ABSTRACT
The andragogical model is a process model, in contrast to the content models employed by most traditional educators. The difference is this: in traditional education the teacher (teacher or trainer or curriculum committee) decides in advance what knowledge or skill needs to be transmitted, arranges this body of content into logical units, selects the most efficient means for transmitting this content (lectures, readings, laboratory exercises, films, tapes, etc.), and then develops a plan for presenting these content units in some sort of sequence. This is a content model (or design). The andragogical instructor (teacher, facilitator, consultant, change agent) prepares in advance a set of procedures for involving the learners and other relevant parties in a process involving these elements: (1) preparing the learner; (2) establishing a climate conducive to learning; (3) creating a mechanism for mutual planning; (4) diagnosing the needs for learning; (5) formulating program objectives (which is content) that will satisfy these needs; (6) designing a pattern of learning experiences; (7) conducting these learning experiences with suitable techniques and materials; and (8) evaluating the learning outcomes and rediagnosing learning needs. This is a process model. The difference is not that one deals with content and the other does not; the difference is that the content model is concerned with transmitting information and skills, whereas the process model is concerned with providing procedures and resources for helping learners acquire
information and skills. A comparison of these two models and their underlying assumptions is presented in Table 6-1 in which the content model is conceived as being pedagogical and the process model as being andragogical.
