First Subtopic: The History and Conceptualization of Andragogy Edward Lindeman is considered by many to be the founder of contemporary adult education. His work in the field of adult education included writing articles, books, public presentations, assisting in the collegiate system as a social work teacher, and as an associate pastor in the church (Brookfield 1986). Lindeman and Martha Anderson traveled to observe and analyze the German folk school system and the labor movement. As a result, Lindeman and Anderson's comparative research led to the breakthrough in the German perception of andragogy. Their studies define andragogy as the “true method of adult learning” (1986). In 1968 at Boston University, the initial use of the term “andragogy” to attract the attention of adult instructors occurred when Malcolm Knowles, who was an adult education instructor at the time, introduced the term via a newspaper article. In publishing his book in 1970, he defined “andragogy” as the art and science of helping adults learn. The concept of self-directed learning, or SDL, below reveals Knowles' definition of SDL: "In its broadest sense, 'self-directed learning' describes a process through which individuals take initiative, with or without assistance of others, in the diagnosis of learning needs, in the formulation of learning objectives, in the identification of human and material resources for learning, in the choice and implementation of appropriate learning strategies and in the evaluation of learning outcomes" (Knowles, Holton, Swanson, 2011, p. 18) The primary concern in the above definition of SDL is the point at which the student acquires 1) the ability to engage in a learning experience and 2) the responsibility to complete one's education. After the student has...... half of the article ......andragogy.Works CitedBrockett, R., & Hiemstra, R. (1991). adult learning. London and New York: Routledge. Retrieved from http://www-distance.syr.edu/sdlindex.htmlBrookfield, S. D. (1986). Understanding and facilitating adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Elias, J.L. (1979). Andragogy revisited. Adult Education, 29, 252-255. Hadley, H. (1975). Development of a tool to determine the orientations of adult educators: andragogical or pedagogical. (Doctoral dissertation, Boston University). Dissertation Abstracts International, 35, 7595a.Hiemstra, R., & Sisco, B. (1990). Moving from pedagogy to andragogy. Foundations of Adult Education: Critical and Contemporary Issues, Retrieved from http://www-distance.syr.edu/literature.htmlKnowles, M., Holton, E., & Swanson, R. (2011). The adult student. (7th ed.). Burlington, MA: Taylor and Francis.