Andragogy: Experiential & collaborative learning opportunities

What is Andragogy?

Malcolm Knowles first coined the term andragogy when he developed a theory specifically focusing on how adults learn differently from children.

The key difference he identified is that children’s learning (pedagogy) is motivated by the acquisition of knowledge and training (receivers), whereas adults learning (andragogy) is motivated by self actualisation, through the organisations where they live and work.

'Human capital involves people –centred methodologies as opposed to systems-centred. So much human capital is poorly invested when we segregate ourselves as helping professionals starting the minute we enter our professional training.'

(Grainger)

The 4 principles introduced by Knowles describe key fundamentals that differentiate the learning process of adults and children.

They are:

• Collaboration

• Life long process of learning activity

• Collaborative analysis and reflection

• Learning responsibility becoming self directed

• Learning should have immediate application to the real world

Are there limits to Androgogy?

Learning for teachers isn’t limited by walls anymore; Twitter, Skype, Facebook, Google docs and many others allows teachers to collaborate with anyone, anywhere and at any time.

Teachers recognise the importance of the above principles as they enable them to work smarter, faster and more easily. Teachers are turning beyond their school and classroom for support as a consequence o f the current mismatch between teacher need and traditional CPD practice.

New innovative and empowering practices enable teachers to collaborate, share and learn together. TeachMeet and the swarm of teaching professionals on twitter reflect, in part, teachers moving away from a system that does not deliver what they need and the move to social media helps to fill this gap.

TeachMeets, Twitter, Rooms and so forth enable the collaboration and process of sharing. However, the question arises of how we make it meaningful, long lasting, secure and takes place at the point of need – in the classroom?

Using video to see impact

One mechanism that helps to bridge the gap between passive occasional learning to engaging, meaningful and powerful CPD is the use of video.

“Often as teachers we fail – or think we fail, we can’t always see how much impact we have”.  

Video offers objective self review and reflection. It provides an excellent medium to actually spot best practice and recognise expertise. Where the culture of trust exists, colleagues can be used to provide peer perspective and support. Over time video encourages collaboration as personal involvement fosters genuine understanding and a real impetus to change.

The saying goes “Tell me and I forget, Show me and I will remember, Involve me and I will understand”. By using video as a positive learning tool each lesson recording becomes more valuable over time as you can re-visit, play back and share time and time again.

Video takes lesson observations beyond a one-way receivership to a personal library of practice, owned by teacher for the teacher. By combining video technologies and powerful observation tools teachers are now able to capture lessons, build time linked feedback (contextualise), develop their own personal libraries of practice, work with peers to reflect and collaborate. This all combines to make an important impact where it matters most – in the classroom.