Teaching and Learning Resources / Andragogy--Adult Learning Theory

Teaching and Learning Resources / Andragogy--Adult Learning Theory

MOOC

MOOC? MOOCC?  What is ACE? What that means for MOOC's. 

How does this play into Self-Directed learning?

I have been reading about them for years and they are here to stay, so here is the scoop...MOOC stands for massive open online course and it is a type of online course directed towards large-scale participation via the world wide web.  As an Adult Educator, where I get really interested in this topic is in the area of the role these classes play in distance education. 

Ok, so the concept is that the topics vary and are varied that are taught in these on-line classrooms.  The type of topic can be anything and you can be learning total bunk or real information that is scientific, has merit, is full of theory, but the idea is MOOC's unless connected with an accredited university or licensed body, may or may not be what the joiner of the course thinks it is.

The massive part means the class is scalable.  There can be an infinite number of participants.

Open suggests a participant is not bound to registration to the school or to pay a fee.

Certifications may be given if that is the purpose of the coursework and the "student" completes the assignments and tests given.  Usually there are no degrees given, but again, this area is morphing into something different than the original intention.

One example is Udacity which has a motto of Learn. Think  Do.  And they offer classes to people all over the world in all subjects.  Their recruitment is superb and the organization touches lives in a respectable, responsible and socially conscious manner every day.   There are others that do the same, however, it is hard-pressed to find a well-rounded example.

Another example is Coursera which states--  Take the World's Best courses, Online, For Free. 

To explain what ACE is I am going to use Coursera.  For the full article, please follow this link:  ACE to Asess Potential of MOOCs, Evaluate courses for Credit-Worthiness.  ACE is the American Council on Education.  In a nutshell, on November 13, 2012 they are now recommending some MOOC classes offered by for instance Coursera may be eligible for college credit and may meet certain academic criteria while meeting a need that cannot be met by a traditional classroom or traditional coursework.  So, MOOC's are free.  MOOC's thus far are available to everyone and are open.  Here is the dawn of a potential new era in on-line education.

This where I would like to explain about the self-directed learner.  Passive persons have difficulty seeking out this type of medium to learn in these types of environments.  It takes effort to find and stay with a program long enough to degree or certificate completion with an instructor, much less if a person makes a contract with oneself.  Programming that requires self-effort is even more difficult to maintain.  My argument is that programs such as these without outside influence are not for self-directed individuals.

There are new questions with MOOC's in my mind about now.  Are MOOC's going to stay free?  If so, are we going to have a whole society built on people with accreditation from MOOC's and what is it worth?  What about those individuals that pay for their degrees through other educational opportunities?  Will there be two degree systems?  What will happen to Higher Ed around the world?  Will persons that are not-self-directed have a more expensive Higher Education experience because they are not self-motivated?

As a reader, if you are interested in the history or philosophy of Massive Open Online Courses, there are a number of sites that explain this well, one being Wikipedia, which in my opinion as of today's date is behind about 6 months on explaining how fast this concept is moving, which is why I am going to explain briefly the term MOOCC.

Massive Open Online Course Communities--You will not find much out there about this yet, but these are groups forming talking about MOOC's and the facilitation of MOOC's.  These are taking two forms...one for the student side talking about the best MOOC's to join because of the accreditation and the other are the MOOC's themselves discussing Assessment, Accreditation, which ones to affiliate with and be a facilitator/instructor with.  Google + and other social media sites are wrapping themselves around the MOOC phenomenon to create a "social media" forum if you will for this type of e-learning.

There is just so much blooming in this topic with Adult Education and the Adult Learner out there and with last month's announcement.

What are your thoughts on the topic?  Where do you think MOOC's are going to take Higher Education?  How is this going to affect the Adult Learner?

Smith Article

Knowles:  A Historical Perspective

In pursuit of knowing the adult learner, I have dedicated myself to the study of andragogy, which in part we, as learners challenge ourselves in the seeking of truth for a purpose we decide as useful information.  Of course, this is on a continuum with pedagogy, which is another imparting their knowledge to us and then taking the information to apply to an end in which it is chosen for us to not only learn, but apply.

I found another article which ties Knowles into the larger picture trying to not only answer the question about what is "informal education," but how self-directed learning and the model in which he helped pen to paper shape modern day thoughts on Adult Educational practices with other theorists.

The article is a good and fast read.  If you are a student or looking for a compiled reference list for further study, please check at the bottom of the article for other interesting reads.

Please follow the link and all thoughts appreciated on this topic or about adult education, thanks.

Written by Mark K. Smith in 2002.

Smith, M. K. (2002) 'Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy', the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/thinkers/et-knowl.htm.

Tough Knowing Knowles? In the Pursuit of Self-Directed Learning

My whole learning life and being can be summed up with the same questions  I now ask my children..."So what have you learned?  Now, how can you apply that?  And, where does this lead to?"  Then the cycle repeats itself.

I am not saying that everything we do from the moment of birth on is related to education and the transfer of knowledge, but pretty much we are creatures created to take in information and then either apply or not apply what we have gleaned, but have you gone through a day where in some thought or action has not lead to anything?

I have been doing this same process for myself for over 40 years, and yet it is until in recent academic history that this whole concept has become studied and more formalized with theories and names in a more scholarly fashion.  I have asked my parents, grandparents and great-grandparents about how whey learn, you know...the "wh" questions....and to them learning has also been life-long, never ending and for the most part self-learned.

We are all walking around learning "junkies."  Some of us take the initiative to seek out knowledge and the transference to ourselves and this is why I have created this little spot on the virtual planet to discuss, share and further the pursuits related to, in and around the topic of androgogy and the self-directed learner.

It is meant to be a self-reflection as this idea came about in my pursuit of knowledge, but I want to take this topic one step further and become a touchpoint to interesting concepts, ideas, theories, and just to find the "neat stuff" surrounding the ideas that link the world of adult education to the concept that has been coined Self-Directed Learning or Androgogy.

I invite you to engage and join me in this topic area and have a bit of fun discussing what it is like to be an adult learner--what works, what doesn't work, what we understand or are having issues understanding.  My hopes is this interaction and collaboration results in meaningful debate and who knows, scholarly thoughts sparking those of us who truly do enjoy being the self-directed adult learner.