Educator Robert Deabyshire has developed the following profile of an adult learner compared to younger students. Adults are more realistic. They have lived longer and have a different perspective on life. They see life less idealistically and more as a set of realities. They like to see theory applied to practical problems.
Adults have more experience.
They have insights and see relationships not discerned by children. They have a sense of what is likely to work and a sense of accumulated wisdom. Differences increase with age and mobility. Therefore, adults come from a wider variety of backgrounds and intelligence levels than youth. Adult Learners Are not beginners but are in a continual state of growth.