Critical Reflection about Opportunities for Adult Learning - Essay Example

Models of Adult Learning and Critical Reflection Adult leaning has been a in the UK because of the New Diplomas that are due to be implemented in the fall of 2008. These diplomas are geared to assist those adults between the ages of 14 and 19 to acquire the skills they missed in high school. A short discussion of this subject is important to the overall discussion of adult education because it is relevant to what is happening now. A major reason for adult education is to develop an opportunity for older students to receive the skills they need for the workplace whether they are going to work for the first time or switching careers. The new diplomas are attempting to bring these skills in a different way than they were given in high school. They have recognized that some of the problem for older students is that some school subjects are boring for them. Because of this and other challenges students leave school. According to the University of Leeds, (Priestley, 2008) the New Diplomas are a "golden opportunity" and they will: Give us the chance to address long-standing concerns about curriculum Focus and quality, the academic-vocational divide and even issues like Over-examination, and the relevance of all these to the nation, to Employability and international competitiveness (Priestly, 2008, par. 3). If we are to have students who can take advantage of this type of learning we need to understand that they need to be taught differently than children. In order to teach them more effectively we have to develop a variety of ways to stimulate their thinking. In order to do all of this it is important to examine adult learning theories. There are a variety of theories that are important to the discussion of adult learning. The interesting part is that no one can say exactly how adults learn and this is why they have developed these theories. In this paper the researcher will present ideas and theories and how they are being used in professional settings. According to Tusting and Barton (2003) there are seven basic ideas of how adults learn: 1. Adults have their own motivations for learning. Learners build on their existing knowledge and experience. They fit learning into their own purposes and become engaged in it. Peoples purposes for learning are related to their real lives and the practices and roles they engage in outside the classroom. 2. Adults have a drive towards self-direction and towards becoming autonomous learners. Learning is initiated by the learner and one role of the teacher is to provide a secure environment in which learning can take place. 3. Adults have the ability to learn about their own learning processes, and can benefit from discussion and reflection on this. They are able to learn how to learn. For instance, there are different learning styles that people synthesise. Each can enable learners to develop their range of learning styles. 4. Learning is a characteristic of all real-life activities, in which people take on different roles and participate in different ways. Teaching can scaffold these activities, enabling learners to develop new forms of expertise. 5. Adults reflect and build upon their experience. Reflective learning is generated when people encounter problems and issues in their real lives and think about ways of resolving them. 6. Reflective learning is unique to each person, since it arises out of the complexities of their own experience. A great deal of learning is incidental and idiosyncratically related to the learner: it cannot be planned in advance. While there are things that can be done to encourage reflective experiential learning, there is no set of steps that can be followed to guarantee it will happen. 7. Reflective learning enables people to reorganise experience and see situations in new ways. In this way, adult learning is potentially transformative, both personally and socially. (Tusting and Barton, 2003, pps. 5-6). These ideas are the foundation of the adult learning theories that are in use today. The first learning theories came from the discipline of psychology and education used these to create theories more relevant to adults. Psychological theories began with the behaviourists who said that in order to help children learn, the teachers role was to take elements of learning and break them down into smaller pieces. This way a student could understand the smaller parts and complex learning could be learned. These smaller tasks then were repeated many times and the children were given rewards for completing tasks (Tusting and Barton, p. 7). This theory relates to adult learning in that behaviourists believe it is "possible" to "train" learners responses within adult literacy and numeracy "but this model can offer little help to conceptualise learners developing understanding or autonomy" (Tusting and Barton, p. 8). Cognitive psychologists said that learning was a matter of a change in "mental constructs." They said that individuals use a variety of "mental maps" and "schemata" that represent the world to them. They said that learning was more of an internal state than an outward one (Tusting and Barton, p. 8). Developmental theorists state that learning is done in a series of stages and that the types of instructions should be different in each stage (Tusting and Barton, p. 11). Vygotsky studied the developmental theories and found that there were certain "higher mental functioning" that didnt occur without social interaction with other people and cultures. He said that learning involved a "scaffolding" process that involved a "Zone of Proximal Development" which was the difference between what a learner already knew (from experience) and what they acquired with someone elses help (Tusting and Barton, p. 14). Situation cognitive theory grew out of other cognitive theories and realized that adults perform "very differently in experimental settings and daily activities" (Tusting and Barton, p. 15). These theories suggest that the social activities that adults participate in should be used as an opportunity for learning. (Tusting and Barton, p. 17). Brain science looked at how the brain functions to create learning. The early years of this theory brought about the distinction between "right" and "left" brain activities for learning. The newer theories say that the brain is "constantly restructuring themselves through interaction with the world" (Tusting and Barton, p. 18) through a system of neural networks. These psychological theories provided