34 THEORIES OF LEARNING
in the field-theoretical approach have appeared under the labels of phenomenological psychology, perceptual psychology, humanistic psy- chology, and cognitive psychology.
REFLECTION Ql!ESTIONS
3.1 Speculate as to why so many learning theories have been cre-ated.
3.2 What is the value of thinking of wholes and parts as they relate to learning?
3.3 What are some of the important points derived from elemen- tal model learning theories?
3.4 What are some of the important points derived from holistic modellearning theories?
CHAPTER 4
A Theory of Adult Learning:
Andragogy
Until fairly recently,there has been relativelylittle thinking, inves- tigating, and writingabout adult learning.This is a curious factcon- sidering that the education of adults has been a concern of the human race for such a long time. Yet,for many years, the adult learner was indeed a neglected species. The lack of researchin this field is especiallysurprising inviewof
the fact that all thegreat teachers of ancient times-Confucius and Lao Tse of China; the Hebrew prophets and Jesus in Biblicaltimes; Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato in ancientGteece; and Cicero,Evelid, and Quintillian in ancient Rome-were teachers of adults, not of children. Because theirexperiences werewith adults, they developed a very different concept of the learning/teaching process fromthe one that later dominated formal education.These notable teachers perceived learning to be a process of mental inquiry, not passive reception of transmitted content. Accordingly,they invented tech- niques for engaging learners in inquiry.The ancient Chineseand Hebrews invented what we now call the case method, in whichthe leader or one of thegroup members describesa situation, ofteninthe form of a parable, and together with thegroup explores its charac- teristics and possibleresolutions. The Greeksinvented what wenow call the Socratic dialogue, in which the leader or a group member poses a question or dilemma and the group members pool their thinking and experienceto seek an answeror solution. The Romans
35
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36 A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
were moreconfronrational: Theyused challenges that forced group members to state positions and then defend them. In the seventhcentury in Europe,schools were organizedfor teach-
ing children,primarily for preparingyoung boys for the priesthood. Hence, theybecame known as cathedral and monastic schools. Since the indoctrination of students in the beliefs, faith, and rituals of the church wasthe principal missionof these teachers, theydeveloped a set of assumptions about learningand strategies for teaching that came to be labeled pedagogy, literallymeaning "the art and science of teachingchildren" (derived from the Greek words paid, meaning "child," andagogus, meaning "leader of"). This modelof education persisted through the ages well intothe twentieth centuryand was the basis of organization for this country's educational system. Shortlyafter the end of WorldWar I, both in the UnitedStates and
in Europe,a growing body of notions about the uniquecharacteris- tics of adult learners began emerging. But only in the past few decades havethese notions evolvedinto an integrated framework of adult learning.It is fascinating to trace this evolutionary process in this country.
Two STREAMS OF INQ1JIRY
Beginningwith the founding oftheAmerican Associationfor Adult Education in 1926 and the provision of substantial funding for research andpublications by theCarnegieCorporation ofNew York, two streamsof inquiry are discernible.One stream canbeclassified as the scientificstream and the otheras the artistic or intuitive/reflective stream. The scienrific stream seeks to discover new knowledge through rigorous (and often experimental) investigation, and was launched byEdward L. Thorndikewith the publication of his Adult Learning in 1928. The title is misleading, however, for Thorndike was not concerned with the processesof adult learningbut rather with learningability. His studiesdemonstrated that adults could, in fact, learn,which was important because it provided a scientific foundation for a field that had previously been basedon the mere faith that adults could learn. Additions to this stream in the next decade includedThorndike's Adult Interests in 1935 and Herbert Sorenson'sAdult Abilities in 1938.By the onset of World War II, then, adulteducators had scientificevidence that adultscould learn
Two STREAMS OF lNQ1JIRY
and that they possessed interests and abilities that were different from those of children. On the other hand, the artistic stream, which seeks to discover
new knowledge through intuition and the analysis of experience, was concerned with how adults learn. This stream of inquirywas launched with the publication of Eduard C. Lindeman's The Meaning of Adult Education in 1926. Strongly influenced by the educational philosophy of John Dewey,Lindeman (1926) laid the foundation for a systematic theory about adult learning with such insightful statements as these:
The approach to adult education willbe via the route of situa- tions, not subjects. Our academic systemhas grown in reverse order: subjects and teachers constitute the starting point, students are secondary. In conventional educationthe student is required to adjust himselfto an established curriculum;in adult education the curriculum is built around the student's needs and interests. Every adult person finds himself in specific situations with respect to his work, his recreation, hisfamily life, his community life, etc.-situations which call for adjustments. Adult education begins at this point. Subject matter is bought into the situation, is put to work, when needed. Texts andteachers playa newand secondary role in this type of education; they must givewayto the primary importance of the learners.(pp. 8-9)
The resource of highest value in adulteducation is the learner's experience. If education is life, then life is also education. Too much of learning consists of vicarioussubstitution of someone else's experience and knowledge. Psychologyis teaching us,how- ever that we learn what we do and that therefore all genuine, , . education will keep doing and thinkingtogether .... Expenence is the adult learner's living textbook. (pp.9-10)
Authoritative teaching, examinations which preclude original thinking, rigid pedagogical formulae-all these have no placem adult education .... Small groups of aspiring adults who desire to keep their minds fresh and vigorous,who begin to learnby confronting pertinent situations, whodigdown into the reservOIrs of their experience before resorting to texts and secondary facts, who are led in the discussion by teacherswho are also searchers
37
A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
afterwisdomand not oracles:thisconstitutes the settingfor adult education,the modern quest for life's meaning. (pp.10-11)
Adult learning theory presents a challenge to static concepts of intelligence, to the standardized limitations of conventional educationand to the theory which restricts educational facili- ties to an intellectual class. Apologists for the status quo in edu- cation frequently assert that thegreat majority of adults are not interestedin learning, are notmotivated in the directionof con- tinuing education; if they possessed these incentives, they would, naturally, take advantage of the numerous free educa- tional opportunities provided by public agencies. This argu- ment begsthe question and misconceives the problem.We shall never know how many adults desire intelligence regarding themselvesand the world in which they live until education oncemoreescapes the patterns of conformity. Adult education is an attempt to discover a newmethod and create a new incen- tive for learning; its implications are qualitative, not quantita- tive. Adult learners are precisely those whose intellectual aspirationsare least likely to be aroused by the rigid, uncom- promising requirements of authoritative, conventionalized institutionsof learning. (pp.27-28)
Adult education is a process through which learners become awareofsignificant experience.Recognition of significanceleads to evaluation.Meanings accompanyexperience whenwe know what is happening and what importance the event includes for our personalities.(p. 169)
Two excerpts from other Lindeman writings elaborate on these ideas:
I am conceivingadult education in terms of a new technique for learning,a techniques as essentialto the collegegraduate as to the unlettered manual worker. It represents a process by which theadult learns to becomeaware of and to evaluate his experience.To do this he cannot begin by studying "subjects" in the hope that some day this information will be useful. On the contrary, he begins by giving attention to situations in whichhefinds himself, to problemswhich include obstacles to
Two STREAMS OF INQl)IRY
his self-fulfillment. Facts and information from the differenti- ated spheres of knowledge are used,not for the purpose of accumulation, but because of needin solving problems. In this process the teacher finds a new function. He is no longerthe oracle who speaksfrom the platform of authority, but rather the guide, the pointer-out who alsoparticipates in learningin proportion to the vitality and relevanceof his facts and expe- riences. In short,my conception of adult education is this: a cooperative venture in nonauthoritarian, informal learning, the chief purposeof which is to discoverthe meaning of expe- rience; a questof the mind which digsdown to the roots of the preconceptions which formulate our conduct; a technique of learning for adults which makes education coterminous with life and hence elevates living itself to the level of adventurous experiment. (Gessner,1956, p. 160)
One of the chiefdistinctions betweenconventional and adult education is to be found in the learning process itself. None but the humble become good teachersof adults. In an adult class the student's experience counts for as much as the teacher's knowledge.Both are exchangeableat par. Indeed,in some of the bestadult classes it is sometimes difficult to dis- cover who is learning most, the teacher or the students. This two-way learningis also reflected byshared authority. Incon- ventional education the pupils adapt themselves to the cur- riculum offered, but in adult education the pupils aid in form ula ting the curricula. . . . Underdemocratic conditions authority is of the group. This is not an easy lesson to learn, but until it is learned democracy cannot succeed. (Gessner, 1956, p. 166)
These excerpts from the pioneering theorist are sufficient to por- tray a new way of thinking about adult learning, yet it is important to note that Lindeman(1926) also identifiedseveral key assumptions about adult learners.His assumptions, summarized in Table4-1, have been supported by later research andconstitute the foundation of adult learning theory:
1. Adults are motivated to learn as they experience needsand interests that learning will satisfy; therefore, these are the
39
40 A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDR..AGOGY
appropriate starting points for organizing adult learning activ- ities.
2. Adults' orientation to learning is life-centered; therefore, the appropriate units for organizing adult learning are life situa- tions, not subjects.
3. Experience is the richest resource for adults' learning; there- fore,the core methodology of adult education isthe analysis of experience,
4. Adultshave a deep need to be self-directing; therefore, the role of the teacher is to engagein a process of mutualinquiry with themrather than to transmit his or her knowledge to them and then evaluate their conformity to it.
S. Individual differences amongpeople increase with age; there- fore, adult education mustmake optimal provision for differ- encesin style, time, place,and pace of learning.
