Free Essay Sample on Knowles' Theory in Teaching Covid-19 Control Measures

The phrase "stay home, stay safe" has graced all forms of media since the onset of COVID-19. The term has been used to prevent further disease spread as the disease is spread through contact. Covid-19 was declared a global health pandemic following the rapid increase in the number of cases over a large geographical area within the first two weeks of its onset. In the wake of the epidemic, health workers' primary duty is to relieve suffering and save patients' lives. Hence, the health workers are at risk of contracting the highly infectious COVID-19 (Cucinotta & Vanelli, 2020). Sanit Health Care Unit has been a center for the treatment of critical COVID-19 cases. At the crucial stage, the patients show all the symptoms and are active COVID-19 transmitters. Therefore, the 30-minute presentation is directed to the second-year healthcare students to provide an insight into the measures for controlling further infection of the disease. The students are at risk as they often handle the patients. The Knowles theory of adult learning, andragogy, will educate the students on the COVID-19 infection control measures. The approach uses self-direction, informal education, and efficient learning methods for adult education (Loeng, 2018).

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Andragogy defines the principles and methods used in adult learning, assuming that adults are self-driven. The teaching of healthcare students will apply the six critical assumptions of Knowles' theory related to the drive for adult education. The first assumption is that adults need to know the reason behind learning. The healthcare students are aware of COVID-19's highly infectious nature, potential death causes, and the need to control its further spread. Secondly, the theory assumes that experience provides the foundation for learning. The students have observed the high rate of COVID-19 infection in the health unit and will hence be willing to learn how to control it. The theory's third assumption is that adults are responsible for their decisions. The students are aware of their role in keeping COVID-19 at bay by observing control measures such as social distancing. The theory also assumes that the adults are ready to learn, the learning is problem-oriented, and adults respond to internal motivations. The students, in this case, will be prepared to learn the measures to control the pandemic. Additionally, in learning COVID-19 control measures, the students will be motivated by care for patients. Finally, the learning will attempt to control the pandemic (Mukhalalati & Taylor, 2019; Lopes &McKay, 2020)

Adult education is based on the understanding and the application of the acquired knowledge. The students will be taught the COVID-19 control measures by applying the seven principles of Knowles' theory. Firstly, adults must have the desire to learn, and knowledge must be relevant. Having seen the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the health facility and their neighborhoods, healthcare students will have the urge and motivation to learn how to control the current disease's spread. Other principles are that adults learn through active participation and must be regarded as equal to the teacher. After understanding basic healthcare knowledge from school, the students will be allowed to choose the best alternatives for taking COVID-19 control measures. The final principles are that adult education attempts to find solutions, prior knowledge is adequate, and learning best occurs in informal settings. The teaching will be done in the health care unit as the usual daily activities ensure the environment is collaborative, hence conducive to the learning process. The students will have had prior knowledge of the COVID-19 pandemic control measures as well-accustomed with healthcare activities. Finally, the learning will attempt to answer the questions related to the control measures of COVID-19 (Kelly, 2017; Prakash et al., 2019)

The application of Knowles' theory of adult learning in educating second-year students on control measures for COVID-19 will involve a series of learning and teaching activities. The think-pair-repair and the jigsaw, which are interactive and critical thinking activities, will be commonly used. In the think-pair-repair activity, all the students will first be posed questions on COVID-19 control measures. The students will then be put in pairs and required to agree on a few COVID-19 control measures or any other concept related to the control measures. Two teams will be put together to form groups of four students who will be similarly required to answer COVID-19 control measures questions. The process will continue in the same fashion until all the students agree on similar COVID-19 control measures. The activity will allow the students to exercise more control over previously acquired knowledge on COVID-19, which will keep them motivated. On the other hand, in the jigsaw activity, the students will be granted an opportunity to teach themselves by dividing them into groups and appointing an overseeing group leader. The training will not only increase the urge to learn but also promote the construction of knowledge and the discovery of efficient measures for controlling COVID-19 that result from the students continually handling COVID-19 patients (Thayaril et al., 2018)

