William G. Huitt Last Revised: June 2004 Adult Learning William G. Huitt Last Revised: June 2004

Overview Adult learning as a field dates to first several decades of educational psychology 1st book published – 1928 Much of findings based on theory, research design,and instrumentation developed for use with children and youth

Andragogy Knowles (1968) Independent self-concept; can direct own learning Accumulated reservoir of life experiences (rich resource) Learning needs closely related to social roles Problem-centered; immediate applicability Motivated to learn by internal rather than external factors

Andragogy Critics Knowles’ description is what adults should be like, not how they are Some of these characteristics are true for children and youth

Andragogy Knowles’ revised thinking Adult curriculum should reside on continuum teacher-directed student-centered Appropriateness depends on individual and contextual demands Internal goals External goals Immediate use Expertise Credentialing Simple skills/concepts Complex skills/concepts Good self-direction skills No self-direction skills Significant domain know. Little domain know.

Andragogy Definition Science – Study of the process of adult learning Discipline – Paradigm and knowledge of adult learning Technology – Practice of adult education

Andragogy Andragogy as a science, discipline, and technology overlaps with pedagogy Pedagogy Andragogy Generic

Andragogy Context is an important factor Must be guide to practice if field is to be useful beyond the generic or general approach to teaching and learning

Self-Directed Learning Self-selected goals Self-planned route Self-regulated activity Philosophy of SDL Andragogy should result in better self-functioning adults (humanistic approach) Transformation learning and critical reflection are vital components Emancipatory learning and social action shoud be built into learning process

Self-Directed Learning Stage Self-Directed Learning\ Developed by Grow Considers readiness for and comfort with SDL SDL skills already developed SDL skills goal of learning experience There has been a steady decline of research and articles on SDL since the 1980’s

Adult Learning Major issues Is andragogy a separate field of study? Is self-direction a characteristic of adult learners or a goal?