Kinshuk (kinshuk@ieee.org)
Mon, 11 Jan 1999 13:49:32 -0600
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1999 13:49:32 -0600 From: Kinshuk <kinshuk@ieee.org> Subject: [ifets] Current discussion: Background paper
Dear members
Please find below the background paper for the currently
running discussion:
"Adult learner behaviors in workplace vs. educational environments"
Please provide your comments so as to make the current discussion
successful.
--------------------
WHENCE THEY COME: PARADOXES IN ADULT LEARNING AND ADULT STUDENTS
By Nora Carrol, president, The First Forward Institute, Inc.;
assistant professor, University of Maryland University College
Most of us are familiar with the adult learner paradigm: the mature
individual with self-driven goals and needs, and a determined expectation
that his or her experience will be respected and used by instructors who
are facilitators of discussion rather than dictators of fact. Indeed,
this paradigm has become so comfortable and well demonstrated that we
build our instructional practices around it. As adult education and
learning opportunities become more global, however, it becomes obvious
that our assumptions are much riskier than we may have realized.
On a visiting faculty appointment in 1995 at the Univesity of Lethbridge
in Alberta, Canada, I found an unusually diverse mix in one class of 32
students. 50% were local individuals from farming and ranching
backgrounds; 35% had recently arrived from mainland China; and the
remainder were indigenous Canadians, including one former chief,
councillor and medicine man. When confronted with the course--=94manageri=
al
skills development=94--this population=92s behaviors set their preconcept=
ions,
attitudes and expectations in sharp relief...and trounced our trusted
paradigm in the process. There were clear, culturally-driven distinctions
and contrasts among students in how they:
*defined and rated practical vs. =91credentialed=92 knowledge
*related instructor=92s knowledge to facilitative vs. didactic teaching m=
ethods
* communicated with a faculty member one-on-one vs. in the group
* defined members or peers in group work
*shared information based on course-acquired vs. practically-acquired kno=
wledge
*viewed situational problem-solving vs. rigid definitions of right and wr=
ong
At the top of the discomfort list was the facilitative instructor who
employed discussion, debate and integration of practical experience into
theory. Such a methodology, which encourages horizontal/peer relationship=
s
and circular communication, was at odds with over 50% of the students.
These individuals hailed from backgrounds that maintain hierarchical
family, professional and social relationships, and as a result they
expected the instructor to fit nicely into a vertical slot, presenting
information that they would then absorb. Rather than being seen positivel=
y,
facilitation was perceived by many as unbeneficial; in addition to being
unfamiliar, it did not emphasize solely the instructor=92s =91primary=92
credentialed expertise but drew in the =91secondary=92 practical knowledg=
e of
participants. The sole exception was the native Canadians, whose own
culture supports group discussion, analysis and consensus-building, and
who tended to lose interest if the instructional method reverted to the
didactic style preferred by almost everyone else.
The notion of =91information=92 differed from our paradigm, if we define
facts as raw data, information as useful facts and knowledge as applied
information. There was relatively little questioning of facts and an
apparent willingness to accept facts as automatically useful or
applicable, because they were presented by an =91expert=92. If hard facts
were absent, difficulty ensued. Problem-solving and opinion-giving--
particularly the kind requiring choice among alternatives in uncertain
situations--met with upset and horror. The instructor had not dictated
what was right or wrong, but asked students to risk making and airing
their own decisions instead.
Hierachical traditions spilled into student group-work relations, which
tended to resemble families with parents and children more than peers
or collaborators. Age and experience of group members were defining
characteristics, and group leaders inevitably reflected the =91older and
wiser=92 stereotype. Communication with the instructor frequently
contradicted itself. In class, many were reluctant to communicate
beyond answering questions, but afterwards did not hesitate to ask
advice, share opinions and demonstrate sharp senses of humor and
critical ability. Eventually, the individual communications lessened
the nervousness some felt about speaking up in front of the whole group.
Such contrasting behavior suggests that the open, peer-oriented learning
environment created a feeling of jeopardy, and that the presence of
colleague-students exacerbated rather than eased the situation. Talking
alone with the instructor, however, appeared more customary and
significant, and in that case treating a student as a peer was meaningful.
Were these experiences of one instructor, in one class of 32 students,
for one summer session, so dismaying that they would discourage any
future teaching opportunities in our increasingly global environment? On
the contrary, they have encouraged this individual to seek more. However,
I now recognize that our adult learner paradigm is a hypothesis, not an
unarguable conclusion, and requires the same kind of critical analysis,
development and testing in real, diverse environ-ments that we would use
conducting any other research. Without it, we are risking our paradigm
becoming dogma.
This article is reprinted from Faculty Focus, University of Maryland
University College. (c) Nora Carrol 1996.
Originally available at: http://www.ffinst.com/article.htm.
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