Critical to the planning and delivery of the Adult Basic Education Level 3 curricula is the understanding and implementation of adult education principles.  Six adult education principles (Imel, 1998) that demonstrate the treatment of our learners as adults include:

Adults’ past experiences, their current learning goals and their sense of self will influence what they want to learn and how they learn it.  Instructors must actively engage adult participants in the learning process.  They must also serve as facilitators, guiding learners to their own knowledge and helping them expand it rather than supplying them with facts to memorize.

Instruction that is personally and culturally relevant is vital for adult learners who bring with them a wealth of life experience and knowledge.  By focusing on the strengths learners bring to the classroom, rather than their gaps in knowledge, learners are able to connect new learning with prior knowledge.

In a supportive, caring, and safe learning environment, instructors become mentors to adult learners. They help learners to develop skills that lead to self-direction, independent learning, and empowerment (rather than assuming that all learners are self-directed when they enter programs).  Empowered adults are those who see themselves as decision-making citizens, as proactive community members who are responsible and accountable to themselves, their families, employers, and society.

An atmosphere where learners can safely admit confusion, mistakes, ignorance, fears, biases, and different opinions is one that enhances learner self-esteem and reduces fear.  Instruction must demonstrate respect and promote acceptance for diverse cultures, beliefs, values, religions, and lifestyles.

Collaborative learning stresses the interdependence of each member.  Learners collaborate with instructors and with each other.  Collaboration is founded on the notion that the roles of instructor and learner can be interchangeable.

This can help “achieve a learning environment that is more learner centred and collaborative than either large group or one-on-one, individualized approaches to instruction” (Imel, p. 4).  Learning from peers and being accountable to a team also helps to develop social responsibility.

Adult education principles also have implications for the instructor/learner relationship.