Adult Learning Theories - Report Example

Adult Learning Theories [Type the [Pick the Personal Insight At the start of the Psychological Foundations of the Adult Learner, I initially thought we would be discussing strategies and techniques that help in the learning of adults. Naturally, the topic is of particular interest to me because it involves me as a subject since I am an adult learner as well. I was particularly interested in being able to know how learning could be facilitated at my age, considering all the constraints that I face. Thus, in all honesty, I was really looking forward to this course. Below is a summative expression of the things that I have learned in this course. I first provided a brief introduction to the significance of adult learning theories and proceeded to discussing the learning theories that I learned in the course. I then moved on to a discussion of the concept of adult development and the relationship between intelligence and aging. I concluded this paper with the significant realizations that I have gained upon completion of this course. Introduction to Adult Learning Theories Adult learning is one of the areas of modern educational psychology the aim of which is to increase adult’s interest in learning to the maximum level so as to provide the most effective outcomes for the learner. Knowledge acquisition of an adult is quite different from that of a young learner. Since adults are concerned with much more things than just acquiring an education, that is, a job and family responsibilities, many challenges tend to be associated with this learning process. Fortunately, there are a number of adult learning theories that can aid in the delivery of adult education and therefore increase the rates of success in this area. The succeeding sections will present a discussion of the special characteristics of adult learning. In particular, it will focus on the challenges faced by adult learning, and the theories that offer insights into the process of adult learning. In addition, certain references will also be provided towards the author’s own experiences in the field of adult learning. The challenges of adult education Adults are preoccupied with more responsibilities than young learners. They have family responsibilities to fulfill and job requirements to accomplish. As such, adult education is mostly done on a part-time basis and is even referred to as part-time learning. Adult education is affected by a number of challenges such as attitudinal barriers, institutional barriers, and situational barriers that make successes in this area quite difficult to come by. Adults tend to face education with negative attitudes that make them lack the confidence to pursue their studies. Oftentimes, this is further aggravated by prior learning experiences which lead them to think that education only reflects a teacher’s needs and not the learner’s importance. When adults take their courses with mostly young people, they tend to feel that they are in the wrong place at a wrong time, and end up feeling isolated and stressed with the experience. Institutional barriers also extend a certain level of challenge for adult learners. Institutional barriers come in the form of difficult schedules and policies set by some schools. For example, some schools insist that learning can only be done when two parties are present. Because adult learners have jobs and family responsibilities to attend to, they tend to be unable to become punctual and present in their classes and are thus given negative marks by their instructors. Even where learning is done online, learners face great difficulties to meet the set targets. Another common challenge to succeeding in adult learning is the presence of situational barriers. These are personal issues that prevent a learner from making up for a class. For instance, one may be financially unstable or unable to afford the expenses of textbooks, tuition, and transport in the midst of requirements for family support. Time management is another factor that makes the process of adult learning a challenge. In most cases, families have many issues at hand due to the well-being of their children. To meet these needs, they require more time and therefore, it becomes difficult to get time for other part-time activities such as learning. In cases where adults dedicate time for learning, other responsibilities like family responsibilities are not met in full. Indeed, adults seem to face more challenges in the process of acquiring education at their stage in life compared to younger learners. However, adult learning theories may be able to provide much needed insight and assistance in the acquisition of education by adults. The next section will provide a discussion of these learning theories. Adult Learning Theories Several theories have been developed that aim to at explain the mechanics and processes about adult learning. These theories include transformational theory, self-directed learning theory, experience and learning theory, narrative learning theory. Transformational theory defines the fundamental changes in the way people see themselves in the world they live in today. Usually transformational learning occurs when there is a change in an individual’s attitude or belief. While genuine education usually comes from experience, this does not mean that all experience are equally or genuinely educative. Self-directed learning theory is relatively new compared to other types of adult learning theories. This theory proposes that the individual takes responsibility for all that occurs in one’s life. This includes selecting, managing and assessing their own learning activities which they can pursue at any place, at any time and at any age of their choice. However, in schools, teachers can only work toward self-directed learning at a stage of time. In most cases this teaching emphasizes skills, processes, and systems rather than coverage content and tests. Experience and learning theory argues that learning occurs through participation, reflection, psychoanalytic and through interaction. This theory believes that learning progresses with age. This means that as adults live longer, they accumulate a wider range of experience. These pieces of experience lead to learning for an individual. Somatic learning theory states that we live in our bodies, learn about ourselves, and learn about who we are through what our bodies can and cannot do. Somatic theory is also called embodied learning theory and is linked to experiential learning and to the meaning making process in adult learning. This theory is consisted of four dimensions, namely, sensory (use of senses), kinesthetic (movement), spiritual (use of music, art and symbols) ,and affective (feelings and emotions). As such, somatic knowledge is therefore acquired from within the human being rather than from external sources. Spirituality and learning theory focuses on a personal evaluation by the individual which allows him or her to acquire learning in the process. While somatic learning is tied to physical emotions, spiritual learning is usually manifested by internal contemplation and self-examination of the individual’s purpose and life. According to Tisdell (2003), spirituality is not the same as religion; it grasps the wholeness and interconnectedness of all things. In narrative learning theory, stories are the most natural form of sense making and also the oldest. This proposes that learning stories allows humans to develop their own meaning and understanding for life. It organizes