It is interesting to note that Lindeman did not dichotomize adult versus youth education, bur rather adult versus "conventional" education. The implication here is that youths mightlearn better, too, when their needs and interests, life situations, experiences, self-concepts, and individual differences are taken into account. The artistic stream of inquiry that Lindeman launched in 1926 flowed on through the pages ofthe Journal of Adult Education, the quarterly publication of the American Association for Adult Education, which, between February 1929 and October 1941, pro- vided themost distinguished bodyof literature yet produced in the field of adult education. The following excerpts from its articles reveal the growing collection of insights about adult learning gleaned from the experience of successful practitioners.
Table4-1 Summaryof Lindeman'sKeyAssumptionsAbout AdultLearners
1. Adults are motivated to learn as they experience needs and interests that learuingwillsatisfy.
2. Adults' orientation to learning is life-centered. 3. Experience is the richest Source for adult's learning. 4. Adultshavea deep need to beself-directing. 5. Individualdifferencesamongpeopleincrease with age.
Two STREAMS OF INQ1JIRY 41
By Lawrence P.Jacks, principal ofManchester College, Oxford, England:
Earning and livingare not two separatedepartments or opera- tions in life. They are two names for a continuous process looked at fromopposite ends .... A type of education based on this vision of continuity is, obviously,the outstanding need of our times. Its outlook will be lifelong.It will look uponthe industry of civilization as the great "continuation school" for intelligence andfor character, and itsobject will be, not merely to fit men andwomen for the specializedvocations theyareto follow, but also to animate the vocations themselves with ideals of excellenceappropriate to each.At the risk of seeming fantastic I will venture to say that the final objective of the New Education is the gradual transformation of the industry of the world into the university of theworld; in other words, the gradual bringing about of a state of things in which "breadwinning" and "soulsaving" instead of being, as now, disconnected and often opposed operations, shall becomea single and continuous operation. Uournal of Adult Education, 1,1, February 1929, pp. 7-10)
By Robert D. Leigh,president of BenningtonCollege:
At the other endof the traditional academicladder the adultedu- cational movementis forcing recognitionof the value and impor- tance of continuing the learning processindefinitely .... But among the far-seeingleaders of the movement in the United States it is recognizednot so much asa substitute for inadequate schooling in youthas an educational opportunity superior tothat offered in youth-superior because the learner is motivatednot by the artificial incentives of academicorganization, but bythe honest desire to know and to enrichhisexperience, and because the learner bringsto his study relevantdaily experience, andcon- sequently the newknowledge takes rootfirmly, strikes deep,and feeds on what theday's life brings it.
There is gradually emerging, therefore,a conception of educa- tion as a lifelongprocess beginning at birth and ending only
42 A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
with death, a process related at all points to the life experiences of the individual, a process full of meaning and reality to the learner, a process in which the student is active participant rather than passive recipient. Uournal of Adult Education, II, 2, April 1930, p. 123)
By David L. Mackaye, director of the Department of Adult Education, SanJose, California, public schools:
A person is a good educator among adults when he has a defi- nite conviction about life and when he can present intelligent arguments on behalf of it; but primarily he does not qualify as an adult educator at all until he can exist in a group that col- lectively disputes, denies, or ridicules his conviction, and con- tinues to adore him because he rejoices in them. That is tolerance, an exemplification of Proudhon's contention that to respect a man is a higher intellectual feat than to love him as one's self.... There is positive evidence that no adult education system will ever make a success of collegiate methods of instruction to adults in the cultural fields. Something new in the way of content and method must be produced as soon as pos- sible for adult education, and probable it will have to grow up in the field. No teacher-training-college hen can lay an adult education egg. Uournal of Adult Education, III, 3, June 1931, pp. 293-294)
By Maria Rogers, volunteer worker, New York City Adult Education Council:
One typeof adult education meritsparticular consideration and wider useby educators seeking newmethods. Though meagerly pu blicized,it has proved effectivein numerous instances. It has undertaken a far more difficult task than that assumed by the institutions for adult education which confine their concept of method to the sequence of procedure established for adults who enter classrooms to learn something already set up to be learned. Its prime objective is to make the group lifeof adults yield educational value to the participants .... The educator who uses the group method of education takes ordinary, gregarious human beingsfor what they are, searches out thegroups in which they moveand have their being,and then
Two STREAMS OF INQlJIRY
helps them to make their group lifeyield educational values. Uournal of Adult Education, X, October1938, pp. 409-411)
By Ruth Merton, director of the Education Department, Milwaukee Y.W.C.A.:
In a day school,where the students are usually childrenor young adolescents, a learned teacher-ignorant pupil relation- ship is almost inevitable, and frequentlyit has its advantages. But in a night schoolthe situation isentirelydifferent. Here,so far as the class is concerned, the teacheris an authority upon one subject only,and each of the studentshas, in his ownpar- ticular field, someskill or knowledge that the teacher doesnot possess. For thisreason, there is a spiritof give and takein a night-school class that induces a feeling of comradeship in learning, stimulating to teacher and students alike. And the quickest way to achievethis desirablestate is through laughter in which all canjoin.
And so I say againthat, if we are reallywise, we teachersin night schools will,despite taxes or indigestion, teach merrily! Uournal of Adult Education, XI, April1939, p. 178) By Ben M. Cherrington, chief of the Division of Cultural
Relations, United StatesDepartment ofState:
Authoritarian adult education is markedthroughout by regi- mentation demandingobedient conformityto patterns of con- duct handed downfrom authority. Behavioris expected to be predictable, standardized. . . . Democratic adult education employs the methodof self-directing activity,with free choiceof subject matter and free choice in determining outcomes. Spontaneity iswelcome.Behavior cannotwith certainty bepre- dicted and therefore is not standardized. Individual, critical thinking is perhaps the best description of the democratic method and it isherethat the gulf iswidestbetween democracy and the authoritarian system. Uournal of Adult Education, XI, 3, June 1939, pp.244-245)
By Wendell Thomas, author of Democratic Philosophy and a teacher of adult educationteachers inNewYork City:
43
44 A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
On the whole, adult education is as different from ordinary schoolingas adult life, with its individual and social responsi- bilities,is different from the protected life of thechild.... The adultnormally differs from the child in having both more indi- vidualityand more social purpose.
Adult education, accordingly, makes special allowance for individual contributions from the students, and seeks to organize these contributions into some form of social pur- pose. Uournal of Adult Education, XI, 4, October,1939, pp. 365-366)
ByHarold Fields, acting assistant director of Evening Schools, Board ofEducation, New YorkCity:
Not only the content of the courses, but the method of teach- ing alsomust be changed. Lectures must be replaced by class exercisesin which there is a large share of student participa- tion. "Let the class do the work" should be adopted as a motto.There must be ample opportunity for forums, discus- sions,debates. Newspapers, circulars, and magazinesas well as textbooksshould be used forpractice in reading. Extracurricular activitiesshould become a recognized part of the educational process.... There are someof the elements that must be incor- poratedin a program of adult education for citizensif it is to besuccessful.Uournal of Adult Education, XII,January 1940, pp.44-45)
By1940,most of the elementsrequired for a comprehensive the- ory ofadult learning had beendiscovered, but theyhad not yet been broughttogether into a unifiedframework; they remainedas isolated insights,concepts, and principles.During the 1940s and 1950s, these elementswere clarified, elaborated on, and added to in a veritable explosionof knowledge from the various disciplinesin the human sciences.(It is interesting to notethat during this periodthere was a gradualshift in emphasis in researchaway from thehighly quantita- tive, fragmentary,experimental research of the 1930sand 1940s to more holisticlongitudinal casestudies with a higheryield of useful knowledge.)
CONTRIBUTIONS FRDM THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 45
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Clinical Psychology
Some of the mostimportant contributions to learning theoryhave come from the disciplineof psychotherapy. After all, psychothera- pists are primarily concerned with reeducation,and their subjectsare overwhelmingly adults. (See Table 4-2for summary.) Sigmund Freudhas influenced psychologicalthinking morethan
any other individual,but he did not formulatea theory of learningas such. His major contribution was no doubt in identifying the influ- ence of the subconsciousmind on behavior.Some of his concepts, such as anxiety, repression fixation, regression, aggression, defense mechanism, projection,and transference (in blocking or motivating learning), have hadto be considered bylearning theorists. Freudwas close to the behavioristsin his emphasison the animalistic nature of humans, but he sawthe human beingasadynamic animal thatgrows and develops throughthe interaction ofbiological forces, goals,pur- poses, conscious and unconscious drives,and environmental influ- ences. This is a conceptmore in keepingwith the organismic model. Carl Jung advanceda more holistic concept of human conscious-
ness, introducing the notion that it possessesfour functions or four ways to extract information from experienceto achieve internalized understanding: sensation, thought, emotion,and intuition. Hisplea for the development and use of all fourfunctions in balance laid the groundwork for the concepts of the balanced personality and the balanced curriculum. Erik Erikson provided the "eight ages of man," the last three
occurring during theadult years, as a framework for understanding the stages of personalitydevelopment:
1. Oral-sensory, in which the basic issueis trust vs. mistrust. 2. Muscular-anal, in which the basicissue is autonomy vs.shame. 3. Locomotion-genital, in which the basic issue is initiativevs. guilt.
