The subject of adult learning has attracted the attention of experts and researchers around the world. Furthermore, attempts have been made to study the subject and determine how it can be enhanced. In the current paper, the focus will be on evaluating two different articles that have been written regarding the issue of adult learning. The first article is “Reviewing the Evidence on How Adult Students Learn: An Examination of Knowles' Model of Andragogy” by Valerie McGrath. McGrath (2009) wrote the article with the goal of sharing their experiences with teaching adults in various settings. In the article, the authors talked about the experiences of the learning and the factors that affected the learning processes. In addition, the author highlights some of the critical theoretical issues related to adult learning. The second article is “Various ways of understanding the concept of andragogy” by Svein Loeng and Edith Omwami. In the article, the authors talk about the subject of andragogy and the manner in has been developed and understood over the years. In addition, attempts are made to highlight how expert and scholars from different eras and parts of the world have evaluated the idea of andragogy (Loeng and Omwami, 2018). Overall, the authors noted that andragogy is an ambiguous concept that has been perceived differently over the years. In addition, experts have strived to identify the critical components of andragogy with the intention of offering critical insights that may be used in adult education and learning.
Reviewing the Evidence on How Adult Students Learn: An Examination of Knowles' Model of Andragogy by McGrath, Valerie
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The authors of the article wrote the piece to explore some of the issues that are related to the idea of adult learning. The authors talked about the experiences of student from different backgrounds who enrolled for courses in Institute of Public Administration and Institute of Commercial Management. In some instances, the students who enroll for such courses were people who had left learning at a young age. Therefore, such students may not be comfortable with the conventional teaching style that were being used in the programs. In particular, the students felt that the conventional teaching styles were not appropriate and did not support the learning. Furthermore, they felt that the educators did not allow them to ask questions when being taught using the conventional methods.
At the start of the article, the author talks about some of the similarities between children and adults with a particular focus on the way they learn, interact, and communicate. The author stated that there are several differences that define adult and children learning processes. In particular, it has been noted that adult learners always strive to find out why they need new knowledge before they can decide to go back in class. This contrasts with children who may be willing to learn even in cases where they do not understand or know what they are learning. The difference is evident when one considers the kind of people who undertake the adult learning programs. They may include employees who are looking for new skills, people undertaking work based projects, individuals who want to get promotions within their lines of work. There is also another category of learners who feel that they have be given a second chance in their lives to learn. These people strive to take advantage of the new opportunity that they get ad are always responsible for their earn learning. Even in such instances, the trainers and educators must also strive to create an environment for the leaners to achieve their full potential. In addition, it is imperative to support the students and help them acquire skills and knowledge that they may use to achieve their potential. Furthermore, teachers must help the adult learners relate the content taught in class to the events that occur in their lives.
The author of the article also opined that there are two primary theories that have been used to explore the subject of adult learning. They are pedagogy and andragogy. Under the pedagogical model, it is argued that students will automatically learn the things that they have been told by the teachers. Therefore, the focus is largely on creating a conducive environment for the teachers to ass the intended messages to the students. Andragogy, on the other hand, is considered to be a cognitive model that is based on the idea of helping adults to analyze material and make contention between class contents and life experiences. Furthermore, it is a framework that allows educators to create a conducive environment that will lead to positive learning outcomes among learners. Furthermore, it revolves around the process of allowing learners to ask questions that will enable them to understand the things that are being taught in class settings.
