A Case for Andragogy

If you are in education you probably already understand that there is a distinct difference in teaching adults over children.

In my own experience, I recognized this many years ago but found that the institutions I taught for did not embrace this. Courses were very centered around instructor directed education, and did not leave room for self exploration and thought on the part of the learner. I found that students often were very dismissive of what was being shared with them because they had no input into the information, nor was there any reasoning given to them. They did not understand why they had to learn these things, so there was no value to the information.

Andragogy is the name given to the assumptions of the adult learner. One cannot talk about andragogy and not also talk about Malcolm Knowles and his six assumptions of the adult learner.

1. Self-direction: as we mature into adulthood, we evolve into a being that is self-directing. No longer requiring the same leadership style found in pedagogical settings.
2. Experience: adults bring with them all of their life experiences, and this influences their behaviour towards learning.
3. Social roles: an adults social role impacts their readiness to learn something.
4. Perspective: adult learners tend to be more problem centered as opposed to subject centered in their learning. They have the desire to put what they are learning into perspective, in that they need to know when and why the knowledge will be applied to their life.
5. Motivation: adults tend to be internally motivated. Again, this goes to the desire to apply their knowledge.
6. The need to know: adults need to understand why they must know something.

If we really think about those six assumptions we can gain a lot of insight into how the adult mind works over the mind of a child. Children typically require direction and organization. They have not yet matured into a self sufficient person, so pedagogy works for them because they are used to being told what to do and how to do it. One thing that I must note is that there are some children who are more self aware, just as there are some adults who are not. Adult students crave being “treated as an adult” but are quick to turn their choices and actions onto their instructor or institution in some situations, specifically when feedback does not go in their favour. Knowles’ assumptions of andragogy are valuable, and set the foundation for us, but also seem to operate on the assumption that adult learners are self-directed in their learning. I think this is actually a common misconception of andragogy in that we make the assumption that everything is put into the hands of the learner and left to them, that we are simply facilitators as adult educators.

All of this is very interesting, but how does this translate to the classroom?

In my search for more information on the subject I came across a really great post, titled Contrasting Classrooms: Instructional Differences Between Pedagogy vs. Andragogy by Point Park University on the subject. It takes the theories of Malcolm Knowles and expands into Jack Mezirow‘s theory of transformational learning. They suggest that when we understand both theories, and marry the two, that we can meet the needs of the adult learner.

In my own experience I have found that adding self reflection, self assessment, and eliminating traditional testing has been very effective in improving the experience of my students. The nature of what I teach must be instructor led, but that does not mean that there is not room to allow the student to still have control over their own learning experience. Adult students that I encounter are typically experiential learners. I often look to the approach of the constructivist learning theory and cognitive apprenticeship when designing course materials as these theories allow for experiential learning to happen, but are led by an expert or mentor. Case studies and physical demonstration of skills that include feedback and involve reflection by the learner are ways that I encourage self exploration and critical thinking.

So, here is my case for andragogy…

It is, without a doubt, true that how we instruct adults needs to differ from how we instruct children. It is a field that continues to be studied and expanded on. The more we learn about it and implement it’s theories into our classroom, the better the learner experience.

I implore all adult educators to truly look at how they deliver their course materials. The world is constantly changing, and so should we. Do not fall back on what you have always done. Instead, think about what you could do to evolve. You will grow from the experience, and isn’t that a wonderful thing?

-Audrey

This post was created as part of the Provincial Instructor Diploma Program at Vancouver Community College. You can access their website here. To access the School of Instructor Education Facebook page click here.