Adult Learners and the Case Study

DOE-STD-1058-93

Case studies may be able to overcome this problem by allowing the adult to work in a group;

each person helping the other to learn.

Trainees bring to the classroom an abundance of experiences: previous knowledge,

habits, prejudices, and so on. When designing a case study, instructional developers should

require discussion and input from the trainees to allow for their experiences.

An instructional developer may expect a trainee to retain and use the information

presented in a case study if it is shown how the information is relevant to the job. When an

adult understands and accepts the relevance of the information, they will be more open to

learning the information and transfer the learning back to the job. Instructional developers

should design a case study that incorporates plenty of examples of where, how, or when the

information presented can be used after the trainees leave the learning environment.

Adults want to be responsible for their own actions, and they want to be treated that

way. Most adults feel that they have something to contribute to learning situations, and they

want that feeling recognized. The instructional developer should consider this need for self-

direction and design the case study to encourage it in learning situations.

Because of different learning styles, some adults may learn more effectively by

reading. Others may learn by listening to a lecture. Still others may need to put their hands

on an object to understand it. Instructional developers should design case studies that

accommodate as many different learning styles as practical.