Photo by Chris Montgomery on Unsplash
Of course we didn't take a screenshot of our chat so this image will have to do!
As another step to lessen the loneliness of online learning, our instructor Glenn has paired up all the participants in the Foundations of Adult Education (3100) module. You can read about how instructors create a sense of belonging in one of my previous posts.
I have been paired with Kylagh, a Massage Therapist Instructor and practicing Massage Therapist, who is at the same stage of her PIDP journey as I am. We had connected via email and then arranged a Zoom call one evening.
We started off by sharing a little of our history and what got us to this current stage of life. Kylagh studied at the Okanagan Valley College of Massage Therapy before moving on to Thompson Rivers University. and has been working as a Massage Therapist for over 10 years. She is now teaching part-time at First College as well as working as a Massage Therapist. She has taken this semester off teaching to focus on PIDP.
We had a little segue into talking about micro-credentials which incidentally is the topic of her most recent blog post and you can check it out here! Both of us agree that Micro-credentials are wonderful options for filling small gaps in knowledge, and "break down traditional barriers to learning, offering accessible, cost-effective, and relevant education options." (Cornford 2023)
Kylagh was full of energy during our call and shared several fun anecdotes and quotes that stuck in my mind. The first one, "We've all become glazed donuts, let's take a break!" she uses when she sees students' eyes glaze over and it's time for a break. I may just have to borrow this myself!
We briefly spoke about the differences between the various age groups that she teaches. She found that fresh out of high school students are eager and quick but don't work as hard as others. The mid to late 20s crowd do well because they are used to the rigor of academia and have real-world experience. The 30s to 40s crowd are motivated but won't suffer bulls**t, they wanted fuller explanations and want to have their critical thinking challenged. They also want to know more than just what they need to pass the exam. This was a very interesting look into her students and led us to our next topic.
As the current assignment we were working on was about learning theory we discussed our learning styles which were very similar. Using a resource shared with us by Glenn we both had undertaken the PAEI Questionnaire and received similar results (you can find this assessment here). Kylagh was both Progressive and Behaviorist, while I was the other way around. To help explain this I have copied two quotes from the report that summarize the two philosophies below;
Behaviorist Adult Education - "Human actions are the result of prior conditioning and the way in which a person's external environment is arranged. Emotions, feelings, intellect, and so on are the means by which humans rationalize their responses to environmental stimuli in knowledge" (Merriam & Brockett, 1997).
Progressive Adult Education - This approach has grown out of the philosophy of pragmatism where more value is placed "in knowledge derived from observation and experience than from tradition and authority"(Merriam & Brockett,1997.)
Interestingly enough, two of the key theorists in progressive education are Dewey and Linderman, both of whom I mentioned in my last post about Experiential Learning Theory through a Jiu Jitsu Lens. You should watch the video once you finish reading this!
We wrapped up our conversation with Kylagh sharing some insights into a trend in her industry, the potential regulation of Allied Health Operations. This will bring an incredibly wide variety of healthcare professionals under the same regulatory body although they have vastly different requirements for knowledge and certification. You can read Kylagh's article here.
One of my lasting takeaways from our conversation was that we both agree that teaching requires confidence, appearance is important, and knowledge of the subject matter is essential to show your students that you know what you're talking about and that you mean business!
Merriam, S. B.,& Brockett, R. G. (1997).The Profession and Practice of Adult Education. San Francisco:Jossey-Bass.
Comments