Traditional Learning Theories

Assignment #5: Traditional Learning Theories Conduct a web search and find descriptions of behavioral, constructivism, and cognitive theories. Provide examples of teaching methods for each theory in a 3 PAGE paper. €¢Include at least three references. Refer to Chapters 9 and 10, Merriam, Baumgartner, and Caffarella and the references in the text for authors and titles to examine the issues more closely. In addition, you may conduct an Internet search for articles. The articles must have an author, title, and date.

o This paper should adhere to APA style standards including the following: Double space, 1 margins, New Times Roman 12pt. font, in-text citation of references, title page and a reference page (title page and reference page are not counted as content pages).

( Descartes, 1637/ 1960, pp. 165, 118, cited in Michelson, 1998, p. 218). ( Beckett & Mor-ris, 2001, p. 36). Michelson ( 1996) observes how absurd this sepa-ration can be when an institution of higher education engages in awarding credit for prior experiential learning: To be accredited, knowledge must be detached from the site of its production. . . . Knowledge is credited only to the degree that experience has been transcended, so that both the site of its production and the partic-ularities of the self have been excised ( p. 190). But the rejection of the body may be even more basic than privi-leging cognitive knowledge. Goldenberg, Pyszczynski, Greenberg, and Solomon ( 2000) advance an interesting hypothesis that the body is problematic But while we can find that attention is being paid to uniting the mind and the body in popular culture, and we can even come up with personal examples of times when we have learned through our bodies, embodied or somatic knowing and learning are only now being sporadically researched and theorized about in educa-tion and other social sciences ( Kerka, 2002). Summary Embodied, spiritual, and narrative learning all have in common meaning- making that is embodied, constructed, and interpreted. These are not modes of learning that adhere to a way of thinking that elevates reason, logic, and theory over the body, the spirit, or the story of our experience. Embodied or somatic knowing is knowing through the body. It is directly related to our physical being, our senses, and the expe-riences of the body. Examples of embodied learning were pre-sented and discussed; these examples reflect Amann’s ( 2003) model of somatic knowing, which consists of the four overlapping dimensions of kinesthetic, sensory, affective, and spiritual. This sec-tion of the chapter concluded with a review of three conceptual-izations of embodied learning: embodied cognition, ontological performance, and a somatic epistemology for education. In the second section of the chapter on spirituality and learn-ing, we first grappled with defining spirituality as something dif-ferent from but perhaps related to religion. Most of the authors we reviewed link spirituality to meaning- making in our lives, and on that basis it is an appropriate topic for exploration in adult learn-ing. A number of instructional techniques were reviewed that fos-ter spirituality in adult learning, including self- examination by the instructor of her or his views and assumptions, creating a safe space for this kind of learning to occur, mentoring learners, and engag-ing in creative and imaginative instructional activities. The final section of the chapter dealt with narrative learning. Narrative learning is the use of stories in the construction of mean-ing, whether the meaning- making has to do with the self, with the content of instruction, or with the world around us. Using Rossiter and Clark’s ( in press) model, three uses of narrative in practice were reviewed: narrative as storying the curriculum, narrative as storytelling, and narrative as autobiography. A final section focused on a narrative perspective of adult development and transforma-tional learning. Summary This chapter on non- Western perspectives of learning and knowing has introduced the reader to other ways of thinking about learning than is found in the rest of this book. The value of engaging with other frameworks is that we are challenged to think about the pur-pose of education and learning as well as question the nature of knowledge production itself. Further, knowing something about other systems of learning can both lead to applications in our prac-tice and contribute to our own personal meaning- making. As part of this chapter we also briefly discussed some impor-tant concepts, including problematizing the Western/ non- Western dichotomy itself, defining culture, and considering the nature of indigenous knowledge. These concepts and others frame our brief foray into traditions of learning and knowing unfamiliar to most of us. In light of this unfamiliarity, we offered short introductions to five non- Western perspectives: Confucianism, Hinduism, Maori, Islam, and African indigenous knowledge. The final section of the chapter presented four themes that seem to span many systems of non- Western thought, themes that contrast with Western perspectives. First, non- Western systems emphasize interdependence versus independence. Second, and related to the first, is that learning in these frameworks is communal and in community, rather than an isolated activity. Third, a holistic perspective that includes spiritual, embodied, and emotional com-ponents of learning are given at least as much emphasis as purely cognitive approaches. Finally, informal learning is recognized and valued as much as, if not more than formal learning.