Chapter 5
ANDRAGOGY ILLUSTRATED
In this scenario Rich was concerned not only about his learning but also the learning of his direct reports and the departments' current and prospective clients. He seemed to have been reflecting on how the effectiveness of connecting to prior experiences worked for his team to learn new content and immediately apply it. This effective learning strategy was especially important to Rich because in any field that has frequently updating rates, risk calculations, and pay-out tables, companies continually need to train staff members regarding changes and requirements. Finding better ways for his team to learn the frequent updates and changes was invaluable in improving the level of service, productivity, and employee motivation, while reducing client and employee frustration and complaints.
Andragogy Concepts and Background
The term andragogy (andragogik at the time) was introduced in 1926 by E. C. Lindeman through his experiences visiting worker education centers in post–World War I Germany. It was later, in the 1960s, that Knowles (1968) popularized the term and concept. Knowles, Holton, and Swanson (2005) reiterated the classic, literal definition of andragogy as “the art and science of helping adults learn” (p. 61).
The foundational principles of andragogy remain popular and relevant in practice (Henschke, 2009; Houle, 1996). Andragogy's use in the field of adult learning, workplace learning, training, and higher education has endured despite debates regarding its continued relevance, origin of terms, grounding philosophy, and practical application (Davenport & Davenport, 1985; Hartree, 1984; Houle, 1972). Overall, the field has continued to value andragogy recognizing that the many different variations and activities involved in adult learning are difficult to capture completely in one model. Moreover, Davenport and Davenport (1985) and other authors have emphasized that it is more important to focus on serving adult learners and continuing research to improve understanding and practice.
The five assumptions of andragogy posed by Knowles (1968) include (1) the self-directedness of adults, (2) adults' experiences being a resource for learning, (3) learning growing out of adults' social role tasks, and (4) immediate application of learning. These andragogical assumptions were translated into practices that were widely recognized and articulated for working with adult learners. These andragogy practices included, but are not limited to, demonstrating respect, engaging adults in active learning, incorporating prior experience in learning, and applying learning to the life needs of learners.
In the literature of the 1970s, Knowles was greatly criticized for his proposal that andragogy fit all adults and adults exclusively. By his 1980 publication, he had modified his stance considerably and stated (1) andragogical principles were one set of assumptions among other possible ones and (2) that in some cases andragogy may apply to children and pedagogy may be appropriate for adults.
Despite the initial controversy and debate regarding the specifics of andragogy, adult learning has remained strong and relevant as a field and area of expertise and research. There has not been a great deal of research completed that applies andragogical principles to adult learning in the digital age specifically, but some aspects have been studied individually. Specifically, the role, application, and evidence regarding andragogy and adult learning in the following relevant areas have been explored: college teaching (Brookfield, 1991, 2011; Fink, 2003); distance learning (Blondy, 2007; Bullen, 1995; Frey & Alman, 2003); self-directed learning (Brockett et al., 2000; Merriam, 2001); and instructional technology (Johnson, Wisniewski, Kuhlemeyer, Isaacs, & Krzykowski, 2012; Korr, Derwin, Greene, & Sokoloff, 2012).
Many of these studies and discussions illustrate at least three trends. First, they demonstrate how teachers and learners who apply andragogical principles contribute to cultivating lifelong learning strategies. Whether it is in the area of technology learning or use, teaching others, or self-directed learning, people are involved in learning that continues. Second, many of these works link andragogical practices to fostering critical thinking (Blondy, 2007; Brookfield, 1987; Fink, 2003), which is recognized as an essential 21st-century learning skill (Henschke, 2009; King & Cox, 2011; Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2006). Third, and finally, the andragogical principles address needs that emerge from the digital age: technology learning, new learning strategies through self-directed learning, flexibility through distance learning (Blondy, 2007), and so on. In the next section, the specific principles of andragogy will be illustrated in the context of adults' learning needs in the digital age.
Andragogy Related to Technology Needs
Constant innovation in the digital age creates a pressing demand for adults to continue technology learning. Adults engage in learning because of current needs whether it is related to new technology, concomitant new regulations in the workplace (OECD, 2013), or everyday life situations.
