It is my conviction that the noble profession of instructing teachers is the greatest, most powerful contributor to nation building. Teachers, within the school system, have the responsibility of imparting knowledge, acting as agents of socialization, creating responsible, productive members of society and guiding students towards the achievement of their goals.
It is, therefore, important that great emphasis be placed on training teachers, since in education teachers are viewed as significant contributors to the quality of students produced. Thus, the input by teachers will have a direct bearing on strategies and materials needed to aid the learner in an educational pursuit, to achieve at the highest possible level. As an adult instructor at the Cyril Potter College of Education where teachers are trained to be professionals, the main goal of the college is to create learning experiences that would, “…help individuals satisfy their needs and achieve their goals,” the ultimate goal being “human fulfilment” as is encouraged in the writings of Knowles (1980) p.27.
The concepts of adult education and adult learning varies from person to person and theorist to theorist. It is important to note that there are marked similarities regarding Adult Education and Adult Learning. Thomas (1991) states that “…education cannot exist without learning…” since they both contribute to personal and societal growth of the Adult Learner. These learning experiences are therefore integrated into the curriculum of Adult Education. This gives the Adult Learner greater liberty in directing their learning and its outcomes. In some cases learning practices are even adjusted with the discovery of new research.
Another similarity existing between Adult Ed...
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Drago- Severson,E .2008. Four practices that serve as pillars for adult learning. Journal of Staff Development 29(4),60-63
Pratt, D.D. 1988. Andragogy as a relational construct. Adult Education Quarterly,38,160-181. http://www.academia.edu/3625772/Andragogy_After_Twenty-Five_Years
Grow ,G.1991. Teaching learners to be self directed: A stage approach. Adult Education Quarterly,41(3), 125-149. http://www.ncolr.org/jiol/issues/pdf/6.1.3.pdf
Wilson,A.L.1993. The promise of situation cognition. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education
Volume 1993, Issue 57, pages 71–79, Spring 1993
Laureate Education. Inc. (2011). What is Adult Learning? Retrieved on January 12, 2014 from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_4197471_1%26url%3D
Knowles, M. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: Andragogy versus pedagogy. Rev. and updated ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Cambridge Adult Education.
Adults are self-motivated. They learn best by building on what they already know and when they are actively engaged (Lindeman, 2010). The approach of adult education revolves around non-vocational ideals and is based on experience rather than subjects (Lindeman, 2010). It helps adults gain knowledge about their powers, capacities, and limitations (Funnell et al, 2012).
“Principles in Practice: Assessing Adult Learning Focused Institutions.” CAEL: The Council of Adult and Experiential Learning. CAEL. (2005) Wed. 20 October, 2012.
L. The Role of Aging in Adult Learning: Implications for Instructors in Higher Education (2004,December)
Andragogy popularised by Malcolm Knowles in the 1980’s is the concept that he described as the “the art and science of helping adults learn” (Knowles, 1980), he helped the theory of learning to focus on the learners experience, whilst failing to analyse the nature of that experience (Jarvis, 2010). Knowles theories differentiated between adult and child learning and explored the idea that andragogy was different to pedagogy in five main ways. The adult learner needs to be more responsible for the learning and that it should be self-directed. They also have a wealth of knowledge and life experience to draw on to inform their learning. A readiness to learn, a thirst for knowledge as they have made the choice to learn in their area. Adult learners tend to be more problem centred learners and less likely to be subject focused, Adults are motivated to learn. (Jarvis, 2010).
Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Merriam, S.B., Caffarella, R.S. &Baumgartner (2007) Learning in Adulthood: A comprehensive guide, san Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass
One theorist that is relevant to this study is Malcolm Knowles’s theory of adult learning. Though Malcom Knowles may not be the first one to introduce adult learning, he was the one that introduced andragogy in North America. (McEwen and Wills 2014). Andragogy means adult learning. The core concept of Knowles’s Adult learning theory is to create a learning environment or awareness for adults to understand why they learn .Knowles developed six main assumptions of adult learners. Those assumptions are the need to know, self- concept, experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning and motivation. (McEwen and Wills, 2014)
Edward Lindeman is thought by many to be the founder of contemporary adult education. His work in the area of adult education included the writing of articles, books, public presentations, assistance in the collegiate system as a lecturer of social work and as an associate pastor in the church (Brookfield 1986). Lindeman and Martha Anderson traveled to observe and analyze the German Folk High School system and the worker’s movement. Consequently, Lindeman and Anderson’s comparative research lead to the breakthrough of the German perception of andragogy. Their studies define andragogy as the “true method of adult learning” (1986). In 1968 at Boston University, the initial use of the term “andragogy” to attain prevalent notice of adult instructors occurred when Malcolm Knowles who at the time was an instructor of adult education, presented the term via journal article. In his 1970 book publication, he defined “andragogy” as the art and science of helping adults learn. The concept of self-directed learning, or SDL, maintained below reveals Knowles’ definition of SDL:
The learning process for adults is never ending and can be very challenging. As an adult educator, teaching adult learners you will face many challenges in the learning process. It is our responsibility to keep the learners engaged, and to help them to realize their full learning potential.
Analysis: having been through the adult learning experience I have realised the roll of learner and teacher in this approach. An effective teacher can facilitate the development of independence, self confidence, learning satisfaction and help students (the learner) to critical think. This experience has taught me that there are different styles of learning and teaching that I can adopt in my future.
As we know, human being keep learning though all their lives, Sometimes I am thinking how we adult learning. In this book, I found them--some related concepts about adult learning and ways to Self-Direct Learning(SDL). Before reading this book. I already knew what is the adult learner is. In China, students who are over 18 years old are the adult in General Principles Of the Civil Law. In some perspectives, University education can be called adult education. It is new for me to learn this knowledge, so I chose the first eight chapters of the textbook.
Teaching the adult student is a great and unique responsibility; Andragogy preaches that teaching the adult learner takes a certain skill set and approach in order to be highly effective. The adult teaching theory and approach is based off the characteristics of the adult student. Andragogy views the adult learner as a very highly motivated student, a student ready and prepared to learn, and a student that comes to class with expectations of learning (Knowles 1984, pg12). With such a capable learner in the classroom the teacher must make the necessary adjustments. When teaching the adult learner, the teacher will have respect for their students and respect the fact that each student will have their own individual learning style. The teacher will also allow the adult student to experie...
Adult learning does not occur in a vacuum. What one needs or wants to learn, what opportunities are available, the manner in which one learns-all are to a large extent determined by the society in which one lives. Whenever adults are asked about their learning, they most often mention education and training programs sponsored by the workplace, colleges and universities, public schools, and other formal organizations. They first picture classrooms with “students” learning and “teachers” teaching in a highly structured format. Yet when we ask these same adults about what they have learned informally over the last year, they typically respond with descriptions of learning activities outside these formal settings. They discuss, for example, remodeling a house, which has involved everything form reading and talking...
It provides the fundamental and advanced knowledge needed to improve the well-being of a country. Education is critical to the development of a country’s youth, as the popular saying goes, children are the future. The education received from teachers can either leave a lasting impact or have little or no effect on understanding. The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation asserted that there is a need for “new paradigms, new practices and new people” (as cited in Holaday et al, 2007, 99). Professional development of teacher is required, as mentioned by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, “to build a culture supportive of a new generation of scholar citizens” (Holaday et al, 2007, p.99). Thus, it is imperative that the teachers’ in all institutions in a country receive the best possible training and resources needed to fulfil the responsibilities set before