Training

Why This Matters 

Most of us who teach technology to older adults learn our craft through trial and error — we see what works, adjust when something doesn’t, and slowly build up a bag of tricks. That’s valuable experience. But underneath the tricks sits a body of research on how adults actually learn, and understanding it can save you a lot of trial and error. 

The most influential model of adult learning comes from educator Malcolm Knowles, who argued that adults learn differently from children — a field of study he called andragogy. His six principles apply directly to any adult learner and are also relevant when the learner is older and the subject is technology. 

The Six Principles of Adult Learning 

1. Adults need to know why before they’ll invest in how 

Children will often learn something simply because a teacher tells them to. Adults want to understand the point first. Before you demonstrate how to do something, spend thirty seconds on why it matters to them personally — not “this is how you attach a file” but “this means you can send your grandson the photos from Sunday without printing them.” 

2. Adults have a self-concept as capable, self-directing people 

This is the principle most often violated in tech teaching for seniors, usually with good intentions. Being over-corrected, spoken to slowly and loudly, or having a device taken out of someone’s hands “to save time” all undermine a person’s sense of themselves as capable. Wherever possible, let the learner’s hands stay on the device and let them drive, even if it’s slower. 

3. Adults bring a rich reservoir of experience 

A 75-year-old learner isn’t a blank slate. They may have used a typewriter, a rotary phone, a filing cabinet — and these experiences are useful anchors, not obstacles. “This is a bit like alphabetising a filing cabinet” can do more work than a purely technical explanation. It also means adults sometimes need to unlearn an old mental model before a new one fits, which can look like resistance but is really an adjustment period. 

4. Adults become ready to learn when it’s relevant to their life 

Motivation rises sharply when the skill connects to something already happening in someone’s life — a new grandchild overseas, a medical appointment moving online, a scam they’re worried about falling for. Where you can, sequence your teaching around real, current needs rather than a generic curriculum. 

5. Adults are task-oriented, not subject-oriented 

Adults generally want to solve a specific problem, not study a subject in the abstract. This is why “how to use a smartphone” as a course title works less well than “how to video call your family” or “how to check if a text message is a scam.” Frame lessons around tasks and outcomes, not features and menus. 

6. Adults are more often motivated internally than externally 

Grades and gold stars don’t move adult learners much. What does move them: confidence, independence, reduced fear, and the ability to help themselves or stay connected to people they love. Naming that motivation back to a learner (“you’ll be able to do this yourself now, without waiting for anyone”) reinforces it. 

What This Looks Like with Older Learners Specifically 

A few additional realities are worth layering on top of Knowles’ framework when your learners are seniors: 

• Working memory and processing speed often decline gradually with age, even when long-term knowledge and reasoning stay strong. This doesn’t mean someone can’t learn — it means new information may need to be presented in smaller chunks, with more repetition, and less time pressure. 

• Anxiety is a bigger barrier than ability. Many older learners have absorbed a cultural message that they’re “bad with technology” before they’ve even tried. That anxiety itself interferes with learning far more than any real cognitive limit does. A calm, unhurried, non-judgemental tone does more for learning outcomes than almost any technique. 

• Physical factors matter more. Vision, hearing, dexterity, and arthritis all affect how someone interacts with a touchscreen or keyboard. Slower typing or difficulty with small icons is often physical, not cognitive — and treating it as the latter can be quietly humiliating for the learner. 

• Learning in a social setting has its own value. For many seniors, a computer class is also a source of connection and routine. The learning and the social experience reinforce each other, which is worth remembering when you’re designing sessions, not just content. 

Bringing It Together as a Volunteer 

None of this requires new equipment or extra training time — it’s mostly a shift in posture: 

• Start with why, not how. 

• Let the learner’s hands do the work. 

• Connect new skills to what they already know. 

• Teach the task in front of them, not the whole subject. 

• Assume competence, and treat confusion as information, not deficiency. 

• Watch for anxiety and physical difficulty before assuming a cognitive gap. 

Adult learning theory isn’t a replacement for the practical tips most of us pick up on the job — it’s the reasoning that explains why those tips work. Once you can see the principle behind a technique, you can invent new techniques yourself when you hit a situation your usual toolkit doesn’t cover.