THE MISCONCEPTION OF THE ADULT LEARNER Noel Bell-Poats.
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Transcript of THE MISCONCEPTION OF THE ADULT LEARNER Noel Bell-Poats.
T H E F I R S T M I S C O N C E P T I O N W A S T H E T R U E K N O W L E D G E O F W H O T H E A D U L T L E A R N E R I S A N D H O W T H E Y D I F F E R F R O M T H E T R A D I T I O N A L C O L L E G E
S T U D E N T . S E C O N D L Y , H O W T H E A D U L T L E A R N I N G / E D U C A T I O N C O N T R I B U T E D T O A N D R A G O G Y . T H I R D , T H E S O C I A L C O G N I T I V E L E A R N I N G T H E O R Y S P I K E D
M Y A T T E N T I O N D U R I N G T H I S C O U R S E .
ADULT LEARNERWho is the Adult Learner?
The adult learner is made up of a diverse group of
people. They come from varied backgrounds, have
different interest and abilities. The adult learners
have different characteristics and that may be
common to adult learners such as their
experiences and background, their learning
preferences, application of learning and any
special needs that they may have to be able to
balance against the demands of learning. Coming
into this course, I defined the adult learner as the
non-traditional student. The adult learner was
the individual that was under 25, with little to no
outside responsibilities. I now understand that the
mature pupil can be any and every one (Merriam,
Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007).
ANDRAGOGY
Great theories and research
like Knowles’ Andragogy was
another misconception that
enhanced my perception of the
adult learner. “The art and
science of helping adult
learner” (Merriam et al., 2007)
discusses how Knowles was
able to pinpoint how various
groups of adults learn.
How adult
learning/education
contributed to andragogy
K N O W L E S A N D R A G O G Y W A S B A S E D O N A S S U M P T I O N S
6 Assumptions A person becomes self- directed as they mature,
An adult’s experiences are a learning resource,
An adult’s willingness to learn is contingent upon their current social role,
Learning is problem centered rather that subject-centered.
Internal motivators are more significant than external motivators
The adult learner need to know and understand the “why” behind the learning.
S O C I A L C O G N I T I V E L E A R N I N G T H E O R Y
Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of
continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral,
and environmental influences. This theory is the foundation for
observational learning and is an example of how people learn from
each other.
C O N C L U S I O N
The thoughts and perceptions I had of the adult learner, andragogy and
social cognitive learning theory were definitely misinterpreted prior to this
course. After researching and studying each of these theories and practices they became clearer and I can relate to them to my experiences
and put them into modern day practice. My knowledge and
understanding has been tremendously enhanced to
understand the adult pupil for who they really are.
R E F E R E N C E S
Bandura, A. (1997) Self-efficacy. The exercise of control. New York W.H Freeman
Knowles, M.S. (1990) The Adult Learner. A neglected species. 4th ed. Houston
Merriam, S.B. Caffarella, R.S. & Baumgartner, L.M. (2007). Learning in Adulthood:
A comprehensive guide. San Francisco: Jossy-Bass.