Engagement, Deepen Learning, and Create Success Effective teaching isn’t just about delivering information—it’s about creating a natural flow where learning happens effortlessly, and both instructors and learners stay fully engaged. The right preparation allows facilitators to guide discussions, structure activities, and adapt methods in ways that build confidence and competence in learners.

Experiential Learning Cycle offers a time-tested approach to meaningful learning. It honors each learner’s subjective experience and builds knowledge from the inside out.

In the Experiential Learning Cycle, the instructor determines in advance questions to facilitate discussion for each stage in the cycle. These questions help learners develop a sense of ownership over what is learned and guide them through all the higher forms of learning. Guidelines for developing facilitation questions are presented in the next three units.

The simplest test in adult continuing education is a pre-test/post-test. This can be written or just done verbally. The pre-test allows the learner to get an idea of where his/her knowledge is in relation to the topic at hand. It piques his/her interest and involves the learner immediately in wanting to find out the answers for the questions that are unknown.

The following are the pre-test questions for Module 13

Answering them will give you a general idea of the content explored in the module, but remember—these questions are just a starting point. The heart of the module lies in your reflection, experience, and integration of the material. Approach each question with curiosity, and let it open the door to deeper learning and personal insight.

Feedback and evaluation are integral parts of daily communication between adult instructors and supervisors that help learners and employees learn and grow. This section will describe how to use feedback and evaluation effectively using the Carkhuff model for helping relationships interpreted by Jill Newman Henry.

During workshops and online training, the most common evaluation instruments, when evaluation is necessary, are  written pre and post test. Pre-tests may be given to participants with their information packages prior to the start of the learning experience.

Finally, you have completed your workshop, tested your participants, and now its time to receive their feedback and evaluation. This information is important for you. It provides the specifics you need to improve your workshop or course the next time you present it. Many CEU approval programs require course participant evaluation data as part of their renewal of CEU approval.

All downloadable PDF’s in Teaching, Learning and Evaluating may be found in one place in this Library. plus MP3 Facilitations by Dr. Henry

And now, as we bring this course to a close, I invite you—wherever you are on the path—to pause and reflect:

• How did you feel as you moved through this course?

• What caught your attention most? What challenged you?

• How did the learning experiences align with the course objectives?

• Where do you see opportunities to apply this knowledge in your work or life?

• What might you do differently now, in the way you teach or facilitate?

• How have you changed as a learner? As a guide to others?