Adult Development Perspectives

• Physical/Biological Aging: external and internal• Psychological Changes: cognitive/personal• Social and cultural factors: changes in adulthood

determined by sociocultural context (eg.characteristics of higher social status - employed, live longer, stable; social class shapes choices and opportunities; social roles determine learning needs)

Biological aging • External – noticeable (grey hairs,

wringkles, changing body contour, gaining weight)

• Senses: see, hear, feel• Nervous system: reaction time• Intelligence : fluid & crystallized • Memory : short & long term • Disease related & fatigue

Psychological development

• Intellectual development (stable until 60s, on-going research)

• Cognitive development (concern thinking pattern, dialectic vs relativistic)

• Personal development (sequential patterns, life events, transitions)

Adult Development -- Phasic

• Changes that occur during relatively fixed periods of life/age-related periods

• central preoccupations and focal tasks that frame ind. perspective shift with age

• educational opportunities perceived in light of developmental task to attain stability

• further research: exploration of particular sub-groups, ed. roles in life structure

Adult Development -- Stage

• Focus on changes not correlated with age but biological development

• Physical/psychological/cognitive development

• implications: matching instruction and curriculum to the different type of learners

• implications: classroom process is jointly affected by the stage of teacher and learner

Adult Development Implication to learning

• Developmental tasks Havighurst

• Teachable Moments Havighurst

• Margin in life (P/L) McClusky

• Life Transitions

Skills for growth/development• The ability to:

– select learning activities– plan learning activities– execute learning activities– evaluate learning activities

• The ability from both individual and social point of view (no self actualization without social acceptance and participation; i.e. experiencing self fulfillment through achie- ment individually, socially and culturally.

Personality characteristics for growth and development

• Self awareness

• interest in this world and hereafter

• interest in other people

• desire to achieve

• internalizing standards/criteria for making judgements

Learning & Theory

• Learning: process by which bahavioral cahnges take place through reacting with an encountered situation

• Theory: an effort to summarize a large amount of knowledge concerning the laws of learning; a way of analyzing, communi---cating and conducting research

• Use of Theory: guidance/improvement

Process of Learning or Learning System as a Black Box

Theory explains what’s happening inside the box?

General Learning Theories

• Behaviorist -- learning occurs as a result of outside factors

• Cognitive -- learners’ psychological, physical and social fields are important consideration

• Social Learning -- learn in social setting by observing others

• Humanist -- considers motivation, needs, interest as factors influencing learning

Behaviorism application

• Rewards and punishments

• Responsibility for student learning rests squarely with the teacher

• Lecture-based, highly structured

Cognitive application

• Inquiry-oriented projects• Opportunities for the testing of

hypotheses• Curiosity encouraged• Staged scaffolding

Social Learning Theory application

• Collaborative learning and group work

• Modeling positive responses and high expectations

• Opportunities to observe experts in action

Humanist Theory Application

• Modifies information processed by people through changing value system

• Provide intrinsic motivation to fulfil needs

• Inculcating faith in one’s ability to solve problem

Aspects Kids vs AdultsLearner Concept dependent Independent, self directed

Learner Experience insignificant Rich in resource learning

Learner Readiness Based on physical, mental, social dev.

Based on need

Relevancy Later application Immediate application

Environment Subject-centred, authority-oriented, formal, competitive

Problem-centred, collaborative, informal, respective

Planning By teacher Mutual

Needs By teacher Mutual/self-diagnosis

Lesson Design Sequenced in terms of subject matter, content focused

Sequenced in terms of need, problem focused

Activities Transmittal of information

Experiential technique

Evaluation By teacher Mutual

Evolution Adult Education Theory

• The Meaning of Adult Education by Eduard Lindeman in 1926 marked the beginning of adult education as a field

• Adult educators began to look for a unique adult education knowledge base

• European adult educators began to use the term andragogy in the 1950s

• Andragogy finally surfaced and became part of the educational language in 1967 with Malcolm Knowles, a prominent scholar in the field of adult education

Five principles of Andragogy• Self-Concept: Adult learners are directing their

own plan. (teacher directed vs. self directed)• Experience: Adult learners bring an ever

growing reservoir of experience and knowledge to the table.

• Readiness to learn: Adults are focused and ready to learn those things that will have a direct impact on themselves/family/work.

• Orientation to learning: Problem centered rather than subject centered.

• Motivation: Adult learners are learning for a reason, and they push themselves from within. They are sparked by an inner source and have a sense of urgency about their learning. (internal vs. external motivation)

•

Models of Self-directed Learning• Sequential (Tough, 1991)

– What, where, how, set deadlines, get proper resources, find time, increase motivation

• Interwoven (Brockett & Hiemstra, 1991)– Self-directed learning occurs when need is

matched with opportunity

• Instructional (Grow, 1991)– From relying heavily on the teacher for guidance

to taking full responsibility for learning– self concept moving from dependence toward self

directed

Questions on self-directed learning

• What is involved when adults take control of their own learning?

• How do they set their learning goals?• How they locate appropriate resources?• How do they evaluate their learning?• How deliberation and serendipity intersect?• What about social and peer group supports?• The influence of culture/SES on learning?

Contemporary Theories of Adult Learning

• Transformational Learning– Learning lead to empowerment and transformed

world view– Gradually or through sudden experience (with

sequential steps)• Informal & Incidental Learning

– Informal learning: unstructured learning in the hands of the learner

– Incidental learning: a byproduct of interactions, trial-and-error, etc.

– Can be enhanced by well-planned educational intervention.

Mezirow’s “Perspective Transformation”

Contemporary Theories of Adult Learning

• Context-Based Adult Learning

– Learning is shaped by: the nature of the interactions and contexts

– involves development in personal, interpersonal processes

• Postmodern Theories

– Knowledge is socially constructed and form in the eyes of the knower

– One kind of learner, one learning goal, one way to learn don’t exist

• Critical Theory Worldview

– Prejudice/oppression become common-sense viewing lenses

– Learning through critical reflection and consciousness raising

Lessons from Learning Theories

• Feedback and Reinforcement is necessary• Practice is important/Clear Objectives• Material must be meaningful• Learners must be involved• The Trainer must be credible• Learners must be able to see the benefits &

achieve incremental successes

Questions on Critical Reflection

• How adults make sense or meaning from their experiences?

• What are the dynamic involved in modifying meanings?

• Why certain adults can be highly critical on issue related to ideologies but not on others?

• To what extent is critical reflection associated with personality characteristics?

Questions on Experiential Learning

• Is experiential learning a natural phenomena or shaped by culture?

• Is length of experiential learning connected to intensity of learning?

• Are there any difference in impact between adults and youngsters participating in experiential methods such as games, simulations, psychodrama, case-studies etc.

Assumption about Adult Learners

• They are diverse, bringing wealth of life experiences. Active learning connects content to learners’ meaning structures:– Diverse in ages, abilities, job experiences,

cultural background, personal goals– Range in education 0 – many years– Personal experiences and learning resources

Assumption about Adult Learners

• They want to relate content to specific contexts in lives. Thus they are:– Pragmatic learners– They want to improve performance – Expect class time to be well spent– Hope that courses will solve problems

Assumption about Adult Learners

• They prefer to have some degree of control over their learning. They:– Tend to be voluntary learners– Believe the decision to go to school is an

important one – Believe education will be helpful

Assumption about Adult Learners

• Their sense of self has a significant influence on the meaning of the learning situation. They may:– Feel embarrassed on returning to school– Feel embarrassed joining classes with younsters– Hold negative impressions of their abilities– Hold negative impressions of school and

teacher