Adult learners’ needs in online and blended learning - 59(2) July 2019

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mimi

This paper examines how adult learners’ needs should be identified and fulfilled within online and blended learning environments. It reviews key theories and perspectives on adult learning and online knowledge construction, highlights the lack of a comprehensive OBL design framework grounded in adult learning theory, and applies the ERG theory to interpret motivation-related needs. Using both positivist and subjectivist perspectives, the proposed framework supports instructional design, curriculum development, and empirical investigation for self-empowerment and sustained learning motivation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages31

Reading Time1 h 18 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Adult learners needs: definition and literature review

Learner needs: conceptualisation

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 59, Number 2, July 2019 Adult learners’ needs in online and blended learning Anh Nguyet Diep Chang Zhu Celine Cocquyt Maurice De Greef Minh Hien Vo Tom Vanwing Vrije Universiteit Brussel Identifying and fulfilling adult learners’ needs is critical to instructional designs aimed at enhancing their achievement and self-empowerment. In reviewing different theories and perspectiveson adult learning and online and blended learning (OBL), it is noteworthy that there is not a comprehensive framework to guide the design of OBL environments that meet adult learners’needs, and that are underpinned by adult learning theories, online knowledge construction, motivational theories, and technological acceptance models. In this respect, the theory of existence, relatedness, and growth (ERG) (Alderfer, 1972) is applicable to interpret different types of needs to sustain learning motivation. Employing the ERG theory as the overarching framework, the purpose of this paper is to capture adult 224 Anh Nguyet Diep, Chang Zhu, Celine Cocquyt, Maurice DeGreef, Minh Hien Vo, Tom Vanwing learners’ needs from both positivist and subjectivist perspectives. In other words, the identified needs are to help adult learners optimally perform the learning activities designed to achieve the learning goals on the one hand, and to sustain their motivation during the learning process on the other hand. Thus, the framework is helpful for practitioners, curriculum developers, and researchers who are in search of a theoretical background for both instructional design and empirical investigation. Keywords: online/blended learning, adult learners, learning needs Introduction The conceptualisation and evaluation of adult learners’ needs are crucial in designing learning environments (Isman, 2011). Fulfilling the needs of adult learners is more likely to bring about high-quality learning. While traditional learning environments have been gradually transformed into those of a technology-mediated nature, instructional designers and instructors of online and blended learning (OBL) are lacking a conceptual framework that underlines the needs of adult learners. In addressing the challenges adult educators encounter when it comes to teaching and learning in an OBL environment, Shea (2006) provides a pertinent account. The author postulates that efforts should be devoted to understanding ‘how learning generally occurs; how it occurs among adult learners, and how it occurs in technologymediated environments’(Shea, 2006, p. 20). Laurillard (2012) believes that learning theories have not changed to a great extent with the introduction of technologies. Different perspectives and theories such as experiential learning, inquiry learning, socio-constructivism, and more recently transformative learning still reserve a major role in explaining how learners acquire knowledge in formal settings (Laurillard, 2012) . However, a significant contribution that technologies have made in the field of instructional design is that they have leveraged students’learning to a markedly higher cognitive level than traditional forms of teaching (McLoughlin, & Lee, 2008). Emerging technologies and learning platforms have allowed students access to learning resources in various formats, interactive tools for collaborative works, webbased activities, and scaffolding tools for information searches, self- Adult learners’ needs in online and blended learning 225 assessment, monitoring, receiving feedback and progress tracking (Laurillard, 2012). These functionalities offered by technology-mediated learning environments have changed the nature of students’ learning, empowering them to be more self-directed learners. Such changes do not occur naturally, notwithstanding. Thus, a conceptual framework to understand adult learners’ needs in an OBL environment is of significance. This is because instructional designers and instructors should know what

FAQs

Why is identifying adult learners’ needs important in online and blended learning?

Identifying and fulfilling adult learners’ needs is critical for instructional designs that enhance achievement and self-empowerment in OBL environments.

What problem does the paper highlight about existing OBL design frameworks?

It notes that there is no comprehensive framework to guide the design of OBL environments that meets adult learners’ needs and is underpinned by adult learning theories, motivational theories, and technology acceptance models.

How does the paper use ERG theory in its framework?

It applies the existence, relatedness, and growth (ERG) theory to interpret different types of needs that sustain learning motivation and to synthesize needs from both positivist and subjectivist perspectives.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mimi