When
deciding on my degree program, I ran into the first of many
personal learning hurdles. What program
should I undertake, if I desire to teach teachers? Should I focus on the subject matter in the field
itself (e.g., secondary curriculum), or should I focus on how to teach adult
learners? In other fields, the choice is
much clearer: e.g., to teach English
Composition, one majors in the field of English, not adult education.
I decided on subject matter as a focus and began my
journey in Curriculum and Instruction (in-field). However, I soon became
frustrated with the material we were learning as it mirrored my undergraduate
work: same theories, same topics, same
theorists (for the most part). Once one has "Piageted," one has "Piageted." I got it, already!
The “move” to adult education has offered me some powerful new insights into
not only how adults learn, but how I learn. Further, the study of andragogical principles has validated some of the
choices I made in instructing high school students. I’m continually struck by the parallels
of andragogy and self-directed learning as they pertain to secondary students
and what school districts now desire of their students. These have made, and
will continue to make, a huge difference in the field of secondary education.
The
push for differentiated learning, critical thinking skills, flipped classes, and
Whole Child instruction –all recent “buzz” on the education front--clearly reflect
andragogical principles, not just pedagogical ones. (It would be interesting to see
how teachers would react to a semantical switch.)
As I
straddle this fence of teaching teachers, I am wondering why these principles and
theories are not offered as part of a secondary educator’s curriculum. Much
like Jarvis, I am more interested in human learning than adult learning or children's learning (McCluskey, Illeris, & Jarvis, 2007, p. 9), and the
distinction between the two seems to be becoming more and more blurred,
especially when considering adolescents and young adults in the secondary
system.
I suppose
then, the difference all of this might make in the field of secondary education the ability of my intended learners (new teachers) to use what is warranted for their students as opposed to tying their hands with canned and prepackaged with nice educational labels by school districts.
Did some of my high school students surpass me as their teacher? You bet! Many of my students were just far more
intelligent than me, and that awareness made a huge difference in the way I
taught them.
Pedagogy had no place in some of my high school classes. In others, it had
a role only at the beginning.
I want
aspiring educators to know that and accept this "contradiction of life" ((Knowles,
Holton, & Swanson, 2011, p. 225) instead of fighting for some illusive perceived entitlement
of a position of authority. If embraced by secondary educators, the use of andragogical
principles would certainly make their work with students more meaningful—for themselves
and the students.
References
McCluskey,
H.Y., Illeris, K., & Jarvis, P. (2007). Knowles's andragogy, and models of
adult learning. In Merriam S. B., Caffarella R. S., Baumgartner, L. M.,
Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (3rd ed.), 83-104.