Malcolm Samuel Knowles is the pioneer of adult
learning,
andragogy and
pedagogy. He once said that learning is retention, memory, recollection and pragmatism. When working with adult
learners, there are many considerations to take into mind. For Knowles, he studied the characteristics of adult learners, andragogy. The four assumptions are self concept, experience, readiness to learn and orientation to learn. Later, Knowles added a fifth one,
motivation to learn. When a person starts to become more mature, he changes from a dependent individual toa self-
directed person. This individual does not depend on others but, instead, directs oneself to learn. Experience is also to be considered when working with an adult learner. The individual taps on experiences accumulated while maturing as a resource for learning. When information is given to an adult learner, they will start to link their previous experiences to the information which enhances the learning process. The readiness to learn as a person matures,orientates the person to become a developing role in the society. Orientation to learning is when a person starts to apply his knowledge which had already been learned some time ago. The individual shifts from a subject to a problem and they start to apply the knowledge that they have acquired previously to solve a problem. They are pragmatic individuals. Later, Knowles added the motivation to learn. Knowles (1984:12) said, “As a person matures, the motivation to learn is internal”. When a person matures, the need to learn becomes an internal factor. They learn because they want to and because they need to. Adult learners are self directed learners. They take the initiative to determine their needs to learn. They set
goals for themselves. They also choose the people they learn from and material resources which aid them in their learning. Thereafter, they will apply suitable learning strategies and assess their learning outcomes. Self directed adult learners also tend to learn more things. They also learn better because they have a higher level of motivation. As a result, adult learners also retain and apply their new knowledge into problem solving. There is convincing evidence that people who take the initiative in learning (proactive learners) learn more things, and learn better, than do people who sit at the feet of teachers passively waiting to be taught (reactive learners). ''They enter into learning more purposefully and with greater motivation. They also tend to retain and make use of what they learn better and longer than do the reactive learners.'' (Knowles 1975: 14) Adult learners have also developed a maturing ability to take up heavy responsibilities for their lives. They have to be responsible for their actions and words as they mature.Consequently, they become even more self-directed. Knowles (1975:15) said, “An essential aspect of maturing is developing the ability to take increasing responsibility for our own lives - to become increasingly self-directed” Due to new technology and developments in education and at work, adult learners are strained to be initiative in their own learning. Otherwise, they will become obsolete. Should an adult learner lack the knowledge of self-directed learning, they will become irritated, because they do not understand what they are learning. They also become worried becauseof the thought of failure. Knowles (1975:15) stated, “A third immediate reason is that many of the new developments in education put a heavy responsibility on the learners to take a good deal of initiative in their own learning. ''Students entering into these programs without having learned the skills of self-directed inquiry will experience anxiety, frustration , and often failure, and so will their teachers”. Malcolm Knowles’ expertise was diversified into diagnosing learning neormulating learning needs, identifying human material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies and evaluating learning outcomes. Adults become ready to learn something when, as Knowles (1980) said, “they experience a need to learn it in order to cope more satisfyingly with real-life tasks or problems”. Many adults crave for knowledge to handle life tasks and problems which they are unable to overcome. When working with them, making sure that the information or skill that they have learnt is pragmatic is important. Concrete future goals are to be established among adult learners. The purpose of giving them a new information must be explained clearly to help them see how an understanding of a topic or information will benefit them in future.Knowles, Holton, and Swanson (1998) emphasize that “adults resent and resist situations in which they feel others are imposing their wills on them.” Although adult learners cravefor independence, previous schooling has made them dependent learners. Therefore, it is important to help adult learners to pull away from their old habits of learning into new ones.Making use of technology is a good way of helping adult learners into self-directed learning, taking responsibilities for their own learning and the direction they take.When working with adult learners, there are many considerations to take into mind. For Knowles, he studied the characteristics of adult learners, andragogy. The four assumptions are self concept, experience, readiness to learn and orientation to learn. Later, Knowles added a fifth one, motivation to learn. When a person starts to become more mature, he changes from a dependent individual to a self-directed person. This individual does not depend on others but, instead, directs oneself to learn.
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