Adult learning linking theory and practice

Table of Contents

Title page

Copyright page

The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series

List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits

Preface Purpose and Audience Overview of Contents Acknowledgments

The Authors

CHAPTER ONE: Adult Learning in Today's World The Social Context of Adult Learning The Adult Learner and Learning in Adulthood Settings Where Learning Occurs Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources

CHAPTER TWO: Traditional Learning Theories What Is Learning? Learning Theories Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources

CHAPTER THREE: Andragogy: The Art and Science of Helping Adults Learn

Before Andragogy Assumptions About Adult Learners

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Andragogy Today Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources

CHAPTER FOUR: Self-Directed Learning The Nature of Self-Directed Learning The Process of Self-Directed Learning Self-Directed Learning in Various Contexts Assessing Self-Directed Learning Critiques of Self-Directed Learning Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources Exhibit 4.1: Independent Study Learning Contract

CHAPTER FIVE: Transformative Learning What Is Transformative Learning? Sites of Transformative Learning Promoting and Evaluating Transformative Learning Concluding Thoughts, Unresolved Issues Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources

CHAPTER SIX: Experience and Learning On the Relationship Between Experience and Learning Models of Experiential Learning Reflective Practice and Situated Cognition Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources

CHAPTER SEVEN: Body and Spirit in Learning Embodied Learning The Spirit in Learning Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources

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CHAPTER EIGHT: Motivation and Learning Motivation Defined Motivation Theory Motivation in Adult Education Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources

CHAPTER NINE: The Brain and Cognitive Functioning Brain Basics Memory Intelligence Cognitive Development and Wisdom Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources

CHAPTER TEN: Adult Learning in the Digital Age The Technology Context Adult Learners in the Digital Age The Teaching-Learning Context of the Digital Age Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Critical Thinking and Critical Perspectives Being Critical Critical Theory Critical Perspectives Critical Thinking Critical Action—Mindful and Timely Intervention Creating a Critical Classroom Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources

CHAPTER TWELVE: Culture and Context, Theory and Practice in Adult Learning

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Culture and Context Culture and Learning Culturally Relevant Teaching The Relationship Between Theory and Practice A Framework for Adult Learning Chapter Summary Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources

References

Name Index

Subject Index

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products, visit www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Merriam, Sharan B. Adult learning : linking theory and practice / Sharan B. Merriam, Laura L. Bierema. -- First edition. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-118-13057-5 (hardback)--ISBN 978-1-118-41910-6 (pdf) -- ISBN 978-1-118-41631-0 (epub) 1. Adult education. 2. Adult education--Research. 3. Education and globalization. 4. Activity programs in education. I. Bierema, Laura L. (Laura Lee), 1964– II. Title. LC5215 374–dc23 2013026292

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The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series

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List of Tables, Figures, and Exhibits

Table 1.1. If the World Consisted of 100 People Table 1.2. Percentage of Population Aged 60 and Older Table 1.3. The Top 10 Countries with the Highest Percentages of 60+ Populations in 2011 and 2050 Table 1.4. Country Groupings by Participation in Organized Forms of Adult Education in the Previous Year, Population Aged 16–65 Exhibit 2.1. Relationships of Dimensions of Teaching and Orientation to Learning Table 4.1. Grow's Self-Directed Learning Stages Table 4.2. Costa and Kallick's Criteria for Self-Directed Learner Assessment Exhibit 4.1. Independent Study Learning Contract Figure 6.1. The Experiential Learning Cycle and Basic Learning Styles (Kolb, 1984) Figure 6.2. Teaching Around the Circle Table 8.1. Classical Motivation Theories Table 8.2. Comparison of Boshier's Adult Learning Motivational Factors with Classical Motivation Theory Table 8.3. Load and Power Table 8.4. Instructional Activities: Wlodkowski's Summary of Motivational Strategies Figure 9.1. The Triune Brain Figure 9.2. The Hemispheric Brain Figure 9.3. Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence Table 11.1. Aspects of Being Critical Table 11.2. Activities for Creating a Critical Classroom Figure 12.1. Example Pie Chart

