Helping Adults Learn

Effective teaching requires an understanding of what goes on inside the learner. Adults possess life experience and a concept of themselves which affect their capacity to learn. Adult learners want to be actively involved in their learning experiences and expect them to be relevant and useful. Significant learning, through its cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions, engages the whole person. People perceive and process data in different ways and through different stimuli. In order to develop courses that maximize people's natural learning processes, lactation consultants need to be aware of the assumptions, expectations, and varied learning styles new mothers bring. Breastfeeding educational programs which encourage active participation, self-direction and interdependence, which respect mothers' own experiences, and which appeal to a range of learning styles are more likely to encourage risk-taking, open sharing, and trying new behaviors which in turn result in lasting learning.