a basis of education to develop their own ideas of how learning takes place. It is also important to note that these theories were primarily used prior to the 1970s. The flaws with them were that they were very general in nature and they assumed that everyone learned the same way, regardless of age. As the adult learning theories appeared, their focus was on issues that were specific to adult learners. To reflect on these theories they all have elements of what this research thinks is pertinent to adult learning. Brain science makes sense in light of some of the material on Quantum Physics and "The Law of Attraction." People believe that it is the neural nets that bring about changes in thinking so it probably means that this thinking which basically is a part of learning. It would be difficult to reward a child for completing tasks as the behaviourists do because life isnt like that -- people do not receive a reward for some tasks. It is also relevant that there are stages that people go through to learn. It seems that there are certain tasks that a person must learn before they learn other tasks. As an example, a student must learn to read letters before they can read words. As they conquer enough words, they can move further along and eventually read great books. In the 1970s many people began to write about what they saw as important to adult learning. Knowles suggested that adult learners had to know "why they needed to learn something before they would engage in any type of learning. He also saw that this "why" question came from something internal instead of something outside of themselves, and that their learning was attached to the experiences they had throughout their lives (Tusting and Barton, p. 19). This theory points out that adults need to understand the reason they are learning something. Teachers must understand that any subject they teach must fit into the lives of the adult in some way or the adult will disengage in the learning. The Humanists theory says that learning should be initiated by the adult and the teachers role is more to facilitate the learning than to teach anything. The teachers major role is to create a safe environment for learning so that the adult learner can have a more positive learning experience (Tusting and Barton, p. 20). From the Humanist perspective Maslow developed his "hierarchy of needs" which was based on the idea that each aspect of the hierarchy had to be satisfied before the individual could move forward. As an example, the basic physiological needs for food and shelter must be completed before a learner could get into a good space for learning. This theories relevance to adult learning is that people have to have their basic needs met before learning can take place. There have been many studies that say that having breakfast in the morning before school will help an individual focus better in school. This seems to be what Maslow was saying basically. In recent years the idea of self-directed learning has become more important as learners find a variety of ways to partake in learning. Self-direction doesnt have to be formal education nor does it have to happen in a formal setting. Some researchers have discovered a link between self-direction and self-esteem. This theory believes that self-direction is learned and can be fostered by helping an individual develop self-management in the learning process (Tusting and Barton, p. 23). In adult learning it is important to recognize that adults bring a lot of information to formal education from their own experience and this information should be encouraged. Their information can often be used to promote other learning. I think self-direction is important and that sometimes adult students need choices in the way that they choose their learning. As an example, an assignment could be done in several ways. If a student has to do a report, this report could have several ways of delivery. Choices might be to write a report of a certain amount of pages, do an oral presentation, do an oral presentation with visuals, do a musical presentation of some sort or do a demonstration. Each of these would satisfy the requirement for the report but the student would be able to choose the one that they like the best. This way those students who did best in writing would choose that method and someone who does better in an oral presentation could choose that one. Everyone would be happy because they had the chance to choose. These theories have laid a foundation for a variety of methods for instruction and discovery in this area. As an observer of these theories it is important to note that they all have some relevance where adults are concerned. It is my observation that professors and other teachers must take into consideration the needs of the students when they are planning lessons and instruction. As adults, a lot of the learning should be self-directed and relevant to the knowledge that adult students already have so that they will be interested enough to continue learning something new. Some professors may feel that they cant be all things to all students, and though this is true, a consideration of learning styles might be a way fro them to get more out of their students. When coursework is relevant to daily life, it is easier to learn. I think that if the relevancy was seen by each student, adults would be more willing to stay in school. Maslows work is very important because it is my observation that this may be true to a point. As an example, if a person goes to school hungry or homeless, they may have difficulty concentrating on learning. When the physiological need is met, they can concentrate better. When the shelter need is met, they can focus better because they wont be worried about where they will be in any moment. Learning style theories are very important to this discussion because there are several studies that support the idea that we cant use a "one size fits all" type of learning because how we take in information is different. Central to this thinking are the experimental learning information. The theory of experiential learning presented by Kolb (cited in Atherton, 2005) says that there are four stages in the learning process: 1. Concrete experience -- where learning is put into practice. 2. Abstract conceptualisation -- where the learner reviews their understanding of the concepts taught. 3. Active experimentation -- where an individual learner experiments to find solutions. 