Principles of Adult Learning Andragogy.pdf

Principles of Adult Learning:
Andragogy
Preventive Medicine III B
25 and 27 April 2024

Learning Objectives
 Define andragogy
 Give a brief history and development of andragogy
 Describe the principles of andragogy
 State limitations and criticisms of andragogy
 Show the ways to implement andragogy in teaching practice
 Give the various techniques in applying andragogy to adult students

Introduction
 Education is a process that continues long after one has concluded their
formal education
 At this point, the learner is no longer a child, but an adult who’s ready to
enter the workforce and face the world
 Thus, the teaching methods that worked well to educate the person in
elementary school, high school, and even college, may not work anymore

How, then, can a teacher successfully
teach an adult?

Andragogy
 The art and science of adult learning education
 Simply defined as the art of teaching adults
 It is the opposite of pedagogy - traditional approach to teaching children

Andragogy
 Also known as Adult Learning Theory
 States that adults must be actively involved in the formation, delivery,
and assessment of their own learning programs
 Training materials for adults must support the notion that adults are self-
directed and can make good decisions on their own

Andragogy
“The entire body of organized educational processes, whatever the content,
level and method, whether formal or otherwise, whether they prolong or
replace initial education in schools, colleges and universities as well as in
apprenticeship, whereby persons regarded as adult by the society to which
they belong develop their abilities, enrich their knowledge improve
their technical or professional qualifications or turn them in a new direction
and bring about changes in their attitudes or behavior in twofold perspective
of full personal development and participation in balanced and
independent social, economic and cultural development”
UNESCO Nairobi Declaration, 1976

Andragogy
 Made famous by Malcolm Shepherd Knowles (1913 to
1997), an American educator
 Spent his career theorizing about how older people
approach learning in a way that is unique compared to
children

Andragogy
 Andragogical approaches to learning center the learning needs of adults
 higher retention rates
 With these teaching methods, adults are made to engage with their
surroundings
 When teachers give adult learners free rein to explore their surroundings
while learning, the learners are more likely to remember and apply what
they’ve learned to their specific role

History and Development of
Andragogy
 The term “andragogy” was first used by Alexander Kapp, a German
teacher, in 1833 to describe elements of Plato’s theory of education
 The term disappeared from mainstream educational terminology and
didn’t reappear until 1921 when American educators, Eduard Lindeman
and Eugen Rosenstock-Hussey used it in a report.
 “Adult education requires special teachers, methods, and philosophy”
 They categorized these special requirements under the umbrella term —
andragogy

Andragogy
 It was, however, Malcolm S. Knowles, an American educator that
popularized the idea and built the foundation for modern andragogy.
 He served as Professor of Education at Boston University from 1960 to 1974
 He noticed the insufficiencies of formal learning settings and seek a more
comprehensive approach to adult learning
 He felt that the ideals of pedagogy do not carry over effectively to adult
education

Andragogy
 Knowles proposed that adult learning should focus on getting learners to
actively participate in their own learning process and apply what they
learn in real-life situations
 Informal settings like community centers and workplaces are the best for
the development of new interests and the application of practical skills

Andragogy
 Knowles developed his andragogical principles based on foundational
assumptions or principles
1. Adults flourish in independent learning environments
2. Adults learn best thru prior experience, which includes making mistakes
3. For adults to develop the readiness to learn, they need to know the impact
the subject or topic they’re learning will have on their personal lives,
careers, or sociability
4. Adults will learn better when the topic is problem oriented
5. Adults are motivated by internal elements, not external pressures

Six Principles of Andragogy
1. Need to know
 “What’s in this for me?”
 To adults, it is crucial to know why it is necessary for him to learn something.
Be aware of the advantages of learning, in fact, seems to be a highly
motivating factor, both when those reasons are related to an improvement
in the quality of life and when they lead to better work performances
 Adults are more selective about what they direct their energies toward

1. Need to know
 Adults will be more interested in learning if a facilitator can prove that the
subject / skill that he / she is teaching will have a positive impact on their
personal, work, or social lives
 To prepare for the learning process, explain why they need to learn what
you want to teach them
 As an adult takes up various roles, they must adjust their learning towards
the skills necessary to excel in that role

1. Need to know
 Examples:
 An adult who just entered the workforce will be inclined to learn the
skills necessary to succeed in their job
 An adult who recently became a parent will be more interested in
learning how to take care of infants

2. Adult learner experience
 Compared to younger learners, adults have more experience and, in most
cases, they gather their own identity from this background
 Have an increasing reservoir of life experiences that play a huge role in
learning
 Experience encompasses formal education, job experience, life events

