Adult Experience in Transformative Learning
Understanding the characteristics of an adult learner is essential in comprehending how students perceive learning, what is pertinent to their lives, and how instructors can effectively direct classrooms. Although certain generalizations should not be reached when addressing all adult learners, one characteristic listed by Malcolm Knowles reflects greatly on the theory of transformative learning, “They accumulate a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasingly rich source of learning.” (Knowles, 45) It is those experiences that have shaped adult learners’ frame of thinking, their overall perspective and set of values which structure their lives. For adults, experiences are not merely situations that have occurred to them, but are the situations that have constructed their identity. Transformative learning creates new outcomes and allows the learner to undergo an analytical transformation. “It is transformative learning theory that explains this learning process of constructing and appropriating new and revised interpretations of the meaning of an experience in the world.” (Taylor, 5) Students are asked to critically reflect on ideas and subjects in relation to their lives and their existing beliefs. This can raise contradictory ideas, a significant issue in transformative learning. Take for example a health assignment that deals with the disadvantages and benefits of certain foods. This subject may cause the learner to confront his or her own eating habits in light of new information. Classroom discussions may provoke a reevaluation of the dietary practices of the learner, which may result in a lifestyle change.
In transformative learning, the responsibility of the instructor is in guiding learners in ultimately reaching new interpretations as well as acquiring the required information in the process. Narratives, journal keeping and case study analysis are methods that can be incorporated by teachers. “The teacher, in the role of a learning coach or facilitator, simply provides the venue and the conditions for learners to engage in their own introspective processes, examine their own assumptions, and arrive at new implications of thought or action.” (Fleming and Garner, 25) Adults have major contributions to impart in the classroom as they are fountains of knowledge and experience. This experience should be acknowledged and capitalized upon within classroom pedagogy. Such was the case for the women that were part of the experiential curriculum in the Bahamas.
The Women of the Bahamas
The experiential class that took place in the College of the Bahamas was composed entirely of women. Most of the women had families and worked full time. As classes commenced, the instructor informed them that classes would be taught through an experimental approach; an approach that would require a strong collaborative effort on their part. This communication between teacher and student is of significant value, particularly in adult classrooms. “Their self-concept becomes that of a self-directing personality. They see themselves being able to make their own decisions and face the consequences, to manage their own lives.” (Knowles 45-46) Adult learners are interested in participating in the learning process and knowing to some degree, what they will come across. During the following weeks the class worked on word association exercises. Based off the theory of inner speech by Lev Vygotsky, the women began making connections between the words and the various aspects of their lives. This exercise developed into a writing project of what one needs to know to live in the Bahamas. The project induced more abstract thinking on the subject, in addition to group discussions. Throughout this period the women worked on written assignments, reediting drafts and critiquing each other’s work. The next topic, marriage, was divided into subtopics. The women focused their work on the areas they wished to further investigate. Choosing topics that are contingent to the lives of student’s, allows for students to draw upon their experiences. Furthermore, it raises consciousness of their environment and places it in a scope of analysis, one of the features of transformative learning.
Transformative Learning Shines Through
The experiential program of the Bahamas had a number of elements found in transformative learning. During the first few assignments the women examined the materials through a subjective approach. This soon evolved into a more complicated exploration of ideas. For example, when discussing articles they began to consider the issues within a marriage, in a larger social construct rather than an exclusive independent experience. Their progression was also evident in their writing, which was initially succinct and individualistic. This original perspective correlates with the psycho-analytic view of transformative learning. The psycho-analytic view is a process of self-discovery and empowerment; its focus is on individual growth. This view differs greatly from the social-emancipatory view, which emphasizes the reflection of the individual as the means for social change. Over time, through discussions, challenging readings and group revisions the women expanded upon their existing notions. In addition, they began to analyze the writing process noting the areas with the most errors, for example pronoun agreement.
Then one woman comments she has no trouble writing in the third person. However, she says when she illustrates these points or gives advice, she starts mentally addressing a particular person and slips into a second-person referent. Examining several essays, classmates confirm her observation; as a result, they begin to catch and correct these errors. (Elasser and Fiore, 123)
The women became inspired through literacy, altering their view of social and cultural factors; as well as improving upon literary practices. Working towards a common goal, they stepped away from individual experiences and entered a larger discourse. The result was their literary development as thinkers and writers. The open dialogue prompted new ideas, while the role of the instructor was to assist the women in developing their own implications to a broader issue. In transformative learning, the instructor is more of a facilitator and should not impart or impose his or her philosophies in the classroom. The outcome is of a newfound awareness that often influences the individual in playing a more active role in their environment, a major factor in Paulo Freiere’s work.
