Self-Directed Wine Learning: A Personal Pedagogy Study

Introduction

For this study into my own personal experience with pedagogy, I chose wine and wine tasting as my subject of learning. Over the course of two months, I immersed myself in the world of wine in order to better understand and distinguish the types of wine available. Knowing next to nothing about wine — and not being a wine drinker at all prior to this study — I entered the subject with little more than curiosity and a willingness to be educated. Along the way, I found that this willingness, supported by my overall curiosity, enjoyment of the subject and learning process, and sense of bettering myself by obtaining a wider knowledge of wine, all contributed to the success I experienced throughout this pedagogical process. This paper examines the ways in which I set about this process and shows how I systematically paid attention to my own growth and development during the journey. The fruit of this endeavor has been two-fold: first, I now know more about wine than I did when I started; and, second, I now have a better understanding of how the pedagogical process works on a fundamental level.

There are many theories of pedagogy that scholars have developed as a result of their own experiences with learners. Freire (2000) is famous for describing a "pedagogy of the oppressed" which places the ultimate responsibility for learning on the student and the community, who are responsible for reclaiming "education" from an establishmentarian system that uses "learning" as a tool to support the control of the ruling class. This pedagogical system is somewhat aligned with Herbart's theory of pedagogy in that both approaches view learning as an exercise that leads to personal development and betterment — and thereby to social betterment and the individual's greater contributions to society (Kenklies, 2012).

Method of Engagement, Pedagogical Approach, and Choice Rationale

How a person learns can be as unique as people themselves are. Boyle, Duffy, and Dunleavy (2003), for example, show that, according to the four-factor Vermunt model, students can learn in a variety of ways: meaning-directed learning, which focuses on identifying meanings; reproduction learning, which focuses on reproducing answers; application learning, which focuses on understanding how to apply lessons to oneself; and undirected learning, which has no real focus beyond the whim of the student or teacher. I began my study with a meaning-directed focus but soon found that I was being too narrow in my approach. I therefore converted to an undirected-learning approach and allowed my experience to be shaped by the various environments I entered, in order to expose myself to more wines and develop my palate. For me, this was an exercise in "primary learning" — the sort of "random" learning that children engage in, which they must later modify and arrange as they grow older (Chodorow, 1999, p. 190).

The strengths I expected to bring to this study were open-mindedness and a commitment to full involvement in the process. The challenge I knew I would face was overcoming my complete lack of knowledge about wine — for example, if it all comes from grapes, how and why are there so many varieties?

The theoretical approach I found most appropriate to my aim was that put forward by Wang (2016) in his work-in-progress manuscript on teacher educator William Doll. Wang's work is filled with anecdotal stories that embrace a style of teaching that is somewhat Socratic, yet also conveys a sense of how we learn from simple narratives. It is a pedagogical process similar to the use of parable as a teaching tool: complex ideas are communicated through simple plots that are full of dimension and depth. As Trueit (2012) notes, "story, with its origins deep inside a culture, represents that culture in a way science with its more formal, rational, and logical way of seeing never can attain. Story has a personal truth to it" (p. 22). Wang does not describe his process as data collection — which he labels an "inauthentic" exercise relative to what he is attempting — but rather as something phenomenological in its methodology. Wang calls it a "topical life history approach" (p. 3), though it could just as easily be identified as a phenomenological approach, since he places himself at the center of the study, drawing upon his own impressions of being in Doll's presence and conveying his experience of that interaction as a springboard for deeper learning.

This approach struck me as particularly applicable to my own endeavor, as I realized from the outset that I had to open myself to this experience — to the world of wine — and simply allow myself to be impacted by the variety and vitality that the subject offers. For this reason, my recollections take a narrative form, supplemented by journal entries used to document my process of development within the culture of wine.

Wang's observation that "Doll pointed out that his journey from the parade child to the king of chaos indicates the transformation on his part to letting go of control (without giving up leadership) and following nonlinear flow in chaos and complexity" (Wang, 2016, p. 14) is important to me because it identifies the heart of the pedagogical process that both he and I employed. Robinson (2011) has also pointed out that "letting go" can be a productive way to experience "free expression" and "creativity in education" (p. 4). Chaos and complexity are not concepts that should be feared; they are rather characteristics that can give way to order and understanding as long as the participant keeps focus on the nature of forms. By freeing ourselves to encounter various forms, we can shed prejudices and biases that we may have developed over time without even realizing we possessed them. This is what creative education is about — and this was the approach that best suited my enthusiastic immersion into the subject.

Learning Processes and Method of Self-Study

For my part, I decided to adopt this same strategy of "letting go" in order to allow my immersion into the world of wine to be as authentic and natural as possible. Instead of concentrating on learning about a single type of wine (Cabernet Sauvignon), I decided to experience a variety of wines, on the assumption that I could judge a Cabernet Sauvignon better if I had other wines against which to compare it. Rather than limiting myself and imposing my own narrow dimensions on the subject, I opened myself to the subject and to others, placing myself in their hands and allowing them to present wines they thought I might enjoy. In this way, I encountered a variety of wine types I would otherwise never have tried. I picked up tips on how to shop for wine — for instance, that bottom-shelf bargains are not necessarily better simply because they are cheaper.

In "letting go" of my need to control my learning experience, I allowed myself to have a genuine experience — to enjoy, in other words, the phenomenon of truly learning about wine tasting. Sometimes the best way to experience water is to jump in feet first. Letting go of the rope, the flotation device, the controls — and learning to swim — is what learning is ultimately about. We learn by doing, by experiencing, by putting knowledge into practice and testing ourselves by challenging our senses (Lopez et al., 2013). These were the thoughts that accompanied me as I immersed myself in the world of wine.

My choice to immerse myself in that world required that I participate in wine tastings and commit to a routine practice of trying different wines over a two-month period. From my journal entries, made every two to three days throughout this period, one can trace the shape of my growth. As Hawking and Mlodinow (2010) point out, there is no single "right" way to look at the world — just as there is no one right model of the universe — and what matters is that we engage with concepts and broaden our understanding on a consistent basis, committing ourselves to a course of action that will bear fruit over time (p. 41). This is also essentially the conclusion Freire (2000) reaches in his discussion of pedagogy.

Conclusion and Further Exploration

In conclusion, this practice has shown me that there is no single right way to approach pedagogical discourse. For everyone it is different, because we all come from different places and require different stimuli and focuses at different times. Every course and opportunity has its own pedagogy: friends approach learning differently than strangers do; information and knowledge are conveyed in different manners; being open to all of them was helpful as I let go of my fears and swam out into a sea of experience. I would recommend this approach to others — though I know it would not suit everyone. Some learners come from backgrounds in which they have been immersed in a subject their whole lives and are ready for a different type of education. Others need time for deeper reflection; still others have more fundamental needs that must be met first. Every individual has his or her own limitations and abilities, and these should be considered thoughtfully rather than prescribing an arbitrary method.

Nonetheless, for further exploration, it would be interesting to examine whether the "letting go" approach can be considered a universal strategy for adult learners. This is an idea that could be studied through a phenomenological approach in the future — one that extends the kind of personal, narrative-driven inquiry that has proven so productive in this project.

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