Self-reflection on adult learning

I thought that some visitors to this blog might be interested in my view of adult education, and my self-concept regarding learning.

Below is an excerpt from one of my (MA in Leadership) papers explaining my primary beliefs about adult education. It is edited for blog readability (including removing APA citations - see the bibliography at bottom, for authors who contributed to the core of my ideas here) .

I'm primarily an experiential learner and use a combination of Accommodating and Converging learning style preferences, relying on integrating Concrete Experience, Active Experimentation, and Abstract Conceptualization to create my own reality.

The power of experiential learning was made exceptionally clear to me following the Stone Game experience in MAL residency one, and has been reinforced many times since.

I subscribe to cognitive constructivist learning theory, but support both personal constructivism and social constructivist models, believing that the application of each model is self-determined based on the situation in which the participant finds themself.

...Merriam & Caffarella provide clear direction for me: “the cognitive process of meaning making is emphasized as both an individual mental activity and a socially interactive interchange. Aspects of constructivism can be found in self-directed learning, transformational learning, experiential learning, situated cognition, and reflective practice”.

Kolb, D. (2005). Kolb learning style inventory version 3.1: Interpretive report. USA: The Hay Group.

McMullan, W., & Cahoon, A. (1979, July). Integrating abstract conceptualizing with experiential learning. Academy of Management Review, 4(3), 453-458.

Merriam, S., & Caffarella, R. (1999). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. (2^nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Self-direction myths & misunderstandings

There are many myths and misunderstandings surrounding Self-Directed Learning (SDL), and Brocket1 listed 10 of those myths in his chapter on resistance to self-direction in adult learning, in the book he co-edited with Hiemstra1 in 1994 entitled New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education.

The myth that most strikes home for me as an adult learner, and an instructor of adult learners, is myth 6: "Facilitating self-direction is an easy way out for teachers". Many people seem to think that when an instructor employs self-direction as a teaching method, the learners do all the work and the instructor just sits back and watches. Nothing could be further from the truth!

I have taught classes that include very little self-direction, classes that fully employ SDL, and many in between those two extremes. Believe me, there is often a great deal more work involved in preparing and facilitating a class with SDL as the primary instructional method. I'd have to agree with Brocket1 when he states: "self-direction typically involves a deeper commitment from instructors because they need to focus their energy on each learner, as well as on the group as a whole" (p. 8), and it involves "a very active approach to working with learners".

I'm not saying SDL is easy for the students, but neither is it easy for the instructor. Self-direction in learning isn't about making teaching or learning easy, it's about making them more effective - and it works.

1Brocket, R. G. (1994). Resistance to self-drection in adult learning: Myths and misunderstandings in overcoming resistance to self-direction in adult learning. In Heimstra, R., & Brocket, R. G., (Eds.), Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.