Freire’s Work
Freire’s view of emancipatory education was the foundation for the experiential program in the College of the Bahamas. Freire considered the education of the oppressed crucial in their liberation.
Believing that education was the purpose of education was for the purpose of liberation, Freire had students discuss and reflect on relevant life issues such as inadequate pay they received as rural workers. Through this process, workers recognized the larger societal structures that oppressed them, and how they could overcome these barriers. (Baumgartner, 16)
According to Freire, critical reflection by the oppressed is a necessary facet in restructuring the very system that not only limits their freedom, but revokes it entirely. The oppressed have the consciousness of the oppressed and the oppressor, which makes the reshaping of their beliefs fundamental in their struggle for freedom. However, to better understand Freire’s theory we must understand the concepts which underlie it.
The oppressors are the privileged, elite or a system that unjustly diminishes the freedom of the oppressed; those whose rights have been violently exterminated through dehumanization. The quest of the oppressed is to critically acknowledge his or her current state of living which has been unfairly created by the oppressors. Freire argues that Brazilian peasants collectively learn and apply their own perspective to their situation. He refutes what he labels the banking method, education as an act of depositing information into students. “Knowledge emerges only through invention and re-invention, through the restless, impatient, continuing, hopeful inquiry human beings pursue in the world, with the world, and with each other.” (Freire, 72) The banking method has no real substance and is merely a repetition of the same ideas and concepts that are stated by the instructor who has sole power over the classroom. The students are not critically analyzing the ideas that are being presented, but simply regurgitate what is being deposited. For a real change to occur, there should be no power structures as those are the very systems that have established these imbalances. Furthermore, those who wish to help the oppressed must believe in their capabilities, “To achieve this praxis, however, it is necessary to trust in the oppressed and their ability to reason.” (Freire, 66) Open discussions are a part of praxis which allow for the restructuring of the oppressed consciousness. Therefore, the oppressed must be allowed to rationalize their circumstances instead of entrusting that awareness to the hands of those who are more “privileged”.
Freire’s Influence
For the women in the experiential program, dialogue was a key factor in their literary and social evolution. Through dialogue the women became conscious beings who were no longer passive participants in a social sphere. Although, they originally struggled to step outside their immediate realities, the use of generative themes perpetuated their interest for change. The topic of marriage was identified as a societal institution, a viewpoint that was incongruous to the women’s beliefs. This is what Freire labels “problem-posing education”, which draws upon the consciousness of the student by introducing questions and new ideas, instead of “filling” them with information. “Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferrals of information.” (Freire, 79) Problem-posing education allows the student to critically reflect and scrutinize their current situation. This mode of education is possible only if the instructor sheds their “depositor” role and acknowledges the student’s capability in undergoing such a transformation. Freire’s work accentuates the magnitude of dialogue in building cohesive relationships between teachers and students. “Only dialogue, which requires critical thinking. Without dialogue there is no communication, and without communication there can be no true education.” (Freire, 92-93) Communication stimulates the growth of ideas; students can provide individual assessments on a subject which may introduce new concepts to other learners, as well as instructors. Freire deems dialogue influential in catapulting the change that will eliminate the limitations imposed on the oppressed.
The women in the case study were oppressed by the demarcated roles within their marriages, roles that generated unfair treatment by the oppressors, the men. This treatment was addressed by the women in their letter to Bahamian men, which discussed the issues within the institution of marriage. Utilizing their new scope of inquiry and literary tools, the women took action -through dialogue- against the societal rules that limited their freedom. Praxis became action.
Transformative learning modifies the way we view the world. It is the outcome of a cognitive transformation. This was the case of the women in the College of the Bahamas, who discovered their agency through literacy. Claiming their power over societal restrictions, the women critically analyzed their environment and sought to change it. Their success parallels Friere’s view of emancipatory education, which raises awareness of the social restrictions and blocks that limit growth in the lives of the oppressed. Engaging students in dialogue will result in collective action, to reach collective solutions. Education is an element of social advancement, a potential for social mobility, which is one of the many reasons adult learners pursue an education.
Works Cited
Adult Learning Theory. Ed. Sharan B. Merriam. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, 2001.
15-24. Print. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education #89.
Fiore, Kyle, and Nan Elsasser. “‘Strangers No More’: A Liberatory Literacy Curriculum.” College English 44.2 (1982): 115–28. Print
Fleming, Cheryl Torok, and Gamer, J. Bradley. Brief Guide for Teaching Adult Learners.Marion, Indiana: Triangle, 2009. Print.
Ramos. New York: The Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003. Print.
Merriam, Sharan B. Hoboken NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2008, 5-15. Print. New Directions
for Adult and Continuing Education #119.
No comments:
Post a Comment