Teaching Adults vs. Children: What Every Music Teacher Should Know
- Rodrigo Moreira
- 2 days ago
- 16 min read
TABLE OF CONTENTS (Click to jump) |
Hey everyone,
Rodrigo here again!
I know...it’s been a while. I've been incredibly busy lately, but I'm certainly not complaining. It simply means things have been going really well, both professionally and personally, and I couldn't be happier.
For the past four years, this blog has focused almost exclusively on music theory and, more specifically, how music theory applies to the guitar. From now on, though, I'm expanding its scope.
Alongside the usual guitar theory lessons, I'll also be writing about music education. I'll share experiences from nearly two decades of teaching, discuss books that have influenced my philosophy as an educator, and explore research on how people learn. Many of these books have fundamentally changed the way I approach teaching, and I'd love to share those ideas with anyone interested in becoming a better teacher; or simply understanding how learning works.
I'll admit that my reasons for writing these posts are a little selfish. I've always found that writing about a subject forces me to organize my thoughts and deepen my own understanding. If I can explain an idea clearly, it's usually a good sign that I've truly learned it. Hopefully, these articles will also become a useful resource for other teachers and anyone interested in education.
Why Talk About Adult Learning?
The purpose of this article isn't to answer the question, "Can adults learn to play guitar?" I've already addressed that topic in one of my previous articles, How to Play Guitar: A Beginner's Guide to Success!, where I shared the stories of three students, including one who learned at the age of 65.
When I say he learned, I don't mean that he became a virtuoso. I mean that he achieved exactly what he wanted: he learned to play chords, accompany himself while singing, and eventually developed the confidence to learn songs on his own. By that definition, the answer is an emphatic: yes! Adults absolutely can learn guitar.
Instead, this article explores something different: why teaching adults requires a different approach than teaching children. Understanding these differences has been one of the biggest factors in helping my adult students stay motivated, make steady progress, and ultimately achieve their musical goals.
My Curiosity About Adult Education
I've always known there was a difference between the way children and adults learn. That much seems obvious.
Years ago, however, if someone had asked me to explain those differences, I probably would have talked about things like attention span, practice habits, behavior during lessons, or motivation. Those observations were certainly true, but they didn't explain why those differences existed.
Over the years, I also noticed something else. Teaching adults always felt natural to me, and many of my adult students stayed with me long enough to accomplish the goals they had set for themselves. At the same time, I watched many talented teachers struggle to retain adult students. It made me wonder whether I had been applying certain principles intuitively without realizing it.
That curiosity led me to explore the academic literature on adult education. To my surprise, I discovered an extensive body of research dedicated to understanding how adults learn and how teaching methods can be adapted to better serve them. One of the first books that truly transformed my perspective was Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice by Sharan B. Merriam and Laura L. Bierema (2014). It introduced me to the foundational concepts of adult learning and, more importantly, helped me put into words many of the teaching strategies I had developed through experience.
In this article, I'd like to share some of those ideas.
Before we begin, it's worth clarifying that this discussion is not about the neurological differences between children's and adults' brains. That's a fascinating topic for another article. Instead, we'll focus on something much more practical: how lessons should be designed, how material should be presented, and how adults approach the learning process differently from children.
Before discussing those principles, though, we need to distinguish between two important concepts.
Pedagogy vs. Andragogy
If this is your first time reading my blog, here's a little background.
I was born and raised in southern Brazil before moving to the United States to attend Berklee College of Music. Eventually, I settled in New Jersey, where I've continued teaching guitar.
Growing up in Brazil, the word pedagogy (or pedagogia in Portuguese) is widely used and often serves as a general synonym for education or teacher preparation. After moving to the United States, I noticed that the term isn't nearly as common in everyday conversation. Instead, you'll often hear expressions such as education, teaching and learning, or educational theory.
Historically, however, the word pedagogy comes from the Greek roots ‘paid’ (child) and ‘agogus’ (meaning leader of), literally meaning "the art or science of teaching children" (Knowles, 1973). In contrast, andragogy comes from the Greek word ‘aner’ (meaning man) so andragogy refers to helping adults learn (Knowles, 1973).
