Before starting this unit I was not familiar with the term andragogy nor did I realize that there was an art and science behind helping adults learn. Reading through the unit six notes, Malcolm Knowles’s six principles of andragogy and what assumptions they imply about adult learners was very interesting. Part of my job is educating and training staff, and through my experience in working with adult learners, I have witnessed success and failure in my teaching efforts. The six principles outlined were accurate as to how receptive and motivated adults are to learn new information and skills, especially in my context.

1.) “As a person matures, his or her self-concept moves from that of a dependent personality toward one of a self-directing human being” (Unit 6 Notes, 2018).

In my experience, this principle reflects where the adult (nurse) is in their professional journey. To elaborate, if a nurse is at a novice versus proficient or expert competency level, this directly effects how dependant or self-directing they are when it comes to learning. For example, I have orientated many new staff and I consistently find that with nurses that are in the earlier years of their career they are always receptive to the ways we provide care, specifically in a hospice setting. They believe that if they follow these practices they are doing whats right and will be respected by others. The more seasoned nurses, on the other hand, will question and challenge why things are done a certain way and if they don’t agree with a certain care practice or information they are less likely to integrate it.

2.) “An adult accumulates a growing reservoir of experience, which is a rich resource for learning” (Unit 6 Notes, 2018).

What I have noticed with adult learners in my field of nursing, is that their years of experience seems to outweigh new research, literature and practice findings. The skills and knowledge they have gained from years of practical experience results in sometimes a very biased approach to new ways of doing things. Although they are very competent in their care and knowledge base, which fosters a very rich resource for learning, their discomfort with change seems to be a barrier at times to learning, that I continue to struggle with.

3.) “The readiness of an adult to learn is closely related to the developmental tasks of his or her social role” (Unit 6 Notes, 2018).

This principle was the most difficult for me to understand because I struggled to relate the readiness to learn with the developmental task of ones social role. I interpreted this principle to mean that depending on what social role the adult learner plays and their expected behaviours or duties associated with that role will effect their desire and readiness to learn. My example around this is when I am educating my staff about a new skill (developmental task) that may require a Registered Nurse to enact but because we have different levels of nurses on our unit, others may not be ready to learn because they aren’t the ones required to complete the skill (developmental task). Despite everyone’s responsibility to monitor the patient after the fact, the nurses not directly effected by carrying out the skill because of their role aren’t as ready or willing to learn about the skill being taught.

4.) “There is a change in time perspective as people mature – from future application of knowledge to immediacy of application. Thus, an adult is more problem than subject centered in learning” (Unit 6 Notes, 2018).

I can appreciate this principle because in healthcare you learn the most when you live the experience. One of the most effective ways to consolidate learning with the group of adults I work with is though case studies and reviews. I find that in just teaching a concept (subject) with no application does not achieve competence in practice. It is true what they say, we learn from our mistakes or when situations don’t go well. The learning that happens after a problem occurs seems to make lasting impression and therefore, the learning from case studies has been an extremely powerful and rich teaching method.

Additionally, as a nursing student you are overloaded with nursing theories and processes but until you can apply it immediately in your practice the content learned never stays with you until it is applied in practice.


5.) “Adults are mostly driven by internal motivation, rather than external motivators” (Unit 6 Notes, 2018).

My experience with this principle has probably been the most challenging for me in working with adult learners. Due to the fact that my role has a heavy teaching component, my ability to motivate staff to want to learn is a struggle at times. Having a very experienced group and trying to educate or shift practice is only effective if the adult on the receiving end is motivated and open to learning. One of the nurses I work with wasn’t maintaining their educational requirements and was falling behind our program and health authorities standards. There was no external motivators that were going to change this nurse’s perception or desire about keeping up with the educational requirements. It took a couple months of working with her and getting to know what internally motivated her to finally want to complete the education and training. I am very proud to say that she is now one of the best at ensuring that her educational needs are up to date and she is interested in learning for self improvement purposes.


6.) “Adults need to know the reason for learning something”. (Merriam & Bierma, 2014, p. 47)

In building on the last principle (#5), this is another assumption about adult learners that is completely applicable in my setting. One of the main reasons why I love working where I am is because I am consistently challenged by the nurses I work with. It is one thing to be able to teach a concept or new protocol to a group, but to understand why the learning is being integrated into practice is essential to consolidate learning. In addition, if there is not a clear and convincing reason behind the content being taught and the application is not practical, the group will not be receptive to learn or change. I make sure I provide the rationale, supported by clinical research if necessary, before running any inservice for my group of adult learners. This has allowed me the opportunity for growth as an educator, while supporting the nurses to learn and develop in their practice.

Daneen

References

Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning: Linking theory and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Unit 6 Notes. (2018). Retrieved October 27, 2018 from

Unit 6 Notes