 This implies, on one side that adults training can reach better results if lies on
previous knowledge and competences, with programs customised in terms
of strategies and modalities
 Able to use experiences to contribute to group discussions and
understand a topic better
 Even if concepts are new, adult learners can reference their lived
experiences and connect the dots between past knowledge and new
information

 On the other hand, experience can lead to mental rigidity:
therefore, adapting programs to real needs of learners becomes even
more important

 Example:
Scenario: Leadership training program in hospital
Instead of simply explaining how they can improve their leadership skills,
ask learners who work (or have worked) in a managerial position to reflect
on and discuss their performance in their workplace.
Goal: Help them figure out things they did right at work (& how to improve
on them), and things they did wrong (and how to fix them)

3. Self concept
 Maturation is described as a phenomenon “in which individuals take the
initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning
needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material
resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning
strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes.” (Knowles, 1975)

3. Self concept
 Growing up, learners acquired more self awareness and move from being
dependent – typical of children – to more and more autonomy
 In training settings, then, it is crucial for the adult to perceive
this independence, being able to make choices in relation to the learning
process.
 Learners are more likely to be invested in their learning process when they
are given the freedom to choose the elements of the lesson

4. Readiness
 Adult learning need to be related to contingent needs: motivation thrives
from being aware that acquired information are useful to solve daily
problems, both in the personal and work life.
 Determine that what you are teaching has immediate relevance to their
personal and/or professional lives

5. Problem orientation
 Adults training should not be focused on content itself, but rather on
its practical uses. About this, it is fundamental to present competences,
knowledge and abilities in this perspective, so that an adult is more willing
to learn.
 Problem-based learning
 Focuses on the immediacy of application

5. Problem orientation
 Example:
 When middle school students take algebra in the 8th grade, they don’t
expect to immediately apply their knowledge to real-life problems. In
fact, they might end up not applying it at all if they eventually work in a
field where there’s no need for it.
 On the flip side, adults will rather devote their time to learning a
concept or skill if they’re sure they’ll need the knowledge right away.

6. Intrinsic motivation
 Specifically talking about adults, in fact, it is proved that intrinsic
motivations are in any case stronger than external ones, such as prizes and
incentives.
 This is related to self-determination (Deci and Ryan, 1985)
 Instead of learning to satisfy others, adults pursue education for
themselves

 People are led to change and grow by innate needs, competence
autonomy and relatedness
 When they want to move up the career ladder, they improve on their
existing skills (or learn new ones)

 Exploiting these mechanisms, the instructor can therefore act as
a facilitator and let the student motivate himself
 Educators try to understand the motivations of their adult learners so
that they can implement skills training that helps learners solve their
problems effectively and efficiently

Andragogy
 Considering that adults have their own, unique way of learning, there are
central principles that explain how to best develop training for them

Four Central Principles of Andragogy
1. Adults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their
instruction
 Adults want or need to be involved in how their training is planned,
delivered, and executed
 They want to control what, when, and how they learn.

2. Experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for the learning activities
 Adults gain more when they can pull past experiences into the learning
process
 They can draw on what they previously know to add greater context to
their learning

3. Adults are most interested in learning subjects that have immediate
relevance and impact to their job or personal life
 Adults want to know “How can I use this information now?”
 What they are learning needs to be applicable to their lives and be
implemented immediately

4. Adult learning is problem – centered, rather than content – oriented
 Memorizing facts and information is not the right way for adults to learn
 They need to solve problems and use reasoning to best take in the
information they are being presented with

 In practical terms, andragogy means that instruction for adults needs to
focus more on the process and less on the content being taught
 Strategies that promote active learning include reflective activities, group
discussions, debates, case studies, role playing, simulations, and self-
evaluation are most useful
 Instructors adapt a role of facilitator or resource speaker, rather than
lecturer or grader

Limitations and Criticisms of Andragogy
1. Not all adults are self-directed learners
 The entire premise of andragogy is that ALL adults are self-directed learners
– this is NOT ALWAYS TRUE
 Many adults need guidance and structure when learning a new concept
or skill
 Example:
 A sales representative is learning how to use a brand-new software

2. Not all adults learn from their past experiences
 Andragogy fails to recognize that not all life experiences can help an adult
better understand a topic.
 Not everyone is capable of analyzing their experiences in such a way that
they’ll learn something from them
 And for people who have learning disabilities, their cognitive, physical, and
psychosocial characteristics transform over time, which can affect their
ability to apply life experiences to new knowledge

3. Some adults learn new skills for fun
 Adults learn for various reasons
 People who decide to learn a new sport or hobby may not be doing it to
solve a problem; they may be doing it because they think it’s fun.

