📝 When Teachers Learn: The Case for Andragogy

Dialogic #341 Leadership, learning, innovation Your Snapshot​ A summary of the key insights from this issue Professional development often lacks the interactivity and relevance that educators apply in their own classrooms. There is an irony in expecting passive learning from teachers. Andragogy provides a framework for more effective adult learning, based on principles like readiness to learn, motivation, and drawing on experience. AI chatbots are uniquely positioned to elevate andragogy...
TomWritten by
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Dialogic #341

Leadership, learning, innovation

Your Snapshot
​ A summary of the key insights from this issue

  • Professional development often lacks the interactivity and relevance that educators apply in their own classrooms. There is an irony in expecting passive learning from teachers.
  • Andragogy provides a framework for more effective adult learning, based on principles like readiness to learn, motivation, and drawing on experience.
  • AI chatbots are uniquely positioned to elevate andragogy principles in professional development through tireless personalisation and reinforcement of learning.

Have you ever found yourself in a professional development session, glancing at the clock every few minutes, feeling that the material isn’t relevant?

You’re keenly aware that the methods used to ‘teach the teachers’ seem ironically out of touch with the engaging, student-centred approaches you employ in your classroom. This irony hasn’t gone unnoticed by you or your colleagues. Yet, this is a common narrative in professional development for educators. Why is there such a disconnect, and more importantly, how can we bridge it?

The Case for Andragogy in Educator Development

Understanding the Disconnect

We often find ourselves in professional development sessions that starkly contrast with the interactive and student-centred learning environments we create. We sit as passive recipients rather than active participants, receiving generic content that seldom addresses our unique experiences or teaching challenges.

This common scenario highlights a significant gap in professional development: the failure to apply the principles of adult learning, or andragogy, which acknowledges that educators, like their students, benefit from a learning process that is personalised, engaging, and relevant.

The irony is palpable — while we foster environments of inquiry and engagement in our classrooms, our learning experiences often lack these elements.

The disconnect prompts a vital question: If we are to cultivate a culture of lifelong learning among our students, shouldn’t we also embody this within our professional growth? It’s time for the professional development of educators to reflect the principles we hold dear in our teaching practices.

Andragogy: A Framework for Adult Learning

Have you heard of ‘andragogy’? It’s not just educational jargon but a framework for designing compelling adult learning experiences. Coined by Eduard Lindeman in 1926 and later expanded by Malcolm Knowles, andragogy is a theory of adult learning (the term comes from the Greek word for adult, “andra”).

Knowles outlined six guiding principles of andragogy, each offering insight into the adult learner’s mindset.

As you read through, reflect on which is relevant to you.

  1. Need to Know: Adults must understand the ‘why’ behind their learning.
  2. Self-Concept: As self-directed individuals, adults take ownership of their learning journey.
  3. Experience: Each adult learner brings diverse life experiences that shape their learning.
  4. Readiness to Learn: Adults are primed to learn things that have immediate relevance to their roles.
  5. Orientation to Learning: They favour practical learning that solves problems rather than content for the sake of content.
  6. Motivation: While adults respond to external motivators, they’re especially driven by internal ones.

These principles don’t just define adult learning; they demand a rethinking of how we approach professional development. If adults are to learn effectively, the content must be relevant and acknowledge their capacity for self-directed growth and the value of their past experiences.

Andragogy and AI

One attribute of AI chatbots we don’t talk about enough is their tirelessness. These digital assistants offer an enduring presence, ready to repeat and reinforce learning without a hint of fatigue.

Integrating AI into professional development could elevate Knowles’ andragogical principles, offering a persistence that human facilitators can’t always match:

  • Need to Know: AI chatbots can tirelessly articulate the ‘why’ behind learning objectives, reinforcing the importance of each lesson until it resonates with the educator’s goals.
  • Self-Concept: AI supports self-directed learning continuously, always available to revisit concepts and adjust learning paths without judgment or impatience.
  • Experience: An AI system can infinitely draw on an educator’s experiences, allowing for limitless connections between past learning and new content, refining the learning experience each time.
  • Readiness to Learn: Since AI does not operate on a nine-to-five schedule, it’s ready when the educator is, whether for a deep dive into new material or a quick refresher at any hour.
  • Orientation to Learning: With their ability to repeat content as needed without fatigue, AI chatbots ensure that educators can learn through repetition and practice, reinforcing problem-solving skills with patience.
  • Motivation: AI’s consistency in revisiting goals and celebrating achievements can help maintain an educator’s motivation, offering encouragement and acknowledgement every step of the way.

AI chatbots, with their indefatigable nature, are ideally suited to support the cyclical nature of adult learning, where revisiting and refining understanding is key to deep, lasting professional growth.

⏭🎯 Your Next Steps
​Commit to action and turn words into works

  • Set aside 10 minutes this week to journal about your own experiences with professional development. How well were the principles of andragogy incorporated?
  • Have a conversation with a colleague about andragogy. Share perspectives on how professional development could be improved at your school.
  • Make a list of your professional learning goals. Next to each one, note how it connects to your role and experiences. Keep this visible as a reminder.

🗣💬 Your Talking Points
​Lead a team dialogue with these provocations

  • Let’s reflect on our own experiences as learners. When have we felt deeply engaged and invested in professional development versus feeling disengaged? What specific factors made the difference?
  • Imagine our ideal professional development incorporating andragogy. What would it look like? How can we start bringing elements of learner relevance, self-direction, and practical problem-solving into our PD? What small changes could we implement now?
  • How well do our current PD offerings align with the principles of andragogy? As a team, let’s map our typical PD against the six pillars of adult learning. Where are the most significant gaps we should address?

🕳🐇 Down the Rabbit Hole
​Still curious? Explore some further readings from my archive

⟶ The 6 Principles of Andragogy (Explained in 3 Minutes)​

video preview​

⟶ How to Make Learning as Addictive as Social Media | Luis Von Ahn | TED​

video preview​

⟶ Effective Professional Development – (EEF)​

PD has great potential; but it also comes with costs. We know that teachers engage in professional development activities whilst balancing multiple and, at times, competing commitments and time pressures. The need is clear, therefore, for PD to be well‑designed, selected, and implemented so that the investment is justified.
Thanks for reading. Drop me a note with any Kind, Specific and Helpful feedback about this issue. I always enjoy hearing from readers.

~ Tom Barrett​

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The Bunurong people of the Kulin Nation are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which I write and create. I recognise their continuing connection and stewardship of lands, waters, communities and learning. I pay my respects to Indigenous Elders past, present and those who are emerging. Sovereignty has never been ceded. It always was and always will be Aboriginal land.

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