Scanning adults' environments in developed Western nations reveals a host of needs and demands for learning in order to function. Aside from the workplace, just considering the home environment provides a staggering number of learning needs. The following list illustrates this point by reviewing the number of common technology-related devices found in a standard modern home that require programming (adjustment of the settings). Envision walking through the house; for convenience, the items are listed room by room:
- Kitchen: coffee maker, food processor, range, microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator, ice maker, house security system panel
- Living room and den: television, sound system, cable or satellite connection, remote controls, ceiling fan, DVD player, gaming system (e.g., Wii, PlayStation, etc.), network router, digital telephone and answering machine, thermostat, lighting controls, digital camera, digital recorder
- Laundry: washer, dryer, smoke detector
- Home office: computer, printer/fax/scanner/copier, digital camera, VOIP camera and microphone connection, telephone and answering machine, ceiling fan, thermostat
- Bedroom: alarm clock, music system, humidifier or air purifier, smoke detector, television, cable or satellite connection, remote controls, ceiling fan
More technologically advanced homes have whole-house programmable panels that control an array of devices, including lighting inside and outside the home; surveillance systems including cameras, recording devices, microphones, and monitors; temperature (heating and air conditioning and airflow); window shades; communications: voice mail, e-mail, entry and exit lock mechanisms and monitors; entertainment centers, and so on.
Add to this copious list of devices and systems the technology interfaces adults must cope with to operate house and yard maintenance, vehicles, and any recreation devices, and the amount of learning that transpires in routine daily life becomes staggering. Living in the digital age is andragogy in action!
Self-Directedness
Most likely Walter and Whitney's conversation is replicated around the world in many languages and countries. Adults of all ages learn to use technology without classes and likely with the aid of an occasional tutor, guide, family member, or friend. Furthermore, they are motivated to learn technology to meet their basic needs, but it is on their terms. That is, they decide what, when, and how they want to learn. Such learning is the epitome of self-directed learning. It accurately describes the learning patterns of many adults who need to understand technology out of necessity; however, self-directed learning is also a valuable strategy and skill for success in the digital age.
The development of self-directed learning (SDL) theory is intertwined with the development of andragogy, in part because Knowles proposed the SDL characteristics in 1975. SDL turns the tables, as it were, on the traditional instructional setting. Instead of the teacher-controlled or teacher-centered instruction, the learner is in charge in SDL. In this case, adult learners identify and prioritize their learning needs, resources, and strategies. Examples of SDL and strategies to support SDL include settings of workplace learning, everyday life, adult education, and higher education (Brockett & Hiemstra, 1991; Candy, 1991).
Are there particular reasons that SDL is emerging as a popular strategy for learning technology, or is it just coincidence? If we revisit the previous discussion of rapidly changing technology, one realizes that it is physically impossible to attend teacher-led classes for every new piece of equipment, device, technology tool, program, application, or version one encounters in a given month. In order to survive in a rapidly changing technology environment, adults have to master the ability to identify their learning needs, strategies, resources, and get started.
Concomitantly, with rapid technology development has been a rapid proliferation and distribution of resources to assist in technology learning. From work to home and recreation, consider how frequently many people turn to on-demand videos (such as we find in YouTube) to learn how to use entertainment and household devices as well as simple and complex equipment and programs. Extensive study has been invested in user-oriented development: the interrelationship among rapid technology design, dissemination, and adoption with support and learning resources to accompany learning and troubleshooting (Burkman, 1987; Carr, 1999). If you have ever been an early adopter with a gadget or program, you'll remember how painful it was to find help with the product because you were ahead of the curve.
In fact as the digital age advances, the SDL support resources have become expectations among general users rather than high-tech options. Average, everyday technology users no longer want lengthy (300–600 page) user manuals such as those received with 1990s operating system upgrades (e.g., MS-DOS 5.0, Windows 3.1, etc.). Instead, they want to be able to figure out programs and devices quickly for themselves. And if they use resources they are satisfied with downloading the manual from a DVD, CD-ROM, or website and then accessing online frequently asked questions, tutorials, and troubleshooting guides as needed (Novick & Ward, 2006). In adults' everyday lives, the self-directed characteristic of andragogy has reached mainstream adoption, because it has ridden the wave of technology innovation.
Immediate Application of Learning
An additional dimension of adult learning in conjunction with technology is that it affords people a pressing motivation to learn. Because people need to use technology in their everyday lives for personal and professional uses, it creates a bona fide, immediate application of learning.
By contrast, consider the general requirements courses students completed in high school and college. Learners were interested in some of the content areas and bored with others. Most teachers list the following among the most frequent questions they are asked in classes:
- “Why do we need to know this?”
- “How will we use this?”
- “Will this be on the test?”
In their own way, each of these questions raises the issue of relevance and application. Most students, regardless of age, seek to know how new knowledge will be used because they are trying to make sense of it within the context of their past and future experiences. Educators know that when they connect new learning to past learned concepts and experiences, students are able to comprehend, discuss, apply, and remember it better (Fink, 2014).
