(2030)APPLYING PRINCIPLES OF ADULT LEARNING IN A HIGHEREDUCATION SETTING: REFLECTIONS ON MY EXPERIENCE WITHTHE ANDRAGOGY THEORY AND PRACTICE

摘要

Adult learning can be a frustrating experience for both the teachers and students if the principles ofAndragogy are not well understood and applied. I first learned about Andragogy in 2007 when theCenter of Information Technology (CTI) of the university where I teach announced a training course.Then, I read and learned about the theory of teaching adults and some of the principles to beconsidered when teaching in a higher education setting. In this paper, the origin of the theory ofandragogy will be described very briefly accompanied by some notes on how the theory has evolved. Iwill also share some of the principles of the andragogy that have been helpful in my teaching practice.My reflections on andragogy helped to shift my journey from being a teacher to becoming a ‘facilitator’.With the intention of discovering the influences of my teaching practice within the framework of thisadult learning theory through the eyes of my young adult students I will show some quotes and resultsfrom the surveys and interviews which were carried out to help me in this reflection process. Thesetting of this research is a university in Latin America where the Center of Information Technology(CTI) and the Center of Transfer Technology (CTT) are some of the centers which provide trainingopportunities for their staff in order to improve teaching quality. The participants in the study arestudents of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses