Artifact: Andragogy Seminar
EDUC 5402G The Adult Learner in Digital Age
Description
This artifact is a PowerPoint presentation created with a partner as part of a seminar presentation. The slideshow itself is not very impressive, but it represents my first exposure to learning principles in the M.Ed. A teachers college course introduced me to general learning theory, but it was not until this course that I found there are other models specifically for understanding adult learning. As one of my first courses in the M.Ed program, not only did the content challenge my assumptions about adult learning, but the course itself acquainted me with synchronous adult learning environment from a student perspective. Not only did I present on andragogy, but I was forced to examine and re-evaluate my own tendencies as an adult learner. |
Artifact: Briefing Note
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Description
I chose to include this artifact because it speaks to my interests and portfolio topics, even though it occurred in the first term of my M.Ed. The briefing note is an exercise in concise and organized writing meant to survey a real world problem and propose a research-supported solution. I chose to examine professional development in my school board because it was relevant at the time, though my interest has shifted from how to fix my school board to how adults can learn and teach better with technology. The skills required in this assignment, like presenting research in a convenient straight forward proposal for change are applicable to professional use in my life.
Reflection & Research
Key ideas: Andragogy
My experience in The Adult Learner in a Digital Age mostly consisted of content transmission and adjustment to the online learning transmission method. I was very nervous for my first seminar in the program, though facilitating discussion in Adobe Connect quickly became second nature to me. Additionally, though the topics in this courses were initially new to me, I became accustom over time to the introduction of foreign terms and concepts, and got more comfortable researching course syllabi on my own at the start of each new term in order to familiarize myself with course content. I am glad I chose to study adult learning because I hope to train adults, but the course also provided valuable insight into my own leaning, a perfect place to begin the M.Ed program. I learned a great deal about Andragogy as a starting point for further inquiry into Adult Learning.
Adult Learning Models
In The Adult Learner in a Digital Age, I presented a seminar explaining the principles of Andragogy. Because my artifact for this area of my portfolio focuses on Andragogy as a model for adult education, so will the research for this theme. Andragogy is a well known and widely accepted approach to adult education, but not the sole theory of adult learning. For this reason, I will briefly outline some other ideas before discussing andragogy more extensively.
Pedagogy
Pedagogy was a topic of discussion in all my courses in the M.Ed. It is important to understand pedagogy before approaching Andragogy.
Pedagogy is the science and art of education. This approach views the instructor as the information manager, responsible for organizing learning activities. In Bruner’s Toward a Theory of Instruction he describes the process of pedagogical instruction as “leading the learner through a sequence of statements and restatements of a problem or body of knowledge that increase the learner’s ability to grasp, transform, and transfer what he is learning” (1966). As noted by Blondy (2007), when discussed alongside adult education, according to Malcolm Knowles (1984), pedagogy is in sharp contrast to adult learning. In pedagogy “learners are dependent personalities who bring little or no experience to the educational activity” and who do as “they have been told” (p. 116-117). In pedagogy, content is “sequenced logically and centered on the subject versus personal learner needs, and the motivation to learn the subject matter is mostly external” (p. 117).
In learning this definition I realized that my teaching up until this point had been largely pedagogical. Moreover, my teacher education had introduced and reinforced those ideals. That is not to speak poorly of my training in education, because pedagogy is a solid starting point in instructional training and thus a vital part of my introduction to teaching, however, I never thought much past it, or reflected on the implications of accepting pedagogical assumptions as my own. In the M.Ed program, we often talk about finding a new pedagogy, away from the traditional “sage on the stage” approach. This is the goal of many of my artifacts.
In the Briefing Note artifact included in this section I performed a cosmetic appraisal of professional development conducted in my school board, in general. Lacking specific examples and concrete resources (course outlines, descriptions, participant feedback) I was unable to perform any in-depth analysis of the design of the courses to comment on pegagogical, or andragogical assumptions in action. I merely comment on the format of the course delivery and the lack of technological and professional networking support that follows upon completion of any course. These are indeed areas worthy of examining for improvement, but it would also be important to more closely analyse the course design to improve adult learning.
