Você está na página 1de 12

Amy Walkers Wikiography: Culture and Adult Learning Dr.

Bill Hunter Principles of Learning April 4, 2013

Amy Walker

Wikiography: Culture and Adult Education

To begin this wikiography, on a personal note, this was a really enjoyable assignment to work on. It has been a great experience to collaborate with my classmates to build a reference database using our interests, knowledge and understandings. It has also provided our class with an opportunity to take time to learn about more about our educational interests and to share this new information and perspective with peers. As a side note, our course wiki has also been a very helpful resource for beginning research for other courses I am completing and for quickly looking up terms and ideas, as they arise in my coursework. I hope that the Principles of Learning course will continue to include this wiki contribution assignment, as I feel that this method of collaborative learning really is a beneficial experience for students. This is the first experience I have had with contributing to a wiki. Although there was a small learning curve with using the wiki, it was relatively easy to overcome with some practice and observing examples and other existing contributions. Something I struggled with was editing other entries, unless they had not been modified for some time, as I did not want to interfere or disrupt other students work. I also found it difficult to make modifications to entries, because of how information is referenced in the wiki. What I mean by this is that at times, the way information is phrased and stated makes it difficult to trace back to a particular source. Without being able to track the source, adding new information, reviewing and comparing conflicting data or correcting the existing entry can be a difficult task. While I did my best to do some editing, this was mostly limited to correcting

Amy Walker

Wikiography: Culture and Adult Education

spelling and grammar, or adding links to other pages and resources. I understand this is part of the collaborative learning process, but it is something that takes some adjustment and is a learning process. I hope that other future users will add more to my entries and review my contributions for corrections, missing data and to add new perspectives. To speak more to the entries I contributed, I will first list them and then elaborate on their significance. I have done my best to ensure the validity and reliability of my entries, by referring to published articles, university biographies and entries based directly on the theorists works. The following educational thinkers and theories are those that I noted to be missing from the wiki: Educational Anthropology, Sharan Merriam, Tara Fenwick, Transformative Learning Theory, Diffusion of Innovations, Everett Rogers and Ethical Coercion. In addition, I made contributions to the existing entry regarding Communities of Practice. Generalizing the main themes in the entries I chose to create, I would suggest that they centre on adult education and the role that culture plays in education. Looking back, I did not intentionally choose these topics due to my interest in these themes, but they are reflective of important areas of study for my practice. I did learn a lot and encountered information I would like to do further reading and research on. While this may be a generalizing statement, perhaps because it appears as though a lot of my peers are working from a K-12 perspective, there seems to be a shortage of contributions surrounding recent work and ideas about workplace

Amy Walker

Wikiography: Culture and Adult Education

learning and adult education topics. This was a great opportunity for me to contribute to this area, which I hope to have done. To detail my contributions, I would first like to discuss my entry on Educational Anthropology. This is a topic that I find very interesting, as it a field that combines two of my career passions. Also, educational anthropology is a subject that I feel is important to examine because it looks at how culture affects and influences curriculum, learning processes and interactions, and education systems, especially in a world experiencing fast-paced and massive change (questia.com, n.d.; Eddy, 1985). This field also studies how educational leaders play a role in transmitting cultural knowledge, such as those regarding unwritten rules and social norms, through their practice (questia.com, n.d.; Information Age Education, n.d). As culture permeates every aspect of our lives, this area of work and its body of knowledge can help to identify and address inequalities in our schools (Council on Anthropology and Education, n.d.) and help educators understand how they can best serve the needs of a diverse group of students (Eddy, 1985). I suggest that it can also provide an opportunity for members of education systems to reflect on the culture, reasons, politics and logic that exist behind current practices, perhaps allowing for open discussions and positive changes to arise. Next, I would like to examine the entries I made, which focused on adult education. While we discussed in class that adults may not have different learning processes than children (Principles of Learning, March 7, 2013), this is still an area of interest for me, because I always strive to improve my teaching practices. I would like to learn more about this topic, particularly workplace learning theories, and

Amy Walker

Wikiography: Culture and Adult Education

how to apply this learning in my career. First, in many of my classes, we have been asked to read works by Sharan Merriam, who has contributed significantly to the body of knowledge on adult learning and education. What I find particularly interesting about her work is that she acknowledges that our understanding of how adults learn is constantly evolving and is affected by cultural, social, individual and historical context and our rapidly changing world (Brock University, 2011), signifying workplace learning is an area in which more research should be done. In our multicultural and quickly changing environment, non-western views about education are also important to examine (Merriam & Kim, 2007), because they may inform educators about other ideas about learning and what is considered important material to teach. Next, another entry I made to the educational thinkers section is regarding Tara Fenwick, another contributor to the adult education field in the last decade. Fenwicks work centres on studying and promoting lifelong learning, as well as workplace learning. Much like Merriam, Fenwick also is concerned with examining globalization and power dynamics and how these change adult learning and workplace education practices and expectations (University of Stirling, n.d.; Propel, n.d.). I have encountered Fenwicks work many times over the course of my time at UOIT and her writing on workplace learning has been enlightening and thought provoking for me, and will influence my teaching practice going forward. Both Merriam and Fenwick, while focusing on adult education are also considering the role of culture and how it shapes and influences learning and education.

