Use of Active Learning and Group Competition To Facilitate Training and Technology Transfer for Adult Learners

Abstract

Adult training is different from the more traditional training used in many of today’s public schools. Adults have more experiences on which to base their decisions and generally are more skeptical of education. There is a need for relevancy in the materials presented, and many negative impressions must be overcome. To address these and other issues, a number of techniques are now being applied to facilitate training and technology transfer for adult learners. A technology transfer program originally aimed at adults working for the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) was designed to educate workers about using metric units in the workplace. Because of the subject, the time constraints, and the generally negative reaction that participants in test courses demonstrated, the program was designed using several of the techniques now becoming popular in adult education. Besides the use of short lectures, these techniques included active learning and group competition, using games and exercises with token rewards for success. Nearly 4,000 individuals have attended the program in Tennessee and Kentucky. Participants have come not only from TDOT but from city and county governments, contractors and engineering firms, and suppliers. Participants’ job responsibilities have included everything from clerical to company president and owner. Follow-up surveys have revealed a strong positive response to the program and a belief that technology transfer via training is being accomplished successfully using this combination of training techniques.