PIDP 3100 Learning Theory Essay
Humanistic approaches to Teaching
School of Instructor Education/Vancouver Community College
Kusum Soni
November 25, 2014
Humanistic approaches to Teaching
School of Instructor Education/Vancouver Community College
Kusum Soni
November 25, 2014
Introduction:
It
is interesting to understand how adults learn. Human beings have always engaged
in learning – learning to survive, learning to live in a social group, and
learning to understand the meaning of our experiences (Ozuah,
2005). According to Malcolm Knowles, andragogy
is the art and science of adult learning,
thus andragogy refers to any form of adult learning (Kearsley, 2010).
Various theories have attempted to explain how
adults learn, for example behaviourism, humanism, cognitivism, social
cognitivism, and constructivism (Marriam, Caffarella,
& Baumgartner, 2007). I chose to discuss the humanism approach of
learning in my essay, motivated by Maslow’s perspective that drive to learn is
intrinsic and the purpose of learning is to bring about self-actualization, and
the goal of the educator should include this process
(Maslow, 1970). I will provide
highlights of this theory in my essay by using 4 basic principles of learning
and how humanism approach helps to transform the life of adult learners by sharing
self-directed learning methods among themselves and with a mentor or a facilitator
in different life circumstances and in different study environments. Finally, I
will use three examples of activities of how I will experiment this theory in
my teaching.
Theory
Highlights:
Maslow’s humanistic approach satisfies my
goals of teaching adults when he says learning contributes to psychological
health. Maslow believed that meaningfulness and subjectivity is more important
than objectivity, because according to him, the development of human potential,
dignity and worth are ultimate concerns. He placed emphasis on choice,
creativity, values, self realization, all distinctively human qualities. According
to him, the goals of learning include impulse control, developing choice and manoeuvring
with techniques to deal with experiential problems of life. He rejected the
behaviourist approach and Freud’s theories which presented behaviour as determined
by the subconscious mind and referred his movement as ‘Third Force psychology”,
the first two being psychoanalysis and behaviourism. The third force is based
on philosophies of existentialism and humanism (Maslow,
1970). Carl Rogers, described humanism as “student –centred” and
personalized learning. In this approach, teacher is a facilitator of
self-directed learning rather than a dispenser of knowledge. Affective and
cognitive needs are the key (Carl Rogers and H. Jerome
Freiberg, 1994).
Four major adult learning principles have
roots in humanistic approach, that are andragogy, self-directed learning,
transformative learning and cognitive development. 1) In andragogy model, the
facilitator sets a climate for learning that physically and psychologically
respects adult learners and then involves the learners in the planning,
delivery and evaluation of their own learning. (Knowles,
1984). 2) In self-directed learning, learners show readiness, takes
initiatives and responsibility for learning; and it is associated with high
self efficacy, curiosity, independence and enjoyment of learning, goal setting and
a problem solving (Guglielimino, 1977). 3) In transformative
learning, the goal of adult education itself is “to help adults realize their
potential for becoming more liberated, socially responsible, and autonomous
learners, that is, to make more informed choices (Mezirow,
2000). 4) In cognitive development
principle in adult learning, there are two major perspectives - dialectical
thinking and contextual approach. Dialectical and contextual thinking are
similar in that they both attempt to explain how adults process the
complexities of decision-making and belief formation. As adults, people accept
“that all knowledge is incomplete and subjective. However, they recognize that they
must act despite the limits of their knowledge” (Merriam
et al., 2007).
Why
I chose this theory?
After teaching adults for 25 years in
health and medical field, when I used behaviouristic oriented model of
competency-based curricula, instructional design models and structured program
planning; where the learning objectives were to look at “outcomes” as the
markers of learning and were used for further structuring of learning
activities (Das, Malick & Khan, 2008); I
have realized that it is important for me to look at other teaching and
learning perspectives also for adult students. I got interested in exploring
Maslow’s humanism theory for adult learners, especially the ones who are self
motivated, looking for ways to seek knowledge, and are self-directed to
transform their life-style in order to attain professional satisfaction, and
live a mentally and spiritually healthy life. Also, I am myself an adult
learner, and I need to learn different perspectives of adult learning in order
to teach the adults in post secondary programs. While taking this PIDP 3100
online course, I felt that my instructor, Mr. Glenn Galy is using humanism theory
in the teaching of this course.