4. Latency, in whichthe basic issueisindustry vs. inferiority.
b
'I
5
46 A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
Table 4-2 Major Contributions of Clinical Psychologists
Sigmund Freud Identified influence of subconscious mind on behavior
Carl lung Introduced notion that human consciousness pos- sesses four functions: sensation, thought, emotion, and intuition
Erik Erikson Provided "Eight Ages of Man": Oral-sensory, mus- cular-anal, locomotion-genital, latency,puberty and adolescene, young adulthood, adulthood, and final stage
Abraham Maslow Emphasized the role of safety Carl Rogers Conceptualized a student-centered approach to
education based on five "basic hypotheses": 1. We cannot teach another person directly, we can
only facilitate his learning 2. A person learns significantly only those things
which he perceives as being involved in the maintenance of, or enhancement of, the structure of self
3. Experience which, if assimilated would involve a change in the organization of self,tends to be resisted through denial or distortion of symbol- ization
4. The structure and organization of self appear to become more rigid under threat and to relax its boundaries when completely free from threat. Experience which is perceived as inconsistent with the selfcan only be assimilated if the cur- rent organization of self is relaxed and expanded to include it
5. The educational situatiou which most effectively promotes significant learning is one in which (a) threat to the self of the learner is reduced to a minimum, and (b) differentiated perception of the field is facilitated.
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
5. Puberty and adolescence, in whichthe basic issue is identityvs. role confusion.
6. Young adulthood, in which the basic issue is intimacy vs. iso- lation.
7. Adulthood, inwhich the basic issueisgenerativity vs. stagnation. 8. The final stage, in which the basicissue is integrity vs.despair.
In fact, the centralrole of self-concept in human development (and learning) received increasing reinforcement from the entire field of psychiatry as it moved away from themedical model toward anedu- cational model in its research and practice. (See especially theworks of Erich Fromm and Karen Horney.) But it is the clinical psychologists, especially those who identify
themselves as humanistic, who have concerned themselves most deeply with problems of learning. The humanistic psychologists speak of themselves as "third-force psychologists." In Goble's(1971) words, "By 1954 when Maslow publishedhis book Motivation and Personality, there were two major theoriesdominant" in thebehav- ioral sciences, Freudianism and behaviorism, in which "Freudplaced the major motivational emphasis on deep inner drives (and)urges and the behaviorists placed the emphasison external, environmental influences." But "like Freud and like Darwin before him, thebehav- iorists saw man asmerely another typeof animal, with no essential differences from animals and with the same destructive, anti-social tendencies" (pp. 3-8). Third-force psychologists are concernedwith the study and development of fully functioning persons (to use Rogers's term) or self-actualizing persons (to use Maslow's term). They are critical of the aromistic approach common in physicalsci- ence and among the behaviorists, breaking things down into their component parts and studying them separately. Most behavioral scientists have attempted ro isolate independent
drives, urges, and instincts and study themseparately. Maslowfound this to be generally lessproductive than theholistic approach thatholds that the whole ismore than the sum of theparts (Goble, 1971,p. 22). Growth takes placewhen the next stepforward is subjectivelymore
delightful, more joyous,more intrinsicallysatisfying than theprevious gratification with which we have becomefamiliar and even bored;the only way we can everknow that it is rightfor us is that it feelsbetter
47
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-------- 48 A THEORY OF ADULT lEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
subjectively than any alternative. The new experience validates itself rather than by any outside criterion (Maslow, 1972, p. 43).
Maslow (1972) placed special emphasis on the role of safety, which the following formulation of the elements In the growth process illustrates:
1. The healthily SpOntaneous [person], in his spontaneity, from within out, reaches out to the environment in wonder and interest, and expresses whatever skills he has.
2. He does this to the extent that he is not crippled by fear and to the extent that he feels safe enough to dare.
3. In this process, that which gives him the delight-experience is fortuitously encountered, or is offered to him by helpers.
4. He must be safe and self-accepting enough to be able to choose and prefer these delights, instead of being frightened by them.
5. If he can choose these experiences, which are validated by the experience of delight, then he can return to the experience, repeatit, savor it to the point of repletion, satiation, or boredom.
6. At this point, he shows the tendency to go on to richer, more complex experiences and accomplishments in the same sector (if hefeels safe enough to dare).
7. Such experiences not only mean moving on, but have a feed- back effect on the Self, in the feeling of certainty ("This I like; that Idon't for sure"), of capability, mastery, self-trust, self-esteem.
S. In thisnever ending series of choices of which life consists, the chOICemay generally be schematized as between safety (or, more broadly, defensiveness) and growth and since only that [person]doesn't need safety who already has it we may expect the growth choice t b d b h ' .. d [i di . 0 e rna e y t e safety-need gratifie m 1-Vidual].
9. In order to beabl t h . d d I· e 0 c oos- 10 aCCord with his Ownnature anto eveop It the [indi id I] h b'" lVI ua mUst be permitted to retain t e
ShUJectlVeexperiences of delightand boredom as the criteria oft e COnectchOICe for h' Th I .' . the hoi . im. e a ternat!ve criterion is makingc oice III terms of th . h f If . lost wh hi h e WIS 0 another person. The Se ISen t IS appens Al hi . " h
. so t IS Constitutes restnctmg t e
;1;' >
~ , --
CONTR.lBUTlONS FROM THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
choice to safety alone, since the [individual] will give up trust in his own delight criterion out of fear (of losing protection, love, etc.).
10. If the choice is really a free one, and if the [individual] is not crippled, then we may expect him ordinarily to choose pro- gression forward.
11. The evidence indicates that what delights the healthy [person], what tastes good to him, is also, more frequently than not, "best" for him in terms of fair goals as perceivable by the spectator.
12. In this process the environment [parents, teachers, therapists] is important in various ways, eventhough the ultimate choice must be made by the individual. a. It can gratifyhis basic needs for safety, belongingness, love
and respect, so that he can feelunthreatened, autonomous, interested and spontaneous and thus dare to choose the unknown;
b. It can help by making the growth choice positively attrac- tive and less dangerous, and bymaking regressive choices less attractive and more costly.
13. In this way the psychology of Being and the psychology of Becoming can be reconciled, and the [person], simply being himself, can yet move forward and grow. (pp. 50-51)
Carl R.Rogers, starting with the viewpoint that "in a generalway, therapy is a learning process" (1951, p. 132), developed 19 proposi- tions for a theory of personality and behavior that evolved from the study of adults in therapy (pp. 483-524) and then sought to apply them to education. This process led him to conceptualize student- centered teaching asparallel to client-centered therapy (pp. 388-391) . . Rogers's student-centered approach to education was based on f,ve "basic hypotheses," the first of which was: We cannot teach another person directly; we can only facilitate his learning. This hypothesis stems from the propositions in Rogers's personality the- ory that "every individual exists in a continually changing world of experience of which he is the center" and "the organism reacts to thei1e1das it is experienced and perceived." It requires a shift in focus rom What the teacher does to what is happening in the student.
49
so A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
His second hypothesis was: A person learns significantly only those things that he perceives as being involved in the maintenance of, or enhancement of, the structure of self. This hypothesis under- lines the importance of making the learning relevant to the learner, and puts into question the academic tradition of required courses.
Rogers grouped his third and fourth hypotheses together: Experience that, if assimilated, would involve a changein the organi- zation of self, tends to be resisted through denial or distortion of sym- bolization, and the structure and organization of self appear to become more rigid under threats and to relax its boundaries when completely free from threat. Experience that is perceived as inconsis- tent with the self can only be assimilated if the current organization of self is relaxed and expanded to include it. These hypotheses acknowl- edge the reality that significant learning is often threatening to an indi- vidual, and suggest the importance of providing an acceptant and supportive climate, with heavy reliance on student responsibility.
Rogers's fifth hypothesis extends the third and fourth to educa- tional practice. The educational situation that most effectively pro- motes significant learning is one in which (1) threat to the self of the learner is reduced to a minimum and (2) differentiated perception of the field is facilitated. He points out that the two parts of this hypothesis are almost synonymous, since differentiated perception is most likely when the self is not being threatened. Rogers defined undifferentiated perception as an individual's "tendency to see expe- rience in absolute and unconditional terms, to anchor his reactions in space and time, to confuse fact and evaluation, to rely on ideas rather than upon reality testing," in contrast to differentiated per- ception as the tendency "to see things in limited, differentiated terms, to be aware of the space-time anchorage of facts, to be dom- inated by facts, not concepts, to evaluate in multiple ways, to be aware of different levels of abstraction, to test his inferences and abstractions by reality, in so far as possible" (p. 1441).
Rogers sees learning as a completely internal process controlled by the learner and engaging his whole being in interaction with his envi- ronment as he perceives it. But he also believes that learning is as nat- ural-and as required-a life process as breathing. His Proposition IV states: The organism has onebasic tendency and striving-to actu- alize, maintain, and enhance theexperiencing organism (p, 497). This central premise is summarized in the following statement:
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 51
Clinically, 1 find it to be true that though an individual may remain dependent because he has alwaysbeen so, or may drift into dependence without realizing whathe is doing, or maytem- porarily wish to bedependent becausehis situation appears des- perate. 1 have yetto find the individualwho, when he examines his situation deeply,and feels that heperceivesit dearly, deliber- ately choose dependence,deliberately chooses to have the inte- grated direction ofhimself undertaken by another. When all the elements are clearlyperceived, the balanceseems invariably in the direction ofthepainful but ultimatelyrewarding path ofself- actualization andgrowth. (p. 490)
Both Maslow and Rogers acknowledge their affinity with the works of Gordon Allport (1955, 1960,1961) in defining growthnot as a process of "beingshaped," but as a process of becoming.The essence of their conceptionof learning iscaptured in this briefstate- ment by Rogers (1961):"1 should like to point out one final charac- teristic of these individuals as they striveto discover and become themselves. It is thatthe individual seemsto become more contentto be a process rather than a product" (p. 122).
