It is my opinion that as students age, real world experiences become more important than theoretical concepts. It seems to me that students are less interested in the "why" and more interested in the "how." They want to be able to do the tasks required for the jobs they seek, and are less motivated by the conceptual principles that are not necessarily applied in the real world, i.e. if there is an "app" for it why do I need to know how the app derived the answer... Clearly, this thinking is false, but they are viewing it as it is more efficient if I learn how to use the software, work the problems, and technology; rather than understanding the concept and being able to work the problem free hand without the aid of technology.

Part of the issue is the instructional design is skewed to a younger group of adults. Therefore the implementation of that design may foster this "boredom" and lack of motivation. It is a concerning problem, and may not just apply to those >30.