Role of
the Learner:
Some basic
principles of the humanistic approach that were used to develop the students’
objectives: 1) Students will learn
best, what they want and need to know. 2) Knowing how to learn is more important than acquiring a lot of
knowledge. 3) Self-evaluation
is the only meaningful evaluation of a student's work. The emphasis here
is on internal development and self-regulation. 4) Feelings are as important as facts. 5) Students learn best in a non-threatening environment. However,
there is some research that suggests that a neutral or even slightly cool
environment is best for older, highly motivated students (Gage and Berliner (1991)
Role of
the instructor:
There are five basic objectives of the humanistic
view of education for instructor’s role: 1)promote positive self-direction and
independence (development of the regulatory system); 2)develop the ability to
take responsibility for what is learned (regulatory and affective systems); 3) develop
creativity (divergent thinking aspect of cognition; 4) curiosity (exploratory
behavior, a function of imbalance or dissonance in any of the systems); and 5)
and to create an interest in the arts (primarily to develop the
affective/emotional system). It is important to realize that no other model or
view of education places as much emphasis on these desired outcomes as does the
humanistic approach. (Gage and Berliner (1991)
Three
Classroom Examples:
I take the example of facilitating six
weeks “Food Skills for Families” workshops, as a community education program
for seniors. Three activities used to facilitate the groups were 1) The
classroom discussions 2) group cooking in the kitchen and 3) field trip in
making healthy choices to do grocery shopping
1)
Classroom
discussions: A pre-course assessment was done to know
their needs and interests to join the program. In the discussion, the seniors
shared their knowledge and ideas about healthy eating, daily requirements of
sugar and their perception of role of cooking food, making healthy choices in
grocery shopping and exercise in controlling diabetes. This was a self-directed
group learning which gave them an opportunity to understand their strengths and
weaknesses, listening to each other, and a belief in one's ability to improve,
according to Maslow. The learners made
their weekly action plans and shared with group members each week. At the end
of the course on 6th week, post-course feedback reflected how much
they have transformed in their lifestyle in terms of food and exercise. 20% of
the course time was spent in class room and interactive discussions.
2)
Group
cooking in the kitchen: It was student-centred group learning
in the kitchen doing the cooking activities, which involved group planning, job
sharing and deciding the learning objectives of that day. The recipes from
Canadian Diabetes Association book were followed every week with consultation
with the learners and planning done for the next week. Every week learners
selected three dishes to prepare a balanced meal according to Canadian Food
Guide. Everyone got the book to take home to satisfy their curiosity, and to
become creative in their home kitchens following the healthy recipes and also
share the knowledge with other family members. They were excited to team up
with other group members while cooking and made some nice friends. According to
Maslow’s theory they were creative, had felt rewarded and at the end of the
class they received self-actualization. 60% of the course time was spent in
group cooking in the kitchen
3) Field Trip in making healthy choices
to do grocery shopping: On the 4th week, our plan
was to go for grocery shopping and the goal was to make healthy choices in food
habits. We observed 100% attendance at
the local grocery store when everyone reached 15 minutes early, which showed a
lot of self-commitment and motivation to learn. The learners were keen to learn
the strategies in picking the grocery shopping, which items to pick first and
how to organize the grocery list. They learnt that people with diabetes would
start their grocery list with vegetables, salads and fruits, then proteins, and
then carbohydrates and sugars in the end. For some learners it was their first
experience to read the label and know the food values and daily values. It was
quite a transforming experience for most of the seniors to strategise the
grocery shopping by making a list.
At the end of the workshop, as described in
Maslow’s humanism theory, the learners realized that their life is precious, it
is important for them to change their lifestyle, they acquired high levels of
experiences working in a group and sub-team, they made friends, they acquired a
sense of accomplishment, satisfaction of their physical and psychological
needs, awareness of beauty and wonder in living a healthy life. In their
feedback, most of the learners expressed that they felt the workshop was life
changing experience for them and it also helped them to cut down their grocery
budget by one half that day.
Summary
All the five traditional learning theories
provide different perspectives of adult learning in different circumstances and
serve different human needs. Humanism theory resonated closely to my class-room
example, where a group of seniors expressed they want to learn how to cope with
their diabetes by making healthy choices in their food habits and exercise.
Humanism approach of both Maslow and Carls Roger reflected in this example. At the end of the workshop it brought personal
development, satisfaction, and the process of learning was more inclusive, open
and self-directed. We felt that it was most suited andragogy principle,
transformative learning and cognitive development in that group setting of
adult learning which respected the adult learners to make choices what they want
to learn and in what manner they want to learn. Finally, an educated person is
one “who has learned how to learn, how to adapt and change” and realizes “that
no knowledge is secure, that only the process of seeking knowledge gives a
basis for security” Carl Rogers (1969).
References:
1.
Ozuah, P.O. (2005). First, there was pedagogy and then came
andragogy. Einstein Journal of Biology and Medicine, 21, 83-87
2.
Kearsley, G. (2010). Andragogy (M.Knowles). The theory Into
practice database. Retrieved from http://tip.psychology.org
3. Merriam, S.B., Caffarella, R.S. ,
Baumgarther, L. M. (2007). Learning in adulthood: A comprehensive guide (3rd
ed.) Sanfrancisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
4. Maslow, A. H.(1970). Motivation and
personality (2nd ed.). New York: Herper Collins
5.
Rogers C. & Freiberg, H. (1994). Freedom to learn (3rd
ed.). New York Macmillan.
6. Knowles, M. (1984). The Adult Learner:
A Neglected Species (3rd Ed.). Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing.
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