Andragogy is the art and science of teaching adults. While pedagogy focuses on how to teach children, andragogy takes into account that adults learn differently due to their maturity, experience, and motivation.
The term andragogy was coined in 1833 by a German educator, but its modern framework was developed by the American educator Malcolm Knowles in the 1960s. Andragogy is based on the idea that adults prefer to direct their own learning: Their life experiences help them learn, and they are internally motivated to learn by factors like solving real-world problems, enhancing their own personal growth, and increasing job satisfaction. In short, andragogy shifts the educator's role to being a facilitator, rather than a director, of learning.