Many more adults are returning back to school in order to pursuit a degree or to resume with their unfinished studies. Whichever the case may be, adult education has become more popular now days than it was 20 or 30 years ago and as the result many more schools are creating programs that focus more on andragogy (adult education) teaching programs. In which the adult student can learn by applying some of the most important principals of adult learning, making the learning experience more enjoyable, practical and convenient to the student.
The term “andragogy” comes from the Greek, meaning: man-leading in contrast to the term pedagogy which translates to: child-leading. Although the term has been around for quite some time since it was first used by a German educator, Alexander Kapp around 1833 (Geraldine Holmes and Michele Abington-Cooper, 2000) It was not until the early 70’s t that term strongly reemerged through the work of Malcolm Shepherd Knowles, an American psychologist and adult educator who believed that when it comes to teaching, adults need to be teach in a different way than
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Since adults need to have a real “motor” to further the education and learn on new things, they not only need to know the value and the relevance in their learning process but they also need to see the rewards as wells, since most adults return back to school to earn a higher pay or obtain a promotion. Adults want to make sure that the new material or information acquired is meaningful and how this will help them in their future, which is why they question the need to learn something before the take up on the task. According to Christina Fisher from Learning Solution Magazine, adults find motivation to learn within the demands and desires of their lives, in providing for themselves and their families, and in satisfying personal dreams and ambitions (Christina Fisher,
Pedagogy is the passive trends from transfer of information from teachers to students, Andragogy is about active information seeking by the learner. Pedagogy assumes that students comes into the classroom with no life experiences to build on. Andragogy assumes that students have prior experiences that they can apply to the learning process. In Pedagogy teaching structure is subject-oriented, In Andragogy learning is less instructed and more relevant, relevance to real life issues are usually more essential using Andragogy as compared to Pedagogy. Pedagogy assumes that students have few internal motivations to learn and must rely on rewards and punishments. Andragogy assumes students have more internal motivations to learn. In Pedagogy students are dependent on teachers, In Andragogy students are more independent and responsible for their own learning. Pedagogy is more authoritarian model and Andragogy is more collaboratively learning model. In summary Pedagogy is more suitable for children in most cases and Andragogy is more suitable for adults in most
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).
People have very different reasons on why going to college and getting an education is important for them. Some people go to college because that is what is expected of them, and others go because they have nothing else better to do. However, I am interested in going to college and obtaining a good education because it will benefit my family, my country, and me.
Mirriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A
The main body of the essay will discuss and differentiate andragogy from pedagogy, and how I might use Knowles’s theory in future training.
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
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)
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.
...astically benefit, families, and communities. To these challenges of an education, adults will, and must learn to balance everyday life obligations, with the demanding stress load of achieving their college degree.
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.
Having known that adults are supposed to be self-directed, internally motivated and goal-oriented in the learning process, it is believed that Expectancy-Value Theory proposed by Wigfiled and his colleagues might be fruitful in explaining adults’ learning motivation in this case study.
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:
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
Education is as important as the air we breathe. It is the most important possession a person must have. Education is beneficial in many aspect of life especially, personal and social it is the only possession that cannot be taken away from you. Education is important because it will open up the windows of opportunities. In this competitive world having a good education is as important as the air we breathe because it is our weapon to conquer the world.