Andragogy

Andragogy is a constellation of characteristics identified and popularized by Malcolm Knowles, who defined the term simply as “the art and science of teaching adults” (1980, pp. 43–44). Knowles recognized that compared to the techniques used to teach younger students, adults use and thrive with a different approach to learning. Knowles distinctly identified that andragogy was not a theory but instead a conceptual framework, “assumptions” (Knowles, 1989, p. 112), which could guide the development of theory, practice, and research (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2005).

However, the key characteristics of andragogy (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2005) align well with 21st-century experience of adults coping with the digital age:

• Adults need to know why they engage (or need to engage) in learning.
• Adults are self-directed and autonomous.
• Adults may use their prior experiences as a resource for learning.
• Adults are ready to learn when learning emerges from real-life situations (i.e., their social role tasks, responsibilities, etc.).
• Adults are motivated to solve problems and immediately apply learning that relates to their context.
• Adults have strong internal motivators, although external motivators can be leveraged.

Andragogical principles provide an entry point for reframing our thinking about learning in adulthood and in many contexts. It also provides a foundation for understanding lifelong learning, which emphasizes the endless scope of our ability to learn as adults. More than ever we see examples of how learning occurs continually across one's life span through continuing learning and informal learning. (We will discuss these terms in detail soon.)

In the digital age, learning knows no boundaries because it is no longer restricted to specific time frames, spaces, or domains. One can see the principles of andragogy needed in just a few of the following examples:

• Workplace learning: training sessions to learn new policies, equipment, and software
• Community education: stained-glass design classes at the arts center (also could be classified as arts learning)
• Continuing education: online, on-demand noncredit classes in new business software at the local college (On-demand means one can download the modules when you are available to learn, not according to prescribed session dates.) (also could be classified as technical learning)
• Higher education: certificate program in entrepreneurship at the local college
• Recreational learning: swing dance at the community center
• Spiritual learning: meditation classes via a holistic wellness podcast

Consider the need for new learning when young adults are hired for their first professional career position. From office or technical applications to human resource applications (e.g., personnel forms, insurance designations, tax withholding, leave, travel, etc.) and job-specific requirements (e.g., equipment to perform your job responsibilities), there is a steep learning curve that is not usually included in their formal education. However, the learning does not stop there. By mid-career many adults are entering their third, fourth, or fifth occupations and by that point might have returned to college for an additional credential, degree, or certificate. And, yes, the technology platforms have changed several times during those 10 to 20 years of these adults' careers. New career objectives, new technologies—lifelong learning has continued.

Motivation

In the digital age, the continuous, rapid changes in the technology of our lives motivates most adults, whether they know it or not, to pursue lifelong learning. Adults now learn throughout their life span and in a multitude of settings: from the workplace to their personal lives. Contrary to past practice, adults' learning efforts are much less confined to formal education or training seminars. Instead, adults engage in many forms of learning through their lives.

Cognitive psychology and research explain that motivation has intrinsic and extrinsic aspects (Bandura, 1986; Weiner, 1972). For example, as adults seek to communicate with family, they must conquer the details of new technology along the way. Parsing the differences among intrinsic and extrinsic motivations is not always simple on the surface; however, a telling distinctive is the urgency of the motivation.

Much learning in the digital age is related to the internal desires of the individual to reach a goal. Therefore, these efforts would be classified as internal motivations. Wlodkowski (1993, 2011) has provided a foundation for understanding and leveraging motivation in adult learning. Regardless of age groups or contexts, tapping the power of motivation for informal and formal learning is one of the major keys for conquering the many challenges of the digital age.

For example, during the later career stage, adults experience more changes in work responsibility demands, expectations, and they are happening more quickly because of changing conditions and new technologies. Even in the “golden days” of retirement, adults may epitomize diverse educational motivations and lifelong learning as they continue to learn new or different strategies, seek information on topics related to health, and use new technologies as they engage in recreation, personal development, and entertainment (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). A theme popularized in many movies and books shows that some mature adults even explore new careers (“encore careers” or “dream careers”) in their 60s, 70s, and beyond (Elcott, 2010; Jelenko & Marshall, 2007).

How did this tremendous change happen? Why would adults invest in and bother to continue to learn? Fundamentally, what is the motivation for most adults to be lifelong learners? It may be simple but certainly essential. In order to successfully function in the digital age, adults' intrinsic motivation includes a paradigm of continuous learning and mind stretching (Selwyn, Gorard, & Furlong, 2006). This paradigm not only extends across the life span but also needs to be independent and self-directed.

