This past week I really started to put some thought towards the ideas of Andragogy and the adult learner. What I am finding interesting is the recent shift in thought that Andragogy is a function or description that is entirely limited to adults. I believe that the thinking behind Androgogy over pedagogy is less related to the age and more related to how a person learns and what past experiences they are coming to the table with. When I think of learning, I have always imagined it as the brain being this large filing cabinet full of files and folders of past experiences. When something appears in our life that seems to be new, our brain first looks for the folder of memories that is the most similar. The new experience either challenges an assumption in that particular “file” or forces us to overwrite the file. If no “file” exists, it forces us to create a new folder in which new experiences will constantly challenge the content.
Some of this learning that takes place might be quite conscious while others is probably just a product of being human. I know it probably sounds too simplistic for a much more complex chain of events but it has always worked to help me understand the learning process and be able to apply new concepts to this understanding. Going back to the notion of self directed learning and Andragogy, I believe that when I personally am engaging in self directed learning, I work best with a frame of reference or a “file” that is already created. What I find is that the less I know on a subject, the more direction I need in terms of formal instruction. I find that self directed learning works the best when past experiences are present and it is much easier to just modify the “file”.
Attached are some pretty interesting articles that talk about challenging the notion of Pedagogy in elementary schools. It might be a good time for change in our process of grouping learners together by “adult” and “child”.
http://jalt.org/pansig/PGL1/HTML/Miyake1.htm
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED417189&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED417189
Some of this learning that takes place might be quite conscious while others is probably just a product of being human. I know it probably sounds too simplistic for a much more complex chain of events but it has always worked to help me understand the learning process and be able to apply new concepts to this understanding. Going back to the notion of self directed learning and Andragogy, I believe that when I personally am engaging in self directed learning, I work best with a frame of reference or a “file” that is already created. What I find is that the less I know on a subject, the more direction I need in terms of formal instruction. I find that self directed learning works the best when past experiences are present and it is much easier to just modify the “file”.
Attached are some pretty interesting articles that talk about challenging the notion of Pedagogy in elementary schools. It might be a good time for change in our process of grouping learners together by “adult” and “child”.
http://jalt.org/pansig/PGL1/HTML/Miyake1.htm
http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED417189&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED417189
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