Instructional coaches play an impactful role in the educational system. Since they are responsible for mentoring teachers and affecting the quality of education which they further give to the students, they have to have an excellent understanding of the efficient strategies of adult education. There are the concepts of andragogy, which is associated more with learning adults, and pedagogy, which is more related to learning children. Both of them contain useful strategies with the design to improve adults’ educational experience as well as directly apply to the duties of an instructional coach.
Approaches to the teaching process generally divide to two formats: pedagogical and andragogical. Pedagogical method is considered to be more traditional, as people have been aware of it and consciously applying it to the educational process for a longer time rather than andragogical. Andragogy, however, was introduced by Malcolm Knowels in the 20th century. Its core principals apply to the adult learners specifically, and define the ways in which they are different from children learners. This way, andragogy justifies the use of modified approaches while working with adult learners due to various factors, including the application of knowledge, internal focus, relations to social roles and independency (Ames, 2022, pp. 5-6). However, both pedagogical and andragogical approaches can bring certain benefits to the adult learners.
Traditional pedagogical approaches center on the transmission of the experiences. Essentially, it means that the relevant sources such as readings and a teacher’s insight are the primary origin of the information for the learners (Hodgson and Richardson, 2022). This way, on a course of working with children, which is common to pedagogy, the learners are not expected to demonstrate distinctive possession of certain experiences. Instead, through pedagogical approaches other people’s experiences are provided to the learners in order for them to evaluate their own knowledge on the matter.
Pedagogy has its evident advantages and disadvantages in relation to the adult learners. The lack of expectation for a learner’s own perspective and experience within the studied field limits the practical options for learning and reduces the contribution of field-specific actions. Moreover, as the teacher presents the information from the position often superior to the learner, the concepts of motivation and dependency tie closely to the teaching figure. Thus, the learner is more likely to majorly rely on external sources while advancing their knowledge.
At the same time, pedagogical teaching approaches enable the learner to focus thoroughly on the theoretical part and the knowledge itself. This way, adult learners can enhance their knowledge in shorter periods of time due to the lack of specific case studies within the process. Additionally, the dependent position contributes to the level of motivation and allows the teaching figure to have a direct influence on the learner’s constant engagement in the overall process.
As for andragogy, the focus of attention of the learner noticeably shifts from the external sources and dependency to the personal experiences and evaluations. While some people believe that andragogy is a modified version of pedagogy (Loeng, 2018, p. 6), there are obvious differences related to the way adults are expected to learn according to andragogical approaches. That being said, the core principle of andragogy is one’s orientation towards learning from the process rather than the content. Therefore, the format of learning evidently changes from the consumerist dynamics to self-evaluation and simulations.
One of the obvious benefits of andragogical approaches in relation to the adult learners is the fact that andragogy itself was specifically introduced as an innovative method for improving adults’ educational experiences. Thus, it focuses on the way adults are already integrated to the society and develops a technique which allows adults to rely on their life experience and individual knowledge. As for the disadvantages, an adult learner’s position within andragogical approaches is recognizably self-sufficient as they depend on the inner sources rather than external ones. Hence, they might not reciprocate teachers’ advices on the same level of efficiency as it could work if a teacher was the main source of influence and motivation.
Since instructional coaches have to educate and mentor adults, the theories of andragogy and pedagogy are directly related to their work. In order to provide a decent support to the mentees, instructional coaches can combine both andragogical and pedagogical approaches. Knowles’ principals identified specific characteristics of adults which majorly determine their learning experiences. Thus, it can be applied while creating an educational plan for an adult. Additionally, certain elements of pedagogical approach can be used in order to maintain higher rates of external motivation and the awareness of different biases related to the studied field.
Efficient andragogical strategies with a purpose of engagement of adults could be an active involvement of their own experience in the process of learning and a detailed orientation to the tasks and case studies. The first allows the learners to apply their knowledge within the studied fields, which affects the rates of sensed familiarity with the subject and the formal engagement. As for the second strategy, it provides a relevant context to the educational experience and allows the adults to recognize the utility of the process of learning within a given field. This way, andragogical strategies can directly contribute to an adult’s levels of motivation, engagement and performance, which allows an instructional coach to support them better and to maintain their interest in the education.
References
Ames, J. (2022). Adult Learners and Instructional Practices.
Hodgson, M., & Richardson, H. (2022). Pedagogical approaches for professional learning. Oxford Textbook of Public Health Palliative Care, pp. 265-273.
Loeng, S. (2018). Various ways of understanding the concept of andragogy. Cogent Education, 5(1).