Transformative Education
Transformative education is based on the assumption that people go through cyclical transformations throughout their lives. Transformative learning is the process of effecting change, where “the concept of ‘dilemma’ leads to disorientation and then to learning” (Reushul & Mitchell, 2009, p. 11). “Disorienting dilemmas” are new experiences or situations that do not fit with our understanding of the world. In his chapter entitled Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice, Mezirow explains that frames of reference are “the structures of assumptions through which we understand our experiences” that set our “line of action” by shaping and limiting our expectations, feelings, cognition, and perception (1997, p. 6). This is the issue I experienced in my learning prior to attending UOIT. Though I readily identified problems during my teaching experiences, I failed to look outside my own understanding for answers.
According to Mezirow, our frames of reference are born of cultural assimilation and influences of primary caregivers, and change when we reflect on “either the content or process by which we solve problems and identify the need to modify assumptions” (1997, p. 6). These expectations are what must be challenged in order for learning to take place. According to Meizirow (1991), meaning is based on the learner’s interpretation of his experience through reflection. In this case, the role of the educator is one of enabling learners to examine the assumptions that make up their beliefs, feelings and actions, the consequences of these assumptions, and the alternatives. As educators we are also learners, and so must work to allow our students to participate in transformational learning experiences, while participating in them ourselves.
I chose to include this artifact because it speaks to my interests and portfolio topics, even though it occurred in the first term of my M.Ed. The briefing note is an exercise in concise and organized writing meant to survey a real world problem and propose a research-supported solution. I chose to examine professional development in my school board because it was relevant at the time, though my interest has shifted from how to fix my school board to how adults can learn and teach better with technology. The skills required in this assignment, like presenting research in a convenient straight forward proposal for change are applicable to professional use in my life.
Reflection & Research
Key ideas: Andragogy
My experience in The Adult Learner in a Digital Age mostly consisted of content transmission and adjustment to the online learning transmission method. I was very nervous for my first seminar in the program, though facilitating discussion in Adobe Connect quickly became second nature to me. Additionally, though the topics in this courses were initially new to me, I became accustom over time to the introduction of foreign terms and concepts, and got more comfortable researching course syllabi on my own at the start of each new term in order to familiarize myself with course content. I am glad I chose to study adult learning because I hope to train adults, but the course also provided valuable insight into my own leaning, a perfect place to begin the M.Ed program. I learned a great deal about Andragogy as a starting point for further inquiry into Adult Learning.
Adult Learning Models
In The Adult Learner in a Digital Age, I presented a seminar explaining the principles of Andragogy. Because my artifact for this area of my portfolio focuses on Andragogy as a model for adult education, so will the research for this theme. Andragogy is a well known and widely accepted approach to adult education, but not the sole theory of adult learning. For this reason, I will briefly outline some other ideas before discussing andragogy more extensively.
Pedagogy
Pedagogy was a topic of discussion in all my courses in the M.Ed. It is important to understand pedagogy before approaching Andragogy.
Pedagogy is the science and art of education. This approach views the instructor as the information manager, responsible for organizing learning activities. In Bruner’s Toward a Theory of Instruction he describes the process of pedagogical instruction as “leading the learner through a sequence of statements and restatements of a problem or body of knowledge that increase the learner’s ability to grasp, transform, and transfer what he is learning” (1966). As noted by Blondy (2007), when discussed alongside adult education, according to Malcolm Knowles (1984), pedagogy is in sharp contrast to adult learning. In pedagogy “learners are dependent personalities who bring little or no experience to the educational activity” and who do as “they have been told” (p. 116-117). In pedagogy, content is “sequenced logically and centered on the subject versus personal learner needs, and the motivation to learn the subject matter is mostly external” (p. 117).
In learning this definition I realized that my teaching up until this point had been largely pedagogical. Moreover, my teacher education had introduced and reinforced those ideals. That is not to speak poorly of my training in education, because pedagogy is a solid starting point in instructional training and thus a vital part of my introduction to teaching, however, I never thought much past it, or reflected on the implications of accepting pedagogical assumptions as my own. In the M.Ed program, we often talk about finding a new pedagogy, away from the traditional “sage on the stage” approach. This is the goal of many of my artifacts.
