What is andragogy?
Adult learning is a new field of study. The pioneer of this field is Malcolm Knowles. He was convinced that adults learned in a different way than children. This was the foundation of andragogy.. This model focuses on the teacher as a facilitator.
Adults, compared to children and teenagers have a lot of responsibilities. Because of these responsibilities the adults have barriers that prevent them to take part in the learning process. Some of these barriers include, financial needs, self-confidence, interest, no time, not being informed about the opportunities to learn, problems with transport and child-care.
Even though adult learning is a new field of study, it is as important as traditional teaching and it carries a great potential for success. But this success needs a big responsibility from the teacher. On the other hand the students come to the class with defined expectations. Unfortunately the students come across many barriers that prevent them from teaching. The best motivators are interest on the side of the students and profit. If we can show to them how they really profit from this course, they will do better and the profit will last longer.
With the change in the number and age of students, education has changed from traditional to non-traditional. The curriculum and the methods have changed as well to adapt to these changes. The teachers play an important role. They are the ones that make this change by finding appropriate strategies for these kinds of students. Teachers can help adult learners when they understand their characteristics, their motivation and its importance in a classroom environment, strategies and activities to initiate motivation and some key points in adult learning.
We see adult learners in every educational and qualification program as well as in different foreign language centers. It is very important that teachers know appropriate learning strategies for adult learners. Andragogy enables students to take part in the learning process and in this way they can invest their experiences and their values (Laird, p. 125). According to Laird the teachers of andragoggy use more questions, because adult students have previous knowledge. The teacher’s main role is to manage or instruct, not to manage the content, which is the traditional method of pedagogy.
Andragogy focuses on the teacher’s role. In andragogy, the teacher’s role is to manage the processes. Communication and feedback are very important. The teachers function as facilitators rather than lectors.
Even though andragogy is a relatively new field, a lot of research has been carried out to help not only the teachers, but the students as well. It is not easy to motivate, but by trying to get to know your students, appreciate them, and by wanting to help them, we can say that these are the first steps toward motivation.
