Exploring Adult Teaching and Learning Stategies - Case Study Example

Exploring Adult Teaching and Learning Strategies Exploring Adult Teaching and Learning Strategies Introduction Adult learning refersto the process through which adults gain expertise and knowledge through engagement into sustained and systematic learning activities to enable them gain new forms of skills, knowledge, values or attitudes (Genderen, 2013). This is referred to as andragogy, and it entails the teaching strategies developed for the adult learners. Andragogy is the art and science used in teaching adults to learn. The process involves engaging adults with learning experience structure. Many countries, especially USA, andragogy is considered in the tradition of Malcolm Knowles that labels a practical and theoretical approach of humanistic conception based on autonomous and self-directed teachers and learners as learning facilitators. According to Knowles, andragogy must be distinguished from child leading; pedagogy. He asserted that effective andragogy must motivate the adults to know the importance of learning something must provide a basis for the learning activities, must use subjects with immediate relevance to their personal lives. Therefore, this paper describes an instructional learning event that was ineffective and recommends for the relevant changes that could be made using the andragogy principles (Knowles, Elwood, & Richard, 2011). Case Study I had my internship at the department of public service gas and oil which is the sixth largest in the region. The department wished to develop an action learning program. This was to help the distribution department to engage in more successful actions, in their competitive environment which was a major threat and was replacing their previous regulated world. During this time, it was established that the program was to enhance communication and interaction of people as well as weave quality behaviors and tools within the fabric of the organization. The program was to help people develop and use their coaching and problem solving skills to establish an environment of trust and openness, and to get conflict on the table. Over the two months training, five separate sessions were conducted with more than 100 participants. Each session had an average of 20 participants that were split into four action groups of five participants. A learning coach headed each session. I happened to be one of the learning coaches. The learning coaches formed a team of learning coaches. Every action learning group could address the actual business project that was sponsored by a senior leader within the organization. Throughout the program, the action team could meet for four days over the four weeks period, three days with the learning coach, and one day on their own. Each action group could, at the end of every session, propose recommendations to the leadership team. The groups were mostly involved in implementing their recommendations at the end of the session. They proposed savings through restructuring and improvement of the relationship with the community and transformation of customer-related interactions. However, the program was not completely a success as the participants were often apprehensive and overwhelmed by the learning approach. There were reports that the learning approach challenged them, especially in their establishment of rich camaraderie with fellow team members. Reflection I feel that the classroom training is inefficient since, in most cases, a greater percentage of learners secretly work on their real jobs while the rest might be relieved that they are not involved in their real jobs during the trainings, and they, therefore, turn their minds completely off their real jobs. Half of the learners know whatever is taught but executing it is normally a big challenge. Therefore, action learning created in the main team a group that involves itself in community learning. The self-concept of an adult learner is very critical in any training program. Their prior experience must be utilized while the adult learner must show willingness to learn. The orientation to learning must be connected both to individual differences and professional requirements. This requires motivation through professional and personal payoffs on the side of the department, while, on the side of the learner, there is a need for self-concept knowledge, readiness to learn and need to know. This implies that the originator of learner and the learner must work hand in hand for realization of effective learning program. Changes to the learning event The problems experienced while the training program can be solved using the four andragogical principles by Knowles. These include involving the adults in evaluation and planning of the instructions or program, exposing them to other action programs s as to build their experience, including the mistakes, providing them with learning subjects with immediate relevance to their personal lives and ensuring that the program was problem-centered instead of content-oriented (Rubenson, 2011). In building prior experience to learners, Knowles advocates for four ways through which the experience necessitates adult learning. First, is the creation of a wider range of experience, providing rich learning resource, creating biases that shape learning and providing ground for the creation of self-identity of adults. In the case provided, if the learners had prior experience to action training programs, then they could find it easier to cope up with the program and they would not have complained of learning approach challenging them. Therefore, there is a need for the establishment of familiarity with learning approach in action training programs to enhance experience of the learners (Wang & Kai, 2013). Involving the learners in planning and evaluation of the program is critical. According to Knowles, the adult learners must be oriented to problem solving and learning. Problem solving appears more appealing to adults in real life context rather than focusing on the subjects. Such an orientation helps them focus on actual life experiences. Such perceptions enable them solve tasks they face in life such as encounters in their daily roles. Therefore, knowledge must be created through transformation of their experience. In the current case, the learners could have been taken part in the formulation of program and their views about their preferences considered. This would have eliminated problems of poor learning approach. The department could have been in a position to ensure that the most preferable learning approach is used for the action program (Knowles, Elwood, & Richard, 2011). Therefore, the only way through the problems portrayed in the above case is through andragogical rather than pedagogical approach. While pedagogical approach advocates for teaching of the concept, the andragogical model emphasize on focus to the process. In most cases, the adult learners will refer the process, such as increased interaction, instead of the straight subject matter. On my part, I was younger than most of the learners, and this meant that there was a high probability that I had little life experiences than most of the learners. However, this might have contributed to poor reception by the learners. Knowles acknowledges that such could lead high drop outs and recommends that adult educators must make efforts to establish learning experiences where adult learners can be encouraged to make the transition to self-directing from dependent learners (Knowles, Elwood, & Richard, 2011). The andragogical models points out those adults get motivated to learning where they are convinced that learning is critical in their lives. In sum, adults will tend to value what they consider giving them enjoyment and satisfaction. The motivation remains greatest when they learn new approaches to handling the problem. In the current case, if the learning approach was appealing to the learners, a greater reception and reasonable recommendations for the business distribution could have been realized (Rubenson, 2011). Conclusion The case analysis presented in the current paper indicates that andragogy is completely different from pedagogy. In pedagogy, children have limited control on whatever they leant but in andragogy, adults want to control the learning process. This must, therefore, take into consideration the principles by Knowles failure to which the adult experience becomes pedagogy. The adult learners must be aware of the principles of andragogy to be able to embrace the learning process. The adult learners must be aware of the learning process and this will constantly build their experience such that they can participate in the evaluation of instructions and procedures of the learning program. References Genderen, E. V. (2013). Sustainable Competitive Advantage: Effective Andragogy. Middle East Journal of Business 8(3), 3-6. Knowles, M. S., Elwood, F. H., & Richard, A. S. (2011). The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic in Adult Education and Human Resource Development. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann. Rubenson, K. (2011). Adult Learning and Education. Boston: Elsevier/Academic. Wang, Y., & Kai, S. K. (2013). E-learning Tools for Andragogy: A Scale Model of Technology-based Active Learning. International Journal of Services and Standards 8(3), 214. Read More