New findings from neuropsychology applied to educational psychology helps researchers understand that these patterns of learning are grounded in anatomy and physiology. When learners find ways that new knowledge connects to prior understandings, their brain actually builds a new neuropathway to connect to it; this is a process called neurogenesis. In a manner of speaking, when students connect new concepts to prior knowledge, their brain neuron network or web expands as it stores the information (Begley, 2007b).
However, our capacity to learn is constrained by two more, entirely different issues: time and space (Remund & Aikat, 2012). Finite capacity represents the fact that no one has the ability to extend the amount of available time in a day, week, month, and so on. Although the debate about whether time and the universe are infinite or not has continued for centuries, our experience with time has a finite limit. That is, we entered the universe at a specific moment and at some moment each individual's life will have an ending point.
Even if time was infinite in both directions, as mortal human beings we could not access it in this life span, because our life experience of time is finite. Moreover, living in the midst of the digital age's information overload, we need to learn how to limit the amount of time we spend sorting through, reading, and looking for information. In order to complete assigned work or accomplish personal goals, we need to exercise strategies that will keep the unlimited demand for our attention from choking us. Finite capacity is the reality and a very real limitation.
Application provides another segment in the learning process sequence. When people are actively applying their learning, they test, practice, and reinforce the new knowledge and their understanding of it. Such instantaneous feedback and validation of learning provides a powerful climate for more neuropathways to be created (Begley, 2007a).
As described in Walter's scenario, the digital age overflows with prospects to apply new learning immediately. Our days are filled with challenges to learn and use information to meet our everyday needs (e.g., purchase something online) or fulfill our obligations at work (e.g., use the new version of the graphic design program without formal training). Adults who successfully navigate the information tidal wave of the digital age must leverage the many opportunities for self-directed learning in order to immediately meet the demands of each day.
Adults' Experiences as Learning Resources
As illustrated in this chapter's opening scenario with Rich and the hole in one, an important contribution to understanding learning among adults is the effectiveness of leveraging their prior experience. Rich is not alone in needing effective means to help adults frequently learn new information in order to accomplish their goals. Whether the setting is the workplace, military, higher education, community, or home, the digital age is forcing people to constantly upgrade their content knowledge and skills across the many areas we have discussed, such as in technology, information, diversity, mobility, and so on. Rich's situation illustrates how building on prior experience of adults when learning new content provides a powerful advantage for investment (connection to learning), retention of information, transfer of learning (application), performance, and productivity (Boud, 1994; Boud & Walker, 1990; Resnick, 1983; Usher, 1985). Furthermore, it stands to reason that as adults become more interested in learning and perform better in their work they experience greater self-confidence, self-efficacy, and better morale. In essence, this is an illustration of the adage, “Success lays the groundwork for more success.”
Under most circumstances, people do not like to fail in learning or their work. When learning experiences are organized in ways that connect new concepts to prior experiences, adults have a high-speed on-ramp to successful learning.
Learning Developing from Social Role Tasks
Research indicates that the digital age provides adults with different challenges in social roles than experienced previously (Katz & Rice, 2002; LeNoue, Hall, & Eighmy, 2011). Coupled with this fact is the andragogical principle that adults learn especially well when instruction relates to social role tasks. What does this mean?
In the digital age, adults juggle more social roles more quickly than in prior generations (Erstad, 2012; Katz & Rice, 2002). This conclusion is drawn from the fact that technology connects us to multiple constituencies, simultaneously, day and night. For example, as depicted in Figure 5.1, it is not unusual for adults of all ages alike to prepare for this next class, Skype with a friend, occasionally text their significant other, all while they discuss their school, work, and family responsibilities. Living in the digital age requires the ability to rapidly switch among social roles alternately and simultaneously.
Figure 5.1 Adults Navigate Multiple Social Roles in the Digital Age
Source: Copyright K. Eggeling (2015). Used with permission.
A classic example of this principle relates to research regarding women who have children and their motivation to return to formal education. These women find resolute motivation for learning in their roles as guide and nurturer of their children. Many studies confirm mothers' great desire to be an example to their children and grandchildren (Lovell, 2014).
In addition, given the demands of our society, consider the shift in expectations and roles that young and mature adults have experienced in our changing society. The following data illustrate these patterns across the last several decades.
- Expectations of high school seniors shifted across 1972 to 2004 from high school diploma to some college or bachelor's degree to advanced degrees. (See Figure 5.2.)
