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ANDRAGOGY

Andragogy

James Shackleford

Grand Canyon University: EDU 586

3 Mar 2023
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ANDRAGOGY
Andragogy

“Andragogy (by Knowles) describes the Art and Science of teaching adults. When

teaching, educators have to take the adult as an experienced, self-directed, and task-oriented

individual into consideration and be culturally intelligent (Bashir, Khan, & Fournier-Bonilla,

2016).” When teaching adults an instructor must be more creative and innovative to hold their

attention. Where teachers are involved, this is more than true. Often, teachers are the worst

students. We expect the highest level of cooperation and engagement from our students, but we

as teachers are not involved at all with a lesson that is not holding our attention. “Andragogy in

Greek means man-leading in comparison to pedagogy, which in Greek means child-Leading

(Pappas, 2013).” The delivery of the professional development must be culturally relevant

ensuring that it takes into consideration all teachers within the room and that the use of the PD

will be able to be adaptive to be culturally relevant to the students within the classroom.

Professional development facilitators must use thorough planning to be prepared for a group of

observers with experiences and proficiency within the learning environment that demand greater

skill. These parameters present an intensely challenging environment for the facilitator who must

develop their presentation on the andragogical principles of Malcolm Knowles.

5 Assumptions of Malcolm Knowles

When using the principles of andragogy to teach your professional development, there

are 5 assumptions presented by Malcolm Knowles which must be applied to the adult learner in

any professional development teaching situation. The first of these is that “Adult learners are, in

effect, driven by their individual self (Fogarty & Pete, 2017).” With the experiences and

relationships adult learners have, they have already developed a sense of themselves and have a

direction within their lives. Learning is not dependent on a teacher or facilitator in many
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instances and the adult learner knows their best method for learning. Most adult learners are self-

directed and have the skills necessary to be self-reliant in learning the materials presented. These

tools make it difficult to teach the adult learner. “The traditional concept of “tabula rasa,” or

blank slate, in no way applies to the adult learner (Fogarty & Pete, 2017).” Knowles holds

therefore to the concept of experience as the second assumption. Knowles's third assumption

builds from the second in that the adult learner must be able to use the information to build upon

their experiences. Those experiences will allow the adult learner to earn a higher place in their

segment of society. “They are eager to learn skills, concepts, and attitudes that are obviously and

directly related to their work, families, or themselves (Fogarty & Pete, 2017).” Knowles's fourth

assumption is that adult learners are more willing to learn whenever there is an urgency to apply

the learning. Finally, Knowles assumes that adult learners are intrinsically motivated. “They are

self-directed, eager learners, or “omnivores,” who devour everything and anything connected to

their goals (Fogarty & Pete, 2017).” Applying all of these assumptions to teachers will lead to a

self-motivated experienced intrinsic learner who is looking for a large immediate impact on their

classrooms for the students and stakeholders that they feel responsible for learning.“More

specifically, staff developers need to consider how best to work directly and indirectly with adult

learners, what roles adult learners play in learning settings, how best to facilitate change with

adults, and how to maintain and sustain the learning once adult learners are on their own

(Fogarty & Pete, 2017).”

Rationale for Applying Andragogy

“For example, during the learning experience, the andragogy approach would allow

learners to take control, be more independent, and set their own goals” (Pedagogy Vs.

Andragogy: Fix Your Learning Strategy, 2022). When teaching adults, a facilitator needs to use
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an approach that taps into the expertise and experiences of the adult learner. Lessons that use

cooperation and group experiences are built into a hands-on learning approach. Adult learners,

especially teachers, will tap into the learning experience when it is relevant, inclusive, and is

hands-on learning. These are the reasons to use andragogy. Andragogy is imperative in teaching

adult learners as it develops learning lessons that are relevant, draw on the experiences of the

experts, and has an element of hands-on learning in some way. In professional development,

staff developers are teachers or former teachers who understand the needs of their peer teachers

developing their presentations on the ways in which PD was most effective for them. “They are

unique in their own right as knowledgeable, experienced, talented, and highly motivated, self-

directed adult learners who deserve to be honored and appreciated for their expertise, even as

they enter into new professional challenges that drive their unique learning (Fogarty & Pete,

2017).”