Amy Walker

Wikiography: Culture and Adult Education

While doing research on Merriam and Fenwick, I also discovered that surprisingly, in our course wiki, there was no entry on transformative learning, but there was a brief entry on Jack Mezirow, this theorys creator. This idea is a fundamental part of adult learning theory and as such, I felt that it deserved a post of its own. As detailed in the entry, this theory is based on the notion that adult learners should critically question their assumptions, beliefs and knowledge because by opening their eyes to different perspectives and knowledge, they may develop a more holistic and well-rounded worldview and learn to become critical consumers and producers of information and meanings (Mezirow, 1990; Transformational Learning Theory, n.d.). Mezirow writes that this transformation often occurs as the result of a disorienting dilemma, a challenging and difficult event that sets the learner on a course to change their life or practice (Mezirow, 1990). I also find that this connects well to ideas about Communities of Practice, as when a group of people with similar interests and goals connect with one another, they can learn from hearing about and discussing experiences and knowledge that differ or perhaps, challenge what they understand as their own truths (Lave & Wenger, 1991 as cited in Hansman, 2001). Although, I dont believe that participation in a Community of Practice would always be the result of the aforementioned disorienting dilemma. The entry on transformative learning theory is one that I feel could be further developed in the future, and there are many other significant contributors to this

Amy Walker

Wikiography: Culture and Adult Education

idea that could be examined, such as Paulo Friere, Thomas Kuhn and Jrgen Habermas, all of whom are missing from our wiki. Now to connect to the theme of culture and its role in education, Ill briefly discuss the Diffusion of Innovations theory and its creator, Everett Rogers. Rogers was inspired to develop his theory of Diffusion of Innovations based on his childhood experiences on the family farm (Backer & Singhal, 2005). While enduring tough economic times, he witnessed his father repeatedly reject new trends in farming that focused on biological and chemical innovations, such as modified or hybrid seeds, many of which were successfully adopted by neighbouring farmers (Backer & Singhal, 2005). At the same time, his father embraced new mechanical tools (Backer & Singhal, 2005). His fathers actions piqued Rogers curiousity and he began to study the reasons why certain technologies might be accepted or rejected and how innovation use spreads (Backer & Singhal, 2005). In doing research on Rogers, I encountered a great summary of his work by James Ellsworth (2000), so I inserted links to connect these entries, for future reference. Noting the factors that are present in successful adoption of innovation, Ellsworth and Rogers suggest that the new innovation must: have a relative advantage over existing methods, be compatible with the needs and desires of the intended users, have relative ease of use, provide users with an opportunity to try the innovation before committing to its use and witness the innovation being used by others (Ellsworth, 2000). Compatibility can be broken down further and examined in an educational context by exploring the use of technology clusters, which are tools that can support and reinforce one another, especially in the

Amy Walker

Wikiography: Culture and Adult Education

classroom and by looking at how innovations are named and labeled so that they may appeal to the values of the teacher. Studying this compatibility also requires investigating how innovations are similar or different to existing tools so as to demonstrate the advantages and usefulness of adoption, as well as being careful not to challenge the knowledge, ideas and values of the teacher group that may adopt such innovations (Ellsworth, 2000). I find Rogers theory really interesting, as it seeks to explain why and how certain ideas and technologies catch on and spread in societies and cultures. I believe these trends are particularly important to examine in education, as educators need to help students learn skills and prepare for new technologies and ways of thinking that are always evolving. As it has been said many times here at UOIT and seen in many of my experiences in our schools, education systems are very slow to change, and perhaps, studying the diffusion of innovations can help policy makers and educators to better understand, identify and implement ways to create positive and continuous change. While doing coursework in this program, another idea that I have encountered and find very interesting is that of ethical coercion. Ian Baptiste, the main contributor to this theory, as well as Stephen Brookfield, write that ethical coercion fits into an educators reflective practices, as one must question their authenticity as educators, yet also recognize that they hold significant power that must be exercised responsibly in their practice (Brookfield, 2006 & 2007). This means that even if students are opposed to an educators planned agenda, if it is deemed valuable and necessary, especially to reject other negative and dangerous

