Professional Documents
Culture Documents
EHRD 630
Abstract
This paper will discuss the intellectual, emotional and spiritual growth I experienced
during the online class EHRD-630 Adult Learning. The objective is to describe, critically
reflect upon and analyze my experience of learning about Adult Learning. While taking part in
this project I noticed that my adult learning experience took place in two different contexts: a
personal and a group context. Thus I will start by describing the learning processes I followed
both personally and within a group. I will then critically reflect upon each learning processes and
provide my analysis and reflections vis--vis theory and research on adult learning. Finally, I will
Introduction
team environment, how Ive analyzed and understood the required course readings and how Ive
demonstrated effective communication practices throughout the semester, I will respond to the
1. What learning processes did I follow as an individual in the context of this online course?
2. What learning processes did I follow as an individual within the context of group
3. What are my critical reflections on both the personal and group learning contexts?
4. How can I link the critical reflections about my personal and group learning processes to
Method
from 8:00 9:00 PM via Google+ Hangouts. We held our meetings starting on Monday January
29th and through Monday April 3rd. Prior to our weekly discussions, team members were
responsible for completing the assigned readings on their own. Further, members were expected
to fulfill their assigned Reading and Reflection Role during our Weekly Reading Discussion
Meetings (see Appendix 1 for Role Assignments). To prepare for my assigned Reading and
Reflection Role, I first reflected upon the weekly readings and then selected the specific topics,
concepts, definitions or passages from the readings that I thought were most relevant. I then
proceeded to tie them to the Reading & Reflection roles. During our weekly meetings I added
notes to my individual role sheets as needed. Further, after each session, I reflected upon the
content of our discussion and created a blog entry at: www.weebly.com to document each of my
weekly Reading and Reflection Roles. Through these procedures, I was able to complete my
Intellectual Growth
My personal intellectual growth took place as I engaged in the weekly readings and
further reflected upon their content. During the course I learned about the characteristics of the
Social Context of Adult Learning, the Adult Learning Environment, the Characteristics of Adult
Intelligence as it relates to Aging, Memory and the Brain and Non-Western Perspectives on
Learning and Knowing. As the knowledge mentioned above was brought into my awareness by
completing the weekly readings, I tied these new concepts to my own lived experiences as a
exercise of self-examination that subsequently led me to: a) the creation of self-knowledge about
who I am as an Adult Learner, b) how I can generate higher order learning by analyzing the
content of the readings and c) how I created Transformative Learning by means of completing
the following written assignments: Best and Worst Learning Experiences and my Learning
By participating in the Weekly Reading Discussion Meetings I learned from the different
viewpoints of my team members as depicted by the various roles each of us assumed (see
Appendix 1). Participating in the 1-hour long team discussions also allowed me to enhance my
communication and organization skills as well as recognize the importance of reflection in co-
Critical Reflections
Before participating in this class I would see myself as a doer that would engage in the
learning process but would rarely stop to analyze and understand how the learning process took
place. Never before during my Adult Life had I taken the time to analyze my Best and Worst
Learning Experiences and reflect on them, nor had I ever analyzed the learning process I follow
to learn a new activity under the light of Adult Learning Theory. Both of the assignments
mentioned above, and which I completed on an individual basis, allowed me to first engage in
experiential learning and then understand how my learning took place. This understanding
resulted from critically analyzing, organizing, evaluating and writing about my Best and Worst
Learning Experiences and the Learning Process I followed to learn the practice of Hot Yoga.
Further, I found that my participation in the Weekly Reading Discussion Meetings also
allowed me to grow intellectually. By sharing our perspectives on each of our assigned Weekly
Reading and Reflection Roles during our team meetings, we were able to approach concepts
from multiple angles and co-create meaning as we engaged in and reflected upon each of the
to making sure I completed the readings on a timely basis and further deciding which important
concepts to include within each Weekly Reading and Reflection sheets for our team discussion.
By participating in the weekly conference calls via Google+ Hangouts I also enhanced my
organizational and verbal communication skills. As a member of the team I took turns presenting
my weekly role and allowed other members of the team an opportunity to talk.
