In my first reading assignment on “The Adult as Learner,” I’m discovering andragogy. Andragogy is a term that compliments pedagogy. If pedagogy is “the art and science of teaching children,” then andragogy is “the art and science of teaching adults.”
It seems though, that the two terms represent more than simply what their Greek roots translate to. Pedagogy has been a term attached to a style of teaching which is more top-down, where the teacher is the focal point of classroom activities, dispensing the majority of information and guidance, as well as the gatekeeper of grades. If you went to public school in the United States during your formative years (or in most of the modern world, I would guess) you probably experienced this as your norm.
Andragogy is a different method where the teacher is not the focus. Malcom Knowles (no obvious relation to Beyoncé) gives us this definition of the andragogical method:
In contrast, the basic format of the andragogical model is a process design. The andragogical model assigns a dual role to the facilitator of learning (a title preferable over “teacher”): first and primarily, the role of designer and manager of processes or procedures that will facilitate the acquisition of content by the learners; and only secondarily, the role of content resource. The andragogical model assumes that there are many resources other than the teacher, including peers, individuals with specialized knowledge and skill in the community, a wide variety of material and media resources, and field experiences. One of the principal responsibilities of the andragogue is to know about all of these resources and to link learners with them.
That’s a lot to chew on in one paragraph. I experienced a shift from peda- to andra- in college to some degree and I think that may be a large factor in my greater enjoyment of college. But let’s take a look at a few things. See my added emphasis in the same paragraph below.
In contrast, the basic format of the andragogical model is a process design. The andragogical model assigns a dual role to the facilitator of learning (a title preferable over “teacher”): first and primarily, the role of designer and manager of processes or procedures that will facilitate the acquisition of content by the learners; and only secondarily, the role of content resource. The andragogical model assumes that there are many resources other than the teacher, including peers, individuals with specialized knowledge and skill in the community, a wide variety of material and media resources, and field experiences. One of the principal responsibilities of the andragogue is to know about all of these resources and to link learners with them.
Step back and ask yourself, especially with those items emphasized, what does that sound like? To me, that screams “the Internet.” But specifically, it says “social media” and blogs and bloggers specifically meet a heck of a lot of those criteria. Many bloggers who focus on a topic may not be the world’s preeminent voice in their interest, but they can tell you who the authorities are, link to them and compare and contrast the information that can be gleaned from these sources. I learn so much from blogs, it’s almost embarrassing. I find Wikipedia also functions in the same way. Linking makes the web go ’round.
However, there’s one nugget to squabble over here: authority. Anyone can have a blog or edit Wikipedia. You need to verify your resources before trusting them. Most books and peer-reivewed journals are just that: peer-reviewed. Luckily, through the wisdom of crowds if you can see that many in the interest community you’re exploring respect your resource, it is probably a safe bet. It’s easy to tell: who is your source linking to, and who links to your source? Of course, this wouldn’t apply to new or yet undiscovered resources, so these would need to be treated with some sort of intellectual probation.
I think this underscores the sheer power of the web as a learning tool (if this was ever in any doubt) and has certainly helped reassure me that I am personally on the right track pursuing this masters in instructional design.
[Quote source: Andragogy in Action by Malcolm Knowles, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.]