Teaching adults in postsecondary settings requires fundamentally different approaches than teaching children. ED5344 develops the theoretical knowledge and practical strategies needed to design effective learning experiences for adult learners across diverse postsecondary environments — from traditional universities to community colleges, professional development programs, corporate training settings, and online learning platforms.
Adult development theory and its instructional implications
Understanding how adults develop shapes how we teach them
- Knowles's andragogy: ED5344 covers Malcolm Knowles's foundational theory of andragogy — the art and science of helping adults learn — and its six core assumptions: adult learners are self-directing, bring accumulated experience that serves as a resource for learning, are motivated by developmental tasks tied to their social roles, are oriented toward immediate application of knowledge, need to know why they should learn something, and are motivated by internal rather than external factors. These assumptions have direct implications for instructional design: adults respond better to problem-centered than content-centered instruction, need to participate in planning and evaluating their learning, and learn best when they can connect new knowledge to their existing experience
- Developmental stage theories: The course examines how adult cognitive, psychosocial, and moral development progresses through stages that affect readiness to learn and capacity for complex thinking. Perry's scheme of intellectual and ethical development describes how college-age learners move from dualistic thinking (right/wrong, authority-dependent) through multiplicity and relativism to committed relativism — a progression with direct implications for how instructors scaffold critical thinking. Kegan's orders of consciousness describe how adults construct increasingly complex meaning-making systems throughout adulthood, affecting their capacity for self-directed learning, perspective-taking, and tolerance of ambiguity
- Maturation and learning capacity: ED5344 examines how physical, cognitive, and psychosocial maturation across the adult lifespan affects instructional approaches. While certain cognitive functions (processing speed, working memory capacity) decline with age, others (crystallized intelligence, expertise, pattern recognition) strengthen — meaning that effective instruction for older adults looks different from instruction designed for traditional-age college students, not because older adults are less capable, but because their cognitive strengths and preferences differ
Teaching strategies for diverse postsecondary environments
Postsecondary education now encompasses an extraordinary range of environments, and ED5344 develops instructional strategies that work across this diversity. The course covers strategies for face-to-face instruction (discussion facilitation, Socratic questioning, active learning techniques, experiential learning activities, collaborative group work), online and blended instruction (asynchronous discussion design, synchronous session facilitation, community of inquiry development, multimedia integration, learner engagement in digital environments), and competency-based instruction (mastery-based assessment, personalized learning pathways, learner-paced progression, coaching and mentoring). The course also addresses the growing diversity of postsecondary learner populations — including first-generation college students, working adults returning to education, military veterans transitioning to civilian education, English language learners, students with disabilities, and learners from diverse cultural backgrounds — and how instructional strategies must be adapted to serve these varied populations equitably.
Current developments in adult education pedagogy
ED5344 examines current developments reshaping adult education pedagogy. The course covers transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1991) — the process through which adults critically examine their assumptions, beliefs, and perspectives and revise them based on new experiences and reflection — and its implications for instructional design that promotes deep learning rather than surface-level knowledge acquisition. The course also covers self-directed learning (Candy, 1991; Tough, 1971) — both as a characteristic of adult learners and as a goal of adult education — including strategies for developing learners' self-directed learning capacity through metacognitive instruction, learning strategy training, and gradually increasing learner autonomy. Additional developments covered include the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) as a framework for evidence-based instructional improvement, universal design for learning (UDL) as a proactive approach to accessible instruction, and culturally responsive teaching practices that recognize and leverage learners' cultural assets rather than treating cultural diversity as a deficit to be overcome.
Reflective practice and instructional improvement
Building on the reflective practitioner competencies developed in the prerequisite ED5340, ED5344 applies reflective practice specifically to postsecondary teaching. The course develops the capacity to systematically examine one's own teaching practice — analyzing what worked, what did not, and why — and to use those reflections to drive continuous instructional improvement. Drawing on Schon's (1983) concepts of reflection-in-action (adjusting practice in real time during instruction) and reflection-on-action (systematic post-hoc analysis of instructional episodes), the course develops habits of mind that transform teaching from a routine activity into an ongoing inquiry process. The course also covers peer observation and collaborative reflection as professional development strategies for postsecondary educators who, unlike P-12 teachers, often receive little systematic feedback on their teaching practice.
ED5344 assignments include teaching philosophy statements, instructional design projects, adult learner analyses, and reflective teaching journals
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Teaching philosophy statements, instructional designs, adult learner analyses, reflective journals, best practices papers.
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Frequently asked questions
The distinction between andragogy (adult learning) and pedagogy (child learning) has significant practical implications for postsecondary teaching that ED5344 develops in detail. In traditional pedagogy, the teacher controls what is learned, when, and how — the learner's role is primarily receptive. In andragogy, the instructor serves more as a facilitator or guide, creating conditions in which adult learners can take ownership of their learning. In practice, this means several things. First, adult learners need to understand why they are learning something before they engage with it — opening a class session with "today we will cover chapter 7" is pedagogical; opening with "today we will develop a skill you will use in every client meeting for the rest of your career" is andragogical. Second, adult learners bring substantial life and professional experience that serves as a learning resource — pedagogical instruction treats all learners as starting from the same blank slate, while andragogical instruction elicits and builds on learners' existing knowledge and experience through discussion, case analysis, and reflection. Third, adult learners are oriented toward solving real problems in their professional and personal lives — pedagogical instruction is typically subject-centered (organized around academic disciplines), while andragogical instruction is problem-centered (organized around real-world challenges that learners are motivated to address). However, ED5344 also develops a nuanced understanding that andragogy and pedagogy are not a strict binary — the same adult learner may need more instructor direction (pedagogical approach) when encountering entirely new content and more self-direction (andragogical approach) when working within their area of expertise. Effective postsecondary teaching requires the judgment to match the instructional approach to the learner, the content, and the context.