adult learning theory/model inspiring creative and innovative minds

Adult Learning Theory/Model

INSPIRING CREATIVE AND INNOVATIVE MINDS

Learning & Learning Theories

• Although learning has been defined in a variety ways, most definitions include the concepts of behavioral change and experience. And has been of interest to philosophers, psychologists, educators, and politicians for centuries.

• The notion of change still underlies most definitions of learning, although it has been modified to include the potential for change.

• Likewise, the idea that having an experience of some sort, rather than learning as a function of maturation, is important. Thus learning can be defined as:

“ a process by which behavior changes as a result of experience”


• Learning as a PROCESS (rather than an end product) focuses on what happens when the learning takes place.

• Explanations of what happens are called learning theories, and it is these theories that are subject of this Adult Learning topic.

• Since there are dozens of learning theories and volumes written describing them, this course chooses 4 orientations to learning that represent learning theories in adulthood.


4 learning orientations:• Behaviorist• Cognitivist• Humanist• Social learning


The 4 orientations are based on different assumptions about

nature of learning, the strategies one might use to

enhance learning will depend on one’s orientation.

Aspect Behaviorist Cognitivist Humanist Social Learning

Learning theories

View of the learning process

Locus of learning

Thorndike, Pavlov, Watson, Guthrie, Hull, Thoman, Skinner

Change in behavior

Stimuli in external environment

Koffka, Kohler, Lewin, Piaget, Ausubul, Bruner, Gagne

Internal mental process (including insight, information, processing, memory, perception)

Internal cognitive structuring

Maslow, Rogers

A personal act to fulfill potential

Affective and cognitive needs

Bandura, Rotter

Interaction with and observation of others in a social context

Interaction of person, behavior, and environment


Aspect Behaviorist Cognitivist Humanist Social Learning

Purpose of education

Teacher’s role

Manifestation in adult learning

Produce behavioral change in desired direction

Arranges environment to elicit desired response

•Behavioral objectives•Competency-based education•Skill development & training

Develop capacity and skills to learn better

Structures content of learning activity

•Cognitive development•Intelligence, learning, and memory as function of age•Learning how to learn

Become self-actualized, autonomous

Facilitates development of whole person

•Andragogy•Self-directed learning

Model new roles and behavior

Models and guides new roles and behavior

•Socialization•Social roles•Mentoring •Locus of control



In brief…

Behaviorists define learning as a change in behavior. The focus of their research is overt behavior, which is a measurable response to stimuli in the environment. The role of teacher

is to arrange the contingencies of reinforcement in the learning environment so that the desired behavior will occur. Findings

from behavioral learning theories can be seen in training and vocational adult education


In brief…

Researchers working from a cognitivist perspective focus not on external behavior but on internal mental

processes. Cognitivists are interested in how the mind makes sense out of stimuli in the environment – how information is processed, stored, and retrieved. This orientation is especially evident in the study of

adult learning from a developmental perspective. The major concerns are how aging affects an adult’s

ability to process and retrieve information and how it affects and adult’s internal mental structures.


In brief…

Humanistic emphasizes on human nature, human potential, human emotions and affect. Theorists in

this tradition believe that learning involves more than cognitive processes and overt behavior. It is a function of motivation and involves choice and responsibility. Much of adult learning theory,

especially the concepts of andragogy and SDL, are grounded in humanistic assumptions.

Learning & Learning TheoriesIn brief…

The perspective of social learning differs from the other three in its focus on the social setting in which learning occurs. From this perspective learning occurs through

the observation of people in one’s immediate environment. Furthermore, learning is a function of the

interaction of the person, the environment, and the behavior. Variations in behavior under the same circumstances can be explained by idiosyncratic personality traits and their unique interaction with

environmental stimuli. Social learning theories contribute to adult learning by highlighting the

importance of social context and explicating the processes of modeling and mentoring.

Toward Comprehensive Theories of Adult Learning

Introduction

• There is a dilemma of no single theory of adult learning that includes all types of learning.

• A phenomenon as complex as adult learning will probably never be adequately explained by a single theory.

• But many theories useful in improving our understanding of adults as learners.


