Adult Learning Theory

Ben Gray

April 7, 2013

INFT 101

Summary

Learning is a very important thing, whether one is just starting out in grade school, or just starting out in college. Learning is not always easy, and the way that people learn can differ in many ways. The way that adults learn is called Andragogy, and the way children learn (K-12th) is called Pedagogy, which is the foundation for learning. (Merriam 2008)

The article, “Adult Learning Theory for the Twenty-First Century,” looks at what adult learning is and can be. It also looks very deep into how adults learn, and what is important to understand when dealing with adult learners. Sharan B. Merriam states in her article, “the more we know about how adults learn the better we are able to structure learning activities that resonate with those adult learners with whom we work” (Merriam, 2008, p. 93). Each year there are areas in adult learning that change. New strategies become invented, or old strategies become stronger and can then better identify with the adult learners. Adult life experiences can contribute in a great way to how they learn. They can take their experiences into the classroom and learn from others who have life experiences as well.

The article, “Adult Learning Theory: Applications to Non-Traditional College Students,” took a look at how the adults learn when coming into the collegiate environment from the outside world. There are two ideas to how adults structure their learning, the tacit theory, and the informal theory (Kenner & Weinerman, 2011). These two theories talk about how adults have their own strategies that come from workplace environments. The tacit theory has its disadvantages because what the adult learned in the work world may not be able to translate into the classroom, where as the informal theory still deals with strategies the adult has, but each one can learn from the other and their life experiences. When coming back to education after being away from it for a while it can...