Adult Learning Basics

With a globally-aging workforce, organizations are reexamining adult learning theory and how it is applied to employee development. Adult Learning Basic addresses individual learning competencies, organizational learning climate, and technology-related issues as they affect the adult learning process.

Author, William J. Rothwell, a renowned learning expert, simplifies the complicated and often academic subject of adult learning. He defines the seven kinds of adult intelligence and provides the necessary background for successfully addressing the different learning styles for maximum benefit.

About the Author

William J. Rothwell, Ph.D., SPHR is professor of learning and performance in the Workforce Education and Development program, Department of Learning and Performance Systems, at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park campus. In that capacity, he heads up the number-two-ranked graduate program in learning and performance. He has written 64 books and authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited 300 books, book chapters, and articles. Before arriving at Penn State in 1993, he had 20 years of work experience as a training director in government and in business. He has also worked as a consultant for more than 40 multinational corporations, including Motorola, General Motors, Ford, and many others. In 2004, he earned the Graduate Faculty Teaching Award at Pennsylvania State University, a single award given to the best graduate faculty member on the 23 campuses of the Penn State system. His train-the-trainer programs have won global awards for excellence from Motorola University and from Linkage Inc. His recent books include HR Transformation (Davies-Black, 2008) and Working Longer (Amacom, 2008). He was a major researcher for the last three international competency studies of ASTD, including ASTD Models for Human Performance (2nd ed., 2000), ASTD Models for Workplace Learning and Performance (1999), and Mapping the Future (2004). He is a frequent conference keynoter and seminar presenter both in the United States and in many other countries.