The six key assumptions about adult learner according to Malcolm Knowles include:

  1. Need to know-  Adults need to know why they should learn something and how it benefits them. Adults will often apply this new knowledge to solving problems in the new future.
  2. Self-Concept- Adult learners may have difficulty with someone telling them what to do and how to think. This gives the instructor the opportunity to engage learners in choice. This choice can be in various forms such as: determining learning objectives, creating assignments, makings assessment or determining how to approach the learning objective.
  3. Experience- Previous experience is important to adult learners. Adults have a lifetime of experience and want to use and share what they know to enhance their learning. Within certain parameters, this collaborative environment that promotes experience exchange can be powerful in the classroom. It seems important to ensure that students are contributing information that is enhancing the specific topics being explored through the classroom objective and that various perspectives are able to be shared.
  4. Readiness to learn- Adults become ready to learn something when they have a need to solve a problem. This will require the instructor to be focused and create a learning environment where classroom practices can be applied in a real world setting.
  5. Orientation to learning-  Learners’ orientation to learning can be life, task or problem centered. Having mutual respect and creating an atmosphere where students can share their learning objectives can help an instructor guide students through a class or coursework.
  6. Motivation to learn- Internal priorities are more important than external ones. Learners have some sort of incentive or reason to continue learning. As the educator, it is important to support student’s personal inquiries and reasons for learning. This doesn’t mean trying to shape a classroom around each students’ needs but it does mean giving students the opportunity to be successful by providing support.

What is andragogy and how does andragogy relate to online teaching and learning?

According to Effective Online Teaching, “Andragogy describes a learner-centered approach to learning in which the adult learner determines the goals for learning and how they will be achieved” (Stavredes 2011). This approach is highly dependent on the learner’s personal motivation and background. Learners that thrive in the six assumptions set by Knowles will do well if they “have high motivation, an established knowledge base in the subject matter, and life experience to support their knowledge base” (Stavredes 14). These six assumptions of Knowles and the concept of andragogy will not work if the learner is “new to the subject, with little life experience, or with low motivation” (Stavredes 14). The differences in learners requires that instructors in online teaching provide different levels of support to meet the needs of a range of students.  

Despite the differences that learners bring to the classroom environment, there are certain factors that all students benefit from. These benefits include being: “treated with respect”, “building a mutual respect” through not telling adults what to do and through “contextual descriptions that allow [adults learners] to understand the need to know the content” (Stavredes 14). This appropriate communication in the online setting can “have a positive effect on [student’s] satisfaction, motivation, and ability to persist and learn”  (Stavredes 14). Teaching in respect to andragogy needs to provide low motivation learners or new learners with support while maintaining respect and incorporating learner determined goals for achievement. When these ideas are applied to Knowles six assumptions of the adult learner, there is a greater chance for the learner’s success.