Developmental Psychology
The discipline of developmental psychology has contributed a growing body of knowledge about changeswith age through thelife span in such characteristics as physical capabilities, mental abilities, interests, attitudes, values, creativity, and life styles. Presseyand Kuhlen (1957) pioneered in the collectionof research findingson human development and laid the foundation for a new fieldof spe- cialization in psychology-life-span developmental psychology- which has been builton by such contemporary scholars as Bischof (1969) and Goulet and Baltes (1970). Havighurst (1972) identified the developmental tasks associated withdifferent stages of growth that give rise to a person's readiness to learn different things at dif- ferent times and create "teachable moments." Sheehy (1974) pro- vided a popular portrayal of the "PredictableCrises of Adult Life" and Knox (1977) provided a more scholarlysummary of research findings on adult development and learning.(See also Stevens-Long, 1979; Stokes, 1983.)Closely related to thisdiscipline is gerontology, which has produced a large volume of research findings regarding
52 A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
the agingprocess in the later years(Birren, 1964; Botwinick,1967; Donahue andTibbitts, 1957; Grabowski and Mason, 1974; Granick and Patterson, 1971; Gubrium, 1976; Kastenbaum, 1964, 1965; Neugarten, 1964, 1968; Woodruff and Birren, 1975) andtheir impli- cations for learning and teaching (Burnside, 1978; Hendrickson, 1973; John,1987; Long, 1972).
Sociology and Social Psychology
The disciplinesof sociology and social psychology have con- tributed a great deal of new knowledge about the behavior of groups andlarger social systems, including the forces that facilitate or inhibit learning and change (Argyris, 1964; Bennis, 1966; Bennis, Benne,and Chin, 1968; Bennis and Slater, 1968; Etzioni, 1961, 1969;Hare, 1969; Knowles and Knowles, 1972; Lewin, 1951; Lippitt,1969; Schein and Bennis, 1965; Schlossberg,Lynch, and Chickering, 1989; Zander, 1982) and about environmental influences, such as culture, race, population characteristics, and density, on learning.
Philosophy
Philosophicalissues have beenprominent in the literature of the adult education movement in this COuntry since its beginning. Eduard Lindeman laid the foundation of this theme in his The Meaning of Adult Education in 1926 (see also Gessner, 1956) and it was reinforcedby Lyman Brysonin his Adult Education in 1936 and The Next America in 1952. But many of the articles in the periodicals of the American Association for Adult Education between 1926and 1948 were alsophilosophical treatises,with the aims and purposes of adult educationas a social movement as the predominant issue. The underlying premise of the argument was that achievinga unified and potent adult education movement required a common goal among all programs in all institutions- one side holdingthat this goal shouldbe the improvement of indi- viduals, and the other holding that it should be the improvement of society. Two attempts were made in the mid-fifties, under the sponsorship of the Fund for Adult Education of the Ford Foundation, to Sway argument in favor of the latter position with
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
the publication of Hartley Grattan's In Quest of Knowledge (1955) and John Walker Powell's Learning Comes of Age (1956). However, this issueand arguments overother issues continuedto embroil the field.
Professional philosopher,Kenneth Benne,president of the newly formed Adult EducationAssociation of theUSA in 1956, dedicated his efforts to bringingsome order to thepolemics. One of hisfirst acts as president wasto convene a nationalconference on thetopic of "Philosophy of Adult Education," in North Andover, Massachusetts, in which 13 philosophers and adult educators from across the country spentthree days addressingthese issues:
• What is the purpose of adult education-adult education for what?
• What is the relationship between content and method in instruction?
• Should individual interests and desiresprescribe the curriculaof adult education, or should the needsofsociety playa determin- ing role in the creation of educational programs?
• What implications do different theoriesof knowledge, or ofthe nature of man andsociety, have for theplanning and operation of adult educationprograms?
The 1956 conferencedid not resolve theseissues, but it produced three positive results:
1. It uncovered sometool concepts that would prove usefulin working through the strife of tonguesand the maze of special interests and moved the emphasis toward areas of genuine agreement and disagreement.
2. It revealed the importance of philosophizingas a necessaryand continuing ingredient of all policy formulation and program determination.
3. It furnished an example of the pains and tribulations thatm~n from many disciplinesand from manyspecialvantage points III adult education encounter as they venture seriously and thoughtfully to seek common ground in their chosen field. (Sillars, 1958, p. 5)
53
54 A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
Clearly,the conference stimulated continuing discussion of the philosophical issues in adult education, as evidencedby numerous articlesinthe periodicallitetatute and in at least fourmajor books by authors Benne (1968); Bergevin(1967); Darkenwald and Merriam (1982);andElias and Merriam (1980). It probably alsoinfluenced the publicationof one book on philosophy for adult learners (Buford, 1980) and one book on the use of philosophical approaches to the improvementof practice in continuing education (Apps,1985).
CONTRIBUTIONS FIWM ADULT EDUCATION
Mostscholars in the field of adult education itselfhave addressed the problemof learning by tryingto adapt theories about child learn- ing to the"differences in degree"among adults (fat example, Bruner, 1959;Kempfer,1955; Kidd, 1959;Verner and Booth,1964). For the most part,Howard McClusky followed this line, but began to map out ditectionsfor the development of a "differential psychology of the adult potential" in which the concepts of margin (the power availableto a person over and beyond that required to handle his or her load),commitment, time perception, critical periods, and self- conceptare central.
CyrilO. Houle began a lineof investigations in the 1950s at the Universityof Chicago that hasbeen extended by AllenTough at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education that has yielded better understandingabout the processof adult learning. Their approach was a studythrough in-depth interviews of a small sample of adults who wereidentified as continuinglearners. Houle'sstudy of 22 subjectswas designed to discover primarily
why adults engage in continuing education, but it also helped explainhow they learn. Throughan involved processof the analy- sis of the characteristics uncovered in the interviews, he found that his subjects could be fitted into three categories. As Houle (1961)points out, "These are not pure types; the best way to rep- resent them pictorially would be by three circles which overlap at their edges.But the central emphasis of 'each subgroup is clearly discernible" (p. 16). The criterion for classifying the individuals into subgroupswas the major conception they heldabout the pur- poses and values of continuing education for themselves. The three typesare:
CONTR.IBUTIONS FROM ADULT EDUCATION 55
1. The goal-oriented learners use education for accomplishing fairly clear-cut objectives. These individuals usually did not make any real start on their continuing education until their middle twentiesand after-sometimes much later. The continuingeducation of goal-orientedlearners occursin
episodes, eachofwhich begins withthe realization of a needor the identification of an interest. Thereis no even, steady,con- tinuous flow to the learning of suchpeople, though it is an ever-recurring characteristic of theirlives. Nor do they restrict their activities to anyone institution or method of learning. The need or interest appears and they satisfy it by taking a course, joininga group, reading a book, or going on a trip (Houle, 1961,p. 181).
2. The activity-oriented learners takepart because they findin the circumstances of the learning a meaningthat has no necessary connection-and often no connectionat all-with the content or the announcedpurpose of the activity.These individualsalso begin their sustained participation in adult education at the point when their problems or theirneeds become sufficiently pressmg. All of the activity-oriented peopleinterviewed in this study
were course-takers and group-joiners. They might staywithin a single institution or they might go to a number of different places, but it was social contact that they sought and their selection of anyactivity was essentiallybased on the amount and kind of human relationships it would yield (Houle, 1961, pp.23-24).
3. The learning-oriented learners seekknowledge for its own sake. Unlike theother types, most learning-oriented adultshave been engrossedin learning as longasthey can remember. What they do has a continuity, a flow anda spread that establishes the basic natureof their participation in continuing education. For the most part, they are avid readers and have beensince childhood; theyjoin groups and classesand organizations for educational reasons;they select theserious programs ontelevi- sion and radio; they make a production out of travel, being sure to prepare adequately to appreciate what they see;and they choose jobsand make other decisionsin life in termsofthe potential for growth that they offer(Houle, 1961, pp. 24-25).
A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
AllenTough's investigation was concerned not only with what and whyadults learn, but how they learn and what help they obtain for learning.Tough (1979) found that adult learning is a highly perva- siveactivity:
Almosteveryone undertakes at least one or two major learning effortsa year, and some individuals undertake as many as 15 or 20.... It is common for aman or woman to spend 700 hours a yearat learning projects.... About 70 percent of all learning projectsare planned by the learner himself, who seeks help and subjectmatter from a variety of acquaintances, experts, and printedresources. (p. 1)
Tough(1979) found that his subjects organized their learning effortsaround "projects ... defined as a series of related episodes, addingup to at least sevenhours. In each episode more than half of theperson'stotal motivation is to gain and retain certain fairly clear knowledgeand skill, or to produce some other lasting change in him- self" (p. 6).
Hefound that in some projectsthe episodes may be related to the teslredknowledge and skill.For example, the learner may want to earnmore about India. In oneepisode he or she reads about the peo- pleofIndia; In another episodethe learner discusses the current eco- nomicand political situationwith an Indian graduate student; in a third,he or she watches a televisionprogram describing the life of an ~dlanchild. The episodescanalso be related by the use to which the . owledgeand skill will beput.For instance one person might engage In a proJe t '. , .
