Andragogy

Designing and developing meaningful learning experiences for adult learners requires a solid understanding of how adults learn differently from younger learners (Cochran & Brown, n.d.).

Adults have accumulated knowledge, rich experience, and fixed ideas about what they believe works for them. They are preoccupied with life in general and dislike wasting time. They want effective learning experiences that help them meet their needs and achieve their goals (Gutierrez, n.d.). 

We will look into adult learning theories, andragogy's key aspects, and instructional design implications.

The National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development lists a reliable analysis of andragogy, categorized in 1) motivation to learn; 2) curriculum design; and 3) the classroom setting (Zimke, 2007). Characters of adult learners and teachers below are taken from the source. 

✔️  Does the learning experience create relevance by mapping courses with perceived learner needs?

✔️  Does it devise instructional strategies in alignment with real learning contexts?

✔️  Does it choose the technology that best supports the instructional strategy?

✔️  Are instructional strategies relevant for digital-age and on-the-go learners?

Informal Learning with LinkedIn Learning

Prior to taking this course, I wanted to gain an overview of the field of instructional design [readiness] and watched a learning path series at LinkedIn Learning that consisted of 8 courses [motivation]. The course topics covered the basic introductory range of models, analysis, storyboarding, adult learners, creating videos, SMEs, agile, and evaluation within 8 hours of content. The self-paced course was divided into sections and chunks to let learners follow along with ease. There were optional downloadable PDF files to fill in, but no follow-up or structure to discuss diverse ideas with peers. Reflecting and bouncing it with peer reviewers were missing [missing social context]. I thought this was such a nature of the video-focused course in which the application of knowledge was 100% depending on how you take it from there [self-direction]. A few months later, my memory of the contents has gone blurry.

This example shows that Knowles’ 4 principles of andragogy are absent. Adult involvement completely relies on each individual, connecting to the adult’s experience, problem-solving, and immediate relevance (Pappas, 2017). The learning goal and target of the course are probably simply providing a glance into the field, not comprehension of the contents [Informal learning: the provider has control over the learning goal and target].

Principle: Learner’s Experience

While the contents of recorded video lectures are inflexible to intake learners’ experience, they can be distributed to a large number of people. This is a general assumption on MOOCs.

But Cochran and Brown (n.d.) discuss that course content should be flexible in that it can evolve rather than follow a specific script (Conrad & Donaldson, 2004). Accommodating a personalized approach on the online platform with limited resources is challenging. To reflect on and incorporate feedback, a lecturer/teacher must develop different skills and knowledge on facilitation and people management in the globally diverse learning environment.