Figure 5.2 High School Senior's Degree Expectations
Source: NCES (2008).
- From 1970 to 2001, women became the majority gender enrolled as undergraduates. The percent of women undergraduates increased from 42% to 51% in 2014.
- Yet 28% more students attended full-time in 2012 versus 2002, and the increase in part-time students was only 18% (NCES, 2015a).
It is difficult to make assumptions about the roles and lives of adults in the digital age. During this time, the time lines for their social roles and life events (e.g., marriage, first child, death of parent, retirement, etc.) have a greater range and flexibility compared to prior generations. Many teenagers are having children; therefore, when they are in their 20s, instead of having newborns, they are raising preteens. Meanwhile, at the other end of the range, it is not unusual for other adults to have their first children when they are 40 to 45, and they will be 60 before their children finish high school. These few examples illustrate how when we use social roles to leverage new learning, educators need to be aware of not only multiple social roles but also new flexible, time frames for those roles.
For example, in order to be relevant and inclusive of our adult learners, we need to include examples of parenting and grandparenting. Although assumptions regarding social roles in the digital age are dangerous, there is great power in using these connections for learning. Grandparents will invest much time in learning technology in order to receive photos by e-mail and Skype with their grandchildren. In the same manner, parents will persist in the hard work of language literacy in order to communicate well with their children's teachers and health care providers. Social roles as motivation and illustrations leverage powerful andragogical principles.
Applications of Andragogy
Based on the described principles, this section discusses applications of andragogy to facilitate learning with technology. Three major areas will be discussed: (1) facilitation, (2) engagement and motivation, and (3) problem-solving.
Facilitation
As much as formal education is steeped in teacher-focused instruction, the more effective strategy for adults is facilitation. In teacher-focused instruction, learners are passive and information is dispensed. Instead, in facilitation mode, learners are the agents of action and instructors guide from the sidelines.
Boud and Walker (1990) describe two types of facilitation based on the intent of the learner. The first has the instructor interacting with learners as they navigate their experience. The instructor has not planned or constructed anything. In the second type of facilitation, instructors may have designed experiential learning experiences with specific goals and activities. In the midst of engagement in these designed experiences, the learner and facilitator have intentions about the learning that is occurring. In both situations, as facilitator, the instructor does not directly lead learners through activities but instead usually interacts with them initially to provide introductory information to the activity and then as needed by the learners to provide guidance, clarification, resources, and so on. Facilitation is a versatile instructional method that can be used in many forms and contexts. Some facilitation will be used in individual, small-, and large-group settings; other facilitators may vary by venue (i.e., face-to-face, virtual, etc.) or formality (formal and informal).
The power of facilitation emerges from the learner as the locus of control (Fink, 2014) and agent of action. These characteristics illustrate how facilitation is involved in operationalizing constructivism, which requires students to interact with their environment or a learning activity in order to understand concepts and knowledge. The literature demonstrates and confirms that constructivist experiences are more powerful for developing understanding than rote memorization (Papert, 1980; von Glaserfeld, 1991).
Extensive research by Jonassen (1994; Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003) and others demonstrate the power and effectiveness of constructivism in teaching. When coupled with technology, there are powerful opportunities to facilitate learning that address immediate needs, social roles, and relevant contexts for adult learners. Instead of demonstrating practices or lecturing about the theory of the content area, facilitating adult learner exploration of the knowledge in varied guided settings aligns with andragogical principles and has exceptional outcomes in understanding, retention, and transfer of learning.
Engagement and Motivation
This section discusses the powerful opportunities for connecting engagement and learner motivation. Our first scenario illustrates benefits for teachers and learners.
Dr. Smart's class is a valuable example of how technology can be used to motivate adult learners. Using andragogical principles provides vital ways in which we can tap into this powerful learning incentive. In particular, designing learning that incorporates life circumstances, relevance, and social roles (in this case, world citizenry) fuels motivation for learning.
When Dr. Smart designed and facilitated the online community analysis assignment, she had not expected the depth and breadth of learning she witnessed. A pivotal aspect of the assignment was that the students explored and participated in real-life applications of public policy. As they read the online conversations, scores of specific examples demonstrated the urgent need to understand public policy. When they designed the posters, the students had to make their own meaning of their experience. And the poster creations and presentations provided a platform for them to share their insight and opinions to their classmates.
Motivation is not always a simple topic to understand or tap. There are many examples of how the digital age has provided new contexts and motivations for learning. However, educators also need to be cautious of making assumptions and be aware of cultural differences regarding motivations for learning (Ginsberg & Wlodkowski, 2009).
