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Andragogy

In pedagogy, the concern is with transmitting the content, while in andragogy, the concern is with facilitating the acquisition of the content.

When adult learning became systematized early in this century, pedagology was the only known means to train. Two books written in the 1920s began to change the term "adult learning" - Thorndike's Adult Learning and Lindeman's The Meaning of Adult Education. In the 1950s, European educators started using the term "andragogy," from the Greek word "anere" for adult, and "agogus," the art and science of helping students to learn. They wanted to be able to discuss the growing body of knowledge about adult learners in parallel with pedagogy.

In pedagogy, development is based upon a content plan:

  • What content needs to be covered?
  • How can this content be organized into manageable units or modules?
  • How can this content be transmitted in a logical sequence?
  • What would be the most effective method for transmitting this content (media)?
In andragogy, development is based upon a process design:
  • Design and manage a process for facilitating the acquisition of content by the learners.
  • Serve as a content resource and provide leads for other content resources (e.g. peers, supervisors, specialists).

Notes
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 Copyright 1999 by Donald Clark
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