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EDU 528, WEEK 5, PART 1: Andragogy in Practice

Slide # Topic Narration


Slide 1 Introduction Welcome to Methods of Teaching in
Adult Education. In this lesson, we will
discuss Andragogy in Practice.

Next slide.
Slide 2 Topics The following topics will be covered in
this lesson:

Expanding the usefulness of the
andragogical model;

An individual-transactional framework,
a dynamic view of andragogy;

Integrated system or flexible
assumptions;

The andragogy in practice model;

Applying the andragogy in practice
framework; and

Case examples.

Next slide.
Slide 3 Expanding the usefulness of the
andragogical model
There is no consensus on the number
and content of the core assumptions of
andragogy. Knowles added two more
assumptions to his original andragogical
model which initially had four
assumptions. However, many authors
still stick to the original four
assumptions.

The current andragogical model as
cited in Knowles 1989, 1990, and 1998
has six assumptions:

Need to know;
Learner self-concept;
Learners experience;
Readiness to learn;
Orientation to learning; and
Motivation to learn.

The model cited in Knowles 1984 had
all five of the principles and did not
have the motivation to learn
assumptions. The models cited in
Knowles 1978, 1980, and 1984, did not
have the need to know assumption.
Furthermore, the 1978, 1980 models did
not have the motivation to learn
assumption.

Next slide.
Slide 4 An individual-transactional framework Andragogy has faced criticisms from a
number of quarters. Most of these
criticisms have come from the theorists
who operate from a critical
philosophical perspective. Here are
some of those criticisms:

Andragogy focuses solely on the
individual and not on the relationship of
adult education to society.
It is not clear whether andragogy can
serve as the foundation for a unifying
theory of adult education.
Andragogy does not adopt a critical
paradigm of adult learning.

Knowles argues that the andragogy does
not have to embrace outcomes of social
change and critical theory. Others have
argued that andragogy has its roots in
humanistic and pragmatist philosophy.
The philosophies of pragmatism,
behaviorism, humanism, and
constructivism focus most of their
assumptions on two dimensions, the
learner and the learning transaction.
Critical theory is concerned with
outcomes of learning-social change.

Andragogy is a transactional model
of adult learning that is designed to go
beyond specific applications and
situations. Adult education is one of the
many fields of application in which
adult learning occurs. Andragogy does
not prohibit combining it with other
theories that speak to the goals and
purposes of education. Andragogy can
be embedded within many sets of
goals and purposes, each of which may
affect the learning process differently.
For example, one can use the
andragogical approach to adult learning
for the purpose of social change, while
others may use the andragogical
approach in adult learning for the
purpose of performance improvement in
an organization.

Next slide.
Slide 5 A Dynamic View of Andragogy The fact that andragogy does not speak
to all possible goals and purposes of
learning should not be seen as a
weakness, but as a strength because
andragogy can transcend arenas of
application. The criticism may actually
make the andragogy model more
adaptable. The criticism about
andragogy is confounded by conflicting
philosophical views about adult
education. Most of the criticisms have
come from only one philosophical
perspective, it is possible that
andragogy may be more appropriate
when viewed from a different
perspective.

There are a number of theories that are
neutral to goals and purposes. What is
important in any theory building effort
is to define the boundaries of the
theories. According to Dubin, it appears
most of the criticisms have come from
attempts to make andragogy become
more than what it was intended to be.
Such attempts violated the boundaries
of the theory, and that resulted in
confusion.

Knowles defines an adult educator as
one who has a responsibility for helping
adults to learn. There are three
meanings of the term adult
education:

Adult education is a process of adult
learning;
Adult education is an organized set of
activities to accomplish a set of
educational objectives; and
Adult education is a combination of the
two into a movement or field of social
practice.

Next slide.
Slide 6 Integrated System or Flexible
Assumptions
Knowles presented andragogy an
integrated set of assumptions.
However, it has emerged over the years
that there is potential for more flexible
application of andragogy. Knowles
has argued that his assumptions should
be viewed as flexible and therefore can
be altered depending on the situation.