From Malcolm Knowles' perspective, education can be approached through two different models: pedagogy, traditionally associated with teaching children, and andragogy, which refers to the art and science of helping adults learn. These two approaches are based on the idea that children and adults differ in important ways as learners, particularly in terms of their experiences, self-concept, readiness to learn, and motivation.
The definitions discussed here are presented in Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice (Merriam & Bierema, 2014), which draws extensively on Malcolm Knowles' influential work, The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species.
The 6 Assumptions of Adult Learning
Malcolm Knowles is widely recognized for popularizing the concept of andragogy and proposing six fundamental assumptions about adult learners. These assumptions have shaped adult education for decades and continue to influence educators across many disciplines.
In the next sections, we'll explore each of these assumptions individually. I'll explain the theory behind each one and connect it to situations I've experienced over the years teaching adult guitar students.
The six assumptions are:
The Need to Know
The Learner's Self-Concept
Experience
Readiness to Learn
Problem-Centered Orientation
Internal Motivation
Together, these principles provide a powerful framework for understanding why adults learn differently; and how we, as educators, can design lessons that respect their experience, keep them motivated, and help them achieve meaningful progress.
The Learner Self-Concept
As we grow older, we naturally become more independent and self-directed. Children are almost entirely dependent on others for survival. During adolescence we gradually gain independence, and by adulthood we are expected to take responsibility for our own lives, careers, and decisions.
The following excerpts summarize one of Malcolm Knowles' most important assumptions about adult learning. After discussing his ideas, I'll explain how they relate to my own experience teaching adults over the past two decades.
Knowles argues that because adults see themselves as independent and self-directing individuals, they develop "a deep psychological need to be perceived by others as, and treated by others as, capable of taking responsibility for ourselves." Consequently, when "others are imposing their wills on us without our participating in making decisions affecting us, we experience a feeling, often subconsciously, of resentment and resistance" (Knowles, 1984).
This "resentment and resistance" often appears when instructors rely on traditional pedagogical approaches designed primarily for children. Adults spend their daily lives making decisions about their families, careers, finances, and communities. Then they walk into a classroom and suddenly have no voice in what they learn, how they learn it, or why they're learning it. It's easy to understand why this creates resistance.
This assumption has two important implications for the way lessons should be designed.
First, Knowles emphasizes what he calls climate setting. The learning environment should be comfortable, welcoming, and clearly oriented toward adults rather than children. Second, the psychological environment should be built on mutual respect, trust, and collaboration.
Adults should be encouraged to participate in planning the learning process whenever possible. When learners have a voice in setting goals and deciding how they will achieve them, they become active participants in directing their own education rather than passive recipients of information.
My Own Reading
I believe this assumption explains one of the biggest reasons many adults struggle to learn a new skill. Years ago, I would have simply called it "ego." Adults generally don't enjoy being placed in the role of a student, and they certainly don't want to be treated like children.
Over the years I've taught engineers, lawyers, physicians, entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals from many different fields. These are intelligent, highly competent people who are used to solving complex problems every day. Because they are accustomed to being experts in their own professions, it can be frustrating to suddenly become a beginner again.
Some also find it difficult to accept instruction from someone who may be significantly younger than they are.
If You're a Teacher
My advice is simple: let adults have ownership of their lessons.
Most adults already know what they want to accomplish. They know when they're making progress, they've seen skilled musicians perform countless times, and they usually have a clear picture of what success looks like. Don't simply open a method book and expect them to complete the same exercises, in the same order, that you would assign to an eight-year-old child. That approach rarely keeps adults engaged.
Instead, tailor each lesson to their goals. Use your experience to connect the skills they need to learn with the music they want to play. Give them choices whenever possible. Ask for their input. Keep lengthy lectures to a minimum, because the more you lecture, the more you unintentionally place them back into the dependent role they're trying to leave behind.
