Andragogy/ Supporting Adult Learners

Mentor Training

You may choose to go through these modules in any order. It is estimated it will take 30-45 minutes to complete each module. Upon  completion of  your three modules each semester, please complete the evaluation and submit a form to earn your certificate of completion. These are found on the Conclusion page

Module Introduction

Many people have never heard the term Andragogy before, but as educators we all know what Pedagogy is.   Andragogy is Greek for Leading Men and Pedagogy is Greek for Leading Children. Of course the use of men in the Greek translation is not a gendered term but essentially means - adults.

In this module, you will gain some insights into supporting your adult colleague in the Teacher Induction Program. As mentioned in the Coaching and Mentoring module, mentoring is different from teaching and working with adults is different from working with children. Understanding andragogy will help you support your Induction Candidate in a way that 'gets through to them' based on andragogy theory. Additionally, understanding andragogy will be invaluable if you conduct PD, present at conferences, or move into leadership at your school.

This module will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. You should spend about 30  minutes looking at any or all of the resources.   

Then complete this form acknowledging you have engaged with the content in this module.

Articles, websites, and blogs

This website gives a great overview of andragogy- for teachers. It provides a clear definition and discusses the history of it. You will also see a nice summary of the principles of andragogy.

This website does a nice job of explaining the assumptions about adult learning that are so important for us to consider when working with adults.

This article  - oddly enough published in the Journal of Pediatrics - discusses the connections between andragogy and  mentoring. I especially like the reminder about goals. The second half of the article, is relevant to the Module on mentoring and includes the 4Cs  of mentoring which is also very useful.