CPI Adult Learning Theory & Andragogy 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Patricia Cross's Chain of Response (COR) model explains adult participation in continuing education primarily as a function of:
- Institutional marketing and advertising effectiveness
- A chain of psychological and situational variables influencing the decision to participate (Correct answer)
- Government mandates for lifelong learning
- Instructor charisma and classroom environment alone
Correct answer: A chain of psychological and situational variables influencing the decision to participate
Cross's COR model describes participation as a sequential chain from self-evaluation and attitudes about education to life transitions and learning opportunities.
Question 2: Which barrier to adult learning is classified as 'dispositional' according to Cross's typology?
- Class schedule conflicts
- High tuition costs
- Feeling too old to learn or lack of confidence (Correct answer)
- Lack of childcare or transportation
Correct answer: Feeling too old to learn or lack of confidence
Dispositional barriers relate to self-concept and attitudes toward learning, such as feeling too old or believing oneself incapable of academic success.
Question 3: A postsecondary instructor uses case studies drawn from students' professional fields. This strategy PRIMARILY leverages which principle of adult learning?
- Behaviorist reinforcement schedules
- Adults' experiential base and need for problem-centered learning (Correct answer)
- Cognitive developmental stage theory
- Pedagogy's teacher-directed authority model
Correct answer: Adults' experiential base and need for problem-centered learning
Using professional field case studies taps adults' prior experience and satisfies the andragogical need for problem-centered, relevant learning.
Question 4: According to self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan), which type of motivation produces the deepest and most sustained adult learning?
- External regulation driven by grades or punishments
- Introjected regulation driven by guilt avoidance
- Identified regulation driven by personal importance
- Intrinsic motivation driven by inherent interest and enjoyment (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Intrinsic motivation driven by inherent interest and enjoyment
Intrinsic motivation — learning for its own inherent satisfaction — produces the deepest engagement, retention, and long-term pursuit of learning.
Question 5: When designing instruction for adults, which approach BEST reflects Mezirow's transformative learning theory?
- Drill and practice to automate procedural skills
- Providing disorienting dilemmas that prompt critical reflection on assumptions (Correct answer)
- Strict lecture format with minimal student interaction
- Using simple recall questions to check factual retention
Correct answer: Providing disorienting dilemmas that prompt critical reflection on assumptions
Mezirow emphasized 'disorienting dilemmas' as catalysts that prompt adults to critically examine and potentially transform their frames of reference.
Question 6: In andragogy, the role of the instructor is BEST described as:
- The sole authority who transmits knowledge to passive recipients
- A facilitator who creates conditions for self-directed inquiry and mutual discovery (Correct answer)
- A disciplinarian who enforces strict learning standards
- A content expert who minimizes learner input to maintain accuracy
Correct answer: A facilitator who creates conditions for self-directed inquiry and mutual discovery
Andragogy repositions the instructor as a facilitator of learning rather than a transmitter of knowledge, supporting learner autonomy and mutual inquiry.
Question 7: Which concept from Allen Tough's research describes the majority of adult learning that occurs outside formal educational settings?
- Formal curriculum adherence
- Self-planned learning projects (Correct answer)
- Programmed instruction sequences
- Competency-based credentialing
Correct answer: Self-planned learning projects
Tough found that most adult learning occurs through self-planned projects — deliberate efforts to gain knowledge or skill — conducted outside formal institutions.
CPI Adult Learning Theory & Andragogy 3
Patricia Cross's Chain of Response (COR) model explains adult participation in continuing education primarily as a function of: