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Teaching at College- Andragogy and Pedagogy

Teaching support for faculty

Teaching Resources to Support OC Faculty

Welcome!

On this guide you can use the tabs to locate sources organized topically on a variety of teaching approaches, both in concept and in mode of delivery. Some of the resources will be from the library and others from reliable sources on the web. If you encounter broken links, please let us know!

Additionally, don't forget that the Center for Learning Innovation is an incredible resource for instructors here at OC.

students in a college classroom

Learn more with these resources

Pedagogy

Pedagogy refers to the practice and methods of teaching, particularly as it relates to academic and/or theoretical subjects. It is the study of how knowledge and skills are best imparted and takes into account how this process is influenced by, and influences, the development of learners and the world around them. The term pedagogy is used to describe approaches to teaching of students from pre-school through senior years. The theory and practice of pedagogy varies enormously based on setting and subject matter. 

Andragogy

Andragogy, "the art and science of helping adults learn," describes an approach to education that recognizes that teaching adults has unique features. Adults bring life-long and "life-wide" learning into the classroom with them and this philosophical approach to teaching positions instructors as guides and/or mentors to those adults.

Lectures, exams, research papers, and readings, to name just a few traditional instructional strategies, can be implemented within the andragogy approach- it is not about the techniques used, but more about the underlying assumptions of the instructor and the objectives these strategies serve.