Adult Training and Education

"Different strokes for different folks." This saying can be used in a variety of situations, including the context of adult learning. First, helping adults learn requires different methods than those used to help children learn. Second, within the context of adult learning, different approaches will be taken to achieve different results. Let's look closer at two processes, training and education, and the outplaying of these processes in the context of adult learners.

1. Training and education defined

What is the difference between training and education? Jay Cross, an advisor for bank employers and employees, defined the difference well in his article "Training vs. Education: a distinction that makes a difference." In this article, Cross refers to a conversation he had with the president of a large bank whose employees were not meeting performance standards. The president complained to Cross that he did not know why the employees were failing to perform well in the mutual funds area; after all, they had just recently attended seminars focused on this very topic.

Cross pointed out that in this situation, an educational seminar did not help the bank reach their goals, while training would help. He differentiated between education and training, saying, "Training is not education. Education is generally measured by tenure: you spent a day in the seminar or four years in college. Training, on the other hand, is measured by what you can do when you've completed it…Training is doing. Training improves performance." (Cross 1996)

Another good perspective on the difference between training and education is found in Brussow and Kietzman's book, Essentials of training for effective intercultural service: a call for a paradigm shift. According to the authors, education is focused on gathering information and obtaining credentials through testing. "Training, on the other hand, is focused on developing skill and the ability to perform. Total involvement in a process is required of the learners. Ability to perform is the bottom line." (Kietzman 1999:vi) Education focuses on the transfer of knowledge from teacher to student, while training focuses on nurturing and honing the learner's skills and performance.

2. Desired results of training and education

To deepen our understanding of what training and education are, and what methods to use for helping adults learn in different situations, we need to examine the ultimate goals of each-training and education. What are the different results of these two methods?

The goal of education is to imbue the learner with knowledge. Traditional methods of education are often sedentary, rather than active. They typically include a quiet classroom full of people watching and listening to a teacher who is at the front of the room lecturing. The progress of learners in an educational program is measured through standardized tests, which are usually administered on paper or at a computer. Education does not usually have as its primary goal: the learner's ability to perform certain tasks.

The goal of training is performance. In training, a person is actively involved in the activity or skill that is being taught, with the goal that he will later be able to perform well on his own. In a literacy class I took last semester, education and training were integrated: although we spent time being educated-looking at overheads and listening to the teacher-we were also involved in training through hands-on projects, like making "big books." As we carefully wrote out our story, joined the pages together, and sewed in the binding, we were actively participating in the event that we were being taught. This is an example of training. For adult learners who must perform a task, training is an ideal method. Cross says, "Researchers report that people remember 90 percent of what they do, 75 percent of what they say, and 10 percent of what they hear."
In summary, learners who are being educated are expected to acquire knowledge; learners who are being trained are expected to acquire practical skills.

3. Demands of education and training on teacher and learner

Education and training can occur in the same environment, and often do. But each method places different demands on facilitator and learner. What are the unique demands and expectations that education and training place on those involved in the process?

Education places a high demand on the teacher. In the traditional education setting, the teacher is the source of all knowledge. During the learning time, students act as receivers-sponges, if you will. They sit and soak up the knowledge being given by the teacher. The demand placed on students is most often in the form of papers, tests or other projects that are intended to display the knowledge they have gained.

Training by necessity is participant-centered (Brussow 69). This means that there is an immediate demand on the learner; he or she must perform in the given situation, or at least attempt to perform. In order to avoid an overly stressful training situation, the teacher or is under the demand to "facilitate," literally, "to make easy." The teacher should be competent in the skill being taught and should be readily available to encourage, advise and assist the learners as they are being trained. It is also the teacher's responsibility to direct the learning and help learners evaluate their progress through skills testing.

Norman Douglas said, "Education is a state-controlled manufactory of echoes." Certainly, Douglas was underestimating the potential of education. Adults, as well as children, can and do obtain knowledge in the traditional classroom, and they can go out of the classroom into the real world and apply that knowledge to action and performance. But in some situations, especially when helping adult learners who may not be used to the traditional classroom approach, training can be especially effective. When an adult is allowed the opportunity to practice a skill in a safe and nurturing environment, he will gain not only the skill itself, but also the confidence to continue using that skill in time to come.