Adult Learning Theory: Andragogy

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Adult learning theory: Andragogy COLL100 B078 Fall 14 American military university Heidi McNally Adult learning theory: Andragogy According to researcher, an adult learning occurs in different ways and for many reasons. When we talk about adult learning theory, Malcolm Shepherd Knowles is the first person that comes to a lot of people mind. The reason is Malcolm S. Knowles was one of the first that did refer to andragogy as adult education or the art and science of adult learning in the United States. The word Andragogy itself comes from two Greek words aner and agogus which means man and leading (Knowles, 1980). But the idea of Andragogy had been in fitful usage since the 1830s. Alexander Kapp, a German high school was the first to use the term andragogy in 1833. The theory Andragogy had been used in every kind of adult learning around the world today, and it has been proven to be useful in training at organizational areas. Although the andragogy theory was around before learning styles came around. But study has shown that every adult learner have their preferred styles of learning. Adult learners are the age group of 25 and older from different cultural backgrounds that do have diverse responsibilities and job experiences. Adult learning theory: andragogy is very important; it’s very hard at the same time. The reason for that is; because as adult they need to be able to see the relevancy of what they are learning. IMPORTTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF ADULT LEARNER To better understand the adult learning theory, one must understand some of the important characteristics of the adult learners. According to the important characteristics of adult learners, most adult like self-direction meaning they like to take responsibility for their lives and decisions and look at their instructor as a peer. Adult learners are

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