Patterns and Strategies of Adult Learning: Seminar Paper (original) (raw)
ΓΗΡΑΣΚΩ ΑΕΙ ΔΙΔΑΣΚΟΜΕΝΟΣ LEARNING THROUGH THE LIFE SPAN Trends, dimensions, practices and reflections, 2023
According to the above Table, the extent to which students consider themselves as adults, meaning the subjective transition to adulthood or perceived adult status, varies significantly between students of different disciplines. In the question "do you think you have reached adulthood", the vast majority-with the exception of fighter pilot students, respond mostly 'in some cases yes', particularly engineer and teacher students ΓΗΡΑΣΚΩ ΑΕΙ ΔΙΔΑΣΚΟΜΕΝΟΣ. LEARNING THROUGH THE LIFE SPAN.
Adult Development and Learning of Older Adults
2005
This summary of adult development covers a wide range of authors. Adult development is one way of understanding how the internal and external changes in our lives have an impact on learning. Of particular importance in this work are the developmental issues of older adults. I present various theories of adult development such as linear and integrated. The impact of the physical dimension of one's life is discussed. Also the writings of several authors are presented such as Erikson, Havighurst, Peck, Fisher, Baltes and Baltes, and Kleiber. Learning is often the result of the stage of life of the person.
A Conception of Adult Development
Adult development is becoming an important field of study for psychology and other disciplines. Little has been done, however, to conceptualize the nature of adult development and to define the major issues in this field. The author summarizes his own formulations of life course, life cycle, life structure, and the adult development of the life structure in early and middle adulthood. He then discusses six major issues that must be dealt with by every structural approach to adult development: What are the alternative ways of defining a structural stage or period? What relative emphasis is given to the structures as compared to the transitional periods? How can we make best use of the distinction between hierarchical levels and seasons of development? Are there age-linked developmental periods in adulthood? What are the relative merits and limitations of various research methods? How can we bring together the developmental perspective and the socialization perspective?
1 Four Adult Development Theories and Their Implications for Practice
2015
What is adult development? What relevance do adult development theories and models have to the practice of adult basic education? Our philosophy of adult development informs our teaching. For example, if we believe that people mature by passively absorbing knowledge and reacting to their environments, our instruction differs from that of teachers who assume knowledge is constructed and that development depends on active participation with the environment. In this article, I discuss several approaches to adult development and their related implications for instruction. Clark and Caffarella (1999) note, "Theories [serve] as a lens through which we view the life course; that lens illuminates certain elements and tells a particular story about adult life " (p. 3). The four lenses through which adult development will be seen are: behavioral / mechanistic, cognitive / psychological, contextual / sociocultural, and integrative.
Human Development Theories throughout the Human Lifespan
Two cognitive human development theories, one advanced by Jean Piaget and one developed by Jerome Bruner, include the authors’ theories of childhood cognitive development. The two theories are similar in certain ways and dissimilar in other ways. Both theories can be applied to the designing and implementation of learning strategies for a second grade student in a public school, a 31-year-old adult learner in a master’s program, and a 68-year-old retired adult learner taking a personal enrichment course. These similarities and differences are evident when one attempts to apply them to designing and implementing learning strategies for people at differing stages of life.
LIFESPAN PSYCHOLOGY: Theory and Application to Intellectual Functioning
Annual Review of Psychology, 1999
The focus of this review is on theory and research of lifespan (lifespan developmental) psychology. The theoretical analysis integrates evolutionary and ontogenetic perspectives on cultural and human development across several levels of analysis. Specific predictions are advanced dealing with the general architecture of lifespan ontogeny, including its directionality and age-differential allocation of developmental resources into the three major goals of developmental adaptation: growth, maintenance, and regulation of loss. Consistent with this general lifespan architecture, a meta-theory of development is outlined that is based on the orchestrated and adaptive interplay between three processes of behavioral regulation: selection, optimization, and compensation. Finally, these propositions and predictions about the general nature of lifespan development are examined and supported by empirical evidence on the development of cognition and intelligence across the life span.
A New Look at Lifelong Learning. Unior Press: Monograph III, March 1976
1976
Addressed to those who are involved in the education of adults, this paper reviews hypotheses of patterns in adult development, and discusses possible roles of educators and educational programs in facilitating growth throughout adult life. The following topics are included: Time and the Life Cycle, Socialization and Roles, Stages of Adult Development, Recent Studies of Adult Development, Adult Development and Learning, One Woman's Development: An Example, Learning as Socialization, and Learning as Personal Growth. A list of references is given. (WL)
Learning in late adulthood in the light of biographical research
Journal of Education Culture and Society, 2020
Aim. The paper presents the result of research how people study in older age. Method. The method of biographical research was used. The research presented was embedded in the strand of qualitative research in an interpretative paradigm, in which cognitive science places emphasis on the subject who is learning. In recruiting subjects for research intentional selection was used, based on the typical cases method. One of the basic criteria for selection of candidates was an intention to undertake educational activity. In effect, 12 people participated in my research – 8 women and 4 men. Results. In the biographies analysed, education proceeds in both non-formal and informal areas, so both these area merge with each other and complement each other. The return line of education in late adulthood is characteristic for those biographies in which learning occurs above all in the area of non-formal education. These seniors usually undertake learning in institutions with an educational charac...
