The three main learning styles recognized by psychologists are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (Dunn & Griggs, 2000). Visual is they style that focuses on a learner's ability to see, auditory is hearing, and kinesthetic is touching or feeling of items or an experience through movement (Dunn & Griggs, 2000). Everyone has a combination of these three learning styles and most learners are strongest in one of them. When a learner, especially an adult, has issues in learning they are experiencing a performance gap. A performance gap is a lack of skills or knowledge, motivation, or confidence that negatively affects how an individual performs his or her job (Pershing, 2006). When an individual (learner) develops a performance gap intervention is then necessary to fix the problem. Intervention can come in several forms but usually is in the form of remediation through training and the educational process (Pershing, 2006). If an individual (learner) is experiencing a performance gap Benjamin Bloom's performance model can be put to use.

Bloom's performance model uses three learning domains, cognitive, affective, and psychomotor to gauge if an individual (adult learner) is experiencing a gap in his or her level of performance. When the gap is addresses at the appropriate level it can then be remediated to increase the performance of the set job or activity and according to James Pershing "the void or gap is often perceived as the difference between present or actual performance and desired future performance" (2006).

Solutions

There were a number of solutions that can aid in helping the adult learner have more success at the collegiate level. Two major solutions that may benefit adult learners come with a professional and an academic mentor. First, the professional mentor can help to provide the adult who is looking to balance his or her life demands with the constraints required to succeed in academia. Next, an academic mentor can help the adult learner to better identify his or her performance gaps, and provide the extrinsic motivation that may help the adult learner to become more intrinsically motivated to succeed. When an adult learner is offered these remediation's to help balance life and become intrinsically motivated the opportunity for academic collegiate...

The issues are cyclical: the lack of educated adults in the workforce, no jobs in the new "knowledge" society, and a rising unemployment rate. Society is calling for more educated adults and individuals to become lifelong learners who can help the United States transit from the fading service sector to one in which stresses knowledge, information, and technological skills.
The whole entire problem could not be studied. The choice was to break the issue down and look at a major problem inside the bigger picture. I decided that the lack of educated adults were a major concern for everyone is society. The literature that I reviewed has suggested the need for future research in the area of a lack of educated adults in the global workforce. All the articles have suggested more research is needed and that the lack of educated adult thinkers is an idea gaining steam as the economy worsens and unemployment continues to rise.

1. Align adult learners demands with college expectations

2. Promote education for adults as a medium to gain appropriate skills for success in a global job market

3. Mentors for academic support

4. Mentors for professional support

5. Life balance for adult learners

References

Dunn, R.S., & Griggs, S.A. (2000). Practical approaches to using learning styles in higher education. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.

Frey, B., & Osterloh, M. (2002). Successful management by motivation. Heidelburg, Germany: Springer Verlag.

Ganzglass, E. (2007). Recommendations to Improve the Effectiveness of Job

Training. Workforce Investment Act, (), 1-13.

Retrieved from http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/0367.pdf

Gitman, L., & McDaniel, C. (2008). The future of business: the essentials. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Pershing, J.A. (2006). Handbook of Human Performance Technology: Principles, Practices, and Potential (3rd ed.).: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Zakaria, F. (2011, March). Are America's best days behind us? Time, 177(10), 28-33.