Adult Learning: Malcolm Knowles

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Recommended: Merits and demerits of the adult learning theory

Andragogy offers a medium through which adult learning can be facilitated. It is essentially a humanistic educational process that values the individual learner. The powerful relationship between the instructor and student does not compromise educational values and learning expectations. Andragogy adds to the cognitive, affective, interpersonal and psychomotor domains of adult learners in order to bring about transformation. Knowles's version of andragogy presents the individual learner as one who is autonomous, free, and growth-oriented; therefore andragogy is an important and potentially useful avenue for both instructors and learners. The purpose of this paper is to involve initial work toward comparing traditional and adult learning theories and models.

Traditional Learning Context

As a college freshmen student, my instructor started the class on the first day with her motto written in red chalk on the board “Students must be taught responsibility and the reinforcement and pleasure of success in learning and achievement is your tuition.” Secondly, the instructor provided a handwritten handout that could barely be read on how to set up a notebook for the course, how to use the course textbook and how to complete the weekly assignments. During class sessions the instructor never explained the illegible handwritten note even after several students said they could not read it. Next, she read the entire generic syllabus that assumed that we knew the content already. To add insult, the instructor, quizzes and tests were not consistent and lesson sequencing and grading scales changed consistently due to her cancelling class. It was too much content, too fast! To make matters worse the instructor consistently...

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...Today’s learners are building a foundation for the future. Andragogy is a way of considering adult learning experience. There are a multitude of stages of andragogy, which are applicable to adult learning. For each step, there are many independent factors brought to the environment for adult learning to occur. Therefore, andragogy is an important and potentially useful avenue for both instructors and learners. The purpose of this paper is to involve initial work toward comparing traditional and adult learning theories and models.

Works Cited

Birzer, M. L. (2004). Andragogy: Student centered

classrooms in criminal justice programs. journal of

criminal justice education, . 15(2), 393-411.

Knowles, M. S. ((1984). Andragogy in action. Applying

modern principles of adult education San

Francisco: Jossey Bass.

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