Self-Directed Learning

Characteristics of self-directed learning (SDL) were delineated by Tough in 1971 and expanded on by Knowles in 1975. The foundational principles of self-directed learning are that adults identify, plan, and implement their learning independently. This process includes identifying their own learning needs, resources, and strategies (Tough, 1967, 1971, 1979; Wang & Cranton, 2012).

Brockett and Hiemstra (1991) provided a widely recognized definition of SDL, which described how individuals hold the central and primary role in their learning. Moreover, this deeper understanding of self-directed learning included the many choices and actions that the learner controls, such as the means and time line for identifying a topic of learning, gathering information, deciding what is relevant, analyzing new information, and forming new understandings by determining analyses, interpretations, and applications. Brockett and Hiemstra (1991) also developed a theoretical framework for SDL and applied it to different settings.

Mezirow (1981) proposed 12 core concepts that needed to be included in the development of SDL among adults. Later research by Suanmali (1981) confirmed eight of these SDL core strategies. Although the adult learning field has continued to use and test these strategies in the formal cultivation of adults' self-directed learning, mainstream P–20 education has not recognized the need until very recent years.

Frequently, adults in the digital age engage in learning when they have no instructor or guide. They must figure out how to accomplish their goal, which may be anything from printing a document to using the rental car global positioning system (GPS) to learning enough Cantonese to navigate their vacation needs, and so on. Furthermore, they must determine how they are going to learn the skills or information they need. There are many different variations of these examples; together they confirm the strong connection between everyday learning situations and the SDL model. The digital age is replete with SDL demands.

Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills

Included in the SDL process are critical thinking and problem-solving skills. As people face new situations and technologies, they must determine how to create their learning pathways. Critical thinking has been defined in many ways, and valuable insight is offered into thinking about what critical thinking is. Pithers and Soden (2000) provided what has become a popular definition: “Critical thinking in any area involves being able to pursue one's questions through self-directed search and interrogation of knowledge, a sense that knowledge is contestable, and being able to present evidence to support ones' arguments” (p. 239).

Regarding its origins, general consensus is that awareness of critical thinking was first articulated by Socrates, whose approach to questioning was based on the premise of exposing unexamined beliefs and assumptions. Bloom's (1956) taxonomy helped educators categorize different thinking strategies and provided examples of each. Krathwohl's (2002) popular revision of the taxonomy identifies the levels from basic to advance as remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating (synthesis). Critical thinking enters Bloom's taxonomy sequence in the analyzing stage.

In this age of technology innovation, when discussing critical thinking with educators and adult learners, descriptions such as the following are effective to illuminate key concepts:

Among other skills, successful problem-solving builds on critical thinking skills. In order to solve problems, not only must one have basic content knowledge but also be able to pose questions and extract information from a given situation. In the digital age, questioning prior assumptions is an essential element of problem-solving for new solutions. The following scenario describes such a situation:

In the digital age, adults frequently use problem-solving skills in the course of their daily lives, recreation, and work. The need for problem-solving is in part because many of these activities are supported by globally distributed technology and are more complex than they used to be. For Marvin, he could not use prior strategies, such as calling the Better Business Bureau, because so many exceptions exist to what they monitor. Instead, he used some basic technology skills and leveraged them with critical thinking, posing questions about legitimacy and authorship. Once he had finished his investigation as to the validity of the phone calls, he then developed a strategy to stop their intrusion. In the digital age, effective critical thinking and problem-solving skills have become the bedrock of success, and in this case, a better quality of life. Adults need to be adept at challenging their assumptions, considering different possibilities, and synthesizing new understandings in order to navigate the many situations they encounter.

Diversity and Multicultural Skills

In our list of critical opportunities for adult learning in the digital age, diversity and multicultural skills will complete our discussion. Considering the growing diversity of our population and the transparency of global communication, daily life, and work of individuals in the digital work, there are a plethora of multicultural experiences to be had and many forces at work to create our new global world. Not only have demographics shifted (for example, in the 1950s, the US workplace was less diverse by race and gender) but also it was more difficult to conduct international communication, partnerships, and therefore trade. New, scalable, and widely adopted technology has been largely responsible for the changes in the scope of business and communications. When technology innovation was too complex, it could not spread to nontechnical users. However, as the technology platforms and hardware became more user-friendly, more efficient, and less expensive, companies could expect more long-distance clients and partners to have them.

With more international communication emerged the need for organizations and employees to understand and serve different cultures and languages. Thus the multicultural and cross-cultural skills materialized as urgently needed core competencies in the 21st century.