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Preface

Adults are learning all the time. Whether we are searching the Internet to learn more about a recently diagnosed health problem, having a coworker show us how to navigate a new reporting procedure, or taking classes to get a certificate or a degree, learning is firmly embedded in our work, family, and community activities. The sites and programs where adult learning takes place are also endless—from human resource development programs at work, to seminars and workshops sponsored by libraries, museums, religious institutions, hospitals, and so on, to more formal programs offered by schools, colleges, and universities—and all of these can be accessed in online environments. At the heart of such a diverse field, and what unites us as practitioners, is the adult as a learner. And the more we can understand our own learning, the better we can be as practitioners who design and facilitate learning activities for adults.

Most likely you are reading this book because you are interested in knowing more about adult learning. However, unlike Malcolm Knowles who, as director of adult education at the Boston YMCA in the 1940s, could not “find a book that would tell me how to conduct a program of this sort” (1984, p. 2), and added “that although there was general agreement among adult educators that adults are different from youth as learners, there was no comprehensive theory about these differences” (pp. 3–4)—there is now voluminous literature on adult learning. This literature ranges from “how-to” guides, pamphlets, handbooks, and books, to scholarly theoretical discussions to well-designed research studies.

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Purpose and Audience So, with all of these resources on adult learning available, why this book? A quick survey of some of the books published in the last 10 years reveals that most focus on a particular aspect of adult learning such as motivation (Wlodkowski, 2008); andragogy and its application to workplace learning and human resource development (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2011); critical thinking (Brookfield, 2012b); experiential learning, (Fenwick, 2003); dialogic education (Vella, 2008); and transformative learning (Taylor & Cranton, 2012). Others are highly theoretical (Illeris, 2004b; Jarvis, 2006a) or theory and research intense (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007). What we felt was missing from the literature on adult learning is a book that gives an overview of the major theories and research in adult learning in language that those new to adult education can understand, and at the same time points out applications of these ideas to practice. We have presented adult learning theory to the reader mindful that our readers are themselves adult learners as well as practitioners who design and facilitate educational programs for adults. In keeping with our goal of writing a book that is reader- and practitioner- friendly, we have included activities and resources at the end of each chapter for personal and instructional use.

There are three intended audiences for Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice. The primary audience for our book are students in adult education and human resource development programs in the United States and Canada. All of these programs have a core required course in adult learning. Whether these are undergraduate, masters, or doctoral-level programs, typically this course is the student's first introduction to adult learning. A second audience for our book are graduate students in professional preparation programs whose work may involve the education and training of adults, such as school administrators, public health personnel, social workers, corporate consultants and trainers, the military, counselors, government administrators, higher education faculty and administrators, and community educators. A third and growing audience are students in undergraduate and graduate programs in other countries. These programs go by different names such as Lifelong Learning, Social Education, Adult and Professional Education, Community Education, and so on, but all offer a course on adult learning.

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Overview of Contents Based on our many years of teaching adult learning courses and also conducting seminars and workshops on adult learning, we have organized this book according to what we have found “works” in terms of acquainting readers with adult learning theory and practice. The first two chapters review (1) the present context of adult learning, and (2) the emergence of specific theories of learning. Chapter 1, Adult Learning in Today's World, sets the framework for the book by examining the forces that make continued learning in adulthood so important. Globalization, the knowledge society, technology, and demographic changes are shaping the landscape of adult learning today. Lifelong learning is indeed becoming a reality with adults engaging in learning in formal, nonformal, and informal settings. We define who the adult learner is, and review characteristics of participants in formal learning settings. Chapter 2, Traditional Learning Theories, begins with a brief exploration of the concept of learning, then moves historically through the development of learning theories beginning with the earliest scientifically developed learning theory, behaviorism. Going in somewhat chronological order, the following orientations/perspective/theories are presented: behaviorism, humanism, cognitivism, social cognitivism, and constructivism. These five are considered traditional learning theories and are foundational to what we have come to understand about adult learning.

