Learning refers to a permanent change that occurs in an individual. Different age groups of students require different learning and teaching environments. The teacher needs to know the best method to teach students. Adults want to learn in a practical environment. They want to perceive the purpose of studying to grasp the topic. This paper discusses the learning behaviour of adults, online learning and andragogy principles defined by American educator Malcolm Knowles. It also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of online learning.
Table of Contents
Introduction
An educator is responsible for teaching the concept in a way students can understand and use. An educator has to know the psychology of a student and the way he takes the lesson and understands it. Many educators are using the andragogic concept that is based on adult education.
Andragogy describes the adult learning methods. The author Knowles defines adult learning principles that educators can use to create different learning models. These learning principles are mostly suited to e-learning or online learning environments. Today, online learning is the trending technology used in high schools and universities to educate students interactively.
Andragogy describes that adult students learn in a different way than kids. They need an environment where they can get experience, use the existing knowledge, and relate the life situations to understand the concepts. Educators have to motivate and engage adult students in a learning process.
Problem Statement
The purpose of this research is to determine adult learning, the andragogy principles are discussed, and its usage in online learning. It also informs the educators to improve the quality of teaching by discussing the teacher’s behaviour and learner’s behaviour in the e-learning environment. It also finds the importance of online learning and its impact on the adults. The research data is collected from secondary resources and previously reviewed research.
Research Analysis
Adults require a different learning environment where they can understand the purpose of education and the relation of the subject to their field and get practical knowledge of each concept. Malcolm Knowles, an American educator, was the first person to label the adult learning concept as andragogy. He discovered that adult learning is different from kids.
He worked with adults and found that instructors need to understand the actual interests of learners. He also describes the best learning environment for learners as one where learners and instructors cooperate, use educational resources, and interact with each other to get a deep understanding of the concept. The instructor has to help the learners to develop their potential.
According to Knowles, adults are self-directed learners, who want to get experience in education, they get into education to learn, they are problem-centred, and they get motivated by internal factors. The educators have to create a learning environment where learner’s interests are explored. Knowles also suggests that educators apply the seven-step process to use the andragogy assumptions. They include
- create a cooperative learning environment,
- define mutual goals that align with the learner’s interests,
- diagnosis of learner needs and interests,
- help learners to understand the learning objectives of subjects and relate them to their interests,
- design activities to achieve these learning objectives, such as giving assignments,
- use the plan to achieve the objectives using different learning methods, materials and resources,
- Evaluate the quality of learning and improve it to achieve better results.
E-learning or online learning is the trending concept used for distance learning. In this method, the educators teach students over the network in a virtual classroom using LMS software. It is different from traditional classroom learning because educators and learners do not meet physically. Asynchronous communication will take place between the educators and learners. The time and place of learning and teaching also differ in this environment.
A student can take classes on their own time. The online learning environment provides an interactive environment where the educator supports and provides materials to help the student understand the concept. They also test the student’s understanding of the concepts by taking tests and giving assignments to make students research the topic and get more knowledge of it.
The Knowles concept of andragogy is useful and applicable in the online learning environment to get effective results. Nowadays, high schools and universities are using online discussion boards to make students learn and interact with each other. They are giving tasks and discussion topics to students and giving them points for their participation. This allows the students to interact and learn from their peers.
General Findings
Online learning and the andragogy concept of Knowles are very helpful in understanding the adult’s behaviour in learning and experience. The adults do not want to go to the classrooms but want to learn in their own time and space. Online learning allows adult students to learn from anywhere and at any time.
The educators also provide online support and guide them whenever they want. The learners have to be engaged in the learning, and it is the responsibility of the educators to do so. Providing materials and referring to the textbooks does not enable the learners to understand the concepts. To engage in the subject, the educator has to create a collaborative environment by allowing peers to discuss the topic and relate it to real-life situations.
The educator has to grade the discussions and assignments. Communicate with the learners to understand their weaknesses and problems in understanding the concept and assist them to help them in learning. The educator has to ask about previously learned topics and allow the learner to think and relate the topics of the subject.
In this research, we find that the educator has to understand the learners before they start teaching any subject. When students understand the concepts and use the given materials, then they do not memorize the concepts to pass the examinations. Online learning and the andragogy principles help educators to create an interactive and collaborative learning environment.
Advantages Of Online Learning
Online learning is adopted in higher education because it provides many opportunities to both educators and learners. Some of the strengths of online learning are
- Anywhere: Adults want to learn in their place and time. Online learning provides an opportunity for adults to attend classes from anywhere. It is helpful for the disabled and physically challenged people to learn and gain knowledge.
- Anytime: Time efficiency is the benefit of the online learning environment. It allows students to take classes at any time. The students have access to the courses, materials, and tools at any time. They also have continuous access to online discussions.
- Synergy: A continuous synergy will be developed through the online learning process as it allows the students and educators to interact dynamically. It allows the students to interact with their peers and understand the concepts in their language and understanding.
- High-quality dialogue: Students can comment and ask their doubts in the middle of the lecture, which creates a face-to-face learning environment. The educator and other students must notice the comment and respond to the comment to engage students in the lecture.
- Student-centred: Students use the materials, learn, and comment on each other questions. It allows the students to control their learning experiences, meet their needs through discussions, and contribute to classroom teaching.
- Level playing field: In the online learning environment, the students are anonymous to each other, which reduces the chances of discrimination and only concentrates on learning, understanding, and contribution.
Disadvantages Of Online Learning
Technology: Not all students have the technology to experience online learning. The students from rural and poor students cannot afford to buy the technology. Internet is expensive in some areas of the United States. The network downtime creates issues in the learning environment.
Computer literacy: Students and teachers should have basic knowledge of computers and the internet to achieve benefits from online learning.
Limitation of technology: Technology is not always reliable. Not all technologies are helpful in online learning programs. System crashes, hardware or software failures, internet connection breakouts, and other technological issues arise in online learning that disrupt the learning schedule.
Why Is This An Opportunity
Online learning provides many opportunities to students and educators. It allows experienced lecturers to share their teaching and provide different courses to the students. Online learning allows students to take useful courses remotely and be certified as in traditional education.
Why Is This Threat
Online learning is a threat to the traditional classroom learning environment because students want to learn in their own space and time. However, it does not provide the actual happiness to the student that can be achieved in the physical classrooms. They cannot meet their friends and feel the natural learning environment. Sitting in front of the computer also results in health issues like back pain, weak eyesight, and others. It also increases the threat to personal data because of cyber attacks.
The Solution: Andragogy Concept
The andragogy concept helps the educator to understand the students and their learning strategy before teaching them topics. It helps to improve the learning and teaching methods both in online and offline classes.
Conclusion
The andragogy concept is accepted by many educators in North America. It is helpful to improve the teaching method for adults. The andragogy concepts help educators to understand their students and teach them in the way they want.
The research paper discussed the andragogy concepts, principles, the online learning environment, benefits, and threats to help educators understand their students. When learning becomes interactive, students can relate to their subjects in real-time and increase their skills to solve real-time problems. Such students can achieve more in their careers.
Online learning is still new in many countries; the researchers can further research to assess the learning by taking surveys of online learners and finding a way to make the technology friendlier to new users.