522 -Malcom Knowles and Online Learning

There are two fields unique to adult learning andragogy and self-directed learning. Although “one of assumptions in Knowles, Holton, and Swanson (1998) regarding adult learners is that adults are self-directed in their learning”, this article will be focusing on concepts of andragogy or Malcolm Knowles and relate it to online learning.

Some scholars state the term andragogy has been around for a while, but all will agree Malcolm Knowles and colleagues have been inextricably linked to andragogy along with adult learning. “Andragogy describes a learner-centered approach to learning in which the adult learner determines the goals for learning and how they will be achieved.” (pg. 13. Stavredes) There are six critical assumptions about the characteristics of adult learners that are different from the assumptions about child learners which pedagogy primarily is based on. These six key attributes developed by Knowles and colleagues on andragogy, need to know, self-concept, experiences, readiness to learn, orientation to learning, and motivation to learn, are a framework for understanding adult online learners.

The first assumption Need to know is critical because adults are motivated to “need to know why they should learn something and how it benefits them.” (pg. 13 Stavredes) When creating online learning material, it is imperative to let the adult user know why the information is being shared in order for them to relate it to their life. Adult learners will take the initiative to formulate their own learning goals and needs which bring up the next three assumptions of Self-Concept, Experience, and Readiness to learn.

Adults through their experiences are ready to choose and decide appropriate learning material; online material being one that is most readily available is utilized since it can be absorbed on their time schedule, not on someone else’s timeline. This is the self-concept assumption Knowles makes to online learning, “Adult learners may have difficulty with someone telling them what to do and how to think, which may make them resistant to learning in some situations.” (pg 14 Stavredes) The third assumption of Experience is that adults formulate their needs based on their experiences and “want to use and share what they know to enhance their learning.” (pg 14 Stavredes) Adults like to decide and direct their own process of learning, apply and derive their goals from their own experiences. Adult learners have a desire, a Readiness to learn, different from childhood learning they have deduced that when they have a problem to solve, the solution probably won’t come from osmosis. They will have to go and find it. Since online material via the internet can be accessible anywhere, it is a great source to target and meet the unique needs of adult users.

The final two assumptions by Knowles, Orientation to learning and Motivation to learn are in a way combining some of the previous concepts stated above. As Tina Stavredes stated in Effective Online Teaching Foundations and Strategies for Student Success, “Learners’ orientation to learning can be life-task-, or problem-centered. They want to see how what they are learning will apply to their life, a task they need to perform, or a problem they need to solve.” (pg. 14) In creating online material, the author needs to make sure to accomplish this task of why by tying analogies, experiences, and describing tasks and problems to their online course material.

By now, adults start to look within themselves for happiness and have learned the external motivators such as monetary items might not be the ticket to ride. Instead this motivation to learn might be “Incentives such as increased job satisfaction, self-esteem, and quality of life…” (pg. 14 Stavredes) Since adults are different than children, they have experience, are self-directed and independent to name a few; the online learning environment that is created needs to imbue the six assumptions that Knowles and colleagues made of andragogy.

Reference:

Stavredes, Tina. Effective Online Teaching: Foundations and Strategies for Student Success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2011.