In his own words Knowles made the
following assertions:

The andragogical model is a system of
elements that can be adopted or adapted
in whole or in part. The essential part of
andragogy is its flexibility; and
The appropriate starting point and
strategies for applying the andragogical
model depend on the situation.

Knowles advises that educators have
the responsibility of checking out the
assumptions which are realistic to the
given situation. However, Knowles
never outlined a systematic framework
of factors that should be considered
when determining which assumptions
are realistic in order to adapt andragogy
to the situation. Some people have
argued that andragogy seems to claim to
fit all situations.

There are some people who have
proposed other models they feel can
account for the variations in adult
learning. Pratt proposed a model in
which he recognized that most learning
experiences are highly situational and
that a learner may exhibit very different
behaviors in different learning
situations. There are two core
dimensions of this model, direction and
support.

Next slide.
Slide 7 The Andragogy in Practice Model Androgogy in practice model is an
improved conceptual framework that
can apply andragogy across multiple
domains of adult learning practice.

There are three dimensions of
Andragogy in practice:

Goals and purposes for learning;
Individual and situation differences; and
Andragogy: core learning principles.

The model offers a three dimensional
process for understanding adult
learning. It recognizes the lack of
homogeneity among learners and
learning situations and indicates that
learning business is a complex activity.

The outer layers of the model are
referred to as developmental outcomes.
The goals and purposes of adult
learning serve to shape and mode the
learning experience. The goals of adult
learning can be classified into three
categories namely individual,
institutional, or societal. Knowles used
these to describe the mission of adult
education but did not link them directly
to andragogical assumptions. This
three-category typology can be seen as
incorporating all the categories found in
other major typologies of purposes of
adult learning.

The fact that many researchers have
attempted to create typologies for adult
learning outcomes reinforces the fact
that goals and purposes are conceptually
separate from the core andragogical
assumptions. These should always be
analyzed alongside the core principles
as they may influence how the core
principles fit a given situation.
Andragogy focuses on the learning
transaction as opposed to the overall
goal for which a program is offered.

Because of its focus on the individual
learner, andragogy may best fit with
individual development goals.

Adult learning is equally powerful in
developing better institutions and as
well as individuals.

Friere contended that the aim of
education is to help participants put
knowledge into practice. And believed
that the outcome of education is societal
transformation.

Next slide.
Slide 8 The Andragogy in Practice Model
continued
Individual and situational differences
are located in the middle ring of the
Andragogy in practice model. There are
three variables associated with
individual and situational differences.
These are subject matter differences,
situational differences, and individual
differences.

Different subject matter may require
different learning strategies. Not all
subject matter can be taught the same
way.

Situational effects include any unique
factors that could come up in a
particular learning situation and
incorporates several sets of influences.
Different local situations may dictate
different teaching/learning strategies.
Situational influences to prior learning
event may include anything from
cultural influences to learning history.
Situational influences during learning
may include a number of factors such as
social, cultural, and situation-specific
factors that may alter the learning
transaction.

Some people have looked at psychology
as a foundation discipline of adult
education. There has been an increased
interest to use psychology to help to
understand how individual differences
affect adult learning. Though there is no
certainty in the research, it is clear that
individuals vary in their approaches,
strategies, and preferences during
learning activities.

An understanding of individual
differences helps to make andragogy
more effective in practice. Professionals
can use the understanding of individual
differences to mold adult learning
experiences in several ways such as:

Tailor the manner in which they apply
the core principles to fit adult learners
cognitive abilities and learning styles
preferences.
They know which core principles to fit
are significant to specific group of
learners.
They expand the goals of learning
experiences.

Next slide.
Slide 9 Applying the Andragogy in Practice
Framework
People familiar with the six principles
of andragogy start from the middle of
the model and work outwards to adjust
the six principles to fit the individual
and situational differences as well as the
differences due to the goals and
purposes. The two outer rings act as
filters in which the core principles are
examined to make adjustments. Some
prefer to work from outside , from the
outer ring and work inwards. They
analyze the goals and purposes first and
then individual and situational
differences, and finally adjust the
application of the core principles to fit
the full context. Both perspectives have
their advantages.

