Androgogy

Case studies

Read Case Study 1.Identify at two things that interest you.

Read Case Study 2.In what ways does it

differ from the first case study?

Learning objectivesO To partake in an initial activity which

considers case studies of adult learners O To identify the differences between pedagogy

and androgogyO To explore own experiences as adult learners

specifically in relation to the assumptions set out by Knowles

O To critique the assumptions of Knowles through own enquiry and supplementary reading

O To partake in a de-brief session and focus group after the break.

DefinitionsO Pedagogy?

O Andragogy?

Pedagogy vs androgogyO A pedagogical approach may be described

as a teacher dominated learning situation. Often the teacher does all or more of the talking, dictates the pace of learning …

O An androgogical approach places more emphasis on what the learner is doing. Androgogy is all about how adults learn.

Reece & Walker (2000) Teaching, training and learning: a practical guide (4th ed.). Tyne and Wear: Business Education Publishers Ltd. p75

Adult learningO In pairs discuss your experience of

learning as an adult;O How does it differ from your experience

as a younger learner?O How does your approach to study differ if

at all?

O Our stories: where have you previously encountered the idea of adults and what they bring to the classroom?

Brookfield’s first critically reflective lens: our autobiographies as adults

O Our autobiographies as adult learners represent one of the most important sources of insight into practice to which we have access. Yet, in much talk and writing about practice, personal experience is dismissed and demeaned as "merely anecdotal"; in other words, as hopelessly subjective and impressionistic…

 O The intrinsic problem with relying only on autobiographical

experiences as learners to guide our practice is that we can never completely avoid the risks of self-denial and distortion. We can never really know just how much we're cooking the data of our memories and experiences to produce images and renditions that confirm our own prejudices and instincts.

 O …the critical journey has to start somewhere, and examining our

autobiographies as adult learners is one obvious and fruitful (though usually neglected) point of departure.

What assumptions can we make of adult learners?

Your assumptions of adult learners

BUSY Have a wealth of ‘life experience’ Complicated Career-centred Hard-workingWant to be there MotivatedThey think they know it all

Clear learning goals

Timing Focused

Assumptions of adult learners

O What are your assumptions based on?

O Has anything in particular influenced these?

Malcolm Knowles:Five assumptions about

adult learning

O Adults move from dependency to autonomyO Adults gain life experience O Adults are ready to learnO Adults move from ‘need to learn’ to ‘want to

learn’O Adults mature and become motivated

Wilson, L. (2014) Practical Teaching: a Guide to Teaching in the Education and Training Sector: A Guide to Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (2nd ed). Hampshire: Cengage Learning

Group taskO In small groups, consider:

1) How this theory might inform your approach to planning and delivering learning for adults

2) Any issues this presents

Moving towards a critique

O What are your thoughts on Knowles’ assumptions?

O Do you agree or disagree?

O Are there any problems with the assumptions that Knowles has presented here?

Adults have acquired a coherent body of experience—associations, concepts, values, feelings, conditioned responses—frames of reference that define their life world. Frames of reference are the structures of assumptions through which we understand our experiences. They selectively shape and delimit expectations, perceptions, cognition, and feelings. They set our “line of action.” Once set, we automatically move from one specific activity (mental or behavioural) to another. We have a strong tendency to reject ideas that fail to fit our preconceptions, labelling those ideas as unworthy of consideration—aberrations, nonsense, irrelevant, weird, or mistaken. When circumstances permit, transformative learners move toward a frame of reference that is more inclusive, discriminating, self-reflective, and integrative of experience.

(Mezirow,1996)

SummaryO What is the difference between

pedagogy and androgogy?

O What have you found particularly interesting or useful today?

O How has this session positioned you to:O Understand yourself as an adult learner?O Teach adults?