Final Reflection

So many take-aways from this course. First, the all-important question of “who is the adult learner?” The adult learner has lots of prior knowledge and experience that needs to be considered and included in order for instruction to be successful. The adult learner is more intrinsically motivated and engaged with learning, especially if the learning is of their own choosing and they participate in goal-setting. It’s important to consider differences/preferences among generations when developing instruction, but more often than not, because they are all adults, they have similar expectations of learning and instruction: as I mentioned, it should be self-directed, where they have input on the learning goals; it should be relevant to their lives right now and help them create meaning; and it should be in a collaborative and respectful learning environment. These are the traits that make andragogy different than pedagogy. Additionally, the instructor’s role is more as a facilitator than a direct imparter of knowledge (as it is in pedagogy).

We covered the spectrum of learning theories and models, which served to emphasize that humans learn in a variety of different ways. All the theories start with a premise that knowledge is an attainable thing, either by releasing or tapping into what is innate, through reasoning, through having experiences, or through collaboration or knowledge-sharing.

Behaviorism says learning is about observable changes in behavior brought on by stimuli and responses to those stimuli. Cognitivism says that learners are like computer processors, taking in data and processing it – sorting through it and deciding what to keep and what to discard. What is kept is encoded into long-term memory where it can be recalled. Constructivism believes that knowledge is constructed by the learner in an attempt to understand their experiences and to create meaning from them. Experiential Learning is about knowledge being created through having different experiences that cover behavior, cognition, perception, and concrete experience, in other words, by doing, observing, thinking, or planning. It’s the process of doing, reflecting, modifying, and then doing again until you improve.

Communities of Practice and Connectivism move further into the realm of social learning theories where individuals make up groups or networks where learning occurs – learning from one another, learning from the group as a whole. Learning takes place through interactions, discussions, collaborations among group members who are peers, novices, experts, instructors, etc. Culture is a big factor in both CoPs and Connectivism, defining some of the rules of interaction and how the collective knowledge is accessed. These two theories feel very relevant to me and I can see them at work in my personal and work lives. I’ve already purchased books on both subjects and will be finding ways to incorporate them more intentionally in the trainings I’m developing at work.

I’m leaving this course with a much deeper tool box than I had coming in. Awareness of the theories and models, and the traits of adult learners, are all critical to successful instructional design. I am already applying the principles to my work and I’m looking forward to learning more.