In the previous scenario, Marvin needed many skills to explore the online resources and investigate the phone caller. However, he also needed to be cognizant that the caller might not even be in the United States and could be an offshore service. Understanding the potential international scope of his issue led him through a comprehensive investigative process.

Global citizenry is a newer term for this area of diversity, but it is a very familiar concept. It is the humanistic perspective of respect for people similar and different from you. Certainly, people vary greatly in the degree to which they have needed to exercise their global citizenry skills in the past. However, now we communicate transparently with people around the globe via instant messaging; e-mail; social media; business networking; online learning; and open resources such as MOOCs, MUDs, and MOO program language (i.e., massive open online courses [MOOCs], multi-user dimensions [MUDs), and MUD-object-oriented [MOO]). Living in the digital age, we need to be global citizens so that we are able to understand and address the needs of our multicultural world.

Transformative Learning

The final area to be discussed as essential for adults to be successful in the digital age is transformative learning (TL). TL becomes a powerful perspective and skill set for adults to understand and cope with life in the digital age as they navigate unknown conditions, technologies, conditions, and expectations (Cranton, 1994, 2006; King, 2005, 2009; Mezirow, 1978, 1991; Mezirow & Associates, 2000). Both theoretical discussion and research have driven the development of TL (Cranton, 2006; Freire, 1972, 1973; King, 2005, 2009; Kitchenham, 2008; Mezirow & Associates, 2000; O'Sullivan, 1999; Taylor & Cranton, 2012). The approach that is being applied to this work is a holistic one, based on values and beliefs that the beneficial TL focus is one that includes the needs and potential of the whole person.

The TL model is also a stage model. The literature is full of discussions about the TL stages, including their number and nature. Yet, many researchers agree that TL includes adult learners navigating 4 to 11 stages (although not necessarily in an exclusive order): (1) encountering a “disorienting dilemma” (Mezirow, 1978); (2) examining one's feelings of guilt or shame; (3) critically assessing beliefs, values, or assumptions; (4) recognizing that others have navigated the discontent, process of transformation, and change; (5) testing new ways of thinking; (6) planning a course of action that reflects the change; (7) acquiring the knowledge and skills needed to enact the new plan; (8) testing new roles for their fit; (9) renegotiating relationships and negotiating new relationships as needed; (10) developing greater competence and confidence in the new roles and relationships; (11) incorporating the new perspectives, habits of mind, or worldviews into one's life by taking action (King, 2005, 2009; Kitchenham, 2008; Mezirow & Associates, 2000; Snyder, 2008; Taylor & Cranton, 2012).

The connections of these stages to the digital age are plentiful. Consider the disorienting dilemmas encountered that require extensive time investments and problem-solving. Those times when it is so difficult to cope with demanding issues and changes may be prime situations for transformative learning. In the same vein, consider the diverse community of our schools and workplaces. Whenever there are struggles in understanding or navigating cultural differences, there exist potential turning points or accelerators of transformative learning. However, at any given point in time, one's openness, readiness, and circumstances greatly influence whether one begins that journey of TL.

Considerations and Complications

In the course of discussing adult learning and the digital age, one cannot forget that there are many issues that must be considered beyond technical troubleshooting. For instance, growing concerns include technology-related ethical considerations, examples of which are ethics, plagiarism, identity theft, cyber theft, cyber forgery, live video surveillance, wearable technologies, and the changing nature of relationships in online spaces.

However, the academic and popular literatures depict a broader scope of concerns:

• Technology or cyber control and the psychology of computation (Turkle, 2005)
• The effect of technology and the Internet on neurodevelopment and intellectual and cultural history (Carr, 2011)
• The impact of technology on our community and relationships (Maushart, 2011)
• The nature of our identity and our relationships with these inanimate objects that dominate our time (Lanier, 2010; Turkle, 2012)
• The potential of a different philosophy to establish users in control (Powers, 2010)

Perhaps not surprisingly, several of these specific books have dominated the nonfiction lists of best reads in recent years. This trend is further evidence that the general public understands not only the proliferation of technology adoption but also the existence of the very real, related issues. My point is that none of these thorny, persistent issues will be effectively addressed and fully explored without the adult learning skills discussed in this chapter. In order to succeed in the digital age, one needs to be invested in adult learning. The activities that are included in each chapter of this book provide focused opportunities for readers to explore that chapter's topics. The different strategies I incorporated in these activities promote critical reflection, questioning, analysis, thoughtful application, meaning making, and more. Ultimately, the activities provide time and space for readers to pause, consider, and develop their personal and professional connections with the reading.