It is clear that working with seniors has its own specific characteristics, which require a specially prepared instructor who understands the traits of this target group and methods for more effective learning. Ko (2020) defined certain requirements for the personality of an instructor in the context of senior education, which we present here in a concise summary.

Understanding Participants on Multiple Levels
The instructor should understand participants on physical, psychological, social, emotional, cultural, and gender-specific levels. This requires more preparation than in the education of younger groups.

Proactive Help
The instructor should be able to help participants who face difficulties before they even ask for help. This skill presupposes developed empathy.

Motivation Through Practical Solutions
A successful instructor helps learners address their everyday problems through education. This is supported by one of Knowles’ (1998, in Ko, 2020) six principles of andragogy, which states that the more education connects to people’s lives, the greater its value.

Cultivating Strong Relationships
The instructor should aim to create and foster strong bonds both between themselves and participants, and among participants themselves.

Creating a Positive Group Climate
The instructor should support a positive climate based on encouragement, safety, comfort, and absence of threat.

Individual Engagement
The instructor should strive to understand and engage each participant individually as much as possible.

Practical Activities
The instructor should make extensive use of practical activities to engage participants.

Somatic and Physical Learning
One of the new approaches to learning is the strategy of “somatic and physical learning,” which the instructor should apply through activities involving appearance, senses, and other body-related experiences.

Starting from the Known
Following the “start from the known” strategy, the instructor should allow participants to express what they already know and have experienced, building the teaching process on that foundation.

Encouraging Self-Motivation
The instructor should encourage and make use of participants’ self-motivation, recognized as the strongest factor differentiating them (Callahan et al., 2003, in Ko, 2020).

Reducing Dependence
During the educational activity, the instructor should reduce participants’ dependence on them and instead promote peer-to-peer learning.

Leveraging Peer Teaching
The instructor should implement the “leverage effect” in education through group teaching, where older adults can help one another understand theoretical knowledge or acquire skills. This teaching model is supported by research from Mathews and Straughan (2014), in which 77% of participants aged 50–74 found learning with the help of another senior useful for mastering the material.

Creating Opportunities for Experience Sharing
The instructor should create opportunities for learners to share experiences, support one another, and build relationships with other participants (Ko, 2020).