Comprehension 360 — Andragogy
Elucidating The Sesquipedalian Paradigms of Education
Pedagogy is an uncommon word outside of the halls of academia and edtech. If you are unfamiliar with Pedagogy, odds are you have never even heard of Andragogy. Regardless, it is a very important concept in education.
The Definition
Origin
The word andragogy was developed in 1920 by Malcolm Knowles. He created it to distinguish the teaching of adults from the more common focus on children. Andro is Greek for adult, while Peda is Greek for children. By replacing Peda with Andro in Pedagogy, he achieved the coining of a new study in the field of education.
The Difference Between Pedagogy and Andragogy
While language implies that there are different ways for teaching children and adults, you should probably simplify that to there are two distinct ways of teaching. Pedagogy is similar to the classic school model. One teacher, many students, lots of content and lectures categorize this method. It assumes a fairly passive student. Andragogy is inline with more modern trends. Learning in groups, self-direction, and hands-on learning are components of this method. It requires an agressive student.
So the difference in the two methods can be simplified as push (pedagogy) vs pull (andragogy). The age of the learner only enters in because of our classic bias.
Tools for Understanding
ElearningInfographics.com has an excellent infographic on Andragogy. With
more information about both Andragogy and Malcolm Knowles available through the following link.
A Last Word
The Comprehension 360 model is one of multiplication and addition. We provide very simple definitions in multiple formats and offer plenty of additional content to help you further your understanding. That is our andragogy.
For more on this subject consider:
Comprehension 360 is a series created by Corsair’s Institute to increase the reader’s understanding of key concepts in education and learning. For more articles like these — please subscribe to our magazine which shares its nameComprehension 360.
