Core Assumptions of the Adult Learner
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Transcript Core Assumptions of the Adult Learner
Adult Learning
1. Andragogy: what is it?
2. The Six Core Assumptions of the Adult
Learner
3. Review Assumptions
4. Resources
What is andragogy? What’s so
special about how adults learn?
• andragogy is the art and science of helping adults to
learn
• emphasis is on the learner
• the voluntary nature is cornerstone
• a relatively new field
• previously, little research and writing about adult
learning
• focus has shifted
Andragogy vs.
Pedagogy
• pedagogy is the art and science of teaching children
• teacher directed
• pedagogy emphasis on the subject
• basis of the American educational system
Malcolm Knowles/Adult Learning
• father of andragogy
• adult learning vs. andragogy
• provides a framework
• creates a context
• the individual vs. generalizations
Core Assumptions of the Adult Learner
1. The Need to Know
2. The Learner’s Self Concept/Self Directed
Learning
3. The Role of the Learner’s Experience
4. Readiness to Learn
5. Orientation to Learning
6. Motivation
The Need to Know
•
adults need to know
undertake to learn it
why they need to learn something before they
How
What
Why
What can I do?
needs assessment
clear & realistic preview of the program
topics
clearly defined roles
expected outcomes
daily schedule
The Learner’s Self Concept:
• adults want to be responsible for their own
decisions and actions
• adults want to take ownership for their learning
but……
• structured learning environment = back to school
The Learner’s Self Concept:
treat me like an adult….
SOMETIMES!
• self-directed learning is situational dependent
The Learner’s Self Concept:
What can I do?
clarify expectations
provide more choices and involvement
instructional style
collaborative learning environment
learner sets his/her own goals & objectives
provide feedback
welcome mistakes
The Learner’s Experience
• adults bring great and varied life experiences & knowledge
to their learning
• experience is who they are
• reject my experience = reject me
• strongly established feelings & memories of past learning
The Learner’s Experience
all prior experience affects learning
help
• like a puzzle piece
• positive consequences
hindrance
• it’s filtered
• negative consequences
When Experience Helps:
relate information to prior knowledge
•
analogies
• mnemonics (ABCD, acronyms), enumeration
• recall experience
How Experience Hinders:
As we accumulate experience, we tend to develop
mental habits, biases & presuppositions that tend
to close our minds to new ideas, fresh
perspectives & alternative ways of thinking.
(Knowles, 2005, p.66)
•information that conflicts with prior knowledge is learned more slowly
•resistance
•restructuring
The Learner’s Experience
What can I do?
provide access to info prior to learning
anchor
individualize instructional strategies
tap into experience
group discussions
peer activities
simulation exercises
provide familiar context
Readiness to Learn:
adults become ready to learn those things they need to
know in order to cope
• specific learning needs are generated by real life events
• learning experiences need to coincide with where the
adult is at that point in their life
• adults have fundamentally different needs for assistance
(direction vs. support)
Readiness to Learn:
What can I do?
survey the learners for realistic & practical needs before, during &
after the program
realistic situations or simulated situations
tailor the support/direction given based on individual needs
create a relaxed & informal atmosphere
facilitator/instructor responsible for affective environment
Orientation to Learning and Problem Solving
W.I.F.M.
• “How does what I’m learning apply to my
life?”
• “I want to apply this RIGHT NOW!”
• “Let me figure it out.”
• “Let me set my own goals.”
Orientation to Learning
and
Problem Solving
What can I do?
learner sets own goals
provide learning opportunities that allow for problem
solving
allow for immediate application of learning
learning needs to be contextual and focus on
experiential learning
encourage reflection
allow the learner to evaluate their own progress
Motivation
• primarily internal
• excited to learn anything that helps them
understand or improve
• prefer learning that helps them solve
problems or interests them
• show me the improvement!
Motivation
Motivation to learn is the sum of 4 factors:
1. Success
2. Volition
3. Value
4. Enjoyment
Motivation
What can I do?
provide choices when possible
create a safe environment
feedback
make the learning authentic & experiential
allow the learner to influence timing and pace
provide access to relevant resources
clearly state objectives at the beginning of the learning session
allow the learner to evaluate their own progress
Review-
6 Core Assumptions of the Adult Learner:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Why learn?
I’m a responsible learner…?
Experience-yes please!
“It’s my life, it’s now or never….”
Let me figure it out.
Show me the improvement!
RESOURCES
• The Adult Learner. Malcolm S. Knowles, Elwood F. Holton III,
Richard A. Swanson 2005
• Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: The Power of Dialogue in
Educating Adults. Jane Vella, 2003
• Beyond Instruction. William J. Rothwell, Peter S. Cookson, 1997
• Classroom Instruction That Works. Robert J. Marzano, Debra J.
Pickering, Jane E. Pollock, 2001
• From Telling to Teaching. Joye A. Norris, 2003
• How to Teach so Students Remember. Marilee Sprenger, 2005
RESOURCES
•
http://media.wiley.com/product_data/excerpt/50/07645598/0764559850.pdf
•
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JOTS/Summer-Fall-2000/holmes.html
•
http://www.mtecp.org/pdfs/30%20Characteristics%20of%20Adult%20Learn
ers%20docx.pdf
•
http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm
•
http://www.qotfc.edu.au (The Clinical Educator’s Resource Kit)
•
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/tlc/tutor%20training/ANDRAGOGY.HTM
(Andragogy: Appreciating the Characteristics of the Adult Learner)
•
30 Things We Know For Sure About Adult Learning. Rob & Susan Zemke
Innovation Abstracts Vol VI, No 8, March 9, 1984
•
Principles of Adult Learning. Stephen Lieb, VISION, Fall 1991