Andragogy
Andragogy vs. Pedagogy
Malcolm Knowles popularized the theory of Andragogy in the 1980s, during a time when college education and professional development were becoming commonplace in our society. Whereas Pedagogy refers to teaching children, Andragogy refers to teaching adults. However, this is a somewhat false dichotomy. The methods described by Knowles for adults are also largely best for children too. This Process Model of Learning, where a facilitator considers the activities and steps needed for learners to acquire new knowledge and skills, now has a much greater role in K-12 education than more traditional transmission-based methods. The “old-school” conception of Pedagogy would be described as teacher-centered, curriculum-driven, and mostly formal. Andragogy and “new-school pedagogy” is student-centered, experiential, and includes a significant amount of informal learning. In this context, formal learning has goals set by an official organization and instruction that is pushed out to a large group of people where there is little room for interpretation of the facts. It is also used in student-centered classrooms to give learners the “building blocks” of information they will be using in their informal application and evaluation. Informal learning adapts to the learner and uses a variety of sources to gain knowledge and experience. Because it is organic, less structured, and based on goals set by the individual learner, it cannot be assessed quantitatively. Instead, the focus is engaging the learner and their peers in learning experiences, skill development, and critical thinking about the factual information.
Based on Andragogy (Adult Learning) on You Tube
Formal and Informal Learning Examples
As a public school teacher, I must belong to an informal Professional Learning Team, grouped according to content area or grade level. They involve: “active teacher participation…group selfdirection…and systematic individual reflection on practice which is often structured by the group.” (Johnson & Scull, 1999)
The OSHA required Bloodborne Pathogens training for my school district is formal because it has specific information that must be taught to the whole organization. Every year, we watch the same painstaking PowerPoint with verbatim narration and a video of a nurse or custodian demonstrating each part.
This formal OSHA training does not align with the adult learners’ experience and readiness. New teachers may need demonstrations with guided practice provided by the nurse and teacher response team. Since I have had this training 16 times, I found a sample module from an online company and was able to click through the lesson quickly and get 100% on the first quiz. While the individual staff complete this training in 1 hr or less, the person in charge at the school level completes additional hands-on training. “The theory behind our method is if your compliance officer built it, they will be able to maintain it going forward.” (Bloodborne Pathogen Training.com, 2019)
My pedagogy incorporates most of the andragogy principles, but sometimes I have to sacrifice some experiential learning due to standardized testing and district pacing requirements. This makes me want to add more pre-tests and differentiation with my own students who are older adolescents and young adults. I can see the benefit in helping each learner grow by getting exactly what they need. In reality, the logistics and time involved in planning/creating multiple activities per class is a deterrent.
References
Bloodborne Pathogen Training.com. (2019). Retrieved June 05, 2020, from https://www.bloodbornepathogentraining.com/
Johnson, N. J., & Scull, J. (1999). The Power of Professional Learning Teams. Improving Schools, 2(1), 34-43. doi:10.1177/136548029900200115