What is adult learning theory all about?

This is developed by Malcolm Knowles who adopted the term andragogy to differentiate the teaching of
adults from pedagogy, the teaching of children.

What is Andragogy? Andragogy comes from the Greek word "anere" for adult and "agogus" the art and
science of helping students learn. Listen carefully, andragogy is the facilitation learning for adults, who
are self-directed learners. In andragogy, adults learn best when learning is focused on them, not the
teacher.

What is pedagogy? Pedagogy – is a German name meaning as ‘child-leading’. Pedagogy is the teaching of
children, or dependent personalities.

You need to remember, Knowle’s Adult Learning theory or andragogy is the concept of how adults learn
and how it differs from children. Its goal is to demonstrate how adult learning is diverse and identify the
learning styles which fit them best.

This comparison of pedagogy to andragogy describes those adults learn differently from children
according to the following 6 assumptions. Let us look at these assumptions
The first Assumption is Need to Know.

In andragogy, the mature learning individual needs to know why they need to learn something before
undertaking to learn it. They need to know the reason they are being asked to learn. When they
understand what is it for them, they are much more likely to pay attention.

One way to do this is to share the purpose of an activity or its objectives. Let them know in advance why
they should pay attention and how it will individually benefit them.

In Pedagogy, the child learner learns what the teacher wants her to learn. The teacher is entirely
responsible for the learning process.

The second assumption is Self-Concept

To adults, they feel responsible for their own learning decisions. They acquired more self-awareness and
move from being dependent – typical of children – to more and more autonomy. To help these adult
learners their need to learn independently is by giving them some control over their learning. On-line
training is an excellent tool for providing this control. Of course, this works best when there is readiness
to learn.

To children, they are completely dependent on the teacher for learning. This means that the learners are
not self-directed in pedagogy.

The third assumption is Role of Experience

The learners in andragogy have clearly more experience than young experience. As a person matures,
he/she gathers a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning. Adults
are a rich resource for one another because they learn from each other’s experience. Different
experiences assure diversity in group of adults. Encouraging learners to connect their learning to life
experiences can help them gain a better understanding of the material. Experience becomes the source
of self-identity.

The learners in pedagogy, on the hand, their experiences play a not so significant role. The experience of
the teacher is most influential.

The fourth assumption is Readiness to Learn.

In andragogy, adult learners’ readiness to learn can be prompted by literally anything; a sudden change
in their lives, a need for dealing with life tasks and problems more successfully, the desire for self-
improvement and self-development, and so on. They need to know why to learn something; as soon as
they answer this question, they are ready to start.

Children learners in pedagogy, in contrast, are usually told what to learn or an already prescribed study
material in order to advance to the next level of mastery.
The fifth assumption is Orientation to Learning.

To adult learners, they want to perform a task, solve a problem, and live in a more satisfying way. They
seek information that is useful in their personal lives and work environment. Learning must have a
relevance to real-life tasks. It is organized around life/work situations rather than subject matter units.

Children’s learning, on the contrary, is subject centered, meaning that the subject determines the
sequence according to which the learning content units will be presented and taught.

The sixth assumption is Motivation for Learning.

As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal; self-esteem, self-confidence, desire for better
quality of life, curiosity, self-development, and recognition.

On the other hand, children and teenagers are mostly motivated by extrinsic factors, such as getting good
grades or other perks, or avoiding the consequences of failure.

Learning Prepositions with Which Most Psychologists Will Agree

2. “Sheer repetition without indications of improvement or any kind of reinforcement is a poor way to
attempt to learn.”

3. “Threat and punishment have variable and uncertain effects upon learning; they may make the
punished response more likely or less likely to recur; they may set up avoidance tendencies which prevent
further learning.”

4. Reward (reinforcement) to be most effective in learning, must follow almost immediately after the
desired behavior and be clearly connected with that behavior in the mind of the learner.”

5. “Learner’s progress in any area of learning only as far as they need to in order to achieve their purposes.
Often, they do well enough to ‘get by’; with increased motivation they improve.”

6. “Forgetting proceeds rapidly at first– then more and more slowly; recall shortly after learning reduces
the amount forgotten.”

7. “Learning from reading is facilitated more by time spent recalling what has been read than by
rereading.”

8. The best way to help pupils form a general concept is to present the concept in numerous ways and
varied situations, contrasting experiences, with and without the concept, then to encourage precise
formulations of the general idea and its application in situations different from those in which the concept
was learned.”
9. “When children and adults experience too much frustration, their behavior ceases to be integrated,
purposeful and rational.
➢ Blindly they act out their rage, discouragement or withdrawal.
➢ The threshold of what is ‘too much’ varies;
➢ it is lowered by previous failures.”

10.“No school subjects are markedly superior to others for ‘strengthening mental powers.”

➢ General improvement as a result of study in any subject depends on instruction designed to build up
generalizations about principles, concept formation, and improvements of techniques of study, thinking,
and communication.”

11. “What is learned is most likely to be available for use if it is learned in a situation much like that in
which it is to be used and immediately preceding the time when it is needed.”

12. “Children (and adults even more) … remember new information which confirms their previous
attitudes better than they remember new information which runs counter to their previous attitudes.”

13. “Adults need to know the need to learn something before undertaking to learn it.”