How Adults Learn and How We Build Around It

How do we learn?

Have you ever thought about how we learn? We at Kodeco have spent quite a lot of time thinking about how adults learn. On an individual level I think many of us realise that some of us might learn better from audio-visual material, and some of us prefer reading; I personally retain most information if I write through it (yes, with old fashioned pen and paper..).

Adults learn differently

Pedagogy as a term has been around since ancient Greek times, and we often use it to describe any learning, but there is a term specifically for adult learning: “andragogy” (from Greek, “man-leading” as opposed to “pedagogy” which roughly translates to “child-leading”). This term wasn’t used until 1833, by a German educator, Alexander Kapp, who used it to support lifelong learning in adults. This was the start of the realisation that children and adults learn in quite different ways. Andragogy fell into oblivion for nearly a century, and the modern conception of andragogy was shaped by by American educator Malcolm Shepherd Knowles who popularised the term in the 1960s.

According to Knowles, adult learning :

• is self-directed
• focuses on connecting new learning to prior knowledge
• needs to be practically related to work or personal life
• focuses on problem solving and “connecting the dots” than memorization

There are other theories around adult learning, but it often comes back to similar points: it is self-motivated, needs to fit around other time commitments, needs to have a practical outlet/real-world problem to solve, and needs to build or connect to previous knowledge.

Know your learning style

The common way to differentiate learning types is by the VARK model. This acronym represents the 4 strategies:

• Visual: Engaging learners through images, diagrams, and videos.
• Aural: Utilizing sound / video to facilitate comprehension.
• Reading: Providing textual information to absorb information through reading.
• Kinesthetic: Offering hands-on experiences for students to learn by doing.

While you may have noticed you prefer one over the other, it isn't very common to rely on only one type — research suggests that most people fall into multiple categories. If you're curious about your own learning style, you can take the official VARK questionnaire to find out.

The case for multimodal learning

Furthermore, research shows that utilising several modes of content delivery improves retention — with multimodal learning shown to produce an average increase of 21 percentile points in basic skills assessments compared to traditional single-mode methods.

A similar evolution happened in our understanding of how to deliver learning. Psychologist Richard E. Mayer's research gave us the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning — the finding that people learn significantly more effectively when words and visuals work together, rather than either in isolation. Research has shown that adults given a combination of text and visuals learned more effectively than those who only received one form of input.

The ideal learning experience, therefore, should reflect all these modes and provide tailored support for each input.Research has shown that adults who were given a combination of text and visuals learned more effectively than those who only received one form of input.

How do we build around it at Kodeco

These principles directly shaped how we redesigned our content. Rather than offering a single mode of delivery and hoping it suits everyone, we wanted to build an experience that reflects the way adults actually learn: through varied input, practical application, and content that connects to what they already know.

With this in mind, back in 2023 we shifted our content focus to modules, which combine written, video and interactive content. This is shown to improve retention, helps to maintain the learner's interest and can enhance their understanding of concepts by presenting information in various ways.

To take this one step further we created programs and various formats of bootcamps. Programs build on our already existing learning paths. Programs are bigger chunks of guided learning, taking you through content in a logical way, often increasing in complexity. Our beginner programs (Beginning iOS & Swift and Beginning Android & Kotlin) intend to take you from complete beginner to a junior developer level. While our intermediate+ programs can help you either tackle new programming languages and tools (AI APIs with Python) or are intended to give you thorough understanding of a specific area of development (visionOS and Apple Intelligence).
You can go through the content of any of these programs just as you’d consume any of Kodeco’s content, either picking modules that specifically interest you, or following the curated order of the program.

Kodeco On-Demand Bootcamps (ODBCs) bring all of the above together in one cohesive package. They combine high-quality multimodal content — videos, written material and interactive quizzes — with real-world projects through homework assignments and capstone projects. Capstone projects are reviewed by an expert mentor, so the skills you're putting into practice meet the standards of the industry. Office hours and community chat let you check your understanding with peers and mentors throughout. And because ODBCs are fully on-demand, you can work entirely at your own pace, fitting your learning around your life. They're available as a one-time purchase with no expiry date — and if you're already a subscriber, you'll find the price is significantly reduced.

👉 You can find in-depth curriculum details and sign-up to any of our on-demand bootcamps on the programs page

Featured image by Rene Böhmer on Unsplash