Andragogy
Here you will find a complete overview of Andragogy including its strengths, limitations, and implications for instructional design.
Andragogy is all about adult learning (Pappas, 2013)!
Andragogy has some principles and assumptions that are critical to understanding the theory.
The Need to Know
Adults want to understand what they will be learning and why (Finlay, n.d.). Understanding the benefits they will gain personally or professionally will help make them more motivated to continue learning (Gutierrez, n.d.). For this reason, adults should be involved in helping to plan their own learning (Pappas, 2013).
Self- Direction
The next assumption is that adults are self-directed, in that they are responsible for their own decisions and thinking (Finlay, n.d.). They are, of course, much more independent than children, and this can include learning independently (Pappas, 2013). Smith (2012) describes how there is a possibility that adults can self-direct their own learning. This essentially means that learners can make decisions about what they’re learning and how. If adults are proactive learners who take initiative, they are likely to learn more, have better motivation, and retain the learning better than reactive learners. Further, rapid changes in knowledge and technology make information irrelevant quickly. Being a proactive learner and developing inquiry skills will help a person continue to learn in the future and prevent their knowledge base from becoming obsolete.
Life Experiences
Finlay (n.d.) describes how adults have a vast array of life experiences that they bring to the table when they’re learning. If an instructor activates prior knowledge, these experiences can be built upon with new understandings. Connections can be made between past experience and new learning. For this reason, learning should be constructive and include conversation and collaboration so those connections can be made.
Readiness to Learn
The learning that an adult is doing needs to be something they find useful to their life or career (Pappas, 2013). It needs to be a relevant need they have and be provided at a time when it is useful to help solve a problem (Finlay, n.d.). This is contrary to elementary school, for example, when young children are learning skills that will be applicable to their lives later on. For these reasons, the educator or instructional designer needs to be sure to explain to the adult why the learning will be useful and to create activities or assignments that are applicable in the student's real life (Pappas, 2013).
Orientation to Learning
This assumption is about how tasks and problems given to adult learners should be contextualized and experiential (Finlay, n.d.). Typically adults are more engaged in learning when they are participating in problem-based learning that is relevant to them as opposed to learning all about a specific subject lecture-style (Pappas, 2013). Cochran & Brown (2016) describe how authentic learning is ideal for adults. This means that assignments given to adult learners should be applicable and meaningful outside of the classroom. This can help students understand how they would apply the new skills they’re learning in their personal or professional life, which is critical as has been described in some of the other assumptions above. The adult students should be given choices about how to demonstrate their new learning whether it be in written form, shared orally, or something else entirely.
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Experiential learning can be utilized in andragogy as well. Adults seem to learn more effectively when they are having an experience and making sense of it (Gutierrez, n.d.). Textbooks and memorizations don’t seem to be impactful for adults. Furthermore, experiential learning often results in an understanding of more abstract concepts that can later be applied flexibly in various situations (McLeod, 2017). The theorized cycle of experiential learning begins with a student having some sort of new experience (McLeod, 2017). Often movement based experiences or very emotional experiences can elicit powerful responses in students, which results in the concepts they've learned being retained well (Gutierrez, n.d.). Then, students must be prompted to reflect on their experience and make connections to their previous experiences (McLeod, 2017). Providing time for this is critical. The reflection should help a student construct an abstract concept or generalize some ideas, which they can then see would connect to their own life (Gutierrez, n.d.). Finally, students should be given an opportunity to apply their new skills or understandings (McLeod, 2017).
Motivation
Motivation for learning can be extrinsic, like getting a good grade, or intrinsic, which is more common among adults (Finlay, n.d.). This is likely because adults recognize internally why the new learning will benefit them and how the new skills will be applicable to them (Pappas, 2013). Internally motivated students tend to be more successful with their learning, including when learning online (Cochran & Brown, 2016).
One note made by Knowles in this theory about andragogy is that it differs from pedagogy. He said in pedagogy a teacher transmits their knowledge to their student and students are passive (Finlay, n.d.). This is a stark contrast to the assumptions described throughout andragogy.
Strengths of Andragogy
Andragogy recognizes that adults and children can be quite different and may have different learning needs (Finlay, n.d.). It helps set the stage for adults to be successful with any lifelong learning experience in which they choose to engage. Further, andragogy encourages individualization and self-direction which makes it great for every individual person and that can easily be adapted to an online learning environment (Cochran & Brown, 2016). Additionally, since the learning is supposed to be relevant to the learner, busy adults often are motivated to make the time to engage with the learning experience because they understand how it will be beneficial to them (Gutierrez, n.d.).
Limitations of Andragogy
There are a few problems with the theory. Much of what Knowles and others describe is actually applicable to all learners, including children (Finlay, n.d.). The practices and assumptions are generally best practices for all teachers (Cochran & Brown, 2016). A learner at any age will be more engaged when learning is purposeful, personalized, and experiential (Finlay, n.d.).
Additionally, adults are incredibly diverse group and therefore, one theory of learning will not be effective for everyone (Finlay, n.d.). A group of adult students will have a huge variety of background knowledge and experiences, and determining each one’s prior knowledge on which to build can be challenging (Pierce, 2014). Some of those experiences can lead to biases or preconceived notions which in and of itself is problematic (Blondy, 2007). Furthermore, learning something new can be much trickier when it is contrary to previous experiences and adult learners may be resistant (Finlay, n.d.). Additionally, previous negative learning experiences or unhelpful learning habits can negatively interfere with one’s ability to learn something new (Blondy, 2007). Also, identifying any gaps in preexisting knowledge can be tricky when self-direction is happening (Pierce, 2014). While building upon previous experiences seems helpful and effective, it can be problematic as well.
Implications for Instructional Design
References
Blondy, L. C. (2007). Evaluation and application of andragogical assumptions to the adult online learning environment. Journal of Interactive Online Learning, 6(2), 116-130.
Cochran, C. & Brown, S. (2016). Andragogy and the adult learner. In Supporting the Success of Adult and Online Students (pp.73-84). Createspace.
Finlay, J. (n.d.). Andragogy (adult learning) [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLoPiHUZbEw
Growth Engineering. (2016). Formal Learning vs Informal [Infographic]. eLearning Infographics. https://elearninginfographics.com/formal-learning-vs-informal-learning-infographic/
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Gutierrez, K. (n.d.). Adult learning theories every instructional designer must know. Sh!ft. https://www.shiftelearning.com/blog/adult-learning-theories-instructional-design
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McLeod, S. (2017). Kolb’s learning styles and experiential learning cycle. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html
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Pappas, C. (2013). The adult learning theory - andragogy - of Malcolm Knowles. Elearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/the-adult-learning-theory-andragogy-of-malcolm-knowles
Pappas, C. (2014). 9 Tips to apply adult learning theory to eLearning. eLearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/9-tips-apply-adult-learning-theory-to-elearning
Pierce, M. (2014). Training for the New Year: Formal vs. informal learning. Training. https://trainingmag.com/training-for-the-new-year-formal-vs-informal-learning/
Smith, M. K. (2012). Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy. Infed.org. https://infed.org/mobi/malcolm-knowles-informal-adult-education-self-direction-and-andragogy/