Self Improvement Directory

Learn New Skills: Students Come First!

The way children and adults learn and the potential differences therein, has been a subject of contention for many years. Children most often learn new skills under the guidance of a teacher or parent. The process of teaching a child is referred to as pedagogy. Some theories of education posit that adults require different methods in order to best be taught, and that area is called andragogy. The most common method is based on five core assumptions.

History

The initial comparison between children versus adult learning sprang from an American schoolteacher, Malcolm Knowles' theory that an adult’s learning ability is different from that of a child. His book, published in 1970, The Modern Practice of Adult Education: Andragogy Versus Pedagogy, was what sparked a decades-long discussion among education experts who either thought that learning as children is not the same as learning as an adult, or that the two weren’t different enough to bother distinguishing.

The Learner

The first of the five core assumptions has to do with the concept of self. This is when the learner grows up to recognize that he or she is an individual who is capable of thinking for themselves and differentiating good from bad. Adults are already quite independent and often have a tendency to evaluate themselves or their environments. Children are still heavily dependent on rules and instructions from their teacher or guardian, and as such, the one who is giving instructions has full command of, and a larger part of the responsibility for, the child’s learning.

Experience

The second assumption involves experience. Kids have very little life experience to fall back on when they are faced with a learning activity or challenge. This lack of experience makes them listen carefully and be more influenced by their teachers. Adults, on the other hand, have had a lot of experiences which form a large part of their identity and will shape the way they learn.

Readiness

Children rely on the evaluation and feedback from their teachers to determine whether or not they are ready to move to a higher level of study, like the next grade or a more challenging course. Adults are guided by their own motivation to learn instead. They are able to determine on their own if they need to learn a new skill or subject and whether or not they are ready to take it on.

Orientation to Learning

Adults tend to have a perspective of learning as a means to an end, whether that be solving an existing problem or concern, or adding some satisfaction or enrichment to their personal lives. With kids, their way of learning is guided by subject matter, with no sense of urgency.

Motivation

The final key assumption is that of differing motivation. What exactly motivates one to learn is another interesting difference between children and adult learning. Grown-ups are driven to learn largely by emotions and an aspiration to become a better version of themselves. They act upon internal motivators. Children are most influenced by external factors like competition, peer pressure or the potential consequences of failure.