If one were to ask the general population to explain Andragogy or Pedagogy many would struggle with this task, while most have been exposed to both these are two topics that are usually left to educators to discuss. The general public would however have a lot to say about how children and adults should be taught. Should adults be taught differently than children? How are the best practices for Andragogy and Pedagogy different? Where do teenagers lie? These questions and others are being explored by educators everywhere. With the increase in technical and computer based learning both in k-12 education and post-secondary education the lie between pedagogy and andragogy is narrowing.
In, A Paradigm Shift: Teaching Adults As Children And Children As Adults, Earl Harewood describes adult educators, “They allow the adult learner to have more autonomy over the learning process, acknowledge the learner’s life content and make provisions for blending life experience with the instructional modality.” Anagogical learners bring a greater capacity of experience to the classroom. They are often as much of resource for one another as the instructor. The Anagogical learner is self-directed, self-reliant, and self-evaluated. Adult Education is more effective when it is learner centered though experiences. The instructor should find ways to make these experiences personal to the learner. The principles of adult learning; self- directed, life experiences, goal- oriented, relevancy oriented, practical, and respect are all components students of all ages would benefit from.
The pedagogical learner is reliant upon the instructor for all learning. As education has changed modern teaching ideas would suggest that the learner finds their own understanding, not unlike the techniques used in Andragogy. The teacher or instructor accepts full responsibility and is held accountable for the performance and growth of learner. In Andragogy vs. Pedagogy: the Tutoring Difference, Bob Lasiewicz, explains that even though anthological methods are being incorporated in the k-12 classroom “Classroom size, time constraints, curriculum requirements, and overall k-12 structure are more conducive to the pedagogical approach”.
Teaching adults can be very similar to teaching children or teens. However the instructors of adult learners seem to have an imbedded advantage. Adults are usually in a class, training, or workshop because they either want to be or are being paid to be. The subject matter also almost always is somehow related to something that interests them or is of obvious importance.
This assignment explores the term Andragogy and its origins, identifies the key people and their concepts on Andragogy and finally concurs in concluding the main themes in eLearning as applied to Andragogy today.
How to attract and retain adult students is an enduring question for providers of adult education. Adult students must juggle competing demands on their time from study, family, work, and other commitments; their learning goals are often different from those of educational institutions and providers; and their needs and aspirations may change during the education process, sometimes as a result of it. This Brief reviews recent research related to adult student recruitment and retention and provides guidelines for recruiting and retaining adult learners.
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).
Adult learner retention continues to hold the attention of adult educators in every type of program. Although the reasons students leave and the strategies for keeping them may differ from adult basic education (ABE) to higher education, the goal of retention is the same: to keep learners in programs until they achieve their goals (Tracy-Mumford et al. 1994). In any program, adults are largely voluntary participants, but the student role is just one of many roles and responsibilities competing for their time and attention. In fact, personal reasons such as family problems, lack of child care, and job demands are often cited as the cause of withdrawal. At the same time, adults usually have pragmatic, focused reasons for participating and will leave whenever they feel their goals have been met or if they feel the program will not satisfy their goals. Personal/job factors may seem to be beyond institutional control, whereas program satisfaction is something educators can improve. This Digest provides an updated look at research on retention in adult education and suggests effective practices for different settings.
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.
The main body of the essay will discuss and differentiate andragogy from pedagogy, and how I might use Knowles’s theory in future training.
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:
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)
Since first introduced by Jack Mezirow in 1978, the concept of transformative learning has been a topic of research and theory building in the field of adult education (Taylor 1998). Although Mezirow is considered to be the major developer of transformative learning theory, other perspectives about transformative learning--influenced by the work of Robert Boyd--are emerging. Following a discussion of transformative learning as conceptualized by Mezirow, this Digest describes research and theory building by Robert Boyd and its influence on current perspectives of transformative learning. Some suggestions for fostering transformative learning conclude the Digest.
Andragogy has been and still is well debated among educators and psychologists. One reason for the debate is what is called “paradigm devolution.” This term suggests that ideals serve as models for beliefs and behaviors, but over time the actual practice of the ideal tends to devolve from what is ideal to that of an ideology (2002). This suggests that although instructors know that they should implement andragogy by way of adult self-directed learning, the actual art of doing so or how to do so is lost in translation.
Andragogy, the art and science of teaching adult learners is a theory most closely associated with Malcolm Knowles. Andragogy unites the student and teacher, allowing a partnership to blossom in the classroom. The teacher has a role that is more of a tour guide and less of the authoritarian. The teacher allows adult students to experience the education as opposed to observe one. Andragogy instruction is not fully content based, but focuses on the process of education, it is not just what you learn, but also how you learn. According to Mr. Malcolm Knowles (1984), five main aspects of Andragogy are:
Education institutions were eager to adapt to pedagogical approach; it was is teacher-centered. The teacher determined what will be taught, when will it be taught, how it will be taught, and if it was learned the way he/she taught the lesson. (Ozuah) As I reflect back at the time I started teaching, this is how I taught. I was the only resource that my students had. I am happy to say that I have changed. I’m not the only resource at my students’ fingertips anymore. However, I do have to teach them the correct ways to use resources via the
Within the andragogical model described by Knowles, Holton, and Swanson (2015), adults need learning experiences that are different than those found in the pedagogical model. Instead of waiting for experiences that are directed and controlled by a teacher, adults need to have a clear rationale and understanding for the learning, feel past experiences are valuable, and have a developed internal system for motivation in order to help a learning experience be successful. The connection and orientation to the learning task, the readiness to learn, and self-concept are other important ideas to adult learning.
In summary, I guess I disagree with the theory that adults learn differently than children. I think we all learn the same. I think it is the strategy that is different. I believe that the role of any good educator is to guide the learner into connecting what they are learning in the classroom to their world.
In this course I experienced an important change in my beliefs about teaching; I came to understand that there are many different theories and methods that can be tailored to suit the teacher and the needs of the student. The readings, especially those from Lyons, G., Ford, M., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2011), Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2007), and Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Sinclair, C., Nanlohy, P. (2010), have helped me to understand this in particular. In composing my essay about teaching methods and other themes, my learning was solidified, my knowledge deepened by my research and my writing skills honed.