Although the idea of adult education was not new, Malcolm Knowles developed the theory of andragogy to explain how adults learn
Malcolm Knowles (1913-1997) was a leader in adult learning. He was a professor for adult education, and an advocate for expanding adult education to adult learning which encompassed andragogy as a theory for the process of teaching adults. As pedagogy relates to the teaching of children as an educational theory, andragogy is the adult counterpart.
Learning Through Experience

Andragogy is an educational theory that utilizes the adult’s life experiences to teach and aid in learning rather than using someone else’s experience in an attempt to teach. Since this is a way of teaching and learning, the principles lend andragogy to be accepted as a theory. “A theory is a comprehensive, coherent, and internally consistent system of ideas about a set of phenomena” (Knowles, Holton, Swanson, 2005).

It is important to understand how an adult learns. A Chief Learning Officer (CKO) must understand how to motivate employees within an organization. The CKO must also know how to get the information across in a manner that is relative to "real life". An adult learner who chooses to return to college will find their enthusiasm is strong. As each lesson is learned they will look for ways to utilize the new knowledge.
Lifelong Learning Programs

Andragogy is still relevant in today’s world because lifelong learning and adult education programs have incorporated the learners’ experiences as learning examples. Walden University and the University of Phoenix are institutions that draw on the adults’ experiences in an attempt to convey new concepts and theories. Merriam referenced a source from 2004 by Kessels and Poell: “andragogy in conjunction with social capital theory can transform the workplace into a conducive learning environment” (Merriam, 2007).

Adults are more open to learning when they relate the new information to past experiences or their current position. In doing so, the learner brainstorms and learns through discussion with other adult learners. This is large part of online education.

Knowles’ andragogy includes experience as an important part of adult learning, which is a consistent factor in many of the theories developed by the theorists previously mentioned. Although andragogy may be deemed as a set of assumptions, a philosophy, or a theory, Knowles’ himself referred to andragogy as a theory. In doing so, the reader must consider this in an attempt to understand and think as the theorist. Andragogy is still valid and remains to be the best-known adult learning theory still referenced, today.