McGrath (2009) identified the five major components of andragogy and how they are used in the adult learning settings. First, it is a model that is based on the idea that adults must be informed about the reasons why they should be made to learn new materials. Once the adults are informed about the reasons for learning, they will be ready to take part in adult education activities. The second element that defines andragogy is the belief that the kind of beliefs that learners have will determine the extent to which they grasp and understand what is taught in class. It is for this reason that the teachers strive to make the adult learners confident in their abilities so that they can understand what is taught in class. Furthermore, the adult students are able to perform better when they have high self-esteem. The third components is that the model is based on the idea that past experiences will affect the way learning takes place. In other words, adult learners bank on their life experiences to make sense of the content that they are exposed to during lessons. These experiences will affect the manner in which people perceive information and understand the ideas that they are exposed to from time to time. The fourth issue is that the students usually want to learn new information. This kind of motivation will drive adults to enroll of lessons and actively participate in training activities. Educators need to recognize the motivation of students and praise learners so that they can become confident people who are ready to acquire new knowledge. The final factor is that educators need to create the right climate and environment for the students to achieve their full potential. The environment will affect the learning experiences of the students. In addition, the learning environment will affect the extent to which the students collaborate with learners to be able to achieve their full potentials. These five concepts area fundamental part of the andragogy model. In addition, they may help improve adult learning and assist students acquire knowledge that will enable them to succeed in life and at work.
Various Ways of Understanding the Concept of Andragogy by Svein Loeng and Edith Omwami
In this article, the authors talk about the issue of andragogy and how it can be applied to adult learning programs. The authors explored the professional and historical perspectives linked to the idea of andragogy. According to the authors, androgyny has been an important model used in adult earning (Loeng and Omwami, 2018). In addition, it is a model that has changed over the years as attempts are made to create a conducive environment for adults to acquire education and new skill. Svein Loeng and Edith Omwami argued that the idea of andragogy can be traced back to the time of Knowles. Knowles strived to define the concept and explain the way it can be used to improve learning processes. In particular, Knowles argued that andragogy is a science and art model that is aimed at helping adults to learn (Loeng and Omwami, 2018). Furthermore, Knowles opined that the framework has been used in the western world to create an appropriate educational and training systems that will help people plan and direct the adult learning process. From a contemporary point of view, Knowles’s understanding of andragogy has been one of the widely used and accepted concepts for adult learning. In addition, it is a concept that has been popularized both within and outside the European nations. The trend is attributed to the fact that the framework may be used as the basis for helping leaners to acquire critical skills that they need to improve their abilities in life and perform better at work.
The andragogy model that the authors write about in this article is based on five major assumption and belief that are linked to Knowles. The first belief is that as people mature, their self-concepts also change from the idea of being dependent on others to that of a person who is self-directed. Second, maturity makes people to accumulate experiences that will provide a basis for their learning journey and decisions made at various contexts. Third, maturity usually makes it easy for people to learn (Loeng and Omwami, 2018). In particular people will strive to undertake tasks that will improve their social roles and enable them to make meaningful contributions in the society. The fourth concept is that maturity make people change their time perspectives. Instead of postdating the application of knowledge, mature individuals will start to apply the information. Furthermore, they will strive to orient towards tasks that will enable them perform better and make positive contribution to the life of those around them. Finally, the concept is based on the fact that when a person mature, he or she will become motivated to learn. The motivation is usually internal and is aimed at helping a person find solutions to some of the problems that they face in life.
Comparison
The subject of adult learning has attracted the attention of experts and scholars from various parts of the world. In addition, attempts have been made to explore diverse components of adult learning and the factors that may affect the learning process. The outcome of such investigations provides a basis for understanding the things that must be done to improve adult learning. In addition, it may affect the manner in which people perceive and understand the concept of adult learning. The two articles that were examined in this paper offer critical insights into the subject of adult learning. In addition, the authors showed how the andragogy framework can be applied to the field of adult learning. The two articles agree with the ideas in the Neo Text on the issues of employee training and development. In particular, the authors seem to suggest that the adult learning environment need to be designed in a way that meets the specific needs of the students. The customization process should be done after consideration the changes that occur when an individual matures as highlighted in the texts. Once the environment is customized, educators will be better placed to assist their students to acquire skills and knowledge that they can use in a wide range of contexts to be able to improve their lives and wellbeing.
References
Loeng, S., & Omwami, E. (2018). Various ways of understanding the concept of andragogy. Cogent Education, 5(1), 1496643.
McGrath, V. (2009). Reviewing the evidence on how adult students learn: An examination of Knowles' model of andragogy . Adult Learner: The Irish Journal of Adult and Community Education, EJ860562 , 99-110.
