What Is Andragogy and Its Effects on Today’s Design of Learning for Adults Essay Example for Free

What Is Andragogy and Its Effects on Today’s Design of Learning for Adults Essay Education of adults has always been an issue, but there has been very little interest or analysis of adult learning. Adults were thought to be children alike, when it comes to learning; therefore, the only theory was pedagogy in the educational setting. According to Knowles (1980), after the end of World War I, more modern education theories on adults were developed. Thorndike’s, Sorenson’s, and Linderman’s studies showed that adults learn differently than children, also their interests and abilities differ. Those studies affirmed that, in adult education, the curriculum should be built around the student’s interest instead of student adjusting themselves to it (Aderinto, 2006). With the light of these studies, the basis of more recent adult learning theories emerged. Adult learning differs; therefore, the design of learning for adult education should be adjusted to more recent theories. In 1968, Malcolm Knowles proposed andragogy, the adult learning theory to distinguish adult education from children education, pedagogy (Merriam, 2001). Knowles is the father of andragogy and according to him (1980), it means â€Å"the art and science of helping adults learn†. In the second half of the twentieth century, Malcolm Shepherd Knowles was one of the most influential persons in adult education in the US. He was the Executive Director of the Adult Education Association of the United States of America (Smith, 2002). He worked on informal adult education and also developed the first foundations of grounds for adult learning through andragogy. In his twenties, Knowles met Eduard Lindeman, while he was working for the National Youth Administration in Massachusetts, and he became his mentee. Knowles acknowledges that Lindeman’s Meaning of Adult Education was his main source for inspiration and ideas on his own work. Andragogy, in contrast to pedagogy, is developed based on the needs of adults, and presents a number of learner-focused methods and principles which are particularly valuable in adult education and training (Guilbaud and Bonnie, 2008). The pedagogical and andragogical assumptions are lightly different. In a pedagogical model, it is necessary to direct students on what they will learn. Instructors should be directive and provide all the essential information to the students. Pre-adults are not self-motivated; the instructor should lead the time management and require close supervision. On the other hand, adults are self-directed and ready to take on responsibility, and they come with experience and are willing to transform the information into an application. They are goal-oriented and want to be active rather than passive students. It is important to know why they are learning, instead of just getting the necessary information. These are the reasons why, when teaching adults, different theories and models should be taken into consideration other than pre-adult learning theories. There are some learning theories related to andragogy. Experiential learning theory, is involved with the material being studied, students expected to learn by doing it. In this learning theory, participants are expected to use their own experiences and reflections. The information that is learned, involves doing something and discovering it; therefore, it is effective as it addresses the cognitive, emotional, and the physical aspect of the learner. On the other hand, self-directed learning theory is an example of informal learning, in which individuals are expected to define their own goals and set their needs accordingly, and find their own motivation to achieve these goals. Self-directed learning can be integrated with daily routines. The transformative learning theory is considered to be a constructivist theory, and it is influenced by Jack Mezirow’s work. Transformative learning is to help adults understand their experiences. These theories, combined with characteristics of adult learners and assumptions of andragogy, should be applied to the design of adult learning. Adults want to be involved in the learning activities; therefore, the instructors should guide them to their own knowledge rather than stating the facts. Adults have significant life experience and knowledge that are gained from family and work responsibilities, and previous education. They tend to use this information, so the instructors should draw these parts out to help the participant to connect the information. Adults are goal-oriented; they usually know why they are enrolling a course from the beginning, and it is important to lay out how the course will help them achieve their goals in an early stage. They need to know, why they are learning something and it has to be an applicable information to be valuable, the instructor can obtain this by letting them choose projects that can reflect their interests. Adults usually are not interested in the knowledge itself, but how it will be useful for them. They all expect respect, so it is important to let them express their own opinions freely in class. Andragogy also has many critiques from adult education professionals. Jarvis claims, that even though andragogy is in a dominant position, there is no sufficient evidence to support its status, and a more recent research by Merriam states (2001), that andragogy is one of the pillars of adult education; however, the adult education should go beyond andragogy (Henschke, 2011). Since 1970, there have been many researches to prove andragogy as a strong model for adult education. In recent years, Henschke and Cooper identified six sections in andragogy. They are; evolution and history of the concept, comparison of the American and European understandings, popularizing and sustaining the American and global concept, practical applications, and theory, research and the definition of andragogy. In 2007, Isenberg provided a dynamic design to combine the interaction of andragogy and internet learning. It is clear, that andragogy still has much to contribute to the future of adult learning. In the future, the discussions should go beyond Knowles’ version and include the world-wide perspective of other studies. It should be joined with other adult learning theories and continued to be researched (Henschke, 2011). Studies showed that adults learn differently; therefore, the educational environment, such as online education, which is highly used by adult learners, should be designed based on their needs. Characteristics of adult learners and applications of adult learning, such as andragogy combined with other adult learning theories, should be taken into consideration in the design of such learning.