The Learning Processes of Andragogy and Pedagogy - Essay Example

In Pedagogy, the concern is with transmitting the content, while in Andragogy, the concern is with facilitating the acquisition of the contents. The learning processes of pedagogy and andragogy approaches differ, even though both aim for acquisition of learning. This is the predominant thinking today although subject to some debate. The topic is too complex to discuss. Thus, a scrutiny of the presentation of each as well as the nature of each learner involved is necessary. From these, the concern for transmission and acquisition of learning in them will be explained. This paper concludes that both are part of a single process, taking much cue from contemporary literature. Differences of assumptions Pedagogy. Pedagogy is what some people refer to as didactic, traditional, or teacher-directed approaches, and is the most dominant form of instruction in Europe and America ("Individualizing" 2007). In the pedagogical model, the teacher has full responsibility for making decisions about what will be learned, how it will be learned, when it will be learned, and if the material has been learned (Knowles, 1984). Pedagogy, or teacher-directed instruction as it is commonly known, places the student in a submissive role requiring obedience to the teacher's instructions. It is based on the assumption that learners need to know only what the teacher teaches them. The result is a teaching and learning situation that actively promotes dependency on the instructor (Knowles, 1984). Andragogy. A competing idea in terms of instructing adult learners, and one that gathered momentum within the past three decades, has been dubbed andragogy ("Individualizing" 2007). The growth and development of andragogy as an alternative model of instruction has helped to remedy this situation and improve the teaching of adults ("Individualizing" 2007). History The differing models. Andragogy as a system of ideas, concepts, and approaches to adult learning was introduced to adult educators in the United States by Malcolm Knowles (1975, 1980, 1984). The pedagogical model is a content model concerned with the transmitting of information and skills. For example, the teacher decides in advance what knowledge or skill needs to be transmitted, arranges this body of content into logical units, selects the most efficient means for transmitting this content (lectures, readings, lab exercises, films, tapes, for example), and then develops a plan for presenting these units in some sequence (Knowles 1973). By contrast, the andragogical model is a process concerned with providing procedures and resources for helping learners acquire information and skills. In this model, the teacher (facilitator, change-agent, consultant) prepares a set of procedures for involving the learners in a process that includes (a) establishing a climate conducive to learning, (b) creating a mechanism for mutual planning, (c) diagnosing the needs of learning, (d) formulating program objectives (content) that will satisfy these needs, (e) designing a pattern of learning experiences, (f) conducting these learning experiences with suitable techniques and materials, and (g) evaluating the learning outcomes and re-diagnosing learning needs (Knowles 1973). In order to further distinguish between the pedagogical and andragogical approaches to design and operate adult educational programs, Knowles (1973) compared his andragogical model of human resource development with that used by most traditional educators, which he called a pedagogical model. The dissenters. Opponents to Knowles' concept preferred to view education as a single fundamental human process and felt that even though there were differences between children and adults, the learning activities of men and women were essentially the same as those of boys and girls. They rejected andragogy as an organizing principle in adult education and perceived it as a technique. Some of these were Houle (1972), London (1973) and Elias (1979) who questioned andragogy's theoretical status, general utility, and how it was different from progressive education applied to adults. In 1980, Knowles retreated somewhat by stating - I am at the point now of seeing that andragogy is simply another model of assumptions about learners to be used alongside the pedagogical model of assumptions, thereby providing two alternative models for testing out the assumption as to their 'fit' with particular situations. Furthermore, the models are probably most useful when seen not as dichotomous but rather as two ends of a spectrum, with a realistic assumption in a given situation falling in between the two ends. (p. 43). The continuing debate Definitions of pedagogy. Many attempted to define pedagogy for contemporary upgrade of the concept. The core meaning and implication of the term, however they define it, means "to lead a child". It came from its etymological root in the Greek word paidagogos, where paidos means "child" and agogos means "leader" (Harper 2001). Geraldine Holmes and Michele Abington-Cooper in their Journal of Technology Studies (2000) quoted Knowles' definition of pedagogy which literally means the art and science of teaching children. Meanwhile, in their Horizon Research, Weiss, Pasley, Smith, Banilower, and Heck (2003) think pedagogy refers to how teachers manage their classroom instruction in ways that help students to learn the subject matter. The University of Tasmania redefined pedagogy as a simple concept of "teaching for learning" (Webb 2007), while the Department for Education and Skills (2007) of United Kingdom, in its recently-conducted research, defined pedagogy as "the act of teaching, and the rationale that supports the actions that teachers take. It is what a teacher needs to know and the range of skills that a teacher needs to use in order to make effective teaching decisions". The University of Tasmania agrees with this finding of "a process model according to the various contributions of the teacher and the learner to each step in the process" (Webb 2007). This implies that the transmission of learning to the learner depends upon the amount of knowledge that the teacher acquired and is able to convey. Definitions of andragogy. On the other hand, andragogy commonly refers to adult learning, coined by Alexander Kapp, a German educator, in 1833. The term, andragogy, came from its Greek word andra, meaning "man", with the same last word