A Critical Examination of the Teaching Methodologies Pertaining to Distance Learning In Geographic Education: Andragogy in an Adult Online Certificate Program

Differences between student audiences are an important aspect not only of traditional learning in higher education, but also in the distance learning environment. Facilitators of distance learning coursework must be cognizant of the differences which adult students bring to the classroom and their varying expectations and reasons for learning. Taking these differences into account, the facilitator can better serve their remote adult and traditional students in the online setting. Case in point is an adult online GIS certificate program at a traditional liberal arts-based institution, which accommodates adult learning modalities and provides for adult learners to have ownership in their learning while providing a practical reason to learn while implementing geospatial concepts into their current job. Based on Malcolm Knowles theories of adult learning, adult online learners require certain aspects of andragogy which complement the content in an adult online experience. These include, but are not limited to: adults needing to know the reason for learning something; adult learners bringing life experiences to the classroom which are different from traditional undergraduate students; adults needing to be responsible for their decisions on education; adults being involved in the planning and evaluation of their instruction; adults being interested in learning subjects having immediate relevance to their work and/or personal lives; adult learning being problem-centered rather than content-oriented; and adult learners responding better to internal versus external motivators. This paper offers a case study of an online adult-oriented GIS certificate program at a traditional liberal art-based college whereby Knowles’ principles of andragogy are employed to offer adult students a rich online learning experience as a technical introduction to the geospatial technologies industry.