Some scholars have studied child learning as it differs from adult learning. Others, such as Howard McClusky, went further to study the adult ability to learn or their potential. Cyril O. Houle searched for a better understanding of adult learning. Allen Tough’s extension is based on several aspects including what and why adults learn, how they learn, and what help they obtain for learning. Each of these have made significant contributions to andragogy (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2012).…
Merriam, S. B., Caffarella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in Adulthood. A Comprehensive Guide (3rd ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.…
Malcom Knowles has introduced the earliest concept of adult learning theory called andragogy in 1968. Contrary with pedagogy, andragory is a method and practices to teach adults learners where learners will have more control over their learning experience. Knowles (1984) also has identified a few principles that contained characteristic of adult learners such as; i) Adults learners have more control over their learning activity, have directions and responsible for their own actions, ii) Adult learners have more life experiences, eager to explore, discover and learn new things in life, iii) Adult learners are groups of matured people and are liable to actively engage in learning process, iv) Problem-centered and interested in instant knowledge…
For the past ten years, I have been involved in the development of Navarro College’s online program. When I arrived at Navarro College in the fall of 2000, we had approximately twelve online course sections, with just a little over 100 students. At the time, Navarro College had a total enrollment of approximately 3,800 students. Today, the online program alone has approximately 3,500 students during the fall and spring semesters out of a total college enrollment of just below 11,000. The growth has been phenomenal, and I am fortunate to have been…
It is understood that in order for adults to learn in an effective manner certain needs need to be taken into account. This can be their personal psychological reasons i.e. their sense of purpose for learning. Also the environment in which they learn is a key consideration, for example the freedom to make mistakes in a safe environment. Kolb’s Learning Cycle describes 4 stages all adults need to go through to have effective learning, Experiencing, Observing and Reflecting, Thinking & Abstract Concepts and finally Experimenting with the new concepts.…
There are various factors including personal, social and cultural issues which can influence learners and it is essential to understand how these factors can affect learning. Factors such as sex, age, learning difficulties, disability, social class, motivation, ethnicity, language and relationships may influence learning in either a positive or negative way.…
I also feel that I learn better now as an adult because I look further into the details of what I am learning. Each day I find myself asking "why?" or "how?" This is something I never did in high school or even my first few semesters at my local college. Now that I am asking more questions, I feel like I am retaining information better and understanding the material a lot more.…
There are many factors that can have an influence on my learning. One of them is my friends. My friends can influence my learning by distracting me during lessons and also by helping me to catch up on work. In some ways, friends can motivate me because they encourage me to do my work and to get my assignments done on time. They also motivate me because they assist me with my work when I need it instead of waiting to ask a tutor which cannot be done as easily; I can easily call a friend. Friends have a positive influence on me because they are aware of the things that I am doing so that they know what I should be working on, mainly because my friends are all doing the same course as me. A negative affect that they have on my learning is sometimes we spend a whole lesson going off topic and talking about what happened on our weekends which is something that can be discussed on the lunch breaks rather than the all important lessons.…
An important biological factor that affects adult learners in a varied classroom with varied age groups is life experiences in the learning process. It should be understood by the educator that adult learners have varied life issues at different stages of life and these issues affect the learning process. Adult learners in the course will have barriers such as the lack of time, family and, personal life obligations and can experience the lack of understanding course theory and work. Understanding and learning coursework may be slowly learned by an older adult learner than the younger adults which can causes anxiety about learning.…
The key influences that I believe to have on an individual’s personal learning process would include: informal and formal learning, motivation, attitudes, friends, learning style and access to resources.…
This unit aims to enable learners to understand the learning process and to give them the skills they need to…
Adult learning is a way to separate the way adults learn from the way children learn. Physiologically, learning is the formation of cell assemblies and phase sequences. Children learn by building these assemblies and sequences. Adults spend more time making new arrangements than forming new sequences. They can learn by talking with others. We can easily say, this makes adults to create a connection between differences and similarities. There are many assumptions about adult learning such as adults are self directed, they are goal oriented, adults are…
This paper will address adult learning in relationship to Malcolm Knowles’ adult learning theory and David Kolb’s experiential learning theory. The ideas addressed will also show how this knowledge can help me to learn more efficiently in the future.…
The aim of this assignment is to demonstrate assessment as a factor that affects learning in placement areas. I am a qualified midwife who works for an NHS Trust but find it hard to deal with struggling students, through assessment.…
Marton, W. (1981) Contrastive Analysis in the Classroom. J. Fisiak (ed.): Contrastive Linguistics and the Language Teacher. Oxford: Pergamon Press.…