ABSTRACT
Effective teachers recognise and realise that adult learning is facilitated by the teacher. Brookfield has debated the subject of adult learning at length, providing many examples. Grow's Staged Self-Directed Learning model builds on work by Hersey and is a helpful way to look at tensions that can arise if the learner's and teacher's levels are not matched. Some students appear to be Stage 4 self-directed learners, but turn out to be highly dependent students in a state of defiance. A group of highly resistant learners can coerce teachers into an authoritarian mode, and then frustrate them, at the same time being dependent on teachers and resentful of being taught. Work-based learning aligns with the principles of adult learning and represents the most accessible opportunities for self-directed learning during clinical work. The self-directed learner will take note of the patients they see and find out what subsequently happens during the care episode.
