Andragogy Reflection: First Training
According to Merriam, Caffarella & Baumgartner, (2007), andragogy is a European concept meaning “the art and science of helping adults learn”. (p. 84) It is based on six of different assumptions about the adult learner (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 84). Andragogy is important for not only the adult learner, but the adult educator as well. It is important to adult educators because it helps them with setting a proper climate for their students, helps get the students more involved in their own specific needs from particular classes, and it gives the student and teacher mutual respect (Wood, unknown). By having mutual respect in a teacher/student relationship, it helps students the support they need to be a productive student. When working with adult learners, having mutual respect between teacher and learner and having the proper climate can contribute to more interaction when giving a presentation on subjects that may not be very interesting.
Traditional Learning Context
Every year MidMichigan Health holds a lecture for their employees called First Training. The training is done in a conference room at the hospital and is always cold and poorly lit. The speaker differs every year, but this year it was a nursing manager. First Training is a way for staff to freshen up on their communication skill; not only with patients, but with other staff. The audience that attends first training is all employees of the hospital, from housekeeping to managers. This training is mandatory for all employees every year, and if you do not attend one of the sessions a write up will be their future. The purpose of the training is to make sure that staff are following the steps of FIRST, F= Friend...
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...r (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 84). Adult learning is different from traditional learning because adults are more self-directing, self-motivated and is more eager to learn. Adult learners need to feel like they are treated equal, rather than feeling lower than the educator. Adult learners need to have mutual respect and a proper climate to ensure that they stay focused on the topics being discussed.
Works Cited
AlleyDog.com. (2013). Social Roles. Retrieved from http://www.alleydog.com/glossary/definition.php?term=Social%20Roles
Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Wood, D. (unknown). Andragogy: appreciating the characteristics of the adult learner. Memphis, Tennessee. Retrieved from http://hawaii.hawaii.edu/tlc/tutor%20training/ANDRAGOGY.htm
Lifelong learning and adult education is not just a trend, it is something that has the potential to lower our nation’s health care costs and prolong the quality of life for each and every one of us. In relatively wealthy countries, individuals who have stayed in formal education for longer, and who have gained higher qualifications tend to enjoy better mental and physiological health than their less well-educated counter-parts. (e.g. Burnette & Mui, 1994; Montgomery & Schoon, 1997; Vega Deinstmaier et al., 1999) Education has always been something that we did for ourselves to improve our lives personally as well as the society we are a part of. The idea that adults are not capable of continuing to learn into their golden years is no longer
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).
Being a teacher of adult education is a very demanding job. It requires an absolute commitment towards embedding real-life tasks into the curriculum to make learning more meaningful and purposeful for adults (Early & DeCosta, 2007, p.1). At the heart of it, teaching adults really is about being flexible enough to address the needs of an individual student; being creative enough to challenge adult students’ ways of thinking; and finally being sensitive enough to understand that some students’ paths towards higher education can be more challenging than ours (Early & DeCosta, 2007, p.2). In other words, a good teacher of adult education is a teacher who is able to inspire and motivate students to think differently, read and write meaningfully, and communicate purposefully.
What is andragogy? Andragogy consists of a theoretical model of six assumptions that was developed by Malcolm Knowles in order to “distinguish adult learning and adult education from other areas of education” (Mirriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 83). And so, andragogy might also be defined in terms of the efforts of “multiple researchers and scholars” (Henschke, 2011, p. 35) searching for a way to “establish andragogy as a proven theory and strong method for teaching adults” (Henschke, 2011, p. 35). But why is the topic of andragogy important for both adult learners and teachers? It is important because in order to effectively teach adult learners we must first “be cognizant of the differences which adult students bring to the classroom” (Schultz, 2012, p. 1) and to also understand that among adult learners, there exist “varying expectations and reasons for learning” (Schultz, 2012, p. 1). Andragogy is more¬over important to adult learners and teachers because both “learners and educators alike can use [it] to strengthen the learning transaction” (Mirriam et al., 2007, p. 84). With this brief definition of andragogy, along with the corresponding reason for its importance in mind, what now follows is what this paper is going to be about. The topic of this paper is an evaluation of whether or not the traditional learning environment is conducive to learning for adult learners as opposed to the andragogical environment. And the dual purpose hereof is to first briefly relate my own personal experience in a traditional learning context (under the heading of a ‘Traditional Learning Environment’), and then to reflect upon whether or not that traditional context (this time under the heading of ‘Andragogy Reflection’) i...
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)
Hiemstra, R., & Sisco, B. (1990). Moving from pedagogy to andragogy. Foundations of Adult Education: Critical and Contemporary Issues, Retrieved from http://www-distance.syr.edu/literature.html
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.
Andragogy, made famous in the United States by Malcom Knowles in 1967, is the art and science of teaching adult learners as opposed to pedagogy which is the art and science of teaching but not distinguishing what age group (Rachel, 2002). Knowles implemented andragogy through the use of a learning contract, in which learning objectives, strategies and resources, achievement, and methods for evaluation are all determined by both the learner and instructor (2002).
Andragogy is focusing on creating good learning experiences for adults(2013). Here, we should understand some assumptions about the boundary of adult and pre-adult. First , Adult learner can do self-direct learning (chapter 4), and can study independent than the pre-adult or children who are totally learning rely on teachers---learner’s self-concept, also this part is the most engaged part with learning. The second assumption is the most impressive and helpful. Adult learner have more experience than other learner, that means, adult’s prior experience have a big difference feeling or motivation with other adults. Take myself for example, when I was in high school, my orientation for study was went into a good University; whereas, right now, my orientation for study is to make my life different than before. It’s a internal motivation, because I experienced many things which I didn’t experienced in high school. The part “the need to know” makes me feel distanced from
Andragogy is the way adults learn as opposed to pedagogy, the way children learn. The term was first introduced by Alexander Krapp in 1833. It was later popularized by Malcolm Knowles as he described his theory of adult learning. He had 6 theories as to how adults learn:
Androgogy is the “art and science of helping adults learn” (Knowles as cited in Merriam, Caffarella, Baumgartner, 2007, p. 84). “Andragogy is based on the following six assumptions about the learner: (1) learner’s need to know; (2) self-concept of the learner; (3) prior experience of the learner; (4) readiness to learn; (5) orientation to learning; and (6) motivation to learn” (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson as cited in Khosrowpour, 2009, p. 1528). It’s important for teachers of adults to incorporate these assumptions to be successful. It is also important for the learner to be in a position with these assumptions that is conducive to learning. When instruction does not consider androgogy, it can be ineffective. This paper will examine an unsuccessful lesson, and then using androgogy, will provide suggestions to achieving success in this same lesson.
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:
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...
While focusing on andragogy, the connection of my personal learning experiences with the six assumptions of the andragogical model has helped