Teaching Theory Adult Teaching Theory

Teaching Theory

Adult Teaching Theory

The Bigge & Shermis, Learning Theories for Teachers Table 1.1 stresses the divisions between different theories of learning. For example, behaviorist theories, such as the process of Skinnerian Operant Conditioning proposes that a student or subject is highly influenced by the conditioning and influences of his or her teacher. This stands opposed to more student-empowered theories such as Vygotsky's Thought and Language Theory and Bruner's Cognitive-Interactionist, Narrative-Centered Psychology. Both of these philosophies stress the dialogue between teacher and student over the course of the learning process. Bandura's Linear-Interactionist Social Cognitive vs. Cognitive-Field Interactionist Theory of Learning stress, respectively, the developmental nature of human learning vs. A more holistic acquisition of knowledge.

Malcolm Knowles' theory of adult learning substantiates the developmental concept in his stress upon the difference of adult's way of learning vs. A child's way of learning. Knowles places a greater stress upon student-determined learning objectives and drawing from the adult learner's past experiences. Knowles conception of humankind's moral and actional nature states that as person matures his or self-concept as a student moves from one of being a dependent personality toward a concept of becoming a self-directed human being. In other words, rather than the directional focus of child-centered learning, where student's learning is brought to fruition via various outside pressures, adults must take responsibility of their own education. Adults wish to do so, as this gives them the fullest sense of empowerment as people. The readiness, motivation, and orientation to learn increase with age, and past experience becomes basis for transfer of learning.

The emphasis in teaching must be on andragogy, in adult learning, not pedagogy, said Knowles. Although Smith (2002) sees Knowles attempts to merge humanistic and behaviorist theories of learning as 'dodgy,' it is equally possible to say that Knowles skillfully merges the increasing movement towards self-empowerment in the adult life journey of learning with the behaviorist's stress upon the need to define concrete learning objectives in a systematic fashion, but places this in the hands of the student, not the teacher. This is the essence of Knowles' self-directed learning.

Question

The last sentence of Stephen Brookfield's Chapter on "Adult Learning: An Overview" states "To understand adult learning we need to know it's connections of learning in childhood and adolescence and to the formation during these periods of interpretive filters, cognitive frames and cultural values."

Brookfield's assertion is somewhat at odds with Knowles concept of the difference between child and adult learning, although it is developmental in nature. One possible way of reconciling the difference between Brookfield and Knowles is to propose a stage theory of learning that shows progression from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, incorporating different theorist's ideas about the relationship between learner and teacher at different developmental, emotional, and experiential stages.

Stage 1: Childhood. Child is eager to learn but not certain of how to go about it. Learns to please self 'in the moment' of experience, but without future-thinking objectives.