Adult Learning Theory

1
Adult Learning Theory

• Year 2 Support Provider Meeting
• February 2, 2005
• Saddleback Valley Unified School District
• Presenter Marti Wernle 

2
Outcomes

• Activate personal memories of enjoyable,
  effective, and useful training inservices you
  have attended
• Gain knowledge of the tenets of Malcolm Knowles
  theory of Andragogy
• Make connections between adult learning theory
  and CFASST Events

3
Activity 1

• Take your puzzle piece and find the other three
  members of your group by putting together your
  postcard.
• Discuss inservices you have enjoyed, that you
  found particularly useful, and that you took
  information from and put it into practice.
• Make a creative visual representation of the main
  ideas from your discussion.
• Be prepared to share with the whole group.

4
Andragogy

• Andragogy is the science or art of teaching
  adults.
•     Andragogy first appeared in the writing of a
  German teacher named Alexander Kapp in 1833.
  Malcolm Knowles popularized the concept and
  became known as the Father of Adult Learning.
  In his Modern Practice of Adult Education (1970),
  Knowles defined andragogy as an emerging
  technology for adult learning. Andragogy has
  come to be understood as an alternative to
  pedagogy a learner-focused approach for people
  of all ages.

5
Malcolm Knowles

• Professional Resume
• HRD Hall of Fame-recognized for contributions
• to self-directed learning and learning
  contracts,
• 1985.
• North Carolina State University, 1974-1978
• Boston University, Professor of Adult Education,
• 1960-1974
• University of Chicago, Ph.D. Adult Education,
• 1960
• Executive Director of Adult Education
  Association,
• 1951-1959
• Director of Adult Education, YMCA, 1935-1951

6
Assumptions

• Andragogy is based on the following assumptions
  about the design of learning
• Adults need to know why they need to learn
  something.
• Adults need to learn experientially.
• Adults approach learning as problem solving.
• Adults learn best when the topic is of immediate
  value.

7
Adults as Learners

• Malcolm Knowles identified the following
  characteristics of adult learners
• Adults are autonomous and self-directed.
• Adults have accumulated a foundation of life
  experiences and knowledge.
• Adults are goal-oriented.
• Adults are relevancy-oriented.
• Adults are practical.
• Adults need to be shown respect.

8
Implications for Instruction

• The learning environment must be physically and
  psychologically comfortable.
• Prior experiences in traditional education,
  feelings about authority, and preoccupation with
  outside events affect in-class experience.
• Clarify and articulate all expectations before
  getting into content.
• Adults can learn much from dialogue with peers.
• Instructors need to facilitate, not direct the
  knowledge.
• Adults must actively participate in the learning
  experience, integrating new knowledge with
  previous knowledge.
• Adult learning is problem-centered rather than
  content centered.
• Adults expect to have choice in the design of
  their training and in how they will be evaluated.

9
Activity 2

• Get back into your postcard groups.
• Go to the assigned poster paper according to the
  number on the back of your puzzle piece.
• Brainstorm ways to apply the principles of
  andragogy to the assigned CFASST Event.
• Be prepared to share your findings with the other
  groups.
• Use the poster paper to organize your thoughts.

10
Making Applications to CFASST
11
Applications to CFASST Event 7

• Give the participating teacher choice in choosing
  a regular meeting time with you.
• Provide a physically and psychologically
  comfortable environment in which to meet.
• Make connections to Event 1 to activate prior
  knowledge, highlighting the essential learning of
  how the context for teaching informs instruction.
  
• Let the participating teacher choose the class
  and subject matter to focus on.
• Facilitate the PT in finding the information not
  known and the students prior achievements.
• Make some notes about students who may present
  challenges to promote problem-solving later.

12
Applications to CFASST Event 8

• Discuss the essential learning of how purposeful
  planning and instruction improves students
  learning, reminding PTs of Event 3 and what they
  learned.
• Discuss the immediate relevancy of making the
  curricular map and aligning the curriculum to the
  standards, taking into account state blueprints
  for testing.
• Let PTs choose two focus students and an area of
  emphasis for the week-long instructional lessons.
• Facilitate the planning of possible allocations
  of instructional time to meet the needs of the
  diverse learners.

13
Applications to CFASST Event 9

• Review how the learners, the context and the
  learning environment impact planning and
  instruction.
• Review the effectiveness of standards-based
  instruction.
• Clarify and articulate the goals of the event.
• Facilitate the planning of the lesson series.
• Pose the problem of what the evidence collected
  tells your BT about the effectiveness of the
  lesson series.

14
Applications to CFASST Event 10

• Facilitate exploration of and reflection on the
  evidence collected in Events 7,8, and 9 as well
  as the Self Assessment.
• Give the PT choice in establishing the goals for
  the IIP and in the design and evaluation of the
  action plan to achieve the goals.
• If possible, relate the goals to upcoming events
  to make achieving them particularly relevant.

15
Applications to CFASST EVENT 11

• Identify the essential learning of using student
  work as a guide to the planning and delivering of
  appropriate instruction.
• Facilitate in the planning of an assessment to
  determine entry level understanding in the area
  of emphasis.
• Facilitate the PT in critically monitoring the
  progress of students through formative
  assessments and in adjusting the instruction
  based on what the assessments indicate.
• Facilitate the PTs evaluation of the
  effectiveness of the assessment measures.
• Facilitate the PT in analyzing the results of the
  summative assessment administered.
• Pose the problem of what the next steps for
  grouping, instruction, and assessment should be.

16
Applications to CFASST Event 12

• Review the importance of the impact of the
  students, the context, the learning environment,
  and the planning of instruction on students
  learning.
• Facilitate the PT in revisiting each event and
  what insights about their teaching were learned.
• Facilitate the PT in thinking about how student
  work has directed or changed their teaching.
• Facilitate the PTs understanding of the
  importance of the Plan, Teach, Reflect, and Apply
  cycle.
• Pose the problem of what the PTs future
  professional development should consist of.

17
Summary

• Respect that your PT is an adult who comes to you
  with experience and knowledge.
• Respect that your PT needs to understand why they
  need to know something and wants to learn things
  that they can apply immediately.
• Respect that adults move from dependency to
  self-directedness at different rates.
• Respect that your PT will learn from experiencing
  problems and trying various solutions.
• Respect your PT as a partner in the
  teaching/learning process who expects to have
  choice in the training and evaluating process.