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Reflections on adult learning
Adult Learning Theories by Knowles
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The course Wiki is an excellent source of information pertaining to the learning theories, learning models, and core teaching and learning practices. In addition, it offers links to external resources, which provides extensive information to understand the subject better. Each semester, students contribute to the existing knowledge and/or create new knowledge to expand the repertoire. At the beginning of the course, we were asked to analyze the Wiki pages in order to locate information and feel comfortable with the contents provided. To be candid, I was overwhelmed with the amount of information situated in one location and I was engulfed with the emotion of not being able to contribute. After a couple of site visits, I grasped the concept …show more content…
First, I searched for Adult Education in Canada and I wasn’t able to retrieve any information under that search term. Next, I searched for Adult Learning and I retrieved information, which was linked to Andragogy. Upon further investigation, I realized that there was a knowledge gap between adult education and adult learning theory. Therefore, I decided to create a new page called Adult Education in Canada under higher education issues http://wikis.apa.uoit.ca/wikis/EDUC5001-SEP10/index.php/Adult_Education_in_Canada to compile information on adult education and the issues faced by adult learners. After completing the page, I linked this information to Adult Learning Theory and Andragogy for the readers to understand the connections between the two. Furthermore, I incorporated external links and YouTube videos to provide further information on adult education and adult learners. As I …show more content…
I have used Carnegie Mellon University website in my undergraduate courses and I found it very helpful; therefore, I decided to share it with the rest of the community to find information pertaining to teaching and learning http://wikis.apa.uoit.ca/wikis/EDUC5001-SEP10/index.php/Carnegie_Mellon_University. This webpage offers various information regarding teaching and learning principles, using technology in education, assessing teaching and learning, as well as designing and creating instructional materials. In addition, I created a new page called Online Learning Insight http://wikis.apa.uoit.ca/wikis/EDUC5001-SEP10/index.php/Online_Learning_Insight, which is a link to a blog that offers information regarding online education. This blog provides information regarding online and blended learning as well as instructional skills development. To complement the instructional design and best teaching practices, I decided to create my last page called Big Dogs and Little Dos’s Performance Juxtaposition. This webpage provides in-depth information regarding instructional design and models, which aids teachers and instructional designs in developing their own
[According to a cohort participant,] cohorts are created not born. They are successful when everyone works collaboratively and collectively on improving their own and others' learning experiences. It takes self-responsibility, patience, courage, humor, commitment, sensitivity, and a lot of hard work to create such an enriching learning experience for everybody. (Nesbit 2001, p. 3)
Adults are self-motivated. They learn best by building on what they already know and when they are actively engaged (Lindeman, 2010). The approach of adult education revolves around non-vocational ideals and is based on experience rather than subjects (Lindeman, 2010). It helps adults gain knowledge about their powers, capacities, and limitations (Funnell et al, 2012).
Adult learner retention continues to hold the attention of adult educators in every type of program. Although the reasons students leave and the strategies for keeping them may differ from adult basic education (ABE) to higher education, the goal of retention is the same: to keep learners in programs until they achieve their goals (Tracy-Mumford et al. 1994). In any program, adults are largely voluntary participants, but the student role is just one of many roles and responsibilities competing for their time and attention. In fact, personal reasons such as family problems, lack of child care, and job demands are often cited as the cause of withdrawal. At the same time, adults usually have pragmatic, focused reasons for participating and will leave whenever they feel their goals have been met or if they feel the program will not satisfy their goals. Personal/job factors may seem to be beyond institutional control, whereas program satisfaction is something educators can improve. This Digest provides an updated look at research on retention in adult education and suggests effective practices for different settings.
The learning process for adults is never ending and can be very challenging. As an adult educator, teaching adult learners you will face many challenges in the learning process. It is our responsibility to keep the learners engaged, and to help them to realize their full learning potential.
Many students, including myself are entering college for the first time in our lives. They experience things alien to them and have to deal with an exorbitant amount of anxiety and stress. A major stressor that stands out is learning the academic way of thinking. Reading rhetorically and writing in a formal and academic manner are terms that, until now, were entirely foreign to me. At the high school level, many students are not exposed to these processes. Plain and simple, they just don’t experience this type of thinking and learning. This in turn causes an almost fight and flight response on the student’s part. Many students that struggle through these concepts give themselves the opportunity to stand or fall on their own accord, while others shut down and leave their education in the hands of chance. Students who experience this form of struggle are usually faced with the fear of asking for help.
What is andragogy? Andragogy consists of a theoretical model of six assumptions that was developed by Malcolm Knowles in order to “distinguish adult learning and adult education from other areas of education” (Mirriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 83). And so, andragogy might also be defined in terms of the efforts of “multiple researchers and scholars” (Henschke, 2011, p. 35) searching for a way to “establish andragogy as a proven theory and strong method for teaching adults” (Henschke, 2011, p. 35). But why is the topic of andragogy important for both adult learners and teachers? It is important because in order to effectively teach adult learners we must first “be cognizant of the differences which adult students bring to the classroom” (Schultz, 2012, p. 1) and to also understand that among adult learners, there exist “varying expectations and reasons for learning” (Schultz, 2012, p. 1). Andragogy is more¬over important to adult learners and teachers because both “learners and educators alike can use [it] to strengthen the learning transaction” (Mirriam et al., 2007, p. 84). With this brief definition of andragogy, along with the corresponding reason for its importance in mind, what now follows is what this paper is going to be about. The topic of this paper is an evaluation of whether or not the traditional learning environment is conducive to learning for adult learners as opposed to the andragogical environment. And the dual purpose hereof is to first briefly relate my own personal experience in a traditional learning context (under the heading of a ‘Traditional Learning Environment’), and then to reflect upon whether or not that traditional context (this time under the heading of ‘Andragogy Reflection’) i...