4. Some adults are driven to learn by external factors
 Educators shouldn’t assume that internal desires wholly drive an adult’s
desire to learn
 Personal identifiers like class, race, gender, and sexual orientation can
affect what an adult chooses to learn and how they learn it.

5. Andragogy ignores the role of learning in communities
 Andragogy posits that adult learners develop skills based on the social role
they occupy
 In some cases, this isn’t true.
 Some people learn new skills to address a need in their community.

Ways to Implement Andragogy in
Teaching Practice
1. Learn about your students’ backgrounds
 Knowing what is relevant to your adult students can help you tailor your
curriculum to better fit them
 You will be able to use familiar terms, and examples or problems that
they can relate to as you explain concepts
 Will reduce distraction, disinterest or frustration adults might experience
if they don’t think your course is valuable

Teaching Practice
2. Encourage students to participate in the learning process
 Need to work closely with them to determine the direction they’d like to take
with their course or lesson
 Some may want to devote more time to explaining a specific topic or covering
additional material
 Encourage discussions and collaborations between learners and instructors
 Ask students feedback on the lesson and the way it was presented

Teaching Practice
3. Embrace self-directed learning
 Adult learners learn better when they’re able to direct their own learning
processes
 That’s why you should encourage learners to identify their own needs, set
their own goals, build their courses/lessons, and evaluate their own
performance

Teaching Practice
3. Embrace self-directed learning
 Offer lesson in various formats (audio, video, text options)
 Give myriad of courses they can choose to enroll in, help them establish
their own objectives, and allow them to learn whenever and wherever they
want
 Provide additional resources on each topic so that students can learn more
at their own pace

Teaching Practice
4. Use real life experiences in lessons
 Adults want to know how their training will benefit their personal and
professional lives.
 In the preparation of the course content, include as many relatable real-life
examples as possible
 Explaining a topic with a problem that your students may face in the real
world is much more effective than providing formulas or abstract
information and asking them to memorize it

Teaching Practice
5. Let your learners figure things out themselves
 When creating the course content, do not give all the answers at once
 Give your learners some problems to solve and work backward to the
explanation of the solutions
 This approach puts students in charge of their learning and makes them
think

Teaching Practice
5. Let your learners figure things out themselves
 Encourage students to work with other classmates to brainstorm possible
solutions to the problems
 Giving the students periodic assignments, projects, tests, or even
examinations to gauge how well they’re understanding the topic

Techniques for Andragogical
Instructions
1. Roleplaying
 Allows students to explore realistic situations by interacting with their
classmates by acting it out

Instructions
2. Storytelling
 An old teaching technique that works well in both andragogy and
pedagogy
 It is a great way to channel their emotions and help them retain their
lessons better
 Tell stories from your own experience or ask your learners to tell stories from
their own personal and/or professional lives that you can use to drive your
points home

Instructions
3. Microlearning
 Instead of explaining everything at once, break your course down into 20-
to 30-minute lessons that progress logically as you teach the topic
 This ensures that your students can take a break after each lesson to recharge
and prepare for the next one.
 Provide them with notes or slides that highlight the key points of each lesson
 This will help them review what they learned, and identify where each section
begins and ends.

Instructions
5. Immersive learning
 Involves using advanced technology to simulate real-world situations and
help students learn new skills  learners become active participants
 Teachers recreate virtual learning environments that do not have barriers
that may exist in the actual environment
 Learners can develop their skills in a safe environment where success can
be accurately measured

In summary
While the techniques involved in adult education have changed since
Malcolm Knowles came up with the Theory of Andragogy, many of his
assumptions and principles still apply today

In summary
Helping adults learn effectively requires educators to put their learners first, pay
attention to their previous knowledge and life experiences, and give them free
rein to decide how they’d like to receive new information and participate in
their own learning process.

Video
 Knowles’s Adult Learning Theory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhn1WA5bgWw&t=43s

References
 UNESCO XIX Conference (1976), Recommendation on the development of
adult education
 Deci, E.L. and Ryan, R. M. (1985b). Intrinsic motivation and self-
determination in human behavior. Plenurn Press, New York.
 Storm, Althea (21 June 2023). Principles of Andragogy: Theory, Examples,
Implementation. Retrieved from https://www.thinkific.com/blog/principles-
andragogy/#whatis-andragogy

Principles of Adult Learning Andragogy.pdf

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