CHAPTER 5

ADULT LEARNING

MTE 105- Principles and Strategies in Teaching Health Education - MMM

 In the early 1970s most theories of
A MODEL OF ADULT learning came from psychology. Many of
LEARNING these psychological theories of learning are
general in nature, often assuming that similar
learning processes occur for everybody,
whether children or adults. In contrast,
theories emerging from the field of adult
education have tended to focus more on what
is distinctive about adult
learning. Coben and Llorente draw attention to
the strengths and weaknesses of this approach.
While it has been good to encourage the
development of research and theory in the
field, it has also closed off some possibilities
of dialogue with other fields of social sciences,
pedagogy in particular. This has encouraged
attention to the differences between working
with adults and working with children, rather
than to the core issue of the purposes and
practices of ‘education for all’.
 In the early 1970s several influential books
were produced which argued that there is
something particular about the way adults learn,
and that research and practice in adult education
should reflect these particularities. These
included Houle’s ‘The design of Education’,
Kidd’s ‘How Adults Learn’, and perhaps most
influentially Knowles’ ‘The Adult Learner: A
Neglected Species’.
 Knowles outlined a model of adult learning that he called
‘andragogy’, which consists primarily of a set of assumptions
about the adult learner. Knowles claimed that adults have to
know why they need to learn something before they undertake to
learn it. They must move from a dependent self-concept to a self-
directing one. They have accumulated more experience, and an
experience of a different quality, than children and their readiness
to learn is linked to the tasks associated with their social role and
stage of life. Adults engage in problem-centered, rather than
subject-centered learning and are driven by internal rather than
external motivation.
 In the pedagogical model, which Knowles
identifies as having been linked historically with
teacher-directed education of children, these
assumptions are reversed. This model assumes that
learners need to know only that they must learn what the
teacher teaches and their personality becomes
dependent, rather than self-directing. Their own
experience is positioned as being of little worth, the
experience that counts in the classroom being that of the
teacher. They learn what the teacher tells them they need
to learn, not what is relevant to their own lives. They are
understood to have a subject-centered orientation to
learning, and they are seen as being best persuaded to
learn through the use of external forms of motivation.
 Early editions of Knowles’ work make a clear distinction
between pedagogy as suitable for children and andragogy as suitable
for adults. However, he later came to recognize that different models
of teaching and learning are appropriate for different situations. A
pedagogical strategy rather than an andragogical one may be most
appropriate in some contexts, such as when learners are completely
new to a particular subject area. However, he claims that
the andragogue will only use pedagogical strategies as a first step,
and will do everything possible to make the learner themselves
responsible for their own learning. He abstracts principles of
teaching from these theories of learning.
COMPARISON OF PEDAGOGY
FROM
Pedagogy derives from the Greek paidagogia: the word
"paid," means child, and "agogos," means leader. Thus, pedagogy
originally meant education, attendance on children. From this origin
the teacher-centered model has been part of the pedagogical model.
The teacher, according to this model has full responsibility for
making decisions about what will be learned, how it will be learned,
when it will be learned, and determining if the material has been
learned. Pedagogy, therefore, places the student in a submissive
role.
Pedagogy, or what some people refer to as didactic, has had
competition from a different approach to teaching and learning, a
new theory called andragogy.
 The term andragogy was originally formulated by a
German teacher, Alexander Kapp, in 1833. The first time
the term "andragogy" became widespread among adult
educators in North America was in 1968, when a professor
of adult education at Boston University, Malcom
Knowles introduced the term (then spelled "androgogy")
through a journal article. Knowles later developed it into a
theory of adult learning education in the Modern Practice of
Adult Education: Andragogy Versus Pedagogy, in 1970. In
this book, Knowles, differentiates the two disciplines as
follows:
Andragogy
Learners are called “participants”
or “learners.”
Independent learning style.
Objectives are flexible.
It is assumed that the learners have
experience to contribute.
Active training methods are used.
Learners influence timing and pace.
Participant involvement is vital.
Learning is real-life problem-centered.
Participants are seen as primary resources
for ideas and examples.
Pedagogy
Learners are called “students.”
Dependent learning style.
Objectives are predetermined and
inflexible
It is assumed that the learners are
inexperienced and/or uninformed.
Passive training methods, such as
lecture, are used.
Trainer controls timing and pace.
Participants contribute little to the
experience.
Learning is content-centered.
Trainer is seen as the primary resource
that provides ideas and examples.
For Knowles, andragogy is premised on at least four crucial assumptions about the characteristics of
adult learners that are different from the assumptions about child learners on which traditional
pedagogy is premised. A fifth was added later.

◦ 1. Self-concept: As a person matures his self concept moves from one of being a dependent personality
toward one of being a self-directed human being.
◦ 2. Experience: As a person matures he accumulates a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an
increasing resource for learning.
◦ 3. Readiness to learn. As a person matures his readiness to learn becomes oriented increasingly to the
developmental tasks of his social roles.
◦ 4. Orientation to learning. As a person matures his time perspective changes from one of postponed
application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly his orientation toward learning
shifts from one of subject-centeredness to one of problem centeredness.
◦ 5. Motivation to learn: As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal.
❖By 1984 Knowles had altered his position on the
distinction between pedagogy and andragogy. The child-
adult dichotomy became less marked. He claimed, as
above, that pedagogy was a content model and andragogy a
process model but the same criticisms apply concerning his
introduction of behaviorist elements. He even added the
fifth assumption: As a person matures the motivation to
learn is internal. Yet while there have been these shifts, the
tenor of his work, as Jarvis argues, still seem to suggest
that andragogy is related to adult learning and pedagogy to
child learning.
PROPOSITIONS OF LEARNINGS
Proposition 1: Teachers are committed to
students and their learning.

