As an adult who did not complete my education until later in life (i.e., a student) and as a former instructor and current tutor of adults (i.e., a teacher), I have a double perspective on adult learning. It is this: We adults may learn slower, but the learning seems to imprint more deeply. Likewise, teaching adults requires patience and a style that recognizes and takes advantage of the learning style of the older adult.
As a student about ten years ago, I completed my degree through evening courses. I was a working adult, so it was an investment in effort and stamina for me to extend my day. I took one or two college courses per semester and, where possible, I paired my courses together so that I would be taking one relatively difficult course with another not-so-challenging one.
Philosophically, as an adult college student, I quickly found that the key to completing the gauntlet of academic requirements leading to my degree was this: surrender to the process. If the process involved a particularly inept or unreasonably difficult professor, I simply gritted my teeth, stayed faithful to the syllabus, and did everything in my power to do what the instructor wanted me to do. Like the Borg said to that Star Trek captain, "Resistance is futile."
Two years after completing my degree, I latched on to an adjunct teaching job at a community college, where, because I was a certified Microsoft Office instructor, I was allowed to teach night courses in MS Software. It was here I encountered many willing, but "computer-challenged" adults who needed to upgrade their computer skills for professional or personal reasons.
One semester I taught an afternoon and evening class. It was during this double load that I quickly saw the difference between teaching relatively younger students (18-21) during the day classes and teaching the older (40+) adults in the evening. Younger minds tend to absorb information and instructions quickly. The younger generation I taught also was more computer-savvy. My older adult students, on the other hand, required a slower and more methodical approach. However, I observed that the typical younger student did not work particularly assiduously on my "easy" computer software course and would usually coast through with "low B" because they tended not to focus on course theory (quizzes and knowledge factors). My older students, who seemed to have more difficulty with the software steps, worked slower but seemed better at course theory.
Likewise, my typical adult learner seemed to have somewhat of a fear of the unknown and was reluctant to work ahead or experiment. Many were very nervous around the hardware and were afraid of making an error that might damage the equipment. I used to half-jokingly admonish my more timid adult students not to worry about "breaking the computer." It was impossible I would say. One evening, however, I was proved wrong when one adult student tried to jam a floppy disk into a CD ROM and actually broke the computer!
In sum, my experiences in adult education have led me to philosophical conclusions about the adult learning experiences:
-Learning is a lifelong experience. It is akin to physical exercise in that it tones the mind and nourishes the self-image. It is also part of the sadly Darwinian working environment nowadays where only the qualified and skilled can hope to gain that elusive equity in their careers.
-Adult learners should recognize the significant advantage they have over younger students: older adults truly know the value of an education, partly because they may have slipped through the system earlier and suffered for it and partly because academic success and the process of becoming educated is a truly satisfying and nourishing experience.
So as an adult student and an adult educator, I have found both roles and those parallel processes life-enriching experiences. Adults who think they are "too old" to achieve a learning milestone (a skill, or degree) need to ask themselves, "How old will I be if I don't do it?" Age in this context is an irrelevant consideration.