. c conslstmg of a numberof learning experiences to Improve pabrentmgskills; another projectmight consist of episodes aimed at o tamingthe knowl d d ki . di be ge an s Ills necessary for bui! ing a oat. b Toughlwas interested in determining what motivated adults toegma earnmg proj d hi biti . d rOJect,an overwhelmingly found that IS su jeersan lClpate sever I d . d f h efits . di a esire Outcomesand benefits. Some 0 t e ben-areImme late' t" f . . enjoyin .r::: sa IS YInga curiosity, enjoying the content Itself, othetsa
g prlactlcmg the skill,delighting in the activity of learning; re Oug-run' pr d . '.. kidskillto oth d . 0 UCIngsomethmg impartmg now e ge orers, un erstand' h . ' . f .ation.Clea I I IngW at Will happen In some uture situ-r y, p easure and If ., I I .rnotivationof T h' . se -esteem were cnnca e ements In theoug s subjects.
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ADULT EDUCATION 57
Tough concluded that adult learners proceed through several phases in the processof engaging in a learning project, and specu- lated that helpingrhem gain increased competence in dealingwith each phase might be one of the most effective ways of improving their learning effectiveness. The first phase is deciding to begin.Tough identified 26 possible
steps the learner might take during thisphase, including settingan action goal, assessinginterests, seekinginformation regardingcer- tain opportunities, choosing the most appropriate knowledgeand skill, establishing a desired level or amount, and estimating the cost and benefits. The second phase is choosing the planner, which may be the
learner, an object (e.g., programmed text, workbook, tape record- ing), an individual learning consultant (e.g., instructor, counselor, resource person), or a group. Competencein choosing a plannerand proactively usingthe planner in a collaborativerather than depend- ent manner were found to be crucial in this phase. Finally, the learnerengages in learningepisodes sketched outin the
planning process. The critical elementshere are the variety andrich- ness of the resources,their availability, and the learner's skillinmak- ing use of them. Tough (1979) emergedfrom his studywith this challengingvision
regarding future possibilities in adult learning:
The last 20 yearshave produced someimportant new additions to the content of adult learning projects.Through group and individual rnethods,many adults nowset out to increase their self-insight, their awareness and sensitivitywith other persons and their interpersonal competence. They learn to "listento themselves," to free their bodies and their conversations from certain restrictionsand tensions, to take a risk, to be openand congruent. Attemptingto learn this sort of knowledge andskill seemed incredibleto most people 20yearsago. Great changesin our conception of what people can and should set out to learn have been createdby Tgroups, the humanpotential movement, humanistic psychology,and transpersonalpsychology. Perhaps the next20 years will produceseveral important addi- tions to what wetry to learn. In 1990,when people look backto
A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
ourconception of what adultscan learn, will theybe amused by hownarrow it is? (pp. 43-44)
Tough'sprediction in the final paragraph has been borne out. Sincehemade it, a rising volumeof research on adult learning has been reported. Most of this research builds on, reinforces, and refines the research of Tough's "last 20 years," especiallyin regard to the developmental stages of the adult years. Predictions are that the majornew discoveries in the next decade will be related to the physiologyand chemistry of learning, with special implications for the acceleration of learning and the efficiency of information processing.
THE ROOTS OF ANDRAGOGY: AN INTEGRATIVE CONCEPT
Attempts to bring the isolated concepts, insights, and research findingsregarding adult learningtogether into an integrated frame- work began as early as 1949, with the publication of Harry Overstreet'sThe Mature Mind. Other related publications followed, includingInformal Adult Education (Knowles, 1950), An Overview of Adult Education Research (Bruner, 1959), How Adults Learn (Kidd, 1973), ].R. Gibb's chaptertitled "Learning Theory in Adult Education" in the Handbook of Adult Education in the United States in 1960, and Teaching and Learning in Adult Education (Miller,1964). However, theseturned out to be moredescriptive list- ings of concepts and principlesthan comprehensive, coherent, and integratedtheoretical frameworks.What was neededwas an inte- grativeand differentiating concept.
Sucha concept had been evolvingin Europe for some time-the conceptof an integrated frameworkof adult learningfor which the label andragogy had been coinedto differentiate it from the theory of youthlearning called pedagogy.Dusan Savicevic,a Yugoslavian adult educator, first introduced the concept and label into the American culture in 1967, and Knowles wrote the article, "Androgogy,Not Pedagogy," in Adult Leadership in April 1968. (Notethemisspelling, whichwasultimately correctedthrough COr- respondencewith the publishersof Merriam-Webster dictionaries.) Sincethis label has now becomewidely adopted in the literature, it maybeworthwhile to trace thehistory of its use.
•
THE ROOTS OF ANDRAGOGY: AN INTEGRATIVE CONCEPT 59
A Dutch adult educator, Ger van Enckevort,has made anexhaus- tive study of the originsand use of the term andragogy. Asummary of his findings follows: The term (andragogik) was first coined,so far as he could discover, by a German grammar school teacher, Alexander Kapp, in 1833. Kapp used theword in a descriptionof the educational theory of the Greek philosopher Plato, although Plato never used the term himself. A few years later the better- known German philosopher Johan FriedrichHerbart acknowledged the term by stronglyopposing its use.VanEnckevort observesthat "the great philosopher had more influencethan the simple teacher, and so the word was forgotten and disappeared for nearly a hun- dred years." Van Enckevort found the term used againin 1921 by theGerman
social scientist EugenRosenstock, who taught at the Academyof Labor in Frankfort. In a report to the Academy in 1921 he expressed the opinionthat adult education required specialteach- ers, special methods,and a special philosophy."It is not enoughto translate the insightsof education theory [or pedagogy] to the sit- uation of adults ... the teachers should beprofessionals whocould cooperate with the pupils; only such a teacher can be, in contrast to a 'pedagogue,' an 'andragogue.''' Incidentally, Rosenstock believed that he invented the term until 1962, when he was informed of its earlier use by Kapp and Herbart. Van Enckevort reports that Rosenstock used the term on a number of occasions, and that it was pickedup by some of hiscolleagues, but that it did not receive generalrecognition. The Dutch scholarnext finds the termused by a Swiss psychiatrist,
Heinrich Hanselmann, in a book published in 1951, Andragogy: Nature, Possibilities and Boundaries of Adult Education, whichdealt with the nonmedical treatment or reeducation of adults. Only six years later, in 1957,a German reacher,Franz Poggeler, publisheda book entitled Introduction to Andragogy: Basic Issues in Adult Education. About thistime, other Europeansbegan using theterm.In 1956, M. Ogrizovicpublished a dissertationin Yugoslavia on "peno- logical andragogy," and in 1959 a book entitled Problems of Andragogy. Soon, other leading Yugoslavian adult educators,
"Cer van Enckevort, "Andragology:A New Science,"Nederlands Centrum Voor Volksontwikkeling, Amersfoort,The Netherlands, April 1971 (mimeographed}.
--
�r--- _
60 A THEORY Of ADULT LfARNIN ANORADOCY
including Samolovcev, Filipovi , and evi ,began peaking and writing about andragogy, and faculne of andragogy offering doctorates in adult education were e tabli hed at the universities of Zagreb and Belgrade in Yugoslavia and at the universitie of Budapest and Debrecen in Hungary.
In theNetherlands, Professor T. T. ten Have began to use the term andragogy in his lectures in 1954. In 19 9 he published the outline for a science of andragogy. in e 1 66 the University 0/ Amsterdam has had a dOctorate f r andrag gue , and in 1970 a department of pedagogical and andrag gi al ciences was estab- hshed in the faculty of social science, urrenr Dutch literature dis- tinguishes between andragogy, and rag gics, and andragology. Andragogy is any intentional and pr f ionally guided activity that alms at a change in adult person ; andragogics is the back. ground of methodological and ideological y terns that govern the actual process of andragogy; and andrag logy i the scientific study of both andragogy and andragogics.
During the past decade, andragogy has increa ingly been used by adult educators in France (Bertrand chwartz) England (J. A. SImpSon),Venezuela (Felix Adam), and anad~ (a Bachelor of Andragogy degree program was established at oncordia UniversityInMontreal In 1973).
To date several' , . y and' . 'I' . major expOSitIons of the theory of andragoglIs Imp ICatlOns for . h ( Godbe 1. practIce ave appeared in this country e.g., 1975, ~98:~~'aI~:lls and Arceri, 1972; Knowles, 1970, 1973, reporting on; I' mber of jOurnal arricles have been pubhshed work educat' pp IClatlOns of the andragogical framework to social
ion, re IglOus ed, d dateeducation Ucatlon, un ergraduate and gra u' management tra: 'd d n increasing volume f lOIng, an other spheres; an a gogical theory is b 0 research On hypotheses derived from andra- that the use of ~1I1grepOrted. There is a growing evidence, roo, way programs ~n a~a1ogl~al theory is making a difference in the ated, in the way teach
u t e fUcatlon are being organized and oper'
adults are being h I edrs0 adults are being trained and in the way e pe to learn Th' ,
cepts of andragogy b',' ere IS even evidence that con'and are egInnIng t k h y practice of elem 0 ma e an impact on the t eorAnd entary second d . ragogy in Action (K ' I ary, an collegiate education-
of a varietyof programs~Ow eds,1984b) provides case descriptions ase on th d '
e an ragoglcal model.
, :~. ;:: '. -- -
FIRST THERE WAS PEDAGOGY 61
AN ANDRAGOGICAL THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING
Efforts to formulate a theory that considers what we know from experience and research about the unique characteristics of adult learners have been underway for more than five decades. An early attempt, Informal Adult Education (Knowles, 1950), organized ideas around the notion that adults learn best in informal, comfort- able, flexible, nonthreatening settings. Then, in the mid-1960s a Yugoslavian adult educator attending a summer workshop at Boston University exposed participants to the termandragogy, and it seemed to be a more adequate organizing concept. It meant the art and sci- ence of helping adults learn, and was ostensibly the antithesis of the pedagogical model. (Infact, the subtitle of Knowles's 1970 editionof The Modern Practice of Adult Education was Andragogy versus Pedagogy.) Accordingly, an explanation of the meaning of pedagogy is required to fully elaborate on rhe meaning of andragogy.
