Applying Knowles Adult Learning Theory in Nursing Education

Applying Knowles Adult Learning Theory in Nursing Education
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Applying Knowles Adult Learning Theory in Nursing Education
My last experience I had as an educator was when was serving as a nurse teaching a group of patients about the importance of physical activity, healthy eating, and healthy behaviours in reducing risk of cardiovascular diseases. I found Malcolm Knowles’ adult learning theory to be invaluable considering the group of patients comprised of adults above 40 years of age. In the theory, Knowles makes assumptions that adults are self directed, ready to learn, have adult learners’ experience, and are oriented and motivated to learn valuable ideas to improve their personal lives. In his four principles of andragogy, the theorist recommends that adults need to be involved, get first-hand experience, offer immediate relevance, and ensure learning is problem-cantered (Spies, Seale, & Botma, 2015). These assumptions and principles of Knowles’ theory are invaluable in nursing education.
Reflecting on the four principles of Knowles’ theory, I was able to attain some, but not all the objectives of having patients taking the initiative to apply the concepts I covered during the patient education program. One specific challenge I encountered is that the content I was targeting to cover could not be done within the limited time I had. Perhaps I could have improved my teaching experience by applying the fourth principle of Knowles’ theory of adult learning. In the fourth principle, the theorist directs that instead of paying much attention to covering content, nursing education, especially with adult patients, needs to be problem-oriented (Spies, Seale, & Botma, 2015). Since adult patients are self-directed and with a wealth of accumulated reservoir of experience, I sh...