Adult Learning Artifact

Why the Artifact was Selected This artifact was a paper written to address a case scenario presented to the class in the course Principles and Foundations of Adult Education. The paper was a team product of cooperative work by Melissa Bloch-Meier, Nicole Johnson, Dylan West, and myself. This case scenario applied a look at learning through a developmental lens to faculty involved with training and development and community-based and faith-based organizations, corrections, and other adult educational contexts. I selected this artifact because it studies a real-world problem by application of adult learning theories to obtain a root cause justification for development of a workshop focused on understanding the impact faculty member’s adult

Comprehension alone of adult learning theories does not allow for the synthesis and reflection needed to apply the theories to real educational situations. As a practitioner, it is important to correctly apply theories of adult learning to instructional strategies to increase the learner’s success and the transfer of knowledge. Awareness of one’s cognitive development and that of the learners is an essential element to developing instruction that is relevant and provides a safe environment where learning can occur. This team learning exercise aided my understanding of how the theoretical foundations of adult education provide a framework for instructors to draw from to identify root causes that lead to learning deficits, and identify and implement solutions by application of these

It is transformative and places the learner at risk for change reconstructing the learner’s frame of knowledge (Kegan, 2009). CDT considers that, “…a form of knowing always consists of a relationship or temporary equilibrium between the subject and the object in one’s knowing” (Kegan, 2009, p. 53). Kegan’s constructive-development theory is based on the key ideas of people making sense of the reality in which they live and that they can develop over time with appropriate developmental supports. Kegan’s (2009) theory consist of five stages “of knowing”. The adult stage of “instrumental way of knowing” is primarily self-centered, has high expectations of the teacher, and processes their experiences based on what they will gain from a particular situation. The “socializing way of knowing” learner has developed an improved capacity of reflection. The learner bases their values, ideas, and beliefs on others opinions relying on social relations, validations, and a sense of belonging. Finally, in the stage of “self-authoring way of knowing” the learner has his or her own identity, ideas, and set of values. Learners reflect on and direct their relationships as a critical thinkers not in need of a higher authority for