Effective Presentations

As a facilitator, make the presentation effective. Whether it is PowerPoint or Google Slides, the

presentation must not be a distractor. “The key to success is to make certain your slide show is a

visual aid and not a visual distraction (Sommerville, 2004).” In the article The Seven Deadly Sins

of PowerPoint Presentations written by Joseph Sommerville there are some distractions to avoid

in a presentation. Transitions between slides, building text that pops, slides, or bounces into the

presentation, and sound effects are all distractions for most audiences and audience members.

They will be wondering what the next transition or sounds will be instead of giving the

information their full attention. The effects will cause distractions for some of the audience who

will lose the message of the presentation in these visual effects. Secondly, do not include huge

amounts of text in the presentation. “Limit your slides to five lines of text and use words and
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phrases to make your points (Sommerville, 2004).” Audiences tend to read the information on

the screen. A large amount of text has them reading the information and ignoring the message

being delivered. A presenter must have multiple formats for their presentation. In other words,

have a backup plan to the backup plan to get your presentation in front of the audience. There is

always a chance of failure with the technology available. By having multiple formats available,

the presenter will make sure to have the presentation which they prepared to deliver. The

audience will appreciate this effort which allows for the greatest benefit in the delivery of the

information.

Resources

Pages 30 - 33 of From Staff Room to Classroom by Fogarty and Pete have charts

developed for the methods of learning accepted by different generations of learners. Resources

like this are extremely valuable in building a lesson for teaching adult learners. The facilitator

must tap into the resources within the room as well. “Contrary to popular opinion, adults do not

prefer “sit and git” instructional approaches, preferring to collaborate with others rather than

learn alone (Fogarty & Pete, 2017).” Collaboration is the most effective learning for teachers

where they can analyze the information together and find the most practical ways to incorporate

professional learning into their classroom.

Explanation of Bias

“Cultural intelligence is the ability to be more effective in dealing with people from

different cultures (Bashir et al., 2016).” Cultural bias must be accounted for in the presentation of

information to the group of learners. The research-based discussion by Bashir, Khan, and

Fournier-Bonilla in Applying Andragogy Theory to an Adult Multicultural Audience focused on

the teaching of IT skills to adult learners. Even though this article does not deal exclusively with
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teachers, there is information to be gleaned from the article. Adult learners are dedicated to

learning and will learn more when they are solving a problem. “It is apparent, that adult learners,

value learning concepts that help them solve real-world problems, most (Bashir et al., 2016).”

Their data proved that no matter the ethnicity the adult learner who is motivated to learn will

learn at a 72% rate. Ethnicity does not matter for the adult learner. Preconceived ideas of

ethnicity being a deterrent to learning do not apply to the adult learner who wants to learn.

Considerations must be taken for language barriers. “Current research conducted at the U.S.

Consulate General Frankfurt shows that language is a barrier for adults with different cultural

backgrounds learning IT concepts (Bashir et al., 2016).” Not understanding the language is a

huge hurdle for some adult learners. The presenter/facilitator must take time to consider any

language barriers that will exist based on certain terms that are used. If that term is English and

does not translate to the native language, there will be a barrier the presenter will have to

overcome for the PD to be relevant to all learners.

Conclusion

Adult learners are lifelong learners who are motivated to learn. No matter how motivated

the adult learner is the facilitators and presenters of staff development must know the that there

will be challenges in teaching this group of learners. By applying the principles of Malcolm

Knowles and using andragogical techniques, professional development sessions will meet

overcome the challenges of teaching professional development to the staff of any institution. The

right approach and careful planning lead to success.

 
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References

Bashir, G. M., Khan, H. U., & Fournier-Bonilla, S. (2016). Applying andragogy theory to an

adult multicultural audience: How cultural factors influence the capacity for adults to learn

information technology concepts in a classroom environment Northeast Decision Sciences

Institute. Retrieved from https://lopes.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/

login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=116211857&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Fogarty, R. J., & Pete, B. M. (2017). From staff room to classroom (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks:

SAGE Publications. Retrieved from

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/[SITE_ID]/detail.action?docID=5945440

Pappas, C. (2013). The adult learning theory - andragogy - of Malcolm Knowles. Retrieved from

https://elearningindustry.com/the-adult-learning-theory-andragogy-of-malcolm-knowles

Pedagogy vs. Andragogy: Fix Your Learning Strategy. (2022, October 17). ELM Learning.

Retrieved March 1, 2023, from https://elmlearning.com/blog/pedagogy-vs-andragogy/

Sommerville, J. (2004). Avoid the 7 deadly sins of PowerPoint presentations. Retrieved from

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2004/05/17/smallb3.html