Introduction• This section reviews seven different theory-building

efforts in adult learning.1. Knowles’s andragogy2. Cross’s CAL (Characteristic’s of adults as learners)

model3. McClusky’s theory of margin4. Knox’s proficiency theory5. Jarvis’s model of the learning process6. Mezirow’s perspective transformation7. Freire’s conscientization


Introduction

• How well the 7 theories explain adult learning?• Is the theory comprehensive, includes all types of

learning?• How practical the theory is?• How universal its application might be?


Introduction

Adult learning theory can be divided into three categories:

• those anchored in adult learners’ characteristics• those based on an adult’s life situation• those that focus on changes in consciousness


Theories based on adult characteristics

• Andragogy (refer topic 2: andragogy ‘s critical assumptions) – all of which are characteristics of adult learners, has given them “a badge of identity”

• CAL model – offers a tentative framework to accommodate current knowledge about what we know about adult as learners.



CAL• Consists of 2 classes of variables: personal

characteristics and situational characteristics. Personal characteristics include physical, psychological, and sociocultural dimensions (reflect growth and development from childhood into adult life). Situational characteristics focus on variables unique to adult participants – e.g. part-time vs full-time learning and voluntary vs compulsory participation.



CAL• Cross believes that her model incorporates completed

research on aging, stage and phase developmental studies, participation, learning projects, motivation, and so on.

• The model can also be used to stimulate research by thinking across and between categories. It might be asked, e.g. whether there is a “relationship between stage of ego development and voluntary participation in learning”.

• Rather than suggesting implications for practice, as Knowles’s andragogy does, CAL offers a framework for thinking about what and how adults learn.


Theories based on an adult’s life situation• McClusky’s theory of margin, Knox’s proficiency theory,

and Jarvis’s model of the learning process.• McClusky’s - balance between the amount of energy

needed and the amount available. E.g. ratio between the “load” of life and the “power” of life. We can control both by modifying either power or load.

• May seem to apply more readily to formal learning situations; informal learning can occur under conditions of stress or, in McClusky’s terms, when load is greater than power.


Theories based on an adult’s life situationKnox’s proficiency theory• Proficiency is defined as the capability to perform

satisfactorily if given the opportunity, and this performance involves some combination of attitude, knowledge, and skill.

• Explain “adult motivation and achievement in both learning activities and life roles”.


Theories based on an adult’s life situationJarvis• “all learning begins with experience”.• Some experiences, however, are repeated with such

frequency that they are taken for granted and do not lead to learning, e.g. driving a car, household routines.

• Throughout life, people are moving from social situation to social situation; sometimes in conscious awareness but on other occasions in a taken-for-granted manner.


Theories based on changes in consciousnessHave a stronger cognitive focus in that they deal with the mental

construction of experience and inner meanings• Mezirow’s perspective of transformation – is the process of

becoming critically aware of how and why our presuppositions have come to constrain the way we perceive, understand, and feel about our world; of reformulating these assumptions to permit a more inclusive, discriminating, permeable, and integrative perspective; and making decisions or otherwise acting upon these new understandings.

• E.g. critically reflecting upon our lives, becoming aware of why we attach the meanings we do to reality, especially to our roles and relationships (not just adding to what we already know).


Theories based on changes in consciousness• Freire’s theory – is more precisely a theory of education

(of which learning is an important component) in contrast to Mezirow’s focus on learning process itself.

• Increasing awareness of one’s situation involves moving from the lowest level of consciousness, where there is no comprehension of how forces shape one’s life, to the highest level of critical consciousness.

• E.g. Analysis of problems, Self awareness, and self reflection


Synthesis 1

Four of the theories (those of Knowles, Cross, Knox, and McClusky) reveal more about the learner’s characteristics, his or her life situation, and the desired outcomes of learning than they do about learning).


Synthesis 2

Three focus on the process of learning itself – Jarvis’s, Mezirow’s and Freire’s – but only one, Mezirow’s perspective transformation, claims to explain learning that is unique to adults.


Synthesis 3

While most of these theories address implications for practice, only Knowles’ andragogy has been widely applied in practice.


Synthesis 4

From the 7 theories, 4 components of adult learning can be extracted:

1. self-direction or autonomy as a characteristic or goal of adult learning

2. Breadth and depth of life experiences as content or triggers to learning

3. Reflection or self-conscious monitoring of changes taking place

4. Action or some other expression of the learning that has occurred

adult learning theory/model inspiring creative and innovative minds

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