Module 5 Reflection

In the pedagogic model, teachers assume responsibility for making decisions about what is learned, and how and when something will be learned. Ragogy, by contrast, is the art and science of helping adults learn. In the andragogical model there are five assertions: 1) Letting learners know why something is important to learn, 2) showing learners how to direct themselves through information, 3) relating the topic to the learner’s experiences. In addition, 4) people will not learn until they are ready and motivated to learn. 5) This requires helping overcome inhibitions, behaviors, and beliefs about learning (Pew, 2007).

I definitely believe that it would be more beneficial for adult learners to shift to androgogy simply because adults learn differently and at different paces. Adults are usually motivated and are learning new things because they want to learn them, not because they have to learn them like children. The internal motivator alone is enough for the adult learner to become a lifelong learner and be able to shift as needed to andragogy. Personal motivation is key for the adult learner to want to acquire new knowledge. Adult learners learn new skills that will assist them with a new job or training for a new position, unlike with pedagogy, learning new things because of a requirement. Pew (2007) states that in andragogy, the educational focus is on facilitating the acquisition of and critical thinking about the content and its application in real-life practical settings.


Pew, S. (2007, January). Andragogy and Pedagogy as Foundational Theory for Student Motivation in Higher Education. InSight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching, 2, 14-25. Retrieved March 22, 2009, from Education Research Complete database.