Again, going loosely in order of their appearance in our field's literature, the next three chapters present major, foundational theories of adult learning: andragogy, self-directed learning, and transformative learning. Chapter 3, Andragogy—The Art and Science of Helping Adults Learn, is a review of Malcolm Knowles's theory, later characterized as a set of assumptions, which distinguishes adult learners from pre-adult learners. Andragogy is the oldest and best-known set of principles used to guide instruction of adult learners. In this chapter we review the theory and latest research, and offer a number of examples of application. Chapter 4 is on self- directed learning. One of the assumptions of andragogy is that because adults are self-directing in their work, family, and community lives, they can also be self- directing in their learning. Along with andragogy, self-directed learning developed as one of the major foundational pillars of adult learning theory. Reviewed are various models of self-directed learning and ways in which self-directed learning has been applied in practice. Chapter 5 is on Transformative Learning, which joins andragogy and self-directed learning as a major theory explaining learning in adulthood. In the last twenty-five years we have seen a burgeoning of theorizing and research around the notion that learning can profoundly change the way adults view themselves and act in the world. Beginning with Mezirow's breakthrough formulation of transformative learning and the research and development around his theory, we then review other conceptualizations of transformative learning, discuss

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promoting and evaluating transformative learning, and close with a review of several issues yet to be resolved in promoting this type of learning.

The next four chapters explore several dimensions of adult learning, all of which are important to a full understanding of the adult learner and the process of adult learning. Chapter 6, Experience and Learning, looks at the central role of adult life experiences in generating as well as acting as resources for learning. Beginning with formative works of Dewey, Lindeman, and Kolb, and moving to contemporary conceptualizations including several models from adult educators, we explain how life experiences and learning are integrally related. Also reviewed is the role of experience in reflective practice, in “authentic” real-life experiences as explained in the learning theory of situated cognition, and in communities of practice. Chapter 7, Body and Spirit in Learning, addresses the holistic nature of learning. More than a cognitive activity, learning also involves acquiring knowledge through the body, which is called somatic or embodied learning, and for some adults, learning may also include a spiritual dimension. Chapter 8, Motivation and Learning, is a review of what we know about the motivation to learn, its cultural and biological components, and how meeting needs and motives through learning becomes reinforcement for continued learning. We also offer suggestions as to how readers can identify their own motivations for learning as well as how to take motivation into consideration when planning learning activities with adults. Chapter 9, The Brain and Cognitive Functioning, reviews how the brain actually functions in learning. We begin the chapter with a short overview of how the brain works, then go on to discuss some of the exciting new work in neuroscience and learning. Several dimensions of cognitive functioning including memory, intelligence, cognitive development, and wisdom are also reviewed—all with an eye to how learning maximizes each of these functions.

In the last three chapters we explore in more depth the importance of context to learning. Although this theme is present throughout the book, we thought the context of learning was so crucial to really understanding adult learning that we have featured it in these last three chapters. Chapter 10, Adult Learning in the Digital Age, addresses the pervasiveness of technology in our lives, a factor that both engages and distracts our learning. How do we maximize this medium in learning, and at the same time enable adults to be savvy consumers of massive amounts of information at the tap of a keyboard? Understanding how adult learners engage with technology and how that technology is shaping their learning is critical to our role as adult educators in helping adults navigate this new learning context. Just as technology defines the context of our learning, so too do the social and global contexts of the 21st century. In Chapter 11, Critical Thinking and Critical Perspectives, we situate critical thinking in its broader context, considering its philosophical underpinnings and contemporary counterparts. The chapter begins with a discussion of what it means to be critical and introduces critical theory,

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critical thinking, and critical action as a framework for learning and teaching. Our final chapter, Chapter 12, Culture and Context, Theory and Practice of Adult Learning, considers how culture and context affect learning, explores the role of theory and practice in adult education, and offers a framework that integrates culture, theory, and practice.

