Androgogy and Pedagogy

Q. 1

How do adults learn? How is Andragogy different from Pedagogy? What is the role of appropriate climate setting in desired training outcomes? Emperical research brought out that there are differences between learning styles of young and adults. It reflected that the pedagogy model may not be suitable for adult learners. Adult educators coined the term andragogy for the growing body of knowledge about adult learners that would enable them to talk about it in parallel with the pedagogy model. It was initially used to mean the art and science of helping adults learn. Later on it came to be used alternatively to pedagogy. The andragogy model proposed that adults: 1. Learn best when they are free to determine what, how, and when they should learn. 2. Are highly self-directed learners. 3. Learn more through non-formal, unorganized and loosely structured programmes because there s scope to apply gray cell sand pick out what is important by structuring it in the fashion easiest to them. 4. Have a need to know why they should learn something 5. Have a very sharp sense of understanding what is their benefit in learning and loss in not learning. Pedagogy is the traditional method of child education in which the teacher decides what is to be learnt, how it is to be learnt and when learning is to take place. It may be the best model for child education but it is clearly inadequate for adult learning, especially when it comes to work or career-related learning within the process of HRD requiring more active approach from the learner with experience. It is a process-based rather than content-based (pedagogy) and anchored on four (later five) main assumptions about the characteristics of adult learners which make them different from child learners- Malcolm Knowles. 1. Self-concept: As people mature their concept of self moves away from being dependent towards being a self-directed human being. 2. Experience: As people mature they accumulate their own individual, growing, growing reservoirs of experience that provide an increasing resource for learning. 3. Readiness to learn: As people mature, their learning readiness becomes oriented to the development of their social roles 4. Orientation to learning: As people mature, their time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application and as a result
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they shift from a subject-centered to a problem-centered orientation towards learning. Motivation to learn: As people mature the motivation to learn is internal

Climate setting Developing a climate conducive to learning is a pre-requisite. The role of climate setting in desired training outcomes are: 1. Participants should feel respected: Participants will learn faster if they are given a feeling of being respected and not made to feel small which will divert their attention towards rationalizing their feelings and learning will be hindered. Feeling to be conveyed that participants should be supportive: Participants if supportive of the activity, will include a willingness to learn. Mutual trust between trainer and learner: If there is mutual trust then there would be ready acceptance of the trainers views. Training environment should be fun: The spontaneity existing in an environment which is fun-filled leads to quick internalization of learning inputs. Human touch helps learning: When people are treated as human beings and not machines, learning accrues readily. A serious result-oriented approach is conducive for learning: When trainees are made to feel that training means business, learning is quick and deep.

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Q2

Explain in-basket exercises. What are the expected learning outcomes? What is modus operandi of using in-basket exercises? This is a versatile training method for developing analytical skills, managerial acumen in understanding of organizational process and decision making skills in the trainees. The method is very flexible as it can be used in any training situation. Its utility gets further exaggerated because of its practical application learning by doing and instantenous feedback. The modus operandi involved is: 1. Place an in-tray and out-tray on an executive table. The in-tray contains sheets of paper, each requiring attention of the trainees in terms f solution to problem highlighted and immediate decision. The out tray is empty. 2. The trainee is made to sit on the chair placed in front of the desk and is supposed to dispose of the papers in the tray one by one analyzing the situation highlighted in the papers as a regular manager would handle it and after giving his comments n the body of the paper and signing it: place it in the out-tray 3. Likewise, the trainee is required to deal with all papers in the in-tray within a specific period of time say, half and hour.
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The learning outcomes of this exercise are: 1. Assessing managerial ability of the individual with regard to various managerial functions. 2. Assessing ability to take on the spot decisions in various functional issues related to jobs on-hand. 3. Estimating the degree on in-depth understanding of organizational processes. 4. Estimating the ability of the person to understand the dynamics of organizational interpersonal equations, IT solutions, superior subordinates relations, communication processes and work culture. 5. Enabling the trainee to identify his/her ability to adopt the role of the manager or head of Department and take the decisions. 6. To impart training to the trainees to anticipate different expected roles on has to play on-the-job. Steps involved in the In-basket exercise 1. An executive table as two trays: in tray and out tray. 2. The trainee is supposed to read each document/paper and record his observation and necessary instructions and place the paper in the out-tray. 3. The trainee/participant has been given a specific time within which he has to complete the task. 4. The trainee exercises his judgment on each issue and take a decision. 5. The information/data received by him to take the decision and issues necessary instructions are contained on the sheets/documents. 6. The participant should tae decision according to his interpretation of the situation. In fact, the trainee plays the role of a manger notionally presuming that he is a manager. Examples of various types of situation the trainee is expected to negotiate 1. A worker who is a chronic absentee again absents himself and the HOD has lodged a complaint to the management. The case has been put up to the trainee. 2. In a different case, a person has stolen some money. 3. A supervisor has misbehaved with the shift In-charge. 4. A worker has been taken into police custody on the suspicion of murder.