301 – Assignment 1.5

Jason Everett

AEDU 301

I have always been fascinated with developmental psychology and all that it brings to education. In searching for a suitable interviewee for this assignment, it was a pleasure to find a friend who works with autistic children and is talking a course in Relationship Development Intervention. Marie Sullivan is the Special Education Program Coordinator for Kearney Public Schools and, as an adult learner for much of her post-secondary education, brings a wealth of knowledge to this assignment.

As Marie and I sat down and started talking about her program, I could tell she is passionate about the program she has chosen. I am glad I chose Marie for this interview as she has some unique perspectives and contrasting ideas on some of the introductory material presented throughout this module.

The first question I asked Marie was how she viewed education and learning as an adult learner. Her response was, to my surprise, that she loves the theory and potential of what she is learning, whether it is from this program or another. This fits well with the concepts surrounding the Training Model present by Fogarty and Pete (2004). Marie is not talking this program for anything she can apply immediately at work but knows the knowledge gained will give her foresight and vision to make better decisions.  Marie also states she doesn’t like classes that are “recipes” but rather likes knowing the background and research to help better understand what she is learning. She enjoys the struggle of applying the strategies herself and doesn’t want her instructors to show her how to accomplish tasks but rather work with her in solving problems. This is relevant at the management stage as it pertains to the CBAM model of the stages of her developmental process.

The next question, “What was your role in learning as an adult?,” really drove home the fact that Marie enjoys using her prior experiences and applying them to her situation. She is proud of her knowledge and experiences and it is only natural to apply these experiences to new information. She notes younger students, students who are in college right out of high school, don’t have the diverse experiences in which to compare and contrast new knowledge. Younger students have to store that knowledge for future use where adult learners can apply previous experience to the situation and attach a social or emotional “tag” to help remember. She also feels she knows the kind of person she can learn from and so seeks those individuals when researching a new learning opportunity.

As we dove into the question of what she looks for in curriculum as an adult learner, she didn’t hesitate in telling me that it isn’t as much the curriculum as it is the belief system the instructor has. She feels that if the instructor holds similar beliefs, she is more apt to appreciate the instruction. As a part of this question, I recalled the telltale comment made that adult learners like to have some evidence of expert support that gives them understanding, to which she commented: the more she learns, the more she realizes the research data supporting a particular course can be skewed. Having a belief system supporting the learning objective is more important, in her mind, than having an “expert.”

Marie shared a couple of ideas that are helpful to her in the class setting. She likes when instructors show video of real life examples. She likes having a wide range of examples to help her relate to her experiences. She also likes having the opportunity to discuss her learning with others of similar interest. This touches on a couple of the many points brought out in this module. As far as The Five Critical Qualities of Professional Development presented by Fogarty and Pete (2004), Marie works better in a well integrated environment (p 67-68). She also proves the model of success that can come from collaboration as out lined in the CBAM.

Marie also reveals that building trust is one of the key attributes of successful instruction. This can take on the form of a hindrance or help in the learning process. She talked about “productive uncertainty” and that if the instructor builds a level of trust among his/her learners, they are more likely to take risks. But, she said, on the flip side, there may be too much uncertainty and this creates confusion and frustration and starts to break down trust if not noticed and dealt with. It really becomes a dynamic, one-to-one, trusting relationship with a facilitator and/or mentor that make a learning opportunity successful.

Several telltale comments and other models in the introductory book can back Marie’s comments. Marie wants an expert facilitator. She wants an instructor who knows not only the content but their students as well. She also wants to look information up on her own to verifying the instruction. I felt that building relationships for a trusting learning environment fit with several of the presented models in requiring a collaborative, respectful, mutual and informal climate.

As our time was nearing an end, I ask my final question, “What would be your best advice to educators working with adult learners?” After a moment of contemplation she summarized our interview with the thought that an instructor should be a guide on the side. Someone who helps facilitate learning. She feels they should gain her trust and move to explore topics together as apposed to having a one-way street where the instructor is pushing the information. And lastly, she feels facilitators should tap into her rich experiences and help apply those to her learning.

I enjoyed interviewing Marie and having her share her knowledge and experiences with me. She helped me think about and define some of the early concepts of our initial reading and how I might start the process of applying my new found learning throughout this course.