Andragogy is not only a word you can throw into conversations to impress and confuse your friends, it is a concept that all trainers should know about. Andragogy describes the adult learning process versus pedagogy, which describes how children learn—the two processes are quite different. Those of us responsible for training adults need to understand these differences.

Andragogy tells us that adults generally develop a deep seated need to be self-directed. Thus, when adults find themselves in a situation in which they are not allowed to be self-directing, they tend to be resentful and resistant. For trainers this translates as:

1. Adults need to be involved in the planning and evaluation of their own instruction.
2. Experience (including mistakes) provides the basis for learning activities.
3. Adults are most interested in learning topics that have immediate relevance to their job or personal life.
4. Adult learning is problem-centered rather than content-oriented.

The bottom line—trainers need to adopt a facilitative style that involves people in their own learning and not think of themselves as simply purveyors of training content.

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