Download
1 / 7
70 likes | 183 Views
Learning Opportunities in Adulthood:. A Summary of M & C’s Chapter 2. Discussion. What is something that you’ve learned in the past year? Where have you learned it? We will be looking at the different settings in which adults learn. It’s not just IN SCHOOL!. Where do adults learn?.
E N D
Learning Opportunities in Adulthood: A Summary of M & C’s Chapter 2
Discussion • What is something that you’ve learned in the past year? • Where have you learned it? • We will be looking at the different settings in which adults learn. • It’s not just IN SCHOOL!
Where do adults learn? • Formal educational settings (e.g. Literacy Volunteers of America; Empire State College). • 2) Non-formal settings (Grassroots movements/Indigenous learning) • 3) Informal or self-directed learning (e.g. learning more about breast cancer treatments after being diagnosed) • Adult educators should alert learners to their previous learning experiences to show that they are lifelong learners and have been successful in some learning endeavors.
Formal Institutional Settings • Darkenwald and Merriam (1982) classified four types of formal settings. • Independent adult ed organizations: ighlander Research Center, Literacy Volunteers of America). • Educational institutions: post-secondary institutions colleges, post-secondary schools, and the Cooperative Extension Service • Quasi-educational organizations: These institutions consider education of the public. Libraries, museums, service clubs, religious and civic organizations. • Non-educational organizations: Education means to end:Training programs, government agencies, armed forces, correctional institutions
Non-formal Settings • M & C (1999) describe this as “learning opportunities outside formal educational settings that complement or supplement the needs of underserved adults” (pp. 28-29). • These programs are more flexible and serve the needs of the community. • Indigenous learning is cultural learning. Examples include: Native American communities teaching various traditions, people of African descent passing on traditions and lessons through stories, and members of Asian communities teaching and learning particular skills from their elders.
Informal or Self-Directed Contexts • “This form of learning occurs most often in learners’ natural settings and is initiated and carried through by the learners themselves” (M & C, 1999, p. 32). • Independent pursuit of learning: Learning a hobby, learning how to build a deck, learning how to manage investments. They read books, ask questions of others etc. • As a way of organizing instruction: Organizing a course where the objectives are met but the learner has a choice about who she/he wants to work with or can choose how to accomplish the objectives. This scares some and excites others depending on their level of confidence.
New Frontiers in Learning: The Learning Organization • “Watkins and Marsick (1993, p. 8) define the learning organization as ‘one that learns continuously and transforms itself.’ Learning takes place in individuals, teams, the organization, and even in the communities with which the communities interact” (as cited in M & C, 1999, pp. 39-40). • Senge (1990) says that organizations and people within those organizations need to see themselves as active participants in the organization and seeing the whole picture rather than parts of it. • Collaboration and dialogue are an important part of the learning organization.