FIRST TH ERE WAS PEDAGOGY
Pedagogy is derived from the Greek words paid, meaning "child" (the same stem from which "pediatrics" comes) and agogus, meaning "leader of." Thus, pedagogy literally means the art and scienceof teaching children. The pedagogical model of educa tion is a set of beliefs. As viewed by many traditional teachers, it is an ideology based on assumptions about teaching and learning that evolved between the seventh and twelfth centuries in the monastic and cathe- dral schools of Europe out of their experience in teaching basicskills to young boys. As secular schools organized in later centuries, and public schools in the nineteenth century, the pedagogical model was the only existing educational model. Thus, the entire educational enterprise of U.S. schools, including highereducation, was frozeninto this model. Systematic efforts to establish adult education programs in this country, initiated after World War I, also used this model because it was the only model teachers had. As a result, until fairly recently, adults have by and large been taught as if they were children.
The pedagogical model assigns to the teacher full responsibility for makmg all decisions about what will be learned, how it will be learned, when it will be learned, and if it has been learned. It is
62 A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
teacher-directededucation, leavingto the learner onlythesubmissive role of followinga teacher's instructions. Thus, it is basedon these assumptions about learners:
1. The need to know. Learners only need to know that they must learnwhat the teacher teachesif they want to passand get pro- moted;they do not need 'to know how what they learn will applyto their lives.
2. The learner's self-concept. The teacher's concept of the learner is that of a dependent personality; therefore, the learner's self- concepteventually becomesthat of a dependent personality.
As individuals mature, their need and capacity to be self- directing,to use their experience in learning, to identify their ownreadiness to learn, and to organize their learningaround lifeproblemsincreases steadilyfrom infancy to preadolescence, and then increases rapidly during adolescence (seeBower and Hollister,1967; Bruner, 1961b; Cross, 1981; Erikson, 1950, 1959,1964; Getzels and Jackson, 1962; Iscoe and Stevenson, 1960;Smith, 1982; White, 1959).
InFigure4-1 this rate ofnatural maturation isrepresented as a decrease in dependency (as represented by the solid line). Thus,pedagogical assumptions are realistic-and pedagogy is practicedappropriately-because of the high degreeof depend- encyduring the first year.Yet,the assumptions becomedecreas- inglyappropriate in the second, third, fourth, and subsequent years (as represented by the area with the vertical lines). Seemingly,U.S. culture (home, school, religious institutions, youthagencies, governmental systems) assumes, and therefore permits,a growth rate that is much slower (asrepresented by the broken line). Accordingly,pedagogy is practiced increas- ingly inappropriately (as represented by the shaded area betweenthe solid and broken lines). The problemis that the culture does not nurture the development of the abilities requiredfor self-direction, while the increasing need for self- directioncontinues to developorganically. The resultis a grow- inggap between the need and the ability to be self-directing, which produces tension, resistance, resentment, and often rebellionin the individual.
High f"'ii;;;;:------------------~ Andragogy practiced appropriately
FIRST THER.E WAS PEDAGOGY
Degree of Dependency
Low 1 2 3 4 5 IS 7 8 9 0111 13
Infancy Adolescence Adulthood
Natural rate of growth
Culturally permitted rate of growth
Figure 4-1. The natural maturation toward self-direction as com- pared with the culturallypermitted rate of growth of self-direction.
3. The role of experience. The learner'sexperience is of little worth as a resource for learning; the experience that countsis that of the teacher, the textbook writer, and the audiovisual aids producer. Therefore, transmittal techniques (e.g., lectures, assigned readings, etc.) are the backbone of pedagogical methodology.
4. Readiness to learn. Learners become ready to learn what the teacher tells themthey must learn if theywant to pass andget promoted.
5. Orientation to learning. Learners have a subject-centered ori- entation to learning; they see learning asacquiring subject-mat- ter content. Therefore, learning experiences are orgamzed according to the logic of the subject-matter content.
6. Motivation. Learners are motivated to learn by external moti- vators (e.g., grades, the teacher's approval or disapproval, parental pressures).
A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
And Then Came Andragogy
Beforedescribing the andragogical assumptions about learners and learning,it is helpful to lookat what is meant by"adult." There are at leastfour viable definitions of adult. First, the biologicaldefi- nition: Biologically,we become adults when we reach the age at which wecan reproduce (i.e., inearly adolescence). Second,the legal definition:Legally, we become adults when we reach the age at which thelaw says we can vote,get a driver's license,marry without consent, and the like. Third, the social definition: Socially, we becomeadultswhen we start performing adult roles, suchas the role of full-timeworker, spouse, parent, voting citizen, and the like. Finally, the psychological definition: Psychologically, we become adults whenwe arrive at a self-conceptof being responsiblefor our own lives,of being self-directing.With regard to learning, it is the psychologicaldefinition that is most crucial. But it seems that the processofgaining a self-concept, of self-directedness, starts early in life and grows cumulatively as we biologically mature, start per- formingadult-like roles, and takeincreasing responsibility for mak- ing ourOwndecisions. So, we becomeadults by degreeas we move through childhood and adolescence, and the rate of increase by degreeisprobably accelerated ifwe live in homes, studyin schools, and participatein youth organizations that foster our taking increas- ing responsibilities.But most ofusprobably do not havefull-fledged self-conceptsand self-directedness until we leave schoolor college, get a full-timejob, marry, and start a family.
The Andragogical Model
The andragogical model is basedon several assumptions that are differentfrom those of the pedagogicalmodel:
1. The need to know. Adultsneedto know why theyneed to learn somethingbefore undertaking to learn it. Tough(1979) found thatwhen adults undertake to learn something on their own, theywill invest considerableenergy in probing intothe benefits theywill gain from learningit and the negative consequences of not learning it. Consequently,one of the new aphorisms in adulteducation is that thefirst task of the facilitatorof learn- ingisto help the learners becomeaware of the "needto know."
FIRST THERE WAS PEDAGOGY
At the very least,facilitators can makean intellectual casefor the value of the learning in improvingthe effectiveness of the learners' performance or the qualityof their lives. Evenmore potent tools for raising the level of awareness of the needto know are real or simulated experiencesin which the learners discover for themselves the gaps betweenwhere they arenow and where theywant to be. Personnelappraisal systems,job rotation, exposureto role models, and diagnostic performance assessments areexamples of such tools.Paolo Freire, thegreat Brazilian adult educator, developedan elaborate processfor . what he calls the "consciousness-raising" of peasants in devel- oping countries in his The Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970).
2. The learners'self-concept. Adults havea self-concept of being responsible for their own decisions,for their own lives.Once they have arrivedat that self-concept,they develop a deeppsy- chological needto be seen by othersand treated by othersas being capable ofself-direction. Theyresent and resist situations in which theyfeelothers are imposingtheir wills on them.This presents a serious problem in adult education: The minute adults walk intoan activity labeled "education," "training,"or anything synonymous, they hark backto their conditioningin their previous school experience, put on their dunce hats of dependency, foldtheir arms, sit back,and say "teach me."This assumption ofrequired dependency and the facilitator's subse- quent treatment of adult students aschildren creates a conflict within them between their intellectualmodel-learner equals dependent-and the deeper, perhapssubconscious, psychologi- cal need to beself-directing. And thetypical method ofdealing with psychological conflict is to try to flee from the situation causing it, which probably accounts in part for the high dropout rate inmuch voluntary adulteducation. As adultedu- cators becomeaware of this problem,they make efforts tocre- ate learning experiencesin which adultsare helped to makethe transition from dependent to self-directing learners. Self- Directed Learning: A Guide for Learners and Teachers (Knowles, 1975)is a collection of suchexperiences.
3. The role of the learners' experiences. Adults come into anedu- cational activitywith both a greatervolume and a different quality of experiencefrom that of youths. By virtue of simply
66 A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNlNG: ANDRAGOGY
having lived longer, they have accumulated more experience than theyhad as youths. Butthey also have had a differentkind of experience.This difference in quantity and qualityof expe- riencehas several consequences for adult education.
It assures that in any group of adults there will be a wider rangeof individual differencesthan is the case with a group of youths.Any group of adults will be more heterogeneous in terms of background, learning style, motivation, needs, inter- ests,andgoals than is true ofa group of youths. Hence,greater emphasisin adult education is placed on individualization of teachingand learning strategies.
It also means that for many kinds of learning, the richest resourcesfor learning reside in the adult learners themselves. Hence,the emphasis in adult education is on experientialtech- niques-techniques that tap into the experience ofthe learners, suchas group discussions, simulation exercises, problem solv- ingactivities,case methods, and laboratory methodsinstead of transmittal techniques. Also, greater emphasis is placed on peer-helpingactivities. Butthe fact of greater experience also has somepotentially
negativeeffects. As we accumulate experience, we tend to developmental habits, biases,and presuppositions that tend to causeus to close our mindsto new ideas, fresh perceptions, and alternativeways of thinking.Accordingly, adult educators try to discoverways to help adultsexamine their habitsand biases and open their minds to newapproaches. Sensitivitytraining, values clarification, meditation, and dogmatism scales are amongthe techniques that are used to tackle thisproblem.
