ANDRAGOGY | Mysite

I have chosen to use the same learning experience that I analysed on the cognitivism/connectivism page to look at how this related to andragogy also. This learning involves teaching myself to crochet in order to make octopus soothers for premature babies which are donated to the charity Octopus for a Preemie UK.

This learning relates to Knowles' five assumptions as follows:

Self-concept: This is self-directed learning and an activity I decided to do as a new hobby and way of doing something valuable with my spare time.

Past-learning experience: I am from an art and design background and have previously tried basic textiles, crochet and knitting techniques (pretty unsuccessfully), so I was building on this prior knowledge with a more specific aim in mind.

Readiness to learn: There is a real value in this activity for the babies who receive the comforters as it prevents them pulling at their tubes in the incubator. There are also personal benefits in that it helps me to relax and gives a feeling of success when the octopuses pass the standards.

Practical reasons to learn: I am learning this skill in order to help a charity and for personal development. It particularly appealed as I have always wanted to be able to crochet and I can learn at my own pace and commit to as little or as much as I want to. There is a great community to help support you in your learning at any time of day, all with a shared goal.

Motivated to learn: By making a small commitment to produce a minimum of 1 octopus a month it keeps me motivated to learn. But I am also very intrinsically motivated to learn to develop a skill and be able to make further items for myself. After having had a view friends who have had very premature babies recently, I can see the benefit of charities such as Octopus for a Preemie and would like to contribute.

We can also see that the four principles apply to this learning scenario. As mentioned above, the learning was self-directed and I have planned and evaluated it myself throughout, with some guidance from the moderators and community. A significant amount of the learning comes from making mistakes and getting feedback from the moderators, then putting this guidance into the next soother made. I can also upload pictures to the Facebook page at any time and get advice from more experienced members who can identify issues and so I can undo the stitches and redo. It is task orientated learning, though with some elements of memorising, through needing to remember techniques and stitches, with tools to help me remember steps and skills throughout.

The background and skill level of all members of the charity is considered in the level of help provided, the feedback and terminology used, the provision of starter packs and workshops and the range of materials (and their associated costs from budget to expensive).

There is also a level of discovery involved in this scenario as everybody varies in their preferences for materials and tools, wool used, and hook technique. It takes some level of experimentation and discovery to find the tools and tension that works for you, and the stitches that work best with these. This takes quite a bit of guidance in the initial stages, but has an increasing level of independence as you practice and get to understand the range of options available.