What does adult education offer Christian Education In The Christian Educator’s Handbook on Adult Education

CAE 213 Intro to Adult Education

Outline of useful concepts in book1. Cultural factors of North American adults

2. Psychology of adulthood

3. Learning from gender differences

4. How adults learn

5. Inductive teaching

6. Small groups in adult education

7. Teaching younger, middle, and older adults

8. Adult education with ethnic communities

The contributions of Malcolm Knowles as listed In The Christian Educator’s Handbook on Adult Education

Contributions of Malcolm Knowles Training director in the Massachusetts state

office of the National Youth Administration Supervised by Eduard Lindeman, a pioneer

adult educator. In 1940 the Boston YMCA asked Knowles to

develops their adult education program In Chicago, observed that informal teachers

were more effective and began to take adult education training with Cyril Houle.

Contributions of Malcolm Knowles Knowles worked for 10 years as a director of

training before taking graduate training in adult education.

This caused Knowles to think as a practitioner. Knowles saw learning theory as behavioral

(training human machines), cognitive (training human brains), and organismic (training humans based on their unique strengths).

Contributions of Malcolm Knowles The purpose of education is to develop each

individual to his unique potential and the most effective strategy for doing this becomes self-directed learning or inquiry.

He believed the application of the principles of adult education in Christian education helped produce mature Christian persons rather than dependent Christian persons.

Assumptions

About Pedagogical Andragogical

The Learner Dependent Increasingly

self-directed

Experience To be built on A rich resource

Readiness Uniform by age Develops from life tasks

Orientation Subject-centered Task-centered

Motivation External Internal

Process Elements

Elements Pedagogical Andragogical

Climate Formal competitive

Relaxed supportive

Planning By teacher Mutual

Need diagnosis By teacher Mutual

Objectives By teacher Mutual

Designing plans Content plan Learning contract

Activities Transmittal Inquiry

Evaluation By teacher By learner

Critical Variables

The critical factor in the choice of model is familiarity and previous experience with the content to be learned.

The most critical factor in andragogy is the level of learner skill in taking responsibility for learning.

Knowles did not think there were any circumstances that necessitated a large lecture hall.

Critical Variables Knowles perceived that the motivation of

learners was his responsibility, not theirs.He discounted the idea of the genetically low-motivated learner.

Motivation to learn comes from arousing in the learner a perception of the benefits from learning something, or the negative consequences of not knowing it. The teacher must make a good case for why certain content is beneficial and should provide hands-on experiences that brings this home.