Hiemstra, R., & Sisco, B. (1990). Moving from pedagogy to andragogy. Foundations of Adult Education: Critical and Contemporary Issues, Retrieved from http://www-distance.syr.edu/literature.html
One theorist that is relevant to this study is Malcolm Knowles’s theory of adult learning. Though Malcom Knowles may not be the first one to introduce adult learning, he was the one that introduced andragogy in North America. (McEwen and Wills 2014). Andragogy means adult learning. The core concept of Knowles’s Adult learning theory is to create a learning environment or awareness for adults to understand why they learn .Knowles developed six main assumptions of adult learners. Those assumptions are the need to know, self- concept, experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning and motivation. (McEwen and Wills, 2014)
The Adult Learning Theories Essay assignment provides information on how learning takes place throughout different stages in life. The topic begin with how learning take place in humans, how one develops throughout various stages in life, the learning process, and blending adult learning and development experiences. The course content requires mastery because learning never ends once it begins at birth. The importance of knowing what is learned in each stage of life builds upon what is already learned which will lead to the next stage of development.
Analysis: having been through the adult learning experience I have realised the roll of learner and teacher in this approach. An effective teacher can facilitate the development of independence, self confidence, learning satisfaction and help students (the learner) to critical think. This experience has taught me that there are different styles of learning and teaching that I can adopt in my future.
Teaching the adult student is a great and unique responsibility; Andragogy preaches that teaching the adult learner takes a certain skill set and approach in order to be highly effective. The adult teaching theory and approach is based off the characteristics of the adult student. Andragogy views the adult learner as a very highly motivated student, a student ready and prepared to learn, and a student that comes to class with expectations of learning (Knowles 1984, pg12). With such a capable learner in the classroom the teacher must make the necessary adjustments. When teaching the adult learner, the teacher will have respect for their students and respect the fact that each student will have their own individual learning style. The teacher will also allow the adult student to experie...
Instructional Design is a systematic approach to design, evaluation and management of instruction. It helps to facilitate learning in an effort to improve. There are many models that have been developed to assist in the design of instructional materials. This paper will compare three: ADDIE, ASSURE and Kemp with a focus on online learning.
“Adults are motivated to learn to the extent that they perceive that learning will help them perform tasks or deal with problems they confront in their life situations” (Knowles et al., 2015). When I began my graduate course work at Northern Michigan University, I had not ever participated in an online course. Since NMU’s online course format utilizes NMU EduCat, I needed to learn the process and tasks associated with the website’s navigation and tools in order to be able to successfully complete course requirements and interact with other class participants. I was hesitant and anxious about my ability to learn the EduCat features, but the EduCat tutorial course offered step-by-step directions with information, activities, and assessments that enabled me to learn the necessary information. I was able to use my new knowledge immediately to fulfill the requirements of my courses. This direct application to my current reality as an online graduate student allowed for my new knowledge on the EduCat processes to easily become ingrained as part of my daily task
Popular education is a form of adult education that encourages learners to examine their lives critically and take action to change social conditions. It is "popular" in the sense of being "of the people." Popular education emerged in Latin America in the 1960s-1970s; Paulo Freire is its best known exponent. However, its roots may be found in the French Revolution, in workers' education of the 1920s-1930s, and in such movements as the Highlander Folk School in Tennessee (Beder 1996; Jeria 1990). The goal of popular education is to develop "people's capacity for social change through a collective problem-solving approach emphasizing participation, reflection, and critical analysis of social problems" (Bates 1996. pp. 225-226). Key characteristics of popular education are as follows: everyone teaches and learns, so leadership is shared; starting with learners' experiences and concerns; high participation; creation of new knowledge; critical reflection; connecting the local to the global; and collective action for change (Arnold et al. 1985; Mackenzie 1993). This digest describes popular education methods, addresses challenges, and offers some insights for adult educators.
Technology has had a large impact on the field of education. The proliferation of multimedia resources and limitless amounts of information available through the Internet has fundamentally affected the learning process. Students no longer search through cards and stacks for magazine articles; almost everything is at the click of a finger. Multimedia resources are increasingly utilized in the classroom to help instruct students. Some professors are making conscious efforts to use new technology, so as to introduce and familiarize their students with it. The significance of technology in education is now being elevated to a new plateau. Education through the Internet, the great equalizer, may make it more widely distributed through the phenomenon of online courses. It is the thesis of this paper that online courses are not an effective means to educate traditional undergraduate college aged students (people from 18-22 years old).