I understand that individualized instruction requires considerably more work than simply following a method book from beginning to end. But in my experience, adapting lessons to hundreds of adult students has made me a far better teacher. Every student presents a different challenge, and every challenge adds another solution to your teaching toolbox; solutions that will eventually help future students as well.
If You're an Adult Learner
Ironically, the same independence that makes adults effective learners can also become their greatest obstacle.
Having accumulated years of life experience doesn't necessarily mean you'll know the best way to develop a completely new skill. Learning guitar is a specialized process. Experienced teachers have spent years not only mastering the instrument themselves but also observing what consistently works, and what doesn't, for hundreds of students.
Trust that experience.
The best learning happens when both teacher and student respect each other's expertise. The student brings motivation, goals, and life experience. The teacher brings a proven roadmap tailored to the student's goals. When those two perspectives work together instead of competing, learning becomes much more effective.
A Little Thought
This may seem slightly off topic, but still, something worth mentioning.
In Brazil, we have an expression that roughly translates to "You still have to pay the toll." I don't know of an exact equivalent in English, but the idea is simple: no matter how good the teacher or how effective the method, there is no way around the process.
Every worthwhile skill has a price. That price is time, patience, and consistent practice.
A great teacher can make the journey shorter, clearer, and far less frustrating; but they cannot eliminate the journey itself.
Experience
Experience is the second assumption of andragogy. It states that an adult's accumulated life experiences become one of their richest resources for learning.
As Knowles, Holton, and Swanson explain:
"To children, experience is something that happens to them; to adults, their experience is who they are. The implication of this fact to adult education is that in any situation in which the participants' experiences are ignored or devalued, adults will perceive this as rejecting not only their experience, but rejecting themselves as persons." (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2011)
This idea naturally builds upon the first assumption of andragogy: the learner's self-concept. Because adults have spent years accumulating knowledge, solving problems, and developing their identities, their experiences become part of who they are. Ignoring or dismissing those experiences doesn't simply overlook useful information; it can feel like dismissing the individual themselves.
My Own Reading
I find this assumption to be one of the easiest to observe in real life. Adults rarely learn something in isolation. Instead, they naturally connect new ideas to things they already understand.
I catch myself doing this all the time.
Whenever friends explain concepts from their own fields of expertise, I instinctively translate them into the language of music. If someone were teaching me programming, for example, I might think of bits as individual musical notes, bytes as notes with pitch and duration, operators as musical intervals, arrays as scales, data structures as chords, and increasingly complex programs as complete musical compositions. (Before writing this article, I wasn't familiar with most of those programming terms. I simply did a little research and immediately started connecting them to concepts I already understood as a musician.)
This is exactly how adult learning works. We don't build knowledge from scratch; we build on top of what we already know.
As teachers, we should pay close attention whenever students begin making these kinds of connections. Those moments reveal how they're organizing new information in their minds. They also provide an opportunity to strengthen learning by relating new concepts to familiar experiences. There's another important benefit as well. When we show genuine interest in our students' backgrounds, careers, hobbies, and life experiences, we create stronger relationships and make learning more meaningful. Instead of seeing their experiences as unrelated to the lesson, we can use them as bridges to new knowledge.
Chip Heath and Dan Heath make a similar point in Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. They argue that ideas become more memorable when they connect to concepts the audience already understands. The more "hooks" we provide, the more likely the information is to stick.
For adult learners, their previous experiences are some of the strongest hooks we have. The more effectively we connect new knowledge to what they already know, the more meaningful, and memorable, the learning experience becomes.
Readiness to Learn
The third assumption of andragogy is readiness to learn. Knowles argues that adults become ready to learn when life requires new knowledge or skills. Unlike children, whose education is often determined by a school curriculum, adults are motivated by the changing demands of the roles they occupy.
Throughout life, adults take on multiple social roles: employee, spouse, parent, business owner, community member, caregiver, and many others. As these roles evolve, so do the skills and knowledge they require. A young adult may be preparing to enter the workforce or exploring different career paths. A middle-aged adult may be managing employees, raising children, or changing careers. Later in life, an individual may need to stay current in their profession, adapt to new technologies, or prepare for retirement.
