Adult Learning and Teacher Inquiry: A Natural Match?

This paper considers the potential benefits of integrating the knowledge base on adult learning with teacher inquiry. The first part of the paper provides an overview of key concepts discussed in the literature on adult learning, including the characteristics of adult learners, self-directed learning, experiential learning, transformative learning, and adult learning in groups. The next part of the paper is focused specifically on collaborative inquiry as adult learning, reviewing the purposes, principles, process, and facilitation of such inquiry found in the knowledge base on adult learning. The third part of the paper reviews literature on successful teacher inquiry and describes how such inquiry reflects the general knowledge base on adult learning. Next, the paper describes how successful collaborative teacher inquiry is consistent with the literature on adult collaborative inquiry. The last part of the paper reviews benefits of teacher inquiry consistent with the knowledge base on adult learning.