According to the Unit 6 Notes (2018), “Andragogy is the art and science of helping adults learn.” The concept of adult education is not something I have thought about extensively, though my ministry role does involve it, as I work with university students or “emerging adults.” This concept relates most to me in the context of working with my staff team and interns, as well as in my own experience of being an adult learner. Below are both experiences of working with adult learners and also personal experiences of growing as an adult learner:

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).

This has been evident in own personal development, especially in my role as a campus minister. When I first started ministry, I was definitely a “dependent personality”, although I tried to maintain an appearance of “independence.” My maturity was not where it is now. This was partially due to lower self-esteem, which led me to searching for affirmation from others.

Five and a half years later, though I still appreciate affirmation in my role, I have grown in self-confidence and do not need affirmation to know who I am or what I am good at. I have become more self-directed and self-led, through time, guidance and maturity.

2. “Adults accumulate a growing reservoir of experience, which is as rich resource for learning” (Unit 6 Notes, 2018).

It has been apparent to me personally and in the lives of others, that experience gives you a lot more “resources” to pull from. Much of my role is hearing about people’s lives and helping them learn to depend on and trust God in different situations. I have found with more time and experience, that listening and guiding people comes more naturally; as I have more personal experiences to relate to them on and draw from. I have found the teaching, sharing and guidance I offer people has become a lot “richer” and has more authority to it, rather than giving shallow advice with little experience.

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).

I was not entirely sure how to interpret this statement, but from what I understand this means there is a connection between developing in a job role and the individual’s capacity to learn. Basically, how you train and develop your staff, will impact their capacity to learn and continue learning in the role.

I observe this in how I have worked with newer staff and interns on my team. It is important to start with higher structure and delegating smaller, but developmental tasks with expectations, that stretch them a little beyond where they are at. Also it is important to make time to give good feedback after a job is done.

It is important to continue this process to build confidence and a willingness to learn and grow by trying “new” things or tasks they have not done before. Over time newer staff will mature and do not need as much structure. Then they can be delegated more unfamiliar or complicated tasks, that require learning and they can be trusted to see them through.

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 centred in learning (Unit 6 Notes, 2018). 

How I interpret this statement, is as people mature in adulthood, they apply lessons they learn easier and more efficiently to their life. When you are a kid or teenager, you are not yet fully responsible for yourself and your own actions, so often really learning application of things is less urgent.

However, when you are an adult, there is less to fall back on and an expectation to figure things out. People generally learn if you do not apply knowledge immediately, it can affect you a lot more readily. As a result, for adults problems become more central, as tangible and applicable solutions become a necessity.

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

Personally, I see this statement to be very evident in my own life. When I was in high school, a lot of my motivation came from social or academic pressure, which do have some internal motivators, but are mostly triggered by external motivation.

Now, as I have matured, I noticed that external motivators from my organization or other pressures, do not motivate. The pressure to keep up with demands is less fear-inducing and I notice my staff and myself, prefer to work from a place of internal motivation, rather out of “duty”, “fear” or “incentives.” They look for a clear “why”, not just “because we have to.” Honestly, the best staff on my team and those who are the most encouraging to work with, are those who are the most internally motivated.

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

I stated this above briefly, under point 5, but my staff and myself, we ask a lot of “why” questions, especially when it comes to things our greater organization is telling us to do or learn. Just “jumping through hoops and “ticking boxes” is frustrating for adults.

I have found as a ministry team leader it is very important to consistently cast a compelling vision and remind my staff team of the “why” of what we are doing, so there is good motivation and as a result better learning happens.

 

References

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

Unit 6 Notes. (2018). Retrieved Oct 29th, 2018 from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-6/unit-6-notes/