Psychological Peculiarities of Adult Education: Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Context
2021
The article is devoted to the analysis of psychological foundations of adult education and upbringing, namely psychological theories that significantly influenced the development of the paradigm of adult education (behaviourism, activity theory, humanistic theory, genetic psychology, constructivist theory, etc.). At the same time, the psychological mechanisms of adult education are considered: motivation, interest, responsibility, and psychophysical characteristics of adult learners are also given.
The Emergence of Long Life Learning
White paper, 2020
With increased longevity and a more volatile world, a growing number of people are bewildered by the middle of their adult life. They are advised that lifelong learning will help them compete in an increasingly competitive workplace, but most lifelong learning programs focus little on the unique challenges and needs experienced by those navigating midlife. There is a gap in the educational landscape that presents an opportunity for established institutions of higher education and educational startups. Some universities as well as private enterprises have started developing curriculum in line with "long life learning." "Long life learning" focuses on developing a sense of purpose and personal well-being by understanding the positive aspects of aging congruent with established adult development theories to create more resilience through midlife transitions. These new programs foster communities of midlife peers who cultivate, harvest, and share wisdom with one another. As such, graduates of these programs may be better prepared to live lives that are as deep as they are long. Reviewing research on midlife development and featuring the efforts of pioneering institutions, this document provides a platform for thinking about "long life learning" that can catalyze universities, non-profits, and private institutions to develop new offerings that support individuals throughout midlife and prepare them for elderhood, much as public junior and senior high schools have done for adolescents about to enter adulthood.
Learning and developing over the life-course: A sociocultural approach
Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 2020
This article introduces the special issue "Learning and Developing over the Life-Course: A Sociocultural Approach", which collects six papers stemming from the project "Ages for Learning and Growth: Sociocultural Perspectives" (AGILE), supported by the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction. Considering that sociocultural psychology has mainly focused on development and learning in children, adolescents or (young) adults, AGILE aims at exploring learning and development in older people's lives. To do so, theoretical concepts and methodological tools used in research on other developmental periods had to be reconfigured and enlarged. The article first presents the main theoretical and methodological assumptions underlying sociocultural psychology, and shows the challenges of applying them to older people. Each of the six papers
Learning at Developmental Cusps: A Lifespan Perspective
Journal of Education and Human Development
This article presents a qualitative analysis of learning at various ages from 1 through 76-suggesting in each case that the learner crossed a boundary at a developmental cusp, with an associated shift in awareness of the self. That these are all ages outside traditional schooling reinforces the lifespan nature of learning. Four elements were present: 1) a pressing puzzle to the self (psychological); 2) developmental readiness of the learner (biological); 3) a conducive learning environment (cultural); and 4) a trusted scaffolding relationship between the learner and a guide (social).Lifespan, childhood, and adult learning theories, as well as sources as diverse as Aristotle and Jung, contribute to an understanding of how developmental cusps are negotiated. Teachers aware of the concept of-developmental cusp‖ are more apt to provide the educational support needed for the learner to transcend a developmental juncture to a more integrated sense of self.
An Examination of Adult Learning
When teaching and designing coursework for adults, it becomes inextricably clear early in the process that adult learning is paradigmically different in many different aspect than teaching for children, teenaged students, or even young adults. The adult learning populace operates from a holistic worldview that must be considered when teaching and certainly when designing coursework. Teaching adults and teenagers for instance, have many similarities. Often, difficult concepts have to be taught in multiple learning methods for adults much like for teenagers as an example (Reigeluth, 1999, pp. 2-3).
Lifelong Learning and the Restructuring of the Adult Life Course
Handbuch Übergänge (Handbook of Transitions), 2013
This chapter explores the inter-related themes of transition and lifelong learning. Overall, it argues that in effect, the status of adulthood has undergone a re-structuring and fragmentation as a result of the idea of lifelong learning, as well as the policies and practices associated with it. I start by considering policy approaches to lifelong learning and transitions. I then summarize certain selected ways in which social science has sought to understand transitions, and in particular how researchers have tried to understand transitions in our fluid and mobile society. I then try to draw out some implications for our appreciation of the part that learning – formal and informal – can play and might play in supporting individuals facing transitions. The chapter concludes with a few suggestions on possibilities and prospects for the future.