There is a three-part process for
analyzing adult learners with the
andragogy in practice model:

The core principles of andragogy
provide a solid foundation for planning
adult learning experiences.
Analysis should be conducted to
understand adult learners and their
individual characteristics,
characteristics of subject matter, and
characteristics of the particular situation
in which adult learning is being used.
Goals and purpose provide the frame
that shapes the learning experience.

The andragogy in practice framework
should be used in advance to conduct
what is called andragogical learner
analysis. Andragogical learner analysis
uses the andragogy in practice model to
determine the extent to which
andragogical principles fit a particular
situation. This can be done by creating a
worksheet in which the six core
principles are rows and the components
of the individual and situational
differences; and goals and purposes for
learning are columns. Each cell in the
matrix represents the potential effect of
one of the factors on a core assumption.

Next slide.
Slide 10 Case example: Adult Basic Education
Program
This figure gives an example of an
andragogical learner analysis.

This example shows a number of things
such as:

Type of learners: Disadvantaged citizen
who lack basic literacy skills;

Reason for the course: To obtain well-
paying jobs. Stuck in the low brackets
because of lack skills in reading and
math. Want to improve their lives; and

Course enrolled: Workforce literacy
education.

This example provides information that
shows that the goal of the program is
individual life-improvement.

Information from the analysis shows the
following things:

The learners fit the core assumptions of
the andragogical model as shown by the
checks in the boxes;

Learners have low confidence in self-
directed learning, will need support; and

They have motivation due to
entrapment into local economic
difficulties.

But still prior learning experience may
be a barrier to them because they have
not been successful in traditional
education.
These learners are pragmatic as shown
in assumptions number five; they want
to learn something that is relevant to
their lives.

Next slide.
Slide 11 Check Your Understanding
Slide 12 Summary We have now reached the end of this
lesson. Lets take a look at what we
have covered.

We started our discussion by examining
expanding the usefulness of the
Andragogical model. Here, we learned
that there is no consensus on the
number and content of the core
assumptions of andragogy model.

Next, we examined an individual-
transactional framework. Here, we
learned that there have been a number
of criticisms about andragogy. We learnt
that most of these criticisms have come
from the theorists who operate from a
critical philosophical perspective.
Knowles argues that the andragogy does
not have to embrace outcomes of social
change and critical theory. We also
learned that andragogy is a transactional
model of adult learning that is designed
to go beyond specific applications and
situations.

We then examined dynamic view of
andragogy. Here we learned that the
criticism about andragogy is
confounded by conflicting philosophical
views about adult education. It is
possible that andragogy may be more
appropriate when viewed from a
different perspective. We learned that
an adult educator is one who has a
responsibility for helping adults to
learn. There are three meanings of the
term adult education.

Next, we examined integrated system or
flexible assumptions. Here, we learned
that though Knowles presented
andragogy an integrated set of
assumptions, there is potential for more
flexible application of andragogy.
Knowles has argued that his
assumptions should be viewed as
flexible and therefore can be altered
depending on the situation. Educators
have the responsibility of checking out
the assumptions which are realistic to
the given situation.

We then discussed the Andragogy in
practice model. Here, we learnt that the
model has three main components:

Goals and purposes for learning;
Individual and situation differences; and
Andragogy: core learning principles.

We learned that the model offers a three
dimensional process for understanding
adult learning.

Next, we examined applying the
andragogy in practice framework. Here,
we learned that different people can
apply the framework differently: Some
start from the middle of the model and
work outwards, while others prefer to
work from outside, from the outer ring
and work inwards. There is a three-part
process for analyzing adult learners
with the andragogy in practice model:
We also learned that the andragogy in
practice framework should be used in
advance to conduct what is called
andragogical learner analysis.

Lastly we examined case examples:
Adult basic education program and
Management development program.
Here we learned about two different
scenarios in which we can carry out the
andragogical learner analysis.

This completes this lesson.

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