agogos that means "to lead" (Holmes and Abington-Cooper 2000). In the same manner that pedagogy was redefined, many attempted to do so with the conceptual learning of andragogy for various applications (FLaRE 2007). According to Henschke and Cooper (2001), adult education required special educators, methods and philosophy. This is still along the new thinking of Knowles (1980) whose purpose of developing the concept of andragogy is to build a comprehensive theory or model on how to help adults learn. The learning is to serve an application to adult's life situation, and adjustment in consciousness (Smith 1999). Nature of learner. Meanwhile, a research group of the University of Western Sydney came up with a study indicating that the nature of the learner varies from his mental level according to age, and concluded with a theory that children need to learn from an early age (Hayden and De Gioia 2005). To quote the National Research Council in their work, How People Learn (2000), the council stated that "children are ignorant but not stupid: Young children lack knowledge, but they do have abilities to reason with the knowledge they understand." This is where pedagogical learning takes place as it is the applicable approach for them to learn. That children are susceptible to learn from pedagogical approach is explained by the research conducted by the University of Tasmania, which thought of pedagogy as a process. They stated that pedagogy is intended to provide knowledge, experiences and insights that result in the learning in the concerned learner (Webb 2007). On the other hand, adult learners feel that the same method is insufficient for further learning, and are resisting the classroom set up and reinforcement, such as lectures, assigned readings, drills, quizzes, note memorizing, and examinations (Holmes and Abington-Cooper 2000). The Adult learner. The characteristics of the adult learner is best learned through Knowles' (1970) description. He stated that adults are autonomous and self directed. In Stephen Lieb's (1991) thinking, adults need to be free to direct themselves; they should be allowed to participate to assume responsibility for presentations and group leadership. This was the same idea propounded by Patricia Cross (1992). Secondly, adults have accumulated a foundation of life experiences and knowledge. They acquired deposited knowledge through work-related activities, family responsibilities, and previous education (Lieb 1991). Adults are goal-oriented so that when they enrolled in a certain course, they usually know the goal they want to attain. For example, adults appreciate more a class approach with a clear and very much related subject matter in order to gain knowledge. Adults are relevance-oriented as well, wanting to apply what they are learning in work or other areas of their responsibilities. Adults long for a sense of respect from their teachers, want to be treated equally in experience and in knowledge, and also long for freedom to speak out their opinions and their minds (Lieb 1991). The child learner. In contrast to the adult learner, the learner of pedagogy is much dependent. He is needed to be directed of what, when, and how a subject will be learned (Smith 1999). Research shows that the pedagogical learner's experience is of little worth, so teaching must be highly detailed and instructional. On the other hand, the andragogy learner's experience is a rich resource for learning. He is susceptible enough to learn from what he been dealing with personally. The teaching method must be interactive, and could be further enhanced with problem-solving (Smith 1999). The readiness to learn of the pedagogical learner is upon the expectation of the society he is into, thus he needs to be reinforced with standardized teaching, like reading and writing. In andragogy, learners only learn what they need to learn regarding their preference. Mostly the learning programmes are organised around life application (Smith 1999). Processes of Learning. In order to analyze and consider a certain learning as a process, it is important to consider the key factors involved. A research conducted about learning process for a certain group of students declared in the thesis that learning processes will have different characteristics depending upon the value of the key factors mentioned (Montesinus, Lacruz, and Koskinen 2004). These are the following: the student's age if it's a child or an adult; the student's maturity; participant's actor in the process like the teacher, mentor or tutor; materials to use that varies on the nature of the knowledge; and the way to develop the process or the teaching set-up. The importance of the involvement of the learner to the knowledge that is to be transmitted has been highlighted by Patricia Cross (1992) and echoed by Driscoll (2002). The approach and process, however, vary when one considers the nature of the learner (Driscoll 2002). Thus, pedagogy and andragogy approaches could set in with their respective learners. In pedagogy, mental involvement in learning activities is the main concern for the transmission of knowledge (Driscoll 2002). The distinct difference is that in pedagogy, the whole concept of teaching is the process of scaffolding learning activities added with mediation of learning experiences due to involvement. In contrast, the whole concept of learning in andragogy is through experiences from being involved in certain activities, added with programmed knowledge, plus questioning in sight. (Webb 2007). Contemporary settled beliefs A continuum. In 1979, Knowles suggested that he made a mistake in subtitling Modern Practice of Adult Education as "Andragogy versus Pedagogy." He said that the title should have been "From Pedagogy to Andragogy" and that his assumptions should have been presented on a continuum. However, he felt that some service came out of the dialogue and debate that was established. A warning is presented: That an ideological pedagogue would want to keep a learner dependent throughout the learning situation, whereas a true andragogue would want to do everything possible to provide the learner with whatever foundational content needed and then encourage a self-directed process of further inquiry. The following year, Knowles (1980) recognized the considerable debate that took place since the 1970 version was published and approached andragogy as an alternative teaching and learning approach. It is one that relies