There is another, more subtle reason for emphasizing the experienceof the learners; it has to do with eachlearner's self- identity.Young children derivetheir self-identity largely from external definers-who their parents, bothers, sisters, and extendedfamilies are; wherethey live; and what churches and schoolsthey attend. As theymature, they increasinglydefine themselvesin terms of the experiences they havehad. To chil- dren,experience is somethingthat happens to them; to adults, experienceis who they are.The implication of thisfact for adult educationis that in any situation in which the participants'
FIR.ST THERE WAS PEDAGOGY
experiences areignored or devalued, adulrswill perceive thisas rejecting not only their experience, but rejecting themselves as persons.
4. Readiness to learn.Adults become ready to learn those things they need to knowand be able to doinorder to cope effectively with their real-life situations. An especially rich source of "readiness to learn" is the developmentaltasks associated with moving from onedevelopmental stageto the next. The critical implication of this assumption is the importance of timing learning experiences to coincide with those developmental tasks. For example, a sophomore girl in high school is not ready to learn about infant nutrition or marital relations, but let her get engagedafter graduation and she will be very ready. Bench workers are not ready for a course in supervisory
training until they have mastered doing the work they will supervise and have decided that they are ready for more responsibility. It is not necessaryto sit by passivelyand wait for readiness
to develop naturally,however. Thereare ways to induce readi- ness through exposure to models of superior performance, career counseling,simulation exercises,and other techniques.
5. Orientation to learning. In contrast to children's and youths' subject-centered orientation to learning (at least in school), adults are life-centered(or task-centeredor problem-centered) in their orientation to learning. Adultsare motivated to learn to the extent thatthey perceive that learningwill help themper- form tasks or dealwith problems thatthey confront in theirlife situations. Furthermore, they learn new knowledge, under- standings, skills,values, and attitudesmost effectively when they are presentedin the context of application to real-lifesit- uations. This point isso critical that reinforcementis required: For many years,educators sought to reduce illiteracy in this
country by teachingcourses in reading,writing, and arithmetic, and our recordwasterribly disappointing.The dropout ratewas high, motivation to study was low,andachievement scoreswere poor. When researchers started to discover what was wrong, they quickly found that the words presented in the standard
68 A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
vocabularylists in the readingand writing courseswere not the wordsthese people used intheir life situations andthat themath- ematicalproblems presentedin their arithmetic courseswere not theproblems they had to beable to solve when theywent to the store,the bank, or the shop.As a result, new curriculaorganized aroundlife situations and the acquisition of copingskills (e.g., copingwith the world of work, of local government and com- munityservices, of health, ofthe family, of consuming)were con- structed.Many of the problems encountered in the traditional coursesdisappeared or weregreatly educed. A second example is fromuniversity extension courses. For
manyyears, it was the practiceof universities to offerlate after- noonor evening courses for adults that were exactlythe same coursestaught to teenagers in the day. Then in the 1950s, the eveningprograms changed.A course titled "Composition I" in the day program became "Writing Better BusinessLetters" in the evening program; "Composition II" became "Writing for Pleasure and Profit"; and "Composition III" became "ImprovingYour ProfessionalCommunications." And it was- n't just the titles that changed;the way the courseswere taught alsochanged. While studentsin "Composition I" still memo- rizedrules of grammar, students in "Writing Better Business Letters" immediately beganwriting business letters and then extractedprinciples of grammaticalwriting froman analysis of whatthey had written.
6. Motivation. Adults are responsiveto some externalmotivators (betterjobs, promotions, higher salaries, and the like), but the mostpotent motivators are internal pressures (the desire for increasedjob satisfaction, self-esteem, quality of life, and the like).Tough (1979) foundinhis research that allnormal adults aremotivated to keep growingand developing, but this moti- vationis frequently blockedby such barriers as negative self- concept as a student, inaccessibility of opportunities or resources,time constraints, and programs that violate princi- plesof adult learning.
It is important to note that thenumber of assumptionshas grown from 4 to 6 over the years. Originally, andragogy presented four assurnpnon, (shown here as numbers 2-5' Knowles 1975, 1978, , ,
F!R.ST THERE WAS PEDAGOGY
1980). Assumption number 6, motivation to learn, was added in 1984 (Knowles, 1984a), and assumption number 1, the need to know, in more recentyears (Knowles, 1989,1990).
Putting the Pedagogical and Andragogical Models in Perspective
So far, the treatmentof these two modelsmay suggest that theyare antithetical, that pedagogy is bad and andragogy is good, and that pedagogy is for childrenand andragogy is for adults. This is pretty much the way the modelswere presented in the first edition of The Modern Practice of Adult Education: Andragogy versus Pedagogy (Knowles, 1970). Butduring the next decade, a number of teachers in elementary and secondary schools and in colleges reported that they were experimentingwith applying theandragogical model,and that children and youths seemed to learn better in many circum- stances when somefeatures of the andragogicalmodel were applied. So, in the revised editionof The Modern Practice of Adult Education (1980), the subtitle was changed to FromPedagogy to Andragogy. Also, a number oftrainers and teachers ofadults described situations in which they foundthat the andragogical model did not work. Therefore, putting the two models intoperspective requiresmak-
ing a distinction between an ideology and a system of alternative assumptions. It seemsthat the pedagogicalmodel has taken onmany of the characteristics of ideology, ideologybeing defined as a sys- tematic body of beliefsthat requires loyalty and conformity by its adherents. Consequently, teachers often feel pressure from theedu- cational system to adhere to the pedagogicalmode. For example,the best motivator of performance, teachers are told, is competition for grades; therefore, gradesmust be on a curveof normal distribution- only so many "A"s are allowed and there must be some failures. The pedagogical ideology is typically sanctified by the shibboleth "academic standards." (Giving too many "A"s violates academic standards. ) What this means in practice is that we educators now havethe
responsibility to checkout which assumptions are realistic ina given situation. If a pedagogical assumption is realistic for a particular learner in regard to a particular learninggoal, then a pedagogical strategy is appropriate, at least as a startingpoint. Examples of this
--
70 A THEORY OF ADULT LEAR.NING: ANDRAGOGY
It Occurwhen learners are indeed dependent (such as when entering into a totally strange content area), when they have in fact had no previous experience with a content area, when they do not under- stand the relevance of a content area to their life tasks or problems, when they do need to accumulate a given body of subject matter in order to accomplish a required performance, and when they feel no internal need to learn that content. But there is one big difference between how an ideological pedagog and an andragog would go from here.The pedagog, perceiving the pedagogical assumptions to be the only realistic assumptions, will insist that the learners remain dependent On the teacher. On the other had, the andragog, perceiv- ing that movement toward the andragogical assumptions is a desir- able goal, will do everything possible to help the learners take increasingresponsibility for their own learning. Evendyed-in-the-wool pedagogical instructors have reported that
their teaching became more effective when they adapted some of the andragogical concepts to the pedagogical model. Someways they do this are by providing a climate in which the learners feel more respected,trusted, unthreatened, and cared about; byexposing them to the need to know before instructing them; by giving them some responsibility in choosing methods and resources; and by involving them in sharing responsibility for evaluating their learning. Chapter 6 explores the implications for applying these assump-
tions to planning and conducting programs of adult education and human resources development.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Despitethe fact that educating adults has been a concern for cen- turies, there has been relatively little research in the area of adult learning until recently. Only after World War I did a growing body of assumptions about the unique characteristics of adult learners emerge.Within the study of adult learning, there are two streams of inqUiry,scientific and artistic, that are distinguishable. Initiated by Thorndike, the scientific stream uses rigorous investigation to dis- Covernewinformation. In contrast, the artistic stream, launched by Lindeman's The Meaning of Adult Education, uses intuition and analysis of experience to discover new information. A pioneering theorist, Lindeman laid the foundation for a systematic theory of
CHAPTER SUMMARY 71
adult education and identified key assumptions about adult learners. These include the following concepts: Adults are motivated to learn as they experience needs and interests that learning will satisfy' adults' orientation to learning is life-centered;experience is the rich: est resource for adults' learning; adults have a deep need to beself- directing; and individual differences amongpeople increase withage. Subsequent to the 1926 publication of The Meaning of Adult
Education, interest in the field became evident and other relatedarti- cles began appearing in the Journal of Adult Education. By1940, most of the elementsrequired for a conceptualization of adult learn- ing had been discovered. However, thesefragmented elementswere not yet incorporated into an integrated framework. During the 1950s, the social sciences seized on adult learning and more inten- sive research began.These social sciencedisciplines include clinical psychology, developmental psychology, sociology and social psy- chology, and philosophy. Noted clinical psychologists such asFreud, Jung, Erikson, Maslow, and Rogers made significant contributions to the study of adult learning. Freud identified the influence of the subconscious on behavior; Jung introduced the idea that humancon- sciousness possesses four functions: sensation, thought, emotion, and intuition; Erikson provided the "eight ages of man"; Maslow emphasized the importance of safety; and Rogers conceptualized a student-centered approach to education based on five "basic hypotheses." Developmental psychologists provided knowledge of characteristics associated with age (i.e.,physical capabilities, mental abilities, interests, attitudes, values, creativity, and life styles), whereas sociology and social psychology provided knowledge about group and social system behavior, includingfactors that facilitateor inhibit learning. The label and concept of andragogy greatlyenhanced the effortsto
create a conceptual framework of adult learning. Although the term was first used in 1833, Americans were not introduced to it until 1967. Since then, a number of journal articleshave reported onappli- cations of the andragogical frameworks to social work education, religious education, undergraduate and graduate education, manage- ment training, and other spheres; and thereis an increasing volumeof research on hypotheses derived from theandragogical model. A distinction between the concepts of pedagogy and andragogyis
required to fully grasp the concept of andragogy. The pedagogical
72 A THEORY OF ADULT LEARNING: ANDRAGOGY
model, designedfor teaching children, assigns to the teacher full responsibility for all decision making about the learning content, method, timing,and evaluation. Learnersplaya submissiverole in the educational dynamics. In contrast, the andragogical model focuses on theeducation of adults andis based on the followingpre- cepts: adults needto know why theyneed to learn something;adults maintain the concept of responsibility for their own decisions,their own lives; adultsenter the educational activity with a greatervolume and more variedexperiences than do children; adults havea readi- ness to learnthose things that theyneed to know in orderto cope effectively with real-life situations; adults are life-centered in their orientation to learning; and adults are more responsive to internal motivators than external motivators. The pedagogical model is an ideological model that excludes the andragogical assumptions. The andragogical model is a system of assumptions that includesthat pedagogical assumptions. The andragogical model is not an ideol- ogy; it is a systemof alternative setsof assumptions, a transactional model that speaksto those characteristicsof the learning situation.