In other words, adults become ready to learn when learning helps them navigate a new challenge or fulfill a new responsibility.
The following example illustrates this idea:
"A newly promoted manager may have had little interest in learning about giving performance feedback when holding a nonmanagement position. However, such an individual can be eager to learn such information because the knowledge has relevance once the individual is promoted." (Forrest & Peterson, 2006)
The information itself hasn't changed, only the learner's circumstances have. Once the knowledge becomes immediately useful, motivation to learn increases dramatically.
My Own Reading
At first, I struggled to think of a lesson-room example for this assumption because I believe readiness to learn usually develops before the first lesson ever takes place.
By the time an adult contacts me about guitar lessons, they've already decided that learning guitar has become important enough to invest their time, money, and effort. Something in their life has changed. Perhaps they've always dreamed of playing but finally have the time. Maybe their children have grown up, they've retired, they're looking for a creative outlet after a stressful period at work, or they've simply decided it's finally time to pursue a lifelong goal.
In each of these situations, the student's readiness didn't begin in the classroom, it began with a change in their life.
Understanding this has influenced the way I approach new students. Rather than assuming everyone wants the same thing, I try to understand why now. What happened that made this the right moment to start learning guitar?
The answer to that question often reveals the student's deepest source of motivation. And when lessons are connected to that motivation, students are much more likely to remain engaged and committed throughout the learning process.
Problem-Centered Orientation
I'd like to begin this section with the same example Merriam and Bierema use in their book because I believe it perfectly illustrates this assumption.
"Let us imagine that you, the reader, have just been diagnosed with a serious health problem such as cancer. You want to find out about this form of cancer, what the treatment options are, where to get the best care, what you can do in terms of diet and exercise to maximize your chances of survival. You consult with health care professionals, family, friends, and go on the internet to learn all you can. You might even attend a cancer self-help group. Your learning is problem-centered; your cancer diagnosis is the problem. It is not subject-centered, that is, you are not interested in learning about cancer in general, and you would not have investigated this topic at all if it had not become a problem for you. Further, you are interested in immediate application—what you can learn to apply to your situation now, not later. This is the essence of the fourth assumption—that adults are problem-centered, not subject-centered, and desire immediate, not postponed, application of the knowledge learned."
This example captures the essence of adult learning. Adults are rarely interested in learning a subject simply for the sake of learning it. Instead, they learn because they have a problem to solve, a goal to accomplish, or a challenge to overcome.
Problem-centered learning is especially effective because it provides immediate relevance. Adults can quickly apply what they learn to a real situation, and that immediate application reinforces and solidifies the learning process.
My Own Reading
I don't think the excerpt above requires much additional explanation. Instead, I'd like to share one practical lesson this assumption has taught me as a guitar instructor.
Only teach your students concepts whose purpose they can clearly understand. Whenever possible, avoid explanations like, "You'll understand why this is important later." While that statement may be true, adults generally aren't satisfied with delayed justification. If they can't see how a concept helps them solve a problem today, they're much less likely to stay engaged.
For example, imagine you're asking a beginner to use a different fingering for a scale or exercise. Simply saying, "This will improve your technique in the future," is rarely convincing. Instead, demonstrate how that fingering immediately makes it easier to play the song they want to learn, transition between chords more efficiently, or play faster with less effort.
Adults don't just want instructions, they want reasons.
The same principle applies when students resist changing old habits. A beginner might say, "Using only my index and middle fingers feels much more comfortable." Rather than replying, "Trust me," explain why the recommended approach is better. For example, you might explain that relying on only two fingers places unnecessary strain on them, while involving all four fingers distributes the workload more evenly. You can also discuss how finger independence develops over time and how using all four fingers leads to greater efficiency, better technique, and a lower risk of overuse injuries.
Adults appreciate understanding the reasoning behind what they're asked to do. They don't expect every explanation to be highly technical, but they do expect it to be logical and evidence-based.
In my experience, one simple habit has transformed the way I teach adults: whenever I introduce a new concept or exercise, I ask myself, "Can my student immediately see why this matters?"