narratives into four types: cultural, familial, individual and organization. Learning through narratives can be done in many different ways, such as journal writing. The Western perspective in learning and knowing links the Western culture to the process of learning. The theory proposes that understanding the differences in cultural value is beneficial not only to the education system but also in the work world. As such, learning is easier acquired when heavily related to an individual’s culture. Another significant adult learning theory is the cognitive learning theory. However, due to the extent that it encompasses, it would better serve the purpose if an entire section is dedicated to its discussion. The next section discusses the significance of cognitive learning theory in adult education. Cognitive Learning Theory An educator should be acutely aware of an adult’s cognitive development in order to be able to structure his/her lesson in the most appropriate way possible. The factors which influence cognitive development are of both internal and external character. Jean Piaget made one of the most significant contributions to the field of psychology as he proposed the four stages of a child’s cognitive development. Moreover, he proposed that the concept of mature adulthood is the logical close of that development. Perry, King and Kitchener also contributed to this field as they proposed a learning model that explains an adult’s progress in terms of cognitive development. They assume that people move from dualistic to relativistic way of thinking during their life span. Another significant model of adult cognitive development is that of the transcendence view which depends on the studies of transpersonal psychology. One of the most important components in this perspective is human consciousness which was disregarded in the previous researches. Undoubtedly, higher levels of cognition are addressed by the psychologists in this area of study. As with earlier propositions, researchers agree that culture and social traditions and mores play not the last role in human cognition. Thus, it can be concluded that representatives of different social groups and ethnicities construe their knowledge differently. Consequently, demonstration of professional teaching does not mean good knowledge of subject area and teaching methodologies, it also means good knowledge of the learners, their psychology, and their ways of construing knowledge, analyzing and categorizing different data in contextualized settings. The concept of wisdom is another important point of discussion in cognitive development theory. Although wisdom is not a new notion, different thinkers and researchers keep discussing it with much interest. Definitions of this concept have changed with the time, but the main idea is that it is related to higher level of thinking and awareness. Furthermore, wisdom is associated with adulthood, but older doesn’t always mean wiser. Wisdom is often associated with the idea of intelligence and creativity, which, yet, is not the same. Steinberg, however, views intelligence and creativity as basis for wisdom. Moreover, wisdom is considered to be some type of a balancer among different people. According to Steinberg, three directions of actions to the balancing act are “adaptation of oneself and others to existing environments; shaping of environments to render them more compatible with oneself or others; and selection of new environments” (p. 354). Many experts suggest that wisdom is the pinnacle of adult development. In order to provide a deeper understanding into the mechanisms behind this notion, it would be noteworthy to include a discussion on adult development. The next section focuses on this discussion. Adult development The concept of development is defined as a systematic change under the influence of various external as well as internal factors within an individual. At the same time, development also implies some sense of stability in certain characteristics and/or personal values. It is stressed that approaches to nature and nurture in the developmental processes (e.g. biological, psychological, socio-cultural and integrative approach) of an adult are of great importance. Biological approach deals with the physical nature of adult development. Psychological perspective is based on internal developmental processes of an individual. Socio-cultural approach rests on historical context of person’s development. Finally, integrative approach is based on combination of several perspectives of human development. In essence, the area of educational psychology which deals with adult learning offers ample choice of theories on how we develop and learn while being grown-up. In order to better understand how an adult learns it is necessary to take into account all the factors which influence adult development to have a better picture of the problem. Taking into account different factors and types of influences, the educators might come up with better ideas for better motivation of adult learners structuring their teaching instructions and programs that fit this type of learners best. Another important consideration in the discussion of learning theories is the effect of intelligence in the process. Researchers argue that learning is better facilitated when learners are intelligent. Therefore, a look into the important considerations in the relationship of intelligence and aging should likewise be considered. The succeeding section will provide a discussion in such a relationship. Intelligence and Aging There are several approaches to defining the notion of intelligence. The most popular approaches are traditional, biological, and individual differences approach. Depending on the definition of the term intelligence, it can either be decreasing with age (when defined as unitary property), or it can be increasing with age (when defined as entity consisting of multiple factors) (Merriam, Caffarella, and Baumgartner, 2007). There are many studies that prove that fact that aging does not necessarily mean reduction of intelligence. It should thus be noted that a professional educator teaching adult learners should know some of the basic specifics of teaching this category of learners. Individual differences approach seems to be one of the most optimal approaches to the study of intelligence in adulthood. Therefore, planning of instructions and working out study programs should be based on the specific characteristics (like memory, information recall, etc.) of the learner in order to enhance their capacity to learn and to better process information. Conclusion This course has definitely provided me with a much deeper appreciation and understanding for the concepts and processes behind adult learning. Before I decided to go back to school to pursue my education, I had a lot of doubts in my mind if I would be able to make it. Learning about the challenges of adult learning made me realize that I was not alone in my doubts and uncertainties and made me more comfortable in facing the challenges of acquiring my education. I was offered more solace in the fact that there are actually learning theories that are solely focused on the development of adult learners. Indeed, this course contributed not only to my knowledge but to my wisdom as well. Hopefully, I will be able to apply the concepts that I have learned in making my educational experience as successful as possible. References Merriam, S., Cafferella, R. & Baumgartner, L. (2007).  Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Read More