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Andragogy

      The term “Andragogy” was first coined by a German teacher called Alexander Kapp in 1833 and then developed into a theory until the American educator Malcolm Shepherd Knowles (1913-1997) asserted the key concepts and principles of “Andragogy” or what we call “The Theory of Adult Learning”. According to Knowles, Andragogy is the art and science of adult learning (Kearsley, 2010). Andragogy in Greek is a word of two parts meaning “man-leading” which looks similar to the term “Pedagogy” which on the other hand means “child-leading”. Knowles suggested that despite child and adult learning may share some methods and approaches, adult learning has different aspects and considerations that must be taken into account to achieve a meaningful learning experience.      The following are the five assumptions of the characteristics of adult learning that makes it different from child learning:

Assumption 1: Self-Concept

The learning experience should offer the maximum autonomy and minimum instruction. Adult learners come with previous experience and knowledge and build o them so they are more encouraged if they are involved in learning than being instructed as a primary approach. Learners are more encouraged when they are given the opportunity to explore and be in charge of their learning with guidance when needed. Project groups are good activities that promote independence in learning.

Assumption 2: Adult Learner Experience

Since adult learners are mature, they come with previous experience and knowledge which must be considered on designing a learning experience, thus a designer has to put into account the audience and their background and abilities before offering the material.

Assumption 3: Readiness to Learn

As learners mature they tend to be attracted to learning experiences that offer tasks that develop their social roles. So activities that promote their social development and collaboration can be of a good benefit and motivation to learners.

Assumption 4: Orientation to Learning

Adult learners need to know why they are engaged in the process on regular basis as they tend to engage in the learning experiences that offer solutions or assistance on a regular basis and they tend to be less engaged if the learning experience is unusable in a near time.

Assumption 5: Motivation to Learn

Motivation is considered a key in adult learning. Since the motivation in adults I mostly internal, every educational activity that learners are engaged into has to be for a reason, meaningful and beneficial in the near future. Adult learners need to feel involved and to be a part of the experience in order to be motivated.

Knowle’s 4 Principles of Andragogy:

  1. Adults must be a part of planning and evaluation of the learning experience.

  2. Experience should be a top consideration in every learning experience including mistakes

  3. Learners are mostly engaged in learning experience that are relevant to their professional or personal lives.

  4. Adult learning is task-oriented rather than content-oriented. (Kearsly, 2010) So the content must serve the task.

STRENGTHS

  1. Andragogy considers learning to be a lifelong process, thus adult learning experiences need to consider different approaches than child learning

  2. The principles consider different types of learners and is concerned with stimulating active ongoing learning.

  3. The theory puts learners on the top of considerations personally and professionally trying to offer opportunities for their development

  4. Andragogy offers clues to engage adult learners explaining most of the assumptions of characteristics learners have when approaching the learning experience and considerations that must be taken into account.

LIMITATIONS

  1. Whilst adult learning is essential nowadays, it may be costly for learners to afford which makes them recede or postpone

  2. It may require some effort to work on motivating older learners to continue acquiring knowledge and learning

  3. To apply it and receive good results, accurate planning, designing and execution needs to take place in order to not waste time and effort and lose the engagement and motivation of busy or lazy learners

  4.  It may need continuous modifications in order to meet the goals and audience experiences and background

IMPLICATIONS IN INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

    From my point view, I drew a picture of Andragogy as the event planner that organizes all the learning theories principles to make use of them in the adult learning world in order to be able to deliver a meaningful and relevant learning experience through the digital world. Andragogy is concerned with the development and excellence of learners above formalities which is a main consideration in instructional design concepts. Instructional designers have a good soil to create relevant activities but they need to make sure that every step is meaningful and beneficial in order to achieve the principles and engage learners. Project based learning and gamification serve well for the self-concept. Real life situations and authentic assessments satisfy the need for relevance. Digital tools and engaging activities offer good options to help the learners get engaged to the process. Continuous feedback and communication with learners encourages them to be a part of the process and achieve goals and as a result improve and be encouraged for more learning.

REFERENCES

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