Although in our minds we had a rationale for the order of chapters, the chapters can be read in whatever order is most helpful to the particular instructional situation; further, individual chapters can be used in single session workshops and seminars. At the end of each chapter we have a section titled Linking Theory and Practice: Activities and Resources where we have included activities we have used to engage learners in each of the topics. These activities and resources are meant for readers to explore their own learning as well as to use in instructional settings. Finally, each chapter closes with a list of Chapter Highlights where we have captured what we consider to be the salient points or “takeaways” discussed in the chapter.

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Acknowledgments We would like to acknowledge the students in our classes as well as participants in our workshops and seminars across the world who have been the inspiration for this book. They have challenged us to think through how best to engage people in understanding what we know about how adults learn. The order in which we have presented the material in this book, as well as suggested activities and resources have had trial runs, so to speak, with our students and workshop participants. Their candid feedback is much appreciated. We also want to thank the three reviewers of our manuscript whose comments, insights, and suggestions were most helpful in strengthening this book. We also want to acknowledge our editor, David Brightman, and his colleagues at Jossey-Bass who were extremely supportive and helpful throughout the process of bringing this book to fruition. Finally, a special thanks goes to our University of Georgia PhD students and graduate research assistants, Nan Fowler and Leanne Dzubinski. Nan assisted us in the early stages of the book with library research. Leanne accessed resources for our book, tracked down references, assisted in editing, and saw to the technical matters of getting the book ready for the publisher. To all of you, including our family and friends, we thank you for your support and encouragement.

Sharan B. Merriam and Laura L. Bierema Athens, Georgia

October, 2013

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The Authors

Sharan B. Merriam is Professor Emerita of Adult Education and Qualitative Research at The University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. Merriam's research and writing activities have focused on adult and lifelong learning and qualitative research methods. For five years she was coeditor of Adult Education Quarterly, the major research and theory journal in adult education. She has published 26 books, several of which have been translated into Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and French, and over 100 journal articles and book chapters. She is a four-time winner of the prestigious Cyril O. Houle World Award for Literature in Adult Education for books published in 1982, 1997, 1999, and 2007. Based on her widespread contributions to the field of adult education, Merriam has been inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame and was the first to receive the American Association of Adult and Continuing Education's Career Achievement award. Her most recent books are The Jossey- Bass Reader on Contemporary Issues in Adult Education (2011), Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation (2009), Third Update on Adult Learning Theory (2008), Learning in Adulthood (2007), and Non-Western Perspectives on Learning and Knowing (2007). She has conducted workshops and seminars on adult learning and qualitative research throughout North America and overseas, including countries in southern Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. She has been a Fulbright Scholar and a Senior Research Fellow in Malaysia, and a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at universities in South Korea and South Africa.

Laura L. Bierema is professor of adult education, learning, and organization development at the University of Georgia, Athens. Bierema's research and writing activities have focused on creating a critical human resource development (HRD) stream of research and practice, exploring women's learning and development in the workplace, and incorporating a feminist analysis to HRD discourse, research, and praxis. She has published four books and over 50 journal articles and book chapters. Bierema's research and writing have been recognized by The Academy for Human Resource Development (AHRD) with four Cutting Edge Awards. She is also the recipient of the Highly Commended Award at the Literati Network Awards for Excellence 2009; winner of the University of Georgia, 2012 College of Education Russell H. Yeany, Jr. Research Award; recipient of the 2012 Sherpa Trailblazer of the Year Award in recognition of innovation application of the Sherpa Executive Coaching Process; and 2013 winner of the AHRD's Outstanding Scholar Award. Bierema is a former coeditor of Adult Education Quarterly. Her other books include: Women's Career Development Across the Lifespan: Insights

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and Strategies for Women, Organizations and Adult Educators (1998), Philosophy and Practice of Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change (2001); Critical Issues in Human Resource Development (2003); and Implementing a Critical Approach to Organization Development (2010).

