University Learning Theories and Education: An Essay

This essay explores learning theories in relation to education, focusing on adult learners. It examines the role of fun and enjoyment in the learning process, drawing upon personal experiences and research. The essay highlights the importance of teacher-student relationships, interactive frameworks, and the creation of a supportive social environment. It also addresses key differences between child and adult learning, emphasizing the significance of past experiences and self-directed learning principles. The conclusion underscores the dynamic nature of learning and the need to incorporate elements of fun and engagement to foster motivation, concentration, and social connection in both child and adult learners. The essay references various academic sources to support its arguments, including articles on adult learning, coaching, and the impact of fun on education.

Running head: LEARNING THEORIES IN RELATION TO EDUCATION
Learning theories in relation to education
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1LEARNING THEORIES IN RELATION TO EDUCATION
After reflecting on my story, my journey involved a transformation in learning which
occurred through interactions with family, community, and culture. The learning outcomes
are developed from the very childhood and are bettered with age. According to several
studies in the past, I have found out that both the fun and the enjoyment plays a vital role in
the learning procedure of a child and the learning procedure of an adult (Merriam & Bierema,
2013). In the course of learning, from my personal experience I can say that the role of a
teacher plays an integral part in setting up the learning mood of the student. Here the student
may be a child or that of a full grown adult.
It is the relationship and the bond between them that facilitates the process of
learning. It is imperative and goes without saying that the process of learning is a two way
process and can only be achieved if there is a stable connection between the teacher and the
student (Taylor & Hamdy, 2013). As mentioned earlier, the fun and the enjoyment really
facilitate the process of learning for the students. On the other hand, the process of learning
among the children and the adults is also facilitated with the help of establishing a stable
interactive framework.
The teachers who are engaged in providing valuable knowledge to the students have
mostly been found talking about the safety, engagement and the social relationship.
Although, the learning procedure is one of the processes that are developed with the due
course of time, the adult learners have been found speaking about the number of elements
that play a major part in their experience program of fun and enjoyment (Smith & Pourchot,
2013).
These elements as described by the adult learners included the several processes that
were established by the teachers, humour, array of activities that are undertaken, emotions,
personal achievements, wellbeing, interactions and exchanges with several types of people

2LEARNING THEORIES IN RELATION TO EDUCATION
along with the benefits relating to the self interest (Lucardie, 2014). I as a human being and
an adult learner truly concur with the elements that have been mentioned as the elements of
the learning activities by the adult learner groups. I feel that the above mentioned elements
help the learner to form a basic mind set about the knowledge that they are gaining in the
form of learning.
The role of fun and the enjoyment in the adult learning programmes are considered as
the motivational factors that draws the adult learners to attend the respective learning classes
and acquire knowledge and skills according to their capabilities. In addition to that, both the
factors of fun and enjoyment are considered as the factors that are dedicated towards a
mechanism that is devoted upon increasing the concentration levels among the adult learners.
This also helped them in establishing a connection with the learning environment (Lucardie,
2014). I am completely in support with the crux of the idea because I have faced similar
instances in the past where the fun and enjoyment factors enabled me to develop the levels of
concentration thereby raiding the learning process.
The nature of average normal beings is to get inclined to a learning process that is
relatively easier to have a grip than the learning processes that are complex in nature. This is
why the child learners are imparted with knowledge that is much easier to perceive through
process that involves the essential factors of fun and enjoyment (Edwards, Hanson &
Raggatt, 2013). The same can be said about the adult learners because it is the human nature,
though the process involving fun and enjoyment may be different to that of the children and
the adults.
In my opinion, this notion is undeniable due to the fact that I have been a child learner
in one point of my life and now also learning as an adult learner based upon the same factors
of fun and enjoyment. As discussed earlier the combined efforts of the fun and enjoyment

3LEARNING THEORIES IN RELATION TO EDUCATION
factors help in the development of the socially connected environment (Foote, 2015). I
personally have applied the techniques of learning in my life as well in which the influence of
the family, surroundings and the culture had helped me to learn and stay connected to that of
the social environment.
However, with the similarities of learning processes in that of the child and the adults
there are few notable differences. These differences are not so vivid as compared to that of
the learning processes found in the children and the adults but are something that can be
reviewed invariably. The learning process of a child is a bit rigid in nature as the children are
devoid of past experiences (Cox, 2015). In due course of time as the child grows, the learner
learns from his mistakes and his past experiences that in turn makes the learning process
much more fluent in the adult human beings.
There are a total of six key adult learning principles that underlines the analogy of the
practice. These principles states that an adult learner requires to be very clear about the
purpose of the learning, is completely self driven, has previous experiences about the work
they have been entitled to do, depicts the signs of instantaneous actions for the fulfilment of
the tasks that mostly related to life, imbibes a quick problem solving capability towards the
genre of learning and is devoted towards continuous motivation towards learning (Roulston,
2010). These principles go similar to my principles of the learning process because I think
that these are the principles that truly define a learner who is keen to acquire a new set of
ideas.
From the above sections that has been discussed in this assignment, it is very clear
that the learning process is a two way process and is dynamic in nature. Thus, I can conclude
that the learning processes for both the child and the adult learners must be subjected to the
factors relating to fun and enjoyment. It is so because these two are the factors that helps in

4LEARNING THEORIES IN RELATION TO EDUCATION
the facilitation of the learning process thereby helping the adult learners to be motivated, stay
concentrated and stay socially connected to the environment.

5LEARNING THEORIES IN RELATION TO EDUCATION
References
Cox, E. (2015). Coaching and adult learning: Theory and practice. New Directions for Adult
and Continuing Education, 2015(148), 27-38.
Edwards, R., Hanson, A., & Raggatt, P. (2013). Boundaries of adult learning. Routledge.
Foote, L. S. (2015). Transformational learning: Reflections of an adult learning story. Adult
learning, 26(2), 84-86.
Lucardie, D. (2014). The Impact of Fun and Enjoyment on Adult's Learning. Procedia-Social
and Behavioral Sciences, 142, 439-446
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2013). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. John
Wiley & Sons.
Roulston, K. (2010). ‘There is no end to learning’: Lifelong education and the joyful
learner. International journal of music education, 28(4), 341-352.
Smith, M. C., & Pourchot, T. (2013). Adult learning and development: Perspectives from
educational psychology. Routledge.
Taylor, D. C., & Hamdy, H. (2013). Adult learning theories: Implications for learning and
teaching in medical education: AMEE Guide No. 83. Medical teacher, 35(11), e1561-
e1572.
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