on the fact that adults are capable of self-directed learning, as are many youth, but that a person utilizing andragogy as an approach will attempt to move the learner to independent learning as quickly as possible. Adult learning is life-long. Adult learning is any "post-compulsory" learning, "life-long Learning" and "continuing education". Adult learning is a broad term that can comprise formal college education; job related training, community education, or self improvement (Wallace 2007). Adult learning is vital in today's changing world where the facts and approaches people learn in their formal education are obsolete within a few years. It has been said that adult learning is all about change - change in attitude, change in knowledge, change in behaviour, change in a skill, change in thinking, and change in productivity. The situation and not the age. It has been argued that adults learn differently because, among other things, they bring with them experiences that children don't. Andragogy (how adult learn) differs from Pedagogy (how children learn) in that pedagogy does not address prior experiences. To this extent, it is said that they are different, and even with young learners, andragogical or a mix of andragogical-pedagogical approaches, work better than purely pedagogical ones. The reason for this is simple: people retain and understand better those things that relate to their experience or real world situations. Adults learn both formally and informally. According to Alan Rogers (1996), adults learn both formally and informally, and they can be helped to learn. In his book on Teaching Adults, the overall theme is that of making the natural and largely subconscious learning which all adults both do, be more conscious and more effective. Roger's idea resonates with current thinking and has received much support from the growth of interest in adult learning outside formal learning situations. Teaching adults appeal to those such as health visitors and clergy who are primarily engaged in other activities. Let adults participate. Meanwhile, Patricia Cross (1992) said that the andragological idea is closer to a theory of teaching than to a theory of learning. Cross is for increasing participation and facilitating learning among adult learners through new education opportunities for adults. Adult students have special needs. Adults learn differently from how other age groups would (Knowles, Holton and Swanson 1998). The adult resorts to self-directed learning where the capable adult learning only needs facilitating. Commonly accepted teaching methods are therefore ineffective with adults. Adult education may come in both settings as the traditional environment and the workplace. Understanding adult learning issues faced by professional educators each day then would need a theoretical framework. As Alan Rogers (1996) said, people engage in teaching adults in many different contexts and for many different purposes. In andragogy, the process is not as conventional as pedagogy does. The adult's acquisition of learning also varies according to the form of facilitating (Smith, 2007). Conclusion Knowles coined the term andragogy but his views had evolved. In 1970, he thought of andragogy as the art and science of helping adults learn. Therefore, he had concluded that pedagogy is not always appropriate for teaching adults on the basis of important assumptions about adult learners as different from child learners (Knowles 1970). However, after a decade, he looked at andragogy as "a model of assumptions about all learners to be used alongside the pedagogical model. Therefore, his conclusion was that the use of andragogical and pedagogical principles is to be determined by the situation and not the age of the learner (Knowles, 1980). In sum, adult learning started out as meaning the art and science of helping adults to learn but has come to mean learner-focused education at any age (Wallace, 2007). "At any age," therefore implies that it is not the age (peda and andra) that matter but the situation. It is also proposed that a mix of andragogical-pedagogical approaches, work better than purely pedagogical ones, banking on the notion that people understand better if lessons are related to real-life situations or their experiences. To say, therefore that "In Pedagogy, the concern is with transmitting the content, while in Andragogy, the concern is with facilitating the acquisition of the contents" is true to some extent. To summarise, in pedagogy, the learner's experience is of little worth, so teaching must be highly detailed and instructional. Transmission of learning to the learner depends upon the amount of knowledge that the teacher acquired and is able to convey. A learner, therefore, may be at the mercy of the poor teacher. Whereas, in andragogy, learners are already rich with experience, and only learn what they need to learn regarding their preference. That is why their learning only needs to be facilitated. Most learning programmes then for adults are organised around life application. Looking at this issue in the light of the dissenters' thinking, this needs qualification. The statement implies one thing: that one believes in the following: 1) That there is a separate mode of learning for children and there is a separate one for adults, therefore children and adults are fixed as to their learning modes and there are no differences; 2) That children and adults each experience the same set of experiences, which thinking is faulty at best since not everyone thrive in the same environment, same time, and same circumstance. If one goes along the thinking of the dissenters, one may conclude rightfully that teaching is not all about age but age and experience and situation. They have a point here. Therefore, pedagogy and andragogy need not be taught separately but can be taught as a mix of these two, depending upon the situation. There need not be a distinct teaching with just transmission of knowledge alone or facilitation alone but a mix or continuum of the two. That would make for a proper teaching that is situational, depending on the needs of the learner. 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R. Banilower, and D. J. Heck. Looking inside the classroom: A study of K-12 mathematics and science education in the United States. Chapel Hill, NC: Horizon Research. 2003. Available:www.horizon-research.com/insidetheclassroom/reports/highlights/highlights.pdf Read More