The field of adult education focuses on the similarities and differences between adult and youth learning. This encompasses variation in maturity, experiences, learning styles, and instructor roles. The academic terms that we refer to are andragogy and pedagogy, which were coined by Malcolm Knowles (Birkenholz, 1999). He defined these terms as:

• Andragogy: “The art and science of helping adults learn.”
• Pedagogy: ”The art and science of helping children learn.”

Knowles has shown that there are both similarities and differences in andragogy and pedagogy.

Similarities of adult and youth education:

• Learners must to ready to learn.
• Learners need clear objectives.
• Learners need to be taught at multiple levels of cognition.
• People learn best through a variety of techniques.

Differences between adult and youth education:

• Adults are voluntary learners (for the most part).
• Adults are application oriented.
• Adults have a greater need to see the relevance of course content.
• Adults know their needs better.
• Adults have higher expectations and desire to achieve goals and objectives.

Kristin Davis, a University of Florida doctoral student in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication, discusses practical applications related to adult and youth learning.

Narrated PowerPoint: Adult vs. youth learning (4:41)

Click here for a script for this presentation.

It is recommended that you open the narrated PowerPoint files with RealPlayer. You can download free players here:
RealPlayer - Download the RealPlayer; RealPlayer for Mac users - Download the RealPlayer for Mac OS X

Next, learn about the "Wall of Knowledge."

Destination 2: 8 of 11