Leading The Professional Growth of Staff · 4 min read
Adult Learning Principles
Professional growth plans succeed or fail on how well they fit the way adults learn. Objective 0002 names adult learning and professional development, including differentiated learning and growth opportunities, as required knowledge. A leader who designs professional learning the way a traditional lecture is designed, with uniform content delivered to a passive audience, will produce little change in classroom practice regardless of the quality of the content.
Malcolm Knowles's theory of andragogy describes assumptions about adult learners that distinguish them from children in school settings. These assumptions remain the most commonly cited foundation for designing professional learning and are a reliable reference point in a written response.
Need to know Adults want to understand why they are learning something before investing effort.
Open with the student data or problem of practice that makes the learning necessary.
Self-concept Adults see themselves as responsible for their own decisions and resist being directed.
Involve staff in setting goals and choosing among learning options.
Role of Adults bring extensive experience that is both a experience resource and a filter.
Build on what staff already do well; use peer expertise; address prior beliefs directly.
Readiness to Adults are ready to learn what helps them perform real learn tasks and roles.
Time learning to match current responsibilities, such as a new curriculum unit or new students.
Orientation to Adults are problem-centered rather than subject- learning centered.
Organize learning around authentic classroom problems and student work.
Motivation The strongest motivators are internal: competence, autonomy, satisfaction, and quality of work.
Recognize growth, provide choice, and connect learning to student success.
Motivation and the Conditions for Adult Growth
Internal motivation is sustained when staff experience autonomy (meaningful choice in how they grow), competence (visible progress toward mastery), and relatedness (collaboration with respected colleagues). Professional learning that is mandated without explanation, disconnected from daily work, or evaluated only through compliance undermines all three. Psychological safety matters as well: adults take the risks required to change practice, such as trying a new strategy while being observed, only when mistakes are treated as part of learning rather than as evaluation evidence.
What Adult Learners Need From Professional Learning
Relevance: direct connection to their students, content, and current challenges. Active engagement: practice, rehearsal, analysis of student work, and discussion rather than passive listening. Time and continuity: sustained learning over weeks or months, with opportunities to apply and reflect, rather than
Feedback: specific, timely information on how the new practice is working in their classroom. Collaboration: structured opportunities to learn with and from colleagues. Differentiation: options that respond to differences in experience, role, skill level, and career stage.
Change in practice usually precedes change in belief. Staff often become committed to a new practice after they see it work with their own students. Professional learning designs that include classroom application and feedback on student results are therefore more likely to produce lasting change than designs that try to change beliefs first.
Career stage also shapes learning needs. Beginning teachers typically need support with classroom routines, planning, and assessment; experienced teachers seek depth, leadership roles, and challenges that extend their expertise; veteran teachers may resist initiatives perceived as repeating earlier reforms and respond best when their experience is acknowledged and used. Paraprofessionals and support staff have distinct roles and frequently receive less professional learning than teachers, which makes their growth an important and often overlooked leadership responsibility.
Removing Barriers to Adult Learning
The most frequent barriers to adult learning in schools are structural rather than motivational: lack of time during the contract day, competing initiatives, learning scheduled far from the moment of application, and absence of follow-up. Leaders address these barriers by building collaborative time into the master schedule, limiting the number of simultaneous priorities, aligning professional learning with the school improvement plan, and assigning someone, such as a coach or teacher leader, to support application in classrooms. A growth plan that names how a barrier will be removed is more credible than one that assumes staff will find time on their own.
When proposing a growth strategy, name the adult learning principle it applies. For example: 'Because adult learners are problem-centered, the coaching cycle will focus on the specific transitions where instructional time is lost in this teacher's class.' One sentence of this kind shows the scorer that the strategy is grounded in knowledge of adult learning rather than chosen at random.
These principles apply equally to the leader's own conduct during feedback conversations. Opening with evidence and a question, inviting the staff member's interpretation, and agreeing on next steps together respects adult self-concept and experience. Directive feedback has its place when safety, legal requirements, or serious performance concerns are involved, but in most growth situations a collaborative stance produces more sustained change.
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