➢Educators treat students equitably.

➢Educators’ mission extends to student growth beyond the development of cognitive capacity.
➢Educators understand how student with broad ranges of ability learn and provide instruction
that supports their intellectual, social, and personal development.
➢Educators understand how students differ in their approaches to learning and the barriers that
impede learning and can adapt instruction to meet the diverse needs of students, including
those with disabilities and exceptionalities.
Proposition II: Teachers know the subjects they
teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
• Educators demonstrate an appreciation of how knowledge in their subjects is created,
organized and linked to other disciplines.
• Educators demonstrate specialized knowledge of how to convey to students knowledge and
understanding in a subject.
• Educators generate multiple paths to their students’ knowledge and understanding
• Educators understand the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the disciplines
they teach and can create learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter
meaningful for pupils.
• Educators organize and plan systematic instruction based upon knowledge of the subject
matter, students, the community, and curriculum goals.
Proposition III: Teachers are responsible for
managing and monitoring student learning.

➢Educators help students learn to evaluate their own progress and make improvements in how they learn
➢Educators understand and use a variety of instructional strategies, including the use of technology, to
encourage children’s development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.
➢Educators use an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning
environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-
motivation.
➢Educators use effective verbal and nonverbal communication techniques as well as instructional media
and technology to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction in the classroom.
➢Educators understand and use formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the
continuous intellectual, social, and physical development of the pupil.
Proposition IV: Teachers think systematically
about their practice and learn from experience.

➢Educators systematically record and construct meaning of their teaching experiences for the
purpose of developing good judgment.
➢Educators seek and reflect upon the advice of others.
➢Educators use educational research and scholarship to improve their practice.
➢Educators are reflective practitioners who continually evaluate the effects of their choices and
actions on pupils, parents, professionals in the learning community and others and who
actively seek out opportunities to grow professionally.
Proposition V: Teachers are members of
learning communities.

• Educators contribute to school effectiveness by collaboration with other professionals.

• Teachers create learning communities within their classrooms.
• Educators help develop a self-renewing school culture with shared decision- making and a
dedication to continuous improvement.
• Educators foster relationships with school colleagues, parents, and agencies in the larger
community to support pupil learning and well being and act with integrity and fairness in an
ethical manner.
GAGNE’s CONDITION OF
LEARNING

➢This theory stipulates that there are several different types or

levels of learning. The significance of these classifications is
that each different type requires different types of instruction.
Gagne identifies five major categories of learning: verbal
information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, motor skills
and attitudes. Different internal and external conditions are
necessary for each type of learning. For example, for cognitive
strategies to be learned, there must be a chance to practice
developing new solutions to problems; to learn attitudes, the
learner must be exposed to a credible role model or persuasive
arguments.
❖Gagne suggests that learning tasks for intellectual skills
can be organized in a hierarchy according to complexity:
stimulus recognition, response generation, procedure
following, use of terminology, discriminations, concept
formation, rule application, and problem solving. The
primary significance of the hierarchy is to identify
prerequisites that should be completed to facilitate learning
at each level. Prerequisites are identified by doing a task
analysis of a learning/training task. Learning hierarchies
provide a basis for the sequencing of instruction.
In addition, the theory outlines nine instructional
events and corresponding cognitive processes:

• Gaining attention (reception)

• Informing learners of the objective (expectancy)
• Stimulating recall of prior learning (retrieval)
• Presenting the stimulus (selective perception)
• Providing learning guidance (semantic encoding)
• Eliciting performance (responding)
• Providing feedback (reinforcement)
• Assessing performance (retrieval)
• Enhancing retention and transfer (generalization).
 While Gagne's theoretical framework covers all aspects of learning, the focus of the
theory is. In its original formulation (1962), special attention was given to military
training settings. Gagne in 1987 addresses the role of instructional technology in learning.

Example

The following example illustrates a teaching sequence corresponding to the nine(9) instructional
events for the objective, recognize an equilateral triangle:
1. Gain attention - show variety of computer generated triangles
2. Identify objective - pose question: "What is an equilateral triangle?"
3. Recall prior learning - review definitions of triangles
on intellectual skills. The theory has been applied to the design of instruction in all domains
4. Present stimulus - give definition of equilateral triangle
5. Guide learning- show example of how to create equilateral
6. Elicit performance - ask students to create 5 different examples
7. Provide feedback - check all examples as correct/incorrect
8. Assess performance- provide scores and remediation
9. Enhance retention/transfer - show pictures of objects and ask students to
identify equilaterals
Principles
❖Different instruction is required for different learning outcomes.
❖Events of learning operate on the learner in ways that constitute the conditions
of learning.
❖The specific operations that constitute instructional events are different for
each different type of learning outcome.
❖Learning hierarchies define what intellectual skills are to be learned and a
sequence of instruction.