“To keep learning is almost a synonym for to keep living (being, becoming, belonging)” concluded Narushima et. al (2018) during a study of life long learning with older adults.
“Today, advanced researches in neuroscience show that brain ageing may be reversible: the brain is plastic in all stages of life, and its maps can restructure themselves through learning experiences” (Guglielman, 2012).
Basically, providing the brain the opportunity to learn can allow it to create new pathways and that learning is still achievable in later adulthood.
Being a life long learner is not just going to school, although that can be included! Being a life long learner can be anything from learning new skills to fulfilling a curiosity on an interesting subject or hobby.
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Tips
Keep in mind to avoid assumptions and subtle ageism. Older adults like to explore new topics too! Crocheting, knitting and reading can be great activities, but people should look beyond the first activities that might come to mind and be encouraged to explore new interest and dive deeper into previous interests.
Ensure that vision is optimally correct (correct prescription of glasses, cataracts removed if recommended, etc.) and hearing is corrected (proper hearing aides). People who have difficulty receiving information because of visual difficulties or hearing loss may be viewed as having difficulty learning even though it is truly a sensory deficit. People may also decide that learning is too difficult because of these deficits. Visit the optometrist (eye doctor) or hearing specialist as some vision and hearing challenges can try to be improved!
It is also important to keep in mind other conditions that might make some activities harder or less enjoyable, and to think about ways to adapt activities. Here are just a couple basic examples:
Trouble Seeing > Get large print, larger pieces, magnifying glasses, high contrast items (ex. light colored items on a dark towel), etc.
Trouble Hearing > Provide written directions, use closed captioning, etc.
Trouble feeling > Get textured items, larger items
Tremor> get weighted items or high tech items to minimize tremor
Fatigue> Do things sitting, lightweight things, share the game/activity with others
Look for Aging Uniquely’s book in 2025! The Beautiful Grey Space is a workbook that takes people through ways to adapt activities and continue finding joy throughout the lifespan.
Remember the life-long learning tasks should be motivating to the person, the style should take into account the person’s previous learning experiences, how they best learn, and give them time to integrate the new skill or experience into their life. It is important to engage in a course, class or activity that is the “just right challenge.” An activity that is too easy leads to boredom and an activity that is too difficult can lead to frustration and quitting.
If you have no idea where to start with old or new activities, there are many interest inventory checklists to get you started!
Great Ways to be a Life Long Learner:
Take an online course or audit a course
Massive open online course (MOOC) Search: this amazing tool allows you to pick a topic and start date to search several universities and other online platforms for classes
Coursera: Popular platform for online courses from universities and other reputable institutions
EdX: Popular platform for online courses from universities and other reputable institutions
Learn a new art or craft
See the links below to explore lessons on everything from fine arts to photography to graphic design. You may even be able to gift items, donate items for auction / charity or sell items on platforms such as Etsy.
SkillShare: Learn several different crafts and skills (prices vary or there is a subscription)
Ctrl+Paint: Free and reasonably priced short painting guides
Creativebug: classes on sewing, knitting, quilting and many other crafts even with some downloadable patterns for a reasonable subscription cost
Youtube: Type your area of interest into youtube and you are sure to find something that will help with artistic endeavors!
Visit a Museum (even virtually)
Many museums offer virtual tours, art and history discussions, orchestra listening and even some classes!
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met, NYC)
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
British Museum (London): Amazing virtual and interactive tour!
Inspiring Talks or Exhibits
If taking a class or becoming an artist seems too challenging and daunting, start with inspiring talks or exhibits.
Google Arts and Culture Online Exhibits: explore thousands of arts, culture and history exhibits online!
Ted Talks: Thousands of talks on every subject you could possibly think of exploring
Community Socialization
Check out your local community college, parks and recreations activities and programs, senior center, book clubs or meet ups.
Volunteer
Take your skills a step further and offer to volunteer or volunteer in order to learn a new skills! Do NOT limit yourself to opportunities only on volunteer lists. If there is an activity you enjoy, seek out local places and ask them how you can help! (For example, if you love sewing, but there isn’t a sewing store nearby, reach out to a local home economics or 4-H group leader and ask if any of the students/ participants need extra guidance.)
Part-time work or consulting
Learn new skills or use your current skills to be a consultant and keep your brain and body active! If you produce income, make sure to investigate how this will affect your overall financial picture (taxes, social security income, etc.).
Promoting Life Long Learning
Don’t forget to use positive reinforcement! Positive reinforcement means giving a reward (praise, a party, dinner, doing something the person likes) when the person has done something good. Proper positive reinforcement motivates the person to continue to do good things, like life-long learning.
Here are examples of positive reinforcement for life-long learning:
- Having a mini graduation party after completing a course
- Having a picture professionally framed after finishing a painting class
- Asking an organization to recognize a volunteer with a certificate or announcement
- Taking someone out for a dinner and discussing what they learned after completing a class
- Giving someone a treat, gift, etc. after finishing a class
Find other ways to support others with continuing the cycle of life-long learning:
- Offer paying for the next class or course to promote continued learning. This decreases a barrier to pursuing new activities that people on a fixed-income or are low-income may experience.
- Keep asking questions about what they have learned. This lets people process the meaning of the new activity.
- Promote volunteering with the new skill. This can let people feel a sense of community and connectedness.
- Promote gifting or selling artworks and craft projects. This is a great motivator to stay with an activity or to complete it.
- Promote building relationships with others in the class. This can lead to exploring other hobbies or exploring an interest more in-depth.
- Ask them what they want to learn next.
- Continuously ensure the class is at the correct learning level to make the task challenging, but enjoyable.
- Help with any technical challenges. Technology can be a helpful way to connect and learn during times of illness, bad weather, if it’s hard to get out, or if people live far from each other. It can be challenging to learn a new platform for anyone.
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Related Posts: 9 Great Ways for Older Adults to Feel Relevant and Valued
References:
Guglielman, Eleonora, PhD. (June 2012). The Ageing Brain: Neuroplasticity and Life Long Learning. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255180453_The_Ageing_Brain_Neuroplasticity_and_Lifelong_Learning.
Narushima, Miya, PhD, Liu, Jian, PhD and Diestelkamp, Naomi, MSc,. (August 2018). I Learn, Therefore I am: A Phenomenological Analysis of Meanings of Lifelong Learning for Vulnerable Older Adults. The Gerontologist, 58 (4), 696–705. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnx044.
Aging Uniquely Health and Legal Disclaimer:
By continuing with this site, you are agreeing that you acknowledge and understand this disclaimer in full and will not hold Aging Uniquely, parent companies or content creators liable for the information or use of information on this site because everyone ages uniquely and has unique needs. The content on Aging Uniquely sites is for general information purposes only and Aging Uniquely does not provide medical or health advice. It is not a substitute for medical or health professional advice and you should never ignore professional medical advice or delay seeking emergency care because of something you read on the Aging Uniquely website or social media platforms. If you are experiencing a medical emergency call 911 or seek emergency services. Aging Uniquely is not responsible for what may happen if you use their information in place of medical or professional advice. You are responsible for your own health and safety or how you apply this advice to adults/older adults you support. I highly recommend you consult the proper qualified medical or health profession before implementing any information from Aging Uniquely or other health related websites.