Internal Motivation
The fifth assumption of andragogy is internal motivation.
As Merriam and Bierema explain:
"In light of the above four assumptions, it is no surprise that the most potent motivators for adults to learn are internal rather than external. In other words, increased job satisfaction with one's work, enhanced self-esteem, improved quality of life, and personal fulfillment lead adults to learn beyond what might be required by some agency or institution. An adult is free to choose to learn, which is quite a bit different from pre-adult learning where others determine what the student needs to know."
This assumption connects directly with the previous concept of readiness to learn. Adults are often motivated to acquire new knowledge or skills because they recognize that doing so will positively impact an important area of their lives. The motivation comes from within; the desire to improve, grow, overcome challenges, or achieve personal goals.
Unlike traditional education, where students are often required to learn certain subjects because an institution determines their importance, adult learners usually make a conscious decision to pursue learning. They are not simply completing an assignment or meeting an external requirement; they are investing in themselves.
For many adults, learning is connected to self-actualization: the desire to reach their full potential and continue developing as individuals. Whether someone learns a new language, changes careers, starts playing an instrument, or develops a new skill, the ultimate motivation is often personal fulfillment rather than external recognition.
Understanding this distinction is essential for teachers. Adult learners are not simply looking for information; they are looking for transformation. They want to become better versions of themselves, and effective instruction should connect the learning process to that deeper personal motivation.
The Need to Know
The need to know is the sixth and final assumption of andragogy. At first glance, this assumption may seem self-explanatory, but it connects deeply with all the other assumptions we have discussed so far; especially problem-centered orientation, readiness to learn, and internal motivation.
Adults want to understand not only what they are learning, but also why they are learning it and how that knowledge will improve their current situation. Without a clear purpose, learning can feel disconnected and unnecessary. However, when adults understand the value of new knowledge and can see how it applies to their lives, their motivation increases significantly.
As Merriam and Bierema explain:
"Adults want to know why they need to learn something and how what they learn will apply to their immediate situation. This assumption goes hand in hand with the above assumption on intrinsic motivation. If adults can see why it is important to learn something before they begin a learning activity, their motivation is that much stronger. Of course, much of one's 'need to know' arises from encountering life situations and developmental changes in social roles."
Knowles et al. (2011) expand on this idea in the context of workplace learning:
"The first task of the facilitator of learning is to help the learners become aware of the 'need to know.' At the very least, facilitators can make an intellectual case for the value of the learning in improving the effectiveness of the learners' performance or the quality of their lives. Even more potent tools for raising the level of awareness of the need to know are real or simulated experiences in which the learners discover for themselves the gaps between where they are now and where they want to be. Personnel appraisal systems, job rotation, exposure to role models, and diagnostic performance assessments are examples of such tools." (p. 63)
The key idea is that effective educators don't simply deliver information; they help learners recognize the gap between their current abilities and their desired goals. Once learners become aware of that gap, the learning process becomes much more meaningful.
My Own Reading
As I mentioned at the beginning of this topic, I believe this assumption connects directly with problem-centered orientation.
Simply put, just as we need to teach students concepts that they can apply immediately, students also need to understand why they are learning those concepts in the first place.
This is especially important when teaching adults. A child may accept an instruction simply because a teacher says it is important. Adults are much more likely to ask: "Why do I need to know this?" and "How will this help me achieve my goal?"
For example, if I ask a guitar student to practice a specific exercise, scale, or technique, I shouldn't expect them to simply trust that it will be useful someday. Instead, I should explain how that exercise connects to their goals; whether that means playing a particular song, improving their technique, reducing unnecessary tension, or becoming more independent as a musician.
The explanation itself becomes part of the teaching process.
References
Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2007). Made to stick: Why some ideas survive and others die. Random House.
Knowles, M. S. (1984). Andragogy in action: Applying modern principles of adult learning. Jossey-Bass.
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., III, & Swanson, R. A. (2011). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (7th ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann.
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. Jossey-Bass.
Forrest, S. P., III, & Peterson, T. O. (2006). It's called andragogy. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 5(1), 113–122.
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