Imagine attending a professional development workshop where the presenter spends the first hour explaining concepts you've been using successfully for the past ten years. Before long, your attention begins to drift. You are no longer thinking about the new ideas you hoped to learn. Instead, you are wondering why you needed to attend the session at all.
Adult learners bring something unique to every learning experience: prior knowledge. They arrive with professional expertise, personal experiences, existing skills, and well-developed mental models that shape how they interpret new information. Unlike many younger learners who are encountering concepts for the first time, adults often compare new learning with what they already know. That comparison can either strengthen learning or create resistance, depending on how instruction is designed.
Respecting prior knowledge does not mean assuming learners already know everything, nor does it mean skipping foundational instruction. Instead, it means recognizing that adults are not empty vessels waiting to be filled with information. They bring valuable experiences into the classroom, and effective instructional design builds upon those experiences rather than ignoring them. This article explores why prior knowledge matters and how instructional designers can create learning experiences that acknowledge, activate, and expand what adult learners already know.
Prior Knowledge Shapes New Learning
Learning rarely begins with a blank slate. Every learner enters a course carrying years of experiences that influence how they understand new information. Those experiences may come from previous education, professional practice, volunteer work, military service, parenting, hobbies, or countless everyday situations. Whether those experiences are directly related to the course or not, they provide the foundation upon which new learning is built.
This is one reason two learners can respond very differently to the same lesson. One learner immediately recognizes how a concept connects to previous experience, while another struggles because they lack a similar frame of reference. Neither learner is necessarily more capable than the other. They are simply building upon different foundations.
For instructional designers, understanding this principle changes how learning experiences are developed. Instead of asking only, "What should learners know by the end of this course?" we also begin asking, "What knowledge are they likely bringing with them?" That question helps create instruction that connects with learners rather than competing against what they already understand.
Adults Want Learning That Respects Their Experience
One characteristic of adult learning is that adults generally value being treated as capable, experienced individuals. They appreciate instruction that acknowledges what they already know while helping them develop new knowledge and skills. Courses that ignore prior experience can unintentionally make learners feel that their professional or personal backgrounds have little value.
Imagine a workshop for experienced managers that spends considerable time defining what leadership is before ever discussing complex leadership challenges. Some participants may appreciate the review, but many will likely wonder when the conversation will move into material that actually expands their expertise. Respecting prior knowledge means recognizing when learners are ready to move beyond introductory content.
This does not mean skipping foundational concepts altogether. Instead, it means providing opportunities for learners to connect new ideas with existing experience. Adults often engage more deeply when they understand how new learning builds upon what they already know rather than replacing it.
Activate Prior Knowledge Early
One of the simplest ways to respect learner experience is to activate prior knowledge before introducing new material. This encourages learners to retrieve relevant information from memory and begin making connections before encountering new concepts.
Activation can happen in many ways. Instructors might begin by asking learners to reflect on a similar workplace experience, discuss how they currently solve a problem, or predict how they would respond to a particular scenario. These activities do more than increase participation. They prepare the brain to connect new learning with existing knowledge structures.
Instructional designers can intentionally build these moments into the beginning of modules or lessons. A short reflection prompt, a realistic scenario, or a discussion question often creates a smoother transition into new material than immediately presenting a lecture or reading. Learners become active participants in the learning process rather than passive recipients of information.
Prior Knowledge Is Not Always Correct
While prior knowledge is valuable, it is not always accurate. Adults sometimes bring misconceptions, outdated practices, or incomplete understandings that influence how they interpret new information. Effective instructional design respects existing experience while also creating opportunities to examine and refine it.
Consider a professional who has successfully performed a task for many years using an outdated procedure. That experience is genuine, but it may no longer represent current best practice. Simply telling learners they are wrong rarely changes deeply held beliefs. Instead, instructional designers can create experiences that encourage learners to compare approaches, analyze evidence, and discover why a different method may produce better results.
This approach treats learners respectfully while supporting meaningful conceptual change. Rather than dismissing previous experience, it builds upon it by helping learners understand how and why their knowledge continues to evolve.
Design Activities That Invite Experience
Adult learners often have valuable stories, examples, and perspectives that can enrich the learning experience for everyone. Instructional activities should create opportunities for learners to contribute those experiences rather than expecting every example to come from the instructor.