REFLECTION QgESTlONS
4.1 Fromyour own experience, think of a situation that clearly illustratespedagogy and onefor andragogy.
4.2 Reflecton one of Lindeman's five key assumptions about adultlearners.
4.3 Howhas clinical psychologycontributed to andragogy? 4.4 Howhas adult education contributed to andragogy? 4.5 Howdoes the andragogical model fit with your ownlearning
style?
CHAPTER 5
Theories of Teaching
PRINCIPLES OF TEACHING FROM THEORIES OF LEARNING
Typically, theories of learning are only useful to adult learning practitioners when they are somehow appliedto the facilitation of learning-a function assigned usually in our society to a person des- ignated as teacher. A distinction must bemade between theoriesof learning and the-
ories of teaching. Theories of learning dealwith the ways in which an organism learns, whereas theories of teaching deal with the ways in which a person influences an organism to learn (Gage, 1972, p.56). Presumably, the learning theory subscribed to by a teacher will
influence his or her teaching theory. Hilgard, resisting this fragmentation of learning theory, identified
20 principles he believedto be universally acceptable from threedif- ferent families of theories: Stimulus-Response (S-R) theory, cognitive theory, and motivation and personality theory.These principles are summarized in Table 5-1. It is important for us to note Hilgard's conviction in his belief
that his 20 principles would be "in large part acceptable to all parties"-a conviction that is grounded in his verification process. Hilgard limited the "parties" with whom he checked out these principles to control-oriented theorists. In spite of theIrdif- ferences about the internal mechanics of learning, these theo- rists are fairly close in their conceptualization of the role of the
teacher.
73
Learning Theory and Design Model Analysis Assignment
100 Points
Objectives and Alignment:
1. Students will identify learning theories applicable to adult education.
2. Students will identify design models applicable to adult education.
3. Students will analyze instruction for learning theories and aspects of design models.
4. Students will recommend changes to instruction based on adult learning theories and design models.
These assignment objectives align with Course Objectives B and C as described in the syllabus.
Purpose:
The purpose of this assignment is for you to think critically about learning theories and design models and how to identify and apply them. By doing so, you will not only better understand the relationship between theory and practice, but also be able to create sound instruction for your own learners.
Assignment:
To accomplish this, you will need to analyze this Module (Module 3: Teaching Adults) and evaluate it based on what you have learned about learning theories and design models. You will need to identify what learning theories and design models you see at work (can be multiple) and provide examples to bolster your arguments. You will then need to make recommendations for changes to this module based on the learning theories and design models we have studied. Use the literature to show gaps in the instruction and provide specific recommendations as to how to make changes. Finally, you will need to reflect on this process of analyzing and evaluating instruction based on learning theories and models. As you write your reflection, in addition to your own take aways also be sure to consider the following: What do the study of learning theories and models tell you about your own learning experiences? How did this assignment impact your view on the construction of instruction? How will you use these theories and models in the future? What potential concerns or obstacles could there potentially be in application? Do you think more than one learning theory and/or model can be used in a course, lesson, etc. at a time? Connect your reflection to our readings or outside scholarly or trade publications; please be sure to do so using APA Style Manual, 7th Edition. Use one-inch margins, double-spaced, and Times New Roman font, 12-point. Be sure to use section headings within your paper. This will help break up the paper. Let me know if you have any questions.
The assignment deliverable should include the following:
· Analysis and Evaluation of Instruction
· Recommendations for Changes
· Reflection
· Reference Page
Notes: For the recommendations, I DO NOT expect you to design assignments and rubrics, tests, quizzes, find readings, etc. We are talking very generally about the design of instruction. This will be a very personal assignment as no one’s will look exactly alike.
Deliverable:
Learning Theory and Design Model Analysis Assignment Paper via the Blackboard Assignment tool which the paper described above.
Grading:
Please use the following rubric for this assignment(s).
|
Components for the Assignment |
Does Not Meet Expectations |
Approaches Expectations |
Meets Expectations |
Exceeds Expectations |
|
Identification of learning theories used in Module 3. (15%) |
A learning theory is not adequately identified and no evidence is given to support the claim of the use of theory. |
One learning theory is identified as being currently used in Module 3, but it is not clear as to how it is being used and what evidence there is to support the claim. |
One learning theory is identified as being currently used in Module 3. Analysis clearly points to specific examples to illustrate claims. |
More than one learning theory is identified as being currently used in Module 3. Analysis clearly points to specific examples to illustrate claims. |
|
Identification of design models used in Module 3. (15%) |
A design model is not adequately identified and no evidence is given to support the claim of the use of the model. |
One design model is identified as being currently used in Module 3, but it is not clear as to how it is being used and what evidence there is to support the claim. |
One design model is identified as being currently used in Module 3. Analysis clearly points to specific examples to illustrate claims. |
More than one design model is identified as being currently used in Module 3. Analysis clearly points to specific examples to illustrate claims. |
|
Recommendations for improvement in Module 3 based on learning theories. (20%) |
One or no recommendations are provided to improve Module 3 based on learning theories. It is unclear as to how the recommendations connect to different aspects of learning theories. Recommendations may not be feasible or may not take into account the instructional goals. |
Two recommendations are provided to improve Module 3 based on learning theories. The recommendations connect to different aspects of one or more learning theories and are explained, but could be more clear and substantive. Recommendations are feasible, but may not take into account the instructional goals. |
Three recommendations are provided to improve Module 3 based on learning theories. The recommendations clearly connect to different aspects of one or more learning theories and are well explained. Recommendations are feasible given the instructional goals. |
More than three recommendations are provided to improve Module 3 based on learning theories. The recommendations clearly connected to different aspects of one or more learning theories and are well explained. Recommendations are feasible given the instructional goals. |
|
Recommendations for improvement in Module 3 based on design models. (20%) |
One or no recommendations are provided to improve Module 3 based on design models. It is unclear as to how the recommendations connect to different aspects of design models. Recommendations may not be feasible or may not take into account the instructional goals. |
Two recommendations are provided to improve Module 3 based on design models. The recommendations connect to different aspects of one or more design models and are explained, but could be more clear and substantive. Recommendations are feasible, but may not take into account the instructional goals. |
Three recommendations are provided to improve Module 3 based on design models. The recommendations clearly connect to different aspects of one or more design models and are well explained. Recommendations are feasible given the instructional goals. |
More than three recommendations are provided to improve Module 3 based on design models. The recommendations clearly connected to different aspects of one or more design models and are well explained. Recommendations are feasible given the instructional goals. |
|
Reflection (15%) |
Few questions are explained in the reflection and could use additional detail. Personal experience may not be provided, or may be under-explained. Potential application to future practice may not be provided. |
Most questions are explained in the reflection, but could use additional detail. Personal experience is provided but briefly and without detail. Potential application to future practice may not be provided.. |
Most questions are thoroughly explained in the reflection. Personal experience is also carefully articulated. Potential application to future practice is provided. |
All questions are thoroughly explained in the reflection. Personal experience is also carefully articulated. Potential application to future practice is provided. |
|
Formatting (10%) |
Paper does not have one-inch margins OR is not double-spaced OR does not use Times New Roman OR is not 12-point font. Citations and References are not in APA Style |
Paper has one-inch margins, is double-spaced, uses Times New Roman, and is 12-Point Font. Citations and References NOT in APA Style. |
Paper has one-inch margins, is double-spaced, uses Times New Roman, and is 12-Point Font. Citations and References in APA Style. Section headings are used. |
Paper has one-inch margins, is double-spaced, uses Times New Roman, and is 12-Point Font. Citations in APA Style. APA style title page is included. Page headers and numbers are correct APA style. Appropriate APA style section headings are used. |
|
Grammar, spelling, syntax, etc. (5%) |
Five or more errors. |
Three or Four errors |
One or Two errors. |
No errors. |
Resources:
APA Style Formatting
Use the actual APA Style Reference Manual. These sources are only to be used as support. Refer to the book you purchased for the class as the ultimate resource.
Purdue’s Online Writing Lab APA Formatting Site - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
APA’s Office Site - http://www.apastyle.org/
Easy Bib’s Site for APA Formatting - http://www.easybib.com/guides/students/writing-guide/iv-write/a-formatting/apa-paper-formatting/
Grammar Reference
Education First’s Grammar Site - http://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/
Writing Learning Objectives
WKU’s Learning Objectives Tutorial - https://www.wku.edu/ste/objectives/index.php
Adapted from Dr. John Curry, Idaho State University
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