Amy Walker

Wikiography: Culture and Adult Education

agendas, the lesson will go ahead as intended (Brookfield, 2006 & 2007). In adult education, Baptiste suggests that educators do and must act as persuasive negotiators, coercing students to follow their direction and encourage learning (Brookfield, 2006 & 2007). This is an interesting idea, as I feel it counters many popular notions that learning should be constructivist and done with scaffolding and guidance, rather than forced or coerced. It would be interesting to do more research in this area, to find out how educators and students feel about this theory and how it fits into their teaching and learning experiences and goals. However, I encountered many roadblocks in attempting to find more information from general searches, Google Scholar and UOITs library in doing so. Another area of adult education that I wanted to contribute more to in the wiki was that of Communities of Practice theories. This is a subject that I desire to learn more about, as I have experienced how beneficial these communities are in the learning process, both in formal educational settings, such as in our course here at UOIT, as well as in the workplace. Additionally, this idea connects well to my background in anthropology, which seeks to study culture and society, and how people connect and interact within theses spaces. While there is an existing entry in our wiki for Communities of Practice, I feel that there is room to expand on this idea. I have added in a connection to Lave and Wengers theory of situated learning (Hansman, 2001), in which Communities of Practice is rooted. This theory suggests that learning is a social process (Lave & Wenger, 1991 as cited in Hansman, 2001) and that through participating in a

Amy Walker

Wikiography: Culture and Adult Education

10

community, people come to learn and know through doing and interacting (Fenwick, 2001). I believe that this also connects to Vygotskys theory of the Zone of Proximal Development, which proposes that learners may be best able to construct knowledge and meanings with the help and support of a more knowledgeable other (McLeod, 2007). In a community setting, learners may encounter other members who are experts in their field and can provide guidance, or who have different experiences and understandings that may challenge or support the learners knowledge. Additionally, I have noted that Communities of Practice can also develop and function in online spaces, which the original post did not mention. I feel that this is important because this is integral to how our program functions each and every week and with globalization, often the people we interact with in the workplace are not located close to us geographically. In summary, I hope that I have provided a clear and comprehensive overview of my experience with and contributions to the course wiki and demonstrated their value to the field of education. As mentioned previously, this was a great opportunity and I hope to see this activity pursued by future students in this program.

Amy Walker References:

Wikiography: Culture and Adult Education

11

Please note, not all of the sources for my contributions to the wiki are referenced in this paper, only the information I directly referenced is listed below: Backer, T. E. & Singhal, A. (2005). Intro. Journal of Health Communication. Volume 10 (4), pg. 285-288 Brock University Faculty of Education. Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities for Adult and Higher Education. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.brocku.ca/education/events/events/sharanmerriam Brookfield, S. D. (2006). Authenticity and power. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2006(111), 5-16. Brookfield, S. (2007). Diversifying curriculum as the practice of repressive tolerance. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(5-6), 557-568. Council on Anthropology and Education (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.aaanet.org/sections/cae/sample-page/ Eddy, E. M. (1985). Theory, research, and application in educational anthropology. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 16(2), 83-104. Ellsworth, J. B. (2000). Surviving changes: A survey of Educational change models. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse (Chapter 1, pp. 20-30 and Chapter 3, pp. 44-58). Available: http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED443417.pdf Fenwick, T. (2001). Tides of change: New themes and questions in workplace learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2001(92), 3-18. Hansman, C. A. (2001). Context based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2001(89), 43-52. Information Age Education Wiki (Moursund & Wolcott). Educational Anthropology. (n.d.). Retrieved January 29, 2013 from the IAE Wiki: http://iae pedia.org/Educational_Anthropology Merriam, S. B., & Kim, Y. S. (2008). Nonwestern perspectives on learning and knowing. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2008(119), 7181. McLeod, S. (2007). Vygotsky. Retrieved from: http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html

Amy Walker

Wikiography: Culture and Adult Education

12

Mezirow, J. (1990). How critical reflection triggers transformative learning. Fostering critical reflection in adulthood, 1-20. Propel Professional Practice, Education and Learning. Profile Tara Fenwick (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.propel.stir.ac.uk/people/profiles/tarafenwick.php Questia.com. Educational Anthropology. Cengage Learning (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.questia.com/library/sociology-and-anthropology/types-ofanthropology/educational-anthropology Transformational Learning Theory. Core Principles. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://transformativelearningtheory.com/corePrinciples.html University of Stirling Staff Directory (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.stir.ac.uk/education/staff-directory/academic/tara-fenwick/

Você também pode gostar