Case studies, discussions, collaborative problem-solving activities, and reflective writing all encourage learners to connect course concepts with real situations they have encountered. These conversations often reveal multiple ways of approaching the same problem, giving learners opportunities to compare perspectives and broaden their understanding.
Experienced instructional designers recognize that some of the richest learning moments occur when learners begin teaching one another. A classroom or online course becomes more dynamic when participants see that their own experiences contribute to the learning process rather than simply supporting it.
Avoid Assuming Everyone Starts in the Same Place
Although adult learners possess prior knowledge, they do not all possess the same prior knowledge. One learner may have twenty years of professional experience, while another may be entering the field for the first time after changing careers. Both belong in the course, but they will need different kinds of support.
Human-centered instructional design acknowledges this variability. Rather than assuming every learner has identical backgrounds, courses can provide optional review materials, enrichment resources, flexible learning pathways, or examples drawn from multiple industries and experiences. This allows learners to engage with content at an appropriate level without feeling either overwhelmed or bored.
Designing for varied experience levels also creates more inclusive learning environments. Learners feel respected because the course recognizes that there are multiple starting points rather than expecting everyone to fit the same profile.
Connect Theory to Practice
Adults frequently ask an important question when learning something new:
"How does this apply to my work?"
That question is not a sign of resistance. It reflects the way adults naturally connect new knowledge with existing experience. Instructional designers can support this process by consistently linking theory with authentic practice.
For example, instead of presenting a learning theory in isolation, an instructor might ask learners to identify situations where they have already seen that theory in action. Likewise, after introducing a new instructional strategy, learners might discuss how it could improve a course they currently teach or a training program they already facilitate.
These connections strengthen retention because learners organize new information around experiences they already understand. Learning becomes more meaningful when it feels immediately relevant rather than abstract.
Reflection Strengthens Connections
Reflection provides another opportunity to connect new learning with prior knowledge. Asking learners to consider how their thinking has changed encourages them to compare previous understanding with newly acquired ideas. This process helps strengthen learning while making conceptual growth visible.
Reflection prompts might ask learners to describe how they previously approached a problem, what surprised them about the lesson, or how they plan to apply the new information in their own professional context. These questions encourage learners to actively integrate new knowledge into their existing mental frameworks.
Instructional designers sometimes focus heavily on delivering information while overlooking the value of helping learners pause and think. Reflection creates that pause, giving learners time to make meaning from the learning experience.
Respect Does Not Mean Lowering Expectations
Respecting learner experience should never be confused with lowering academic standards. Adult learners generally appreciate high expectations when those expectations are clearly explained and supported. In fact, many adults return to education precisely because they want to grow professionally or personally.
The key is designing instruction that acknowledges where learners are starting while helping them move forward. Effective instructional designers challenge learners without dismissing the knowledge they already possess. They recognize that growth happens when new learning extends existing understanding rather than ignoring it.
Respect and rigor work well together. Learners are often more willing to accept challenging assignments when they feel their previous experiences have been acknowledged and valued.
Final Thoughts
Every adult learner enters the classroom carrying years of knowledge, experience, and perspective. Effective instructional design recognizes that learning does not begin from zero. Instead, it builds upon what learners already know while helping them expand, refine, and sometimes rethink that understanding.
Respecting prior knowledge creates learning experiences that feel more relevant, more engaging, and more meaningful. It encourages learners to connect theory with practice, participate more actively in discussions, and recognize the value of their own experiences alongside new ideas.
Perhaps most importantly, it reminds instructional designers that learners are not simply recipients of knowledge.
They are partners in the learning process.
When instruction respects where learners have been, it becomes much easier to help them reach where they want to go.
References
Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: Seven research-based principles for smart teaching. Jossey-Bass.
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., III, & Swanson, R. A. (2020). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (9th ed.). Routledge.
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. Jossey-Bass.
Taylor, E. W., & Cranton, P. (2012). The handbook of transformative learning: Theory, research, and practice. Jossey-Bass.
Wlodkowski, R. J., & Ginsberg, M. B. (2017). Enhancing adult motivation to learn: A comprehensive guide for teaching all adults (4th ed.). Jossey-Bass.