In the Briefing Note artifact included in this section I performed a cosmetic appraisal of professional development conducted in my school board, in general. Lacking specific examples and concrete resources (course outlines, descriptions, participant feedback) I was unable to perform any in-depth analysis of the design of the courses to comment on pegagogical, or andragogical assumptions in action. I merely comment on the format of the course delivery and the lack of technological and professional networking support that follows upon completion of any course. These are indeed areas worthy of examining for improvement, but it would also be important to more closely analyse the course design to improve adult learning.
Transformative Education
Transformative education is based on the assumption that people go through cyclical transformations throughout their lives. Transformative learning is the process of effecting change, where “the concept of ‘dilemma’ leads to disorientation and then to learning” (Reushul & Mitchell, 2009, p. 11). “Disorienting dilemmas” are new experiences or situations that do not fit with our understanding of the world. In his chapter entitled Transformative Learning: Theory to Practice, Mezirow explains that frames of reference are “the structures of assumptions through which we understand our experiences” that set our “line of action” by shaping and limiting our expectations, feelings, cognition, and perception (1997, p. 6). This is the issue I experienced in my learning prior to attending UOIT. Though I readily identified problems during my teaching experiences, I failed to look outside my own understanding for answers.
According to Mezirow, our frames of reference are born of cultural assimilation and influences of primary caregivers, and change when we reflect on “either the content or process by which we solve problems and identify the need to modify assumptions” (1997, p. 6). These expectations are what must be challenged in order for learning to take place. According to Meizirow (1991), meaning is based on the learner’s interpretation of his experience through reflection. In this case, the role of the educator is one of enabling learners to examine the assumptions that make up their beliefs, feelings and actions, the consequences of these assumptions, and the alternatives. As educators we are also learners, and so must work to allow our students to participate in transformational learning experiences, while participating in them ourselves.
Andragogy
Andragogy is a term initially coined by Alexander Kapp, a German teacher who used it to describe educational theory of Plato (Davenport & Davenport, 1985, p. 152). It was popularized and influenced by Malcolm Knowles in the United States in 1968. Knowles is credited with exploring a comprehensive theory around Andragogy (Davenport & Davenport, 1985, p. 152). According to Knowles (1980), while pedagogy means "the art and science of teaching children", andragogy is "the art and science of helping adults learn" (p.40). However, Knowles (1980) later allowed that because andragogy's concepts are applicable to some youths, the theory is "simply another model of assumptions about learners to be used alongside...pedagogical model[s]" (p. 41). |
When I began my Adult Learner in a Digital Age course, Andragogy was a foreign term. I have since become comfortable working with the assumptions, particularly as a way to discuss adult learning. Chan (2010) explores applications of andragogy, and explains the model is based on six main assumptions about adult learners:
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The slides for my Andragogy Seminar artifact are brief and meant to engage the class using adult learning principles. My partner and I attempted to ask questions that would stimulate discussion connected to prior experience, communicate the usefulness of the principles, and encourage application. Overall the experience taught me more about andragogy by the examples provided in discussion by my more experienced peers. We also briefly touched on criticisms of Andragogy.
Though the assumptions are widely accepted, there has been much debate about the “model” of Andragogy. As noted by Holton, Swanson and Naquin (2001), one issue is that different authors present andragogy in different ways, (i.e. as a theory, technique, method), complicating its definition. Rachal (2002) questions the efficacy of andragogy due to its differing approaches to implementation thanks to lack of criteria and empirical evidence for a functioning definition of Knowles’ formulation. Knowles added the 5th and 6th principles after his initial coining of the concept leading to some confusion, as many critics have noted.
This course enabled me to articulate my tendencies as a learner and locate those tendencies in learning theory which is extremely valuable. This experience was particularly useful because it allowed me to critically examine my learning style and habits in order to grow as a learner and teacher, and set me up for success in the program, while also providing a model with which to approach subsequent courses.
This course enabled me to articulate my tendencies as a learner and locate those tendencies in learning theory which is extremely valuable. This experience was particularly useful because it allowed me to critically examine my learning style and habits in order to grow as a learner and teacher, and set me up for success in the program, while also providing a model with which to approach subsequent courses.