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CHAPTER ONE

Adult Learning in Today's World

“Anyone who fails to learn … is regarded as oku eniyan (the living dead),” says an African proverb that captures not only how embedded buthow necessary learning is in today's world (Avoseh, 2001, p. 483). Indeed, the daily lives of most people on the planet require constant learning, not just in a classroom, but as we go about our everyday activities. The way we communicate with others, deal with personal and family problems, conduct our work, and build our communities, all require us to learn new information, new procedures, and new technologies.

In this opening chapter we take a look at the social context of learning today, a context characterized by globalization, the knowledge age, technology, and demographic changes. We then turn to a focus on adult learners, how their life situation differs from that of children, and how participation in even formal learning activities has continued to grow over the years. In the last section of this chapter we describe the various settings where learning occurs, ending with a brief discussion of the global concept of lifelong learning.

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The Social Context of Adult Learning Learning, Jarvis (1987) writes, rarely occurs “in splendid isolation from the world in which the learner lives; … it is intimately related to that world and affected by it” (p. 11). From learning to use the newest version of your smartphone, to dealing with a diagnosis of Type II diabetes, to navigating your city's public transportation system, learning is embedded in the world in which we live. In this chapter we first step back and paint a large backdrop of forces shaping the world today against which we can more specifically address who the adult learner is, and what forms of learning an adult might be engaged in. Factors we see as important for understanding the context of adult learning are globalization, the information society, technology, and changing demographics.

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Globalization Of the many factors affecting our lives today, globalization is often mentioned more than anything else. In fact if you Google the term “globalization,” you get more than 40 million “hits,” a number that increases daily. The widespread use of the term not only speaks to its many meanings and applications, but to its vagueness. For our purposes, we define globalization as the movement of goods, services, people, and ideas across national borders. Of course for centuries people and goods have moved across national boundaries. What is different today is the speed and intensity of this movement. As Friedman (2011), one of the major commen​tators of this phenomenon writes, we have moved from “connected to hyperconnected.”

What first comes to mind when most people hear the term “globalization” is outsourcing of manufacturing to low-income, low-wage countries. Indeed, something of a scandal arose in the summer of 2012 when it was learned that the U.S. Olympic team's uniforms had been outsourced to China! The economic component also makes people think of huge multinational or transnational companies that operate worldwide and are not held accountable by any single nation-state. The “market economy” underpins this accelerated version of globalization. Today, “corporations not only control the means of production—both economic and technological—but they also control the means of spreading knowledge about their products as they seek to convince the public to purchase what they produce” (Jarvis, 2008, p. 20). Thus, not only goods and services, but information and ideas are brokered across the globe, which in turn creates more demand for goods and services. One writer has wryly observed that the market economy and consumerism dimensions of globalization have resulted in the world becoming “one big shopping mall” (Cowen, 2003, p. 17). The downside of global commerce is the exploitation of workers worldwide, even children(witness, for example, the May 2013 collapse of a garment factory in Bangladesh killing more than 1100 workers), along with increasing pollution and environmental exploitation. The rise of “corporate social responsibility” campaigns and a movement toward sustainability in the market are closely linked to globalization. Scherer, Palazzo, and Matten (2010) argue that because nations have declining capacity to regulate socially desirable corporate behavior with commerce crossing national, social, political, cultural, and economic borders, it is becoming more incumbent on organizations to bear this political responsibility.

Education itself has become a commodity of the marketplace. Friedman (2005) gives numerous examples of this in his groundbreaking book on globalization titled, The World Is Flat. For example, parents in the United States are hiring math and science tutors for their children—that is, they are hiring tutors who are living in India. Students arriving home from school in the afternoon get on the Internet and are greeted by their Indian tutors who are up early to meet their students in real time

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(and at a considerably cheaper cost than hiring tutors in the States). Students are now consumers who “shop” worldwide for the educational program that best fits their needs and pocketbooks and which promises the results they seek. There is even a growing area of research and writing on what is being called “academic capitalism.” Here institutions of higher education become a commercial enterprise in “the pursuit of market and market-like activities to generate external revenues” (Slaughter & Rhoades, 2004, p. 11). So while students may “shop” for their education, colleges and universities are also shopping for students!

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