[Ed: This snippet began life on October 11, 2008. It was “archived” for lo these many years to re-emerge in its current form.]

I don’t like that Knowles’ Andragogy is reserved for adults. In Knowles’ work, the argument is that adults prefer to learn in a specific way, and/or under a specific set of conditions. That adults want more control over the conditions of learning (such as knowing the desired outcome, and being able to decide whether the learning is worth the effort; “is the juice worth the squeezing?” (h/t to OWT)). Furthermore, that the adult way of learning is substantively different than the way kids learn, and presumably the deciding difference has to be in a condition that only adults have, and specifically that kids lack. The only such condition I can find is “expertise / experience.” In any case, adults are able to self-monitor their motivation to learn, and will decide whether something is worth learning or not.

My argument is that adults and kids learn in precisely the same way. There is no learning mechanism that biologically appears when a person reaches a certain age. Rather, the problem is that kids are taught in ways that ignore their potential ability to self-monitor their learning. Their learning is presented in a way that is not natural. That is, the kids are not allowed to identify and learn about what they perceive as personal gaps in understanding, and instead they are presented topics that some curriculum body has decided is appropriate for learners in a particular grade band (whether or not it is of interest or use to the learners…). What kids lack in prior knowledge and expertise, they more than make up for with enthusiasm and motivation once their interest and curiosity has been stoked.

In a nutshell, the way that kids learn in school is so bereft of context (and thus meaning) that it ought to be abandoned.

I am, by the way, not saying that Knowles is wrong. I hope that has been clear. I am saying that calling his approach ANDRAGOGY is the wrong response to the problem. That is, instead of reserving the andragogical principles for adult learning contexts, why can’t we put them work in all environments? Everything he said applies to EVERY learner, and indicates the conditions under which EVERYONE learns best. There should be no surprise in that.

I guess the difference is efficiency. The Public education system in the United States gets a lot of grief for being very costly to the Public coffers and for being ineffective. And perhaps the reason it is ineffective is precisely because it focuses too much energy on being efficient. The measured outcomes have to do with achievement on standardized tests, and classroom curricula are written to align with the tests, and lessons align with indicators written by a faceless committee, board, or council that decided how and when certain concepts should be taught. Thus, the learners’ motivation and curiosity (the kids’ strong suit, by the way) is utterly ignored.

This all has only focused on how kids could be allowed to learn in a more naturalistic way. This hasn’t even touched on the way that school teacher autonomy has been steadily eroded over time. This autonomy is seen in decisions about how to sequence concepts, or to vary instructional practices. These professionals have an extremely high bar to gain entrance to the profession. To earn that placement, they have to prove themselves in a myriad of ways. They need to demonstrate content proficiency, the ability to design effective lessons, how to differentiate for individual students, etc. These folks are on their way to Expert status. Some states require constant professional development on top of this preparation.

In return for all these expectations, it is shocking how little we expect out of these professionals, and yet how much accountability we place onto them when things don’t go well. I’d assume that a person would only acquire accountability for decisions that they made, rather than what they were made to do. We can do better.

Definitions corner

  • Pedagogy: The science of teaching. The prefix ped- usually means children and the suffix -agogy means to lead. For this purpose, lets assume pedagogy means something like “methods for guiding learning for learners who have no prior knowledge, and few prior, personal experiences”
  • Andragogy: Methods and principles used in adult education. Andr- means adult, and -agogy means to lead. For this purpose let’s assume that andragogy means something like “methods of guiding learning for learners who have at least some prior knowledge, and large volumes of prior, personal experiences”

Knowles’ 5 Assumptions Of Adult Learners (These are very quick summaries. Any significant difference between what I write here, and what Knowles wrote in his volume of work is unintended.) In his professional writing, Knowles identified five assumptions about Adult Learners

  • Self-Concept: Adult learners are more intellectually mature than young learners, and thus are less dependent on external motivation or direction when learning new things.
  • Adult Learner Experience: An adult learner has an incredible volume of prior experiences that can help serve as a resource for learning.
  • Readiness to Learn: Adult learners become motivated toward learning those things that will help them develop in their societal roles.
  • Orientation to Learning: Adult learners want to see and understand the immediate applicability of new knowledge. They are not interested in learning for its own sake, rather as a process that can help them solve current problems.
  • Motivation to Learn: The motivation to learn for adult learners is intrinsic, rather than extrinsic

Knowles’ 4 Principles Of Andragogy

  • Adults want to be informed about what they are being taught.
  • Experience (including mistakes) plays a large role in adults for planning their learning.
  • Adults expect the things they learn to be relevant and have immediate impact on their job or personal life.
  • Adult learning should focused on problem-solving rather than on particular content. (adapted from Kearsley, 2010)

References: Knowles, M. (1984). The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species (3rd Ed.). Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.
Knowles, M. (1984). Andragogy in Action. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Kearsley, G. (2010). Andragogy (M.Knowles). The theory Into practice database. Retrieved from http://tip.psychology.org

[Credit where it is due: Image from Flickr]

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