Andragogy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Andragogy - Research Paper Example The seven steps to creating a learning planning for adults is called the progress model which means that solving problems is the focus of how learning is accomplished. The following paper will examine the assumptions that define andragogy and the meaning behind them as they support adult learning and the differences between adult and child level learning capacities. The origins of andragogy can be traced back to a German educator in 1833 who used the term to define adult education from child education. Alexander Kapp created the term which specifically means man-leading, which is in contrast to the term pedagogy which means child-leading. In the 20th century American education theorists defined three different types of adult learning. The first is andragogy, the second is self directed learning, with the third being transformative. Andragogy is used as a description of adult learning as a concept in which the learner is motivated by a series of assumptions that end with the learner developing solution to problems in order to learn in the context that an adult learns best (Melik & Melik, 2010, p. 108). Defining andragogy is a bit difficult as it has been presented through a variety of different ideas and is therefore not quite a firm theory through which to filter ideas. Andragogy was originally presented with three assumptions. Some criticisms of the ideas behind andragogy is that it is focused on the individual and not a critical evaluation of the social perspective on adult learning. The concept of andragogy has been correctly criticized for not informing the social perspective, but Knowles suggests that it does not have to promote the social perspective in order to have value in developing a structure of ideas about adult learning. One of the main proponents of andragogy as a theory of learning for adults is Malcolm Knowles. Knowles introduced the idea in the 1970s in response to the fact that most theory on learning was focused on