I experienced Kolbs (1984) concrete experience by being open and willing to involve
myself in a new experience of a) analyzing my Best and Worst Learning Experiences and b)
learning the practice of Hot Yoga. Per Kolbs learning styles, I realized through self-reflection
that Im an Accomodator learner because I look for significance in the learning experience and
consider what I can do and what others have done previously. Further, I realized that Albert
Banduras (1976, p. 392) triadic reciprocity social cognitive model applied to my individual
directed learning (Schugurensky, 2000). According to Knowles (1980, p. 43) one of the four
major tenets of andragogy is that mature adults have a deep psychological need to be generally
self-directing. Self-directed learning, for example, is the intentional and conscious attempt, to
learn and it does not necessarily mean learning alone (Brockett, 1994). Moreover, as part of my
studies, book content and articles that I used in order to prepare for the Reading & Reflection
Per the Constructivist Learning Theory, together with the team we proceeded to reflect on
our concrete roles as they related to the learning experiences (Fenwick, 2003, p.22) and thus
constructed new knowledge as a result of these reflections. Under the social constructivist
view (Driver et al., 1994, p.7), we constructed knowledge by engaging socially in talk and
activity about shared problems and tasks. Learning through this theory is seen as an active
endeavor in which one learns through engaging, incorporating, and critically exploring the
views of others, and new possibilities of interpretation are opened through the interaction
(Gergen, 1995, p. 34). Through engagement in critical reflection within our meetings, I was able
to engage in problem posing and dialogue with my team members (Freire, 2000) and together we
Emotional Growth
While completing the reading required for this course I realized that my learning was
definitely impacted by how I felt about the topic I was learning about. For example, when I was
able to relate to the topic under study I felt more engaged and excited about completing the
reading. When I found that I couldnt relate to the reading, I had to figure out ways of connecting
to it at an emotional level, such as viewing You Tube videos that explained the topic.
Each of our Weekly Reading Discussion Meetings had an Emotional tone attached to it.
For example, when I played the role of the 10th Man I felt that I triggered emotions of apathy
towards the topic of study. Conversely, when I played the Engineer role, I created awareness
about how the current topic related to topics studied in past meetings. These experiences helped
Critical Reflections
After stepping back and deeply reflecting on my personal and group learning experiences
throughout this course I realize an intense transformation took place in connection to how I view
myself as an Adult Learner and as a professional. This transformation was the result of being
able to deeply reflect about the connection between the Adult Learning literature analyzed during
the course as it relates to my prior professional and personal experiences. The inter-
connectedness mentioned above wouldnt have been possible without our group team meeting
interactions and the reflection that took place before, during and after the occurrence of these.
These critical reflection exercises have allowed me to increase my emotional confidence and will
Emotion plays a critical role in the construction of meaning and knowledge of the self in
the adult learning process (Dirkx, 2001). When they enter the cognitive system, emotions alter
thought patterns and thus affect how adults learn (Opengart, 2005). Emotion is the framework
adults use to make meaning, allowing for the expression of personal values as well as an
understanding of surrounding cultural meaning systems (Lutz, 1998). Emotion refers to the self,
and understanding its dynamics allows for the development of self-knowledge. By reflecting
upon it and understanding the emotional effect of my lived individual and group learning
Learning, says Mezirow, is the process by which we transform our taken-for-granted frames of
reference to make them more inclusive, discriminating, open, emotionally capable of change, and
reflective so that they may generate beliefs and opinions that will prove more true or justified to
Spiritual Growth
While completing the readings required for this course I analyzed their content in an
effort to makes sense of the newly acquired knowledge. To facilitate the latter effort, I examined
my own stance to the topic and further visualized how that content would fit in my life under the
throughout this course, we engaged in dialogue that was respectful and non-judgmental. Our
team-efforts created the space for Transformative Learning to occur. As a member of our
Critical Reflections
Our community of learning via Google+ Hangouts created the space that encouraged and
promoted our spiritual development of all members. Through our inter-personal connections and
exchanges, we had a unique opportunity to bring our spiritual selves with the team. On a
personal level, by deriving meaning from the newly acquired knowledge, I was able to
Tisdell (2003) posits that: spirituality is fundamentally about how we make meaning
in our lives through conscious and unconscious processes (p. 31). Tisdell (2003) names several
student, I brought my authentic and open self to the course, and that is how I set the right
team.
Per Vella (2000), for moments of spiritual learning to occur there must be a safe space
that allows dialogue, respect and accountability. Within our group team meetings, we engaged in
dialogue where each of us listened to the others experiences without judgment, and each of us
was accountable for supporting and challenging the learning of our team members. The
spontaneous and fluid nature of spirituality requires a space where it can happen. During our
weekly team meetings we fostered spirituality among each other through the use of storytelling
and visualization. We were able to have interpersonal connections and exchanges among people
that encourage and promote their spiritual development (English, 2000). Through our team
where we each had the opportunity to connect with others and allow spiritual growth to take
place.
Conclusion
The preparation of this Portfolio Essay allowed me to reflect upon the Intellectual,
Emotional and Spiritual Growth that resulted from my participation in the online Adult Learning
Class (EHRD 630). I found that the exercise of critical reflection was a powerful mechanism
behind my learning outcomes for this course and confirming the words of American philosopher,
psychologist, and educational reformer John Dewey (1933): We do not learn from experience.
transformation took place within me in connection to how I view myself as an Adult Learner and
References
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Appendices
Appendice 1 Roles assigned to each team member for Weekly Reading and Reflection
Meetings