The optimist-pessimist, an activity that solves problems, aids critical thinking and allows for interaction within the learning process, will additionally be used. The students will be required to form pairs. Students from each team will then be required to take opposite emotional sides of the COVID-19 pandemic. One student from each team will be required to view COVID-19 as a pandemic that will probably result in the deaths of millions of people, while the other one will be required to view COVID-19 as a disease that can be controlled before its further spread. In taking the opposite sides, the students will be encouraged to be as empathic as possible. The activity will allow the optimist to find solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic and identify possible COVID-19 infection control measures. The answers will be a motivation that will evoke positivity in the pessimist. The activity will ensure all students are actively involved in the learning process, and that their critical thinking skills are improved. Most importantly, the training will ensure that measures for controlling COVID-19 infections are discovered hence solving the problem of the pandemic (Anwer, 2019)

Due to its mode of transmission through contact, COVID-19 control measures are taken to limit physical interaction. Adults, the majority population, frequently move to perform various day-to-day tasks and meet many people in the process. The COVID-19 control measures, therefore, must be adult-centred if the rapidly increasing rates must be reduced. As a new disease, COVID-19 facts are not known by most of the adult population hence prompting civic education on the disease. Additionally, the disease has paralyzed most sectors of the economy, including formal education. The only alternative to educating the adult masses on the illness is traditional settings (Carlson et al., 2018). Knowles' theory is justified as the most suited method of educating second-year healthcare students on COVID-19 control measures. The method is interactive and synchronous to the needs of the students in fulfilling their roles as healthcare practitioners in reducing the spread of the pandemic. The method is a perfect opportunity for the students to construct rather than acquire knowledge; thus, the students can make sensible meanings out of the learning process. Finally, the learning environment, the health care unit, is conducive to learning and upholds the safety and respect of the students' profession, thus eliciting motivation and positive learning response (Gouthro, 2019)

Conclusion

Knowles' theory of adult learning is suitable for educating second-year students on the control of covid-19. It will enhance student interaction and ensure the students re-construct their previously acquired knowledge on COVID-19, which will further increase the learning motivation. The learning and teaching activities that will be adopted, such as think-pair-repair, will also ensure the learners are well knowledgeable on the COVID-19 control measures.

References

Anwer, F. (2019). Activity-Based Teaching, Student Motivation, and Academic Achievement. Journal of Education and Educational Development, 6(1), 154-170. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1216784

Carlson McCall, R., Padron, K., & Andrews, C. (2018). Evidence-based instructional strategies for adult learners: A review of the literature. https://academicworks.cuny.edu/bx_pubs/43/

Cucinotta, D., & Vanelli, M. (2020). WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. Acta bio-media: Ateneo Parmensis, 91(1), 157-160. https://europepmc.org/article/med/32191675Gouthro, P. A. (2019). Taking time to learn: The importance of theory for adult education. Adult Education Quarterly, 69(1), 60-76. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0741713618815656

Kelly, J. (2017). Professional learning and adult learning theory: A connection. Northwest Journal of Teacher Education, 12(2), 4. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/nwjte/vol12/iss2/4/

Loeng, S. (2018). Various ways of understanding the concept of andragogy. Cogent Education, 5(1), 1496643. https://www.cogentoa.com/article/10.1080/2331186X.2018.1496643

Lopes, H., & McKay, V. (2020). Adult learning and education as a tool to contain pandemics: The COVID-19 experience. International Review of Education, 1-28. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11159-020-09843-0

Mukhalalati, B. A., & Taylor, A. (2019). Adult learning theories in context: A quick guide for healthcare professional educators. Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development, 6, 2382120519840332. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2382120519840332

Prakash, R., Sharma, N., & Advani, U. (2019). The learning process and how adults learn. International Journal of Academic Medicine, 5(1), 75. http://www.ijamweb.org/article.asp?issn=24555568;year=2019;volume=5;issue=1;spage=75;epage=79;aulast=Prakash

Tharayil, S., Borrego, M., Prince, M., Nguyen, K. A., Shekhar, P., Finelli, C. J., & Waters, C. (2018). Strategies to mitigate student resistance to active learning. International Journal of STEM Education, 5(1), 7. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40594-018-0102-y