A Critical Reflection on Adult Learning
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My View of Adult Learning Prior to This Course
My perception on adult learning before this course was somewhat meager as I viewed it in terms of social, economic and political aspects alone. Though I understood that the nature of the society at any time determines the relative emphasis placed on adult learning, I had little notion of the fact that the urgency of dealing with diverse social realties is felt by adults. My view was consistent with aspects such as technological advancements and their effect on adult education. I believed that adult education is responsive to the context in which it takes place. For instance, adult education courses ought to be designed to enable people to function effectively in the current digital environment. I had significant knowledge of the need for adult education and responding to it by promoting it through understanding the key socio-cultural contexts in which adult education occurs.
I perceived the changing demographics as a social reality shaping the provision of learning in contemporary adult education. In most developed nations such as the U.S, the adults outnumber the youths with diverse cultural and ethnic groups. With such changes in the society, adult education appeared to me as a vital tool for promoting economic growth and social integration. The American population is increasingly becoming more diverse in terms of ethnicity and cultural aspects due to immigration from other countries. In all these cases, the adult population keeps on increasing and this is an imperative factor for determining the provision of adult learning to all citizens, especially the adults. Technological and globalization issues in the society also impact on the manner in which adult education is to be structured. My view of adult learning before the course was that technology and globalization ought to be embedded in adult education so as to promote social equality and economic growth.
My Current View of Adult Learning
My initial view about adult education is in line with those I had before going through this course though with an expanded view. Issues concerning adult education premise and instructional blueprint that I have acquired so far are advanced. I have understood explicit issues implicated in adult learning including practicality, experience, and self-driven learners. I have also noted that various scholars provide a description of the significance or the value transformative learning or teaching (for the case of educators) in the adult education practice. Knowles, et al, (2005) affirms that students in these non-conventional forms of learning have to be handled with care by embracing their views especially when learners are placed in situations that seem hard for them to learn. I have appreciated this as a critical aspect of reflective learning which is based on autonomous education and individual skills.
It has also dawned on me after going through various studies conducted by scholars that putting in place motivating teaching for the adult student ought to entail understanding ways to attract the learner’s concentration, creating relevance, promoting confidence in them, and producing a pleasing adult learning experience. Integrating personal experience of the learner into the teaching model evokes the intrinsic motivation of the learner so as to deepen their desire or drive to learn. My understanding of adult learning has now expanded as I have noted that adult learning does not occur in a vacuum. What an individual intends to learn, the opportunities available, and the manner in which one learns are determined by the society in which the individual lives. Demographics, globalization, and technology are three aspects that affect the society’s endeavors, including adult learning (Merriam, 2007).
My comprehension of the effects of technology on adult learning have also been augmented as I have realized that technology is integral to the global economy and has contributed to the information shift to an information society, which is creating immense changes in the workforce. It has also come to my knowledge that adult education system both reflects and responds to the forces prevalent in the socio-cultural context such as economic productivity. The assertions by Gessner (1956) in which he affirms that one of the main differences between usual and adult learning is inherent in the education practice have also challenged my view on adult education. I have noted that when teaching, the students’ experiences are as importance as those of the educator’s knowledge. At times difficult to note who is learning more than the other, the teacher or the students.
I have understood adult education as some form of transformative learning in which the instructor’s role a promoter who creates an integrated approach by incorporating reflective learning into the learning curriculum. The instructor is expected to create openness through offering a safe learning environment so that students can be apt in sharing their personal experiences (Merriam, 2007). My understanding of adult education has now been advanced as I have noted that creating opportunities for ongoing dialogue between learners and educators ought to an ongoing deliberate process so as to provide ongoing feedback, shared support and coaching. This is an imperative facet especially when dealing with adult learners from diverse racial, cultural, or ethnic backgrounds. I have known that having an inclusive mentality when dealing with adult learners is vital as it ensures that an educator gets to know many issues affecting students and develop educational content that matches their needs (both in the form of language and activities to be performed).
Another most important change in my perception of adult learning concerns the transnational leadership development exercises such as knowing, focus, communication, action and response. These exercises enable adult learners to have a different perspective concerning the world by finding new and more effective ways to communicate and advance in a global context while critically reflecting on the effects of their actions. My comprehension of adult learning has also expanded to include some of their characteristics that an educator has to be aware of when dealing with adult learners. For instance, adult learners have opinions, values and beliefs that have been created overtime and arrived at following experience of families, relationships, work, communities, and politics and these views cannot be dismissed but ought to be respected.
How My Thinking Evolved
Adult learning activities and perceptions that I had before this course have been altered as well as my thinking on how effective educators can handle adult learners. The assertions provided by Merriam et al, (2007) are still intriguing my conscience since a wide variety of adult learning activities and theories are provided. The conceptual framework and instructional models that are suggested in the book provide a clear stratagem of effectively handling adult learners since their learning is more of problem-solving and practical than it is the case with conventional learning for the youths. Previously my understanding of adult education was limited to areas such as apprenticeship (as this is how I understood problem-solving and practicality of adult learning), but I have now gained a broader understanding of the multi-dimensional learning opportunities available to adult learners.
Adult learning is critical to people’s social and cultural growth since adult learners come from diverse racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds. This has made me understand that providing opportunities to adult learners to express their views on different issues is imperative as the educators will also learn about other cultures. Adult learning appears to me as an integral tool for transforming societies socially, economically, and even technologically. Transformational training appears to be an effective tool for helping adult learners appreciate their knowledge, talents and expertise and be ready to learn from others what they may not know. Merriam et al., 2007 states that the entire process of transformative learning is about change, which involves growth and development both in experience and expertise of the learners.
Prior to this course, I had no information on narrative learning but the readings that I have gone through have challenged my understanding of both instructional design and delivery. By asking learners to express themselves through storytelling, journalizing their activities, and developing autobiographies, students will be open about their feelings and needs. This technique offered great insight to me and to learners as well. I have amassed knowledge on adult learning models with principles of effective learning such as relevance of teaching to experience or intended experience of the adult learner and engaging learners to make them retain knowledge and concepts more readily. My understanding of adult learning has developed to entail active learning and learner-centered so that the skills passed on to the learners can be relevant to their socio-cultural contexts in which they stay.
The Future
The course has challenged me and expanded my understanding of adult learning. This has set a spring board to me for conducting research in the field of adult education. I need to apply the various concepts and perspectives that I have attained from this course so that I can of great use to adult learners in future (Merriam, 2007). The fact that the instructional designs for adult teaching are many and diverse depending on the socio-cultural tenets of the learners, I have noted that presenting information to adult learners in an active format, engaging them and making teaching self-centered to them is vital in helping them accomplish learning objectives.
By understanding a myriad of concepts outlined in this paper, the readings are beneficial to me across diverse settings as they relate to my roles in difficult situations. I will have to design programs that can be profound enough and frequent enough to help bridge the gap left by the lack of learning practices that support learning transfer. I also intend to create online learning tutorials that are interactive so as to help students across the world to advance their skills and help me understand more concepts on adult learning from students and other stakeholders. Adult learning is an interesting facet in the lives of both the students and teachers as both are exposed to diverse circumstances and all people have an opportunity to learn something new; this is what I intend to do in the future.
References
Merriam, S. B., Cafferella, R. S., & Baumgartner, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A
comprehensive guide. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