4. Reflective observation -- where the learner reflects about what they learned and objectively analyzes the outcome. Howard Gardner expanded the work of Kolb and created the theory of Multiple Intelligences that basically showed that students had talents in the areas of intrapersonal, interpersonal, musical, spatial, body-kinaesthetic, linguistic and logical-mathematical and each of these contributed to the way in which they learned. (Smith, 2002). He says that each person has all seven (now more) intelligences and that we should teach to these strengths. There are many theories today that are affecting many disciplines because learning has become more global. Now that the Internet can be used to gain full degrees and many changes in the way classes are delivered have been instituted because of this chance, finding ways to engage students has been shown as more important. The settings for learning have been enhanced. As an example, business is now seeing that online can be used to help employees work more effectively as teams. Healthcare encourages healthcare professionals to acquire professional development to increase their skills. The New Diplomas have set about bringing new ways of teaching for adult students who have dropped out of school. All of this information brings about changes that we have to teach to the way students learn. Salovey and Mayer (cited in Cherniss, 2004) talked about the use of emotional intelligence before Goleman made it famous. They define emotional intelligence as: A form of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor ones Own and others feelings and emotions, to discriminate among them, And to use this information to guide ones thinking and action (p. 4). Goleman later took this information and wrote the book on Emotional Intelligence and told about his research. He did a lot of work in leadership for business and showed that leaders who could establish "mutual trust, respect and a certain warmth and rapport" within their groups would be more effective (Cherniss, 2000, p. 3). These are all aspects of emotional intelligence. The UK Parliament has created the New Diplomas and this has gone across many areas to be put into practice. According to John Denham, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, a concentration on adult learned who are considered "hard to reach" is important to the workplace. Currently about 30% of adults in the UK who are eligible for work lack the skills necessary to take a good job. These adults are most likely, according to Denham, to be disadvantaged and socially excluded (p. 6). He has proposed several different types of learning programmes to put into place around the UK and they are assisting many adult learners. Another area of adult learning that is important is in professional development for teachers and other professionals. Cole (2000) refers to this learning as continuing professional development (CPD). There is controversy that questions whether CPD actually increases performance which is what Cole set out to discover. He found that there is a connection between professional development and better performance. However, it works best when the individuals are engaged in the learning process and the learning is geared towards their specific needs (p. 35). Cole is one of the people who studied reflective practice as a way of teaching. CPD is said to be important to any profession because it is "Integral to the development of professional status, it is a key in which individual professionals can develop both their specialisms and … their careers and it is seen as a central means by which quality of professional service can be maintained…" (Cole, p. 24). In many settings today reflective practice is important. According to Imel (1992), reflective practice "integrates or links thought and action with reflection" (p. 1). The way this relates to adult education is that it helps teachers use their reflection on past experiences to work with different teaching situations (Imel, p. 2). This also helps the student because they are not just learning useless facts, but they are reflecting on how this the information relates to their knowledge from what they have acquired in learning from the past. Brookfield (1990) says that the use of reflection can be transformational in nature to help adult learners gain a deeper meaning to their learning. He says that central to this learning is the use of "critical incidents" where a learner is given instructions to construct a significant event in their lives and talk about why the event was significant (p. 179). This information gets into the assumptions that shape everyones learning and these can be used to reflect on their life and what they learned to date (p. 180). As I reflect on the use of theories in professional settings I see that learning theories are at work in every situation. It is apparent to me that learners must take control of their own learning and create a space where they understand how they learn and how they work with information. It becomes important for teachers to find ways to teach adults more appropriately, but it is equally important for the learner to be aware of the way that they learn. When an adult learner understands how they learn, they can devise a plan for any course to gain the information that is required to pass. I think the idea of reflection is one of the most interesting theories because it meets the need for adult learners to gather the information they already have to investigate how to further their knowledge in the present. Reflection in my thoughts brings about a better understanding of oneself and how they relate to learning overall. It is imperative for professors and other teachers to do professional development in my opinion because it can insure that their teaching methods are current and up-to-date. This can mean the difference in a class that is interesting and one that is based on old fashioned teaching methods. The opportunity to learn is very important for most students in order for them to get a better job and a better position in life. Because of this they need to have as much learning as possible. Bibliography Atherton, J. S. 2005 Learning and Teaching: Experiential Learning [On-line] UK: Available: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/experience.htm [Accessed: 13 May 2008]. Baumgartner, L., Ming-Yeh, L. et. al. Adult learning theory: a primer. Centre on Education and Training. The Ohio State University. 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Available from http://www.nec.ac.uk/ info/category-brwse?usca_p-t&category_id=2286. [Accessed 10 May 2008]. Read More