Adult Learning Timeline

  • 1575

    The origin of Pedagogy

    The origin of Pedagogy
    First recorded around 1575–85, "pedagogy" is from the Greek word "paidagōgía", the office of a child's tutor.
  • Alexander Kapp coined Andragogy

    Alexander Kapp coined Andragogy
    In 1833 the German gymnasium teacher Alexander Kapp used the concept of andragogy for the first time in history to refer to adult learning in the book "Platon’s Erziehungslehre, als Pädagogik für die Einzelnen und als Staatspädagogik".
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    John Dewey

    John Dewey was an American philosopher and educator, and a founder of the philosophical movement known as pragmatism, an innovator in functional psychology, and a leader of the progressive movement in education in the United States.
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    Robert Mills Gagné

    Robert Mills Gagné was a professor and an American educational psychologist who is mostly famous for his Conditions of Learning. He created the science of instruction during World War II.
  • David Kolb

    David Kolb
    David Kolb is an American educational theorist, who published his learning styles model in 1984 from which he developed his learning style inventory. Kolb's experiential learning theory works on two levels: a four-stage cycle of learning and four separate learning styles.
  • Use of term "Andragogy"

    Use of term "Andragogy"
    In the 1950s, European educators started using the term “andragogy,” from the Greek word "anere" for adult, and "agogus", the art and science of helping students to learn. They wanted to be able to talk about the increasing body of knowledge about adult learners in parallel with pedagogy.
  • Creation of EAEA

    Creation of EAEA
    The European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) is the voice of informal adult education in Europe. Originally known as the European Bureau of Adult Education, EAEA was established in 1953 by representatives from various European countries.
  • Conditions of Learning

    Conditions of Learning
    Robert Gagné first introduced his ideas of conditions of learning and instructional design implications in 1965. He theorized that there are different types of learning outcomes, each of which is best achieved through its specific instructional design.
  • Adult Learning Theory formulated

    Adult Learning Theory formulated
    Andragogy, also known as adult learning theory, was proposed by Malcom Shepard Knowles in 1968. Knowles recognized that there are many differences in the ways that adults learn, compared to the learning mechanisms of children.
  • ADDIE Model

    ADDIE Model
    ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implement, and Evaluate) first appeared in 1975. It was created by the Center for Educational Technology at Florida State University.