Learning process and how adults learn

Learning is a process of changing behavior of learner. Teaching–learning process lasts the entire life span of each individual. Adult education is the intentional systematic process of teaching and learning by which person who occupies adult role acquires new value, attitude, knowledge, skill, and discipline. Art and science of helping adults in learning is called andragogy. Adult learners are autonomous, self-directed, reluctant to learn new things, and they focus mainly on immediate implementation of knowledge. The theories to explain adult learning are conditioning theory, theory of connectionism, and cognitive theory. Adult learning knowledge in medical education helps to keep update for recent advances in different fields. To improve teaching–learning, the principles of adult learning should be applied like active involvement of learner by allowing debate and challenge of ideas using audience response system technique. The adult learner should always be motivated and reinforced by positive feedback. Adults are usually goal oriented; so, we should always relate learning to participant's goal. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Medical knowledge, Practice-based learning and improvement, Professionalism, Systems-based practice.