The impact of fun and enjoyment on adult’s learning

Research has found that fun and enjoyment does play a role in adult learning programs. The conversations with adult learners and their teachers found that both groups could identify the fun and enjoyment that is experienced by learners in their CGEA course. These have been viewed firstly as an overall experience, with adult learners talking more freely about fun and enjoyment and teachers talking about engagement, social relationships and safety. Learners have identified a number of elements that are part of their experience of fun and enjoyment: the activities they undertake, the process established by the teachers, interacting with others, humour, achieving, their emotions, their well-being and personal benefits. The research also found that both adult learners and their teachers believed that fun and enjoyment impacted on adults learning and they were able to articulate the role that fun and enjoyment plays in adult learning programs. Firstly both having fun and experiencing enjoyment were perceived by both learners and teachers as a motivator to attend classes and learn the knowledge and skills. Secondly fun and enjoyment were considered a mechanism that encouraged concentration by learners and helped in the absorption of learning. Finally having fun and experiencing enjoyment were identified as a proven way to build a socially connected learning environment. The analysis of responses indicates that experiencing positive emotions such as fun and enjoyment link with successful learning and self-perception of increased well-being. These three outcomes are also linked with achievement of competence, increased learner autonomy, improved relatedness with others, intrinsic motivation and goal achievement. The research proposes that a greater focus on the affective domain of an adult’s learning experience, in particular fun and enjoyment, could prove to be as beneficial and important as it is currently considered to be in children’s learning. A different approach to the design of adult learning experiences and methods that incorporates greater use of fun may mean that more adults are encouraged and motivated to participate in learning with enthusiasm for the journey and optimism for the outcomes.