To be a successful educator of adults, one must have a voracious appetite to search for strategies of learner engagement and motivation. The phrase student engagement is widely discussed in the literature to include student affairs and academic affairs activities. Student engagement has similarities in both areas because it involves the learner being actively involved. However, academic engagement, the focus of this book, is most often coupled with learning activities that address specific learning objectives. Another difference is that academic engagement focuses on successful learning, and student affairs engagement purposes are to promote persistence in programs (Fink, 2014; Frost, Strom, Downey, Schultz, & Holland, 2010).
However, there are many opportunities to use the resources available to us to create learning activities that will be powerful in motivation and engagement. Consider how teaching computer skills in the context of job hunting, résumé writing, or household problem-solving could take on new levels of interest for many adult learners, although students in higher education will enjoy the wide scope of access to resources, opinions, and views on most any topic rather than being restricted to local views for assignments.
Problem-Solving
In the digital age, problem-solving is considered a high-demand 21st-century skill (Fink, 2014; Jonassen et al., 2003; Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2015) because of expectations of the changing workplace. Frequently, work is no longer routine and repetitive; instead, it embeds creative tasks and requires problem-solving. This transition of the nature of work in the digital age is a result of the adoption of continuing innovation in business, industry, and education.
When we blend technology, problem-solving, and facilitative teaching modes, educators design and deliver the relevant learning experiences that are consistent with andragogy. As it relates to andragogy, problem-solving includes scaffolding prior experiences, active learning, and learning for application. In the process of well-designed problem-solving activities, learners gain experience and skills development in making informed choices, including observing, considering viable options, making choices, testing solutions, and evaluating results. In these ways, problem-solving incorporates many of the cognitive and practice skills that are in high demand for the digital age.
In this chapter's activities, based on your needs, you will apply andragogical principles in either planning learning for yourself or redesigning a course assignment.
By using this structured approach and exploring these recommended resources, learners become more independent in their learning choices. In addition, individuals who engage in such structured activities become more aware of and adept with the process that they may apply to many of their learning needs.
After you finish your research, learning, and application of your learning, consider the follow two questions and write your responses in your journal or share them with one of your online communities:
- Which were the best resources for my topic, based on my needs, time limits, preferences, and so on? Why were they the best?
- What new strategies did I learn from this activity? (It might be anything from how to structure your personal learning, the range of possible learning sources, what kind of learning you enjoy the most, etc.)
- How can I build on this experience when I encounter another need for learning?
At first, this learning activity might appear to have inexperienced researchers helping each other instead of an expert faculty member. However, in my experience, adult learners learn much more in this mode versus the teacher-focused format. In every case, when either I or others have used this approach with learners, they rise to the occasion and beyond! During these small-group sessions, participants actively listen and provide resources and feedback to their classmates. The level of peer support and collaboration is startling to educators accustomed to more traditional modes of instruction.
Over the years, based on debriefing discussions with many groups of learners, they recount that they are very serious about the round-table feedback process for several reasons: (1) learning—they learn a great deal by helping their peers, (2) interdependence—they need their peers to provide sound advice on their work, and (3) self-efficacy—once they engage in the first few steps of this model, they become empowered.
Specific examples of assistance that learners describe from this peer consultative activity span a wide range. They indicate that their group members suggest alternate ways to solve problems and issues they have encountered, refer them to many resources that they had not considered, help them reduce the scope of their mammoth project, advise them to explore specific studies and authors for more literature, and discuss details of research method, sampling, IRB process, instrumentation, implementation steps, analysis, and so on. Many of the learners also discover the benefits of a critical friend through this process. They learn specific activities that can be used to support and challenge one another academically, even independent of classroom activities.
As an educator, there are other bonuses to this format. In the space of only one semester, learners build an electronic system to guide their future research and collaborate on four to five research studies in addition to their own. This situation provides many opportunities to practice and improve their problem-solving, research, analytical, and consultative skills. These skills provide practice and application because the consultative model mirrors how most professionals will work in the digital age.
Conclusion
The focus of this chapter's discussion has been introducing the theory of andragogy and demonstrating its essential connections to the digital age. Several scenarios in this chapter illustrate how adults engage in adult learning and benefit from the five andragogical principles in traditional and nontraditional learning contexts. The discussions of problem-solving, critical thinking, facilitation, motivation, and related learning activities also provided many opportunities to incorporate strategies addressing learners' needs in this world of rapid innovation.