Digital Reading Room 2.0 -- PSYC 210: Experiential Learning in the Celebration of Diversity (Rev. C2)

PSYC 210: Experiential Learning in the Celebration of Diversity (Rev. C2) Report a Broken Link

Psychology 210: Experiential Learning in the Celebration of Diversity employs a blend of adult learning theory, experiential learning theory, and transformative learning theory to engage the learner in a unique and participative set of learning experiences. As we increasingly interact with people from other countries, backgrounds, and cultures, increased awareness and celebration of cultural diversity can translate into more tolerance, respect, and appreciation for the uniqueness of all people and cultures. In this course, students will apply blended learning theories to a process involving “ambassadorship” roles in which students teach to and learn from someone who has a birth culture different from their own. This process, using “partnered ambassadors,” allows students to experience and celebrate cultural similarities as well as differences in a self-directed learning process.

Required Readings

Resource List 1

Experiential Learning Theory

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

There is a copy of the text available in the AU library and likely in any other university library that you have access to. You can complete the course and gain the theoretical knowledge required without having the text.

Dirkx, J. M., & Lavin, R. (1991). Understanding and facilitating experience-based learning in adult education: The FOURthought MODEL.

Learning from experience is a central philosophical and theoretical idea in the field of adult learning. In this paper, a theoretical model is discussed for viewing learning from experience in a more holistic manner.

Neill, J. (2004). Experiential learning cycles: Overview of 9 experiential learning cycle models. From James Neill’s Experiential Learning & Experiential Education: Philosophy, theory, practice & resources page.

Experiential learning cycles are models for understanding how the process of learning works. They are distinct from other models of learning, such as behavioural models or social learning models.

Smith, M. K. (2005). David A. Kolb on experiential learning. Encyclopaedia of Informal Education.

Discusses Kolb’s experiential learning model, his views on learning styles, and issues encountered with his model.

squareONE. (2001). What the heck are experiential and exploratory learning?

All learning is a subset of experiential learning. Learning also has a more particular meaning: learning-by-doing. [View as or download/save as a printable PDF document.]

Resource List 2

Transformative Learning Theory

Cranton, P. (1994). Understanding and promoting transformative learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Dirkx, J. M. (2000). Transformative learning and the journey of individuation. (ERIC Digest No. 223). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.

Article discusses Boyd’s view of transformative education. His theory focuses on the emotional and spiritual aspects of learning.

Dirkx, J. M. (1997). Nurturing soul in adult learning. An enhanced version of the paper that was originally published in P. Cranton (Ed.), Transformative learning in action. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Renewed calls for a return to the basics swirl among constructivist claims for a discovery-oriented pedagogy. This struggle for meaning, the need to feel and be authentic with one another, and ourselves, and to realize a more just social order is the focus of several strands of research and theory referred to as transformative theories of adult learning.

Schroeder, C. (2008). Transformative learning theory. Electronic Educational Environment, University of California, Irvine.

Transformative Learning is a term that stems from Transformative Learning Theory (Mezirow, 1990, 1991, 2000), which describes a learning process of “becoming critically aware of one's own tacit assumptions and expectations and those of others and assessing their relevance for making an interpretation” (Mezirow, 2000, p. 4).

Imel, S. (1998). Transformative learning in adulthood. (ERIC Digest No. 200). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.

A defining condition of being human is that we have to understand the meaning of our experience. Facilitating such understandings is the cardinal goal of adult education.

Lowry, C. M. (1989). Supporting and facilitating self-directed learning. (ERIC Digest No. 93). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.

Perhaps because the concept is so central to what adult education is all about, self-directed learning has been one of the field’s high-interest topics for more than a decade. Researchers, theorists, and practitioners have all asked the questions: What is self-directed learning? Who is engaged in it? What are the proper roles for educators and institutions wanting to provide it?

Resource List 3

Adult Learning Theory

Kidd, J. R. (1973). How adults learn. Chicago, IL: Association Press.

Blackmore, J. (1996). Pedagogy: Learning styles.

The education literature suggests that students who are actively engaged in the learning process will be more likely to achieve success. Once students are actively engaged in their own learning process, they begin to feel empowered and their personal achievement and self-direction levels rise.

Brookfield, S. (1995). Adult learning: An overview. In A. Tuinjman (Ed.), International encyclopedia of education. Oxford, UK Pergamon Press.

Adult educators frequently speak of adult learning as if it were a discretely separate domain, having little connection to learning in childhood or adolescence. This claim is critically examined by exploring four major research areas (self-directed learning, critical reflection, experiential learning and learning to learn) each of which have been proposed as representing unique and exclusive adult learning processes.

Bullen, M. (1995). Andragogy and university distance education.

Article discusses the definition and benefits of andragogy, andragogical assumptions about adults, the subject-centered university, individualization, and mass production.

Fidishun, D. (2000). Andragogy and technology: Integrating adult learning theory as we teach with technology.

Introducing technology into the curriculum means more than just “making it work.” The principles of adult learning theory can be used in the design of technology-based instruction to make it more effective. Malcolm Knowles’ theory of andragogy allows teachers/facilitators to structure lessons, which are part of a relevant learning environment for adult students.

Imel, S. (1995). Teaching adults: Is it different? (Myths and realities). (ERIC Digest No. 82). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.

The adult education literature generally supports the idea that teaching adults should be approached in a different way than teaching children and adolescents.

Imel, S. (1994). Guidelines for working with adult learners. (ERIC Digest No. 154). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.

“Adults vote with their feet,” a favorite adage of adult educators, is frequently used to describe a characteristic of adult learners. In most circumstances, adults are not captive learners and, if the learning situation does not suit their needs and interests, they will simply stop coming.

Stein, D. (1998). Situated learning in adult education. (ERIC Digest No. 195). Columbus, OH: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education.

In the situated learning approach, knowledge and skills are learned in the contexts that reflect how knowledge is obtained and applied in everyday situations. Situated cognition theory conceives of learning as a sociocultural phenomenon rather than the action of an individual acquiring general information from a decontextualized body of knowledge.

Zemke, R., & Zemke, S. (1984). Thirty things we know for sure about adult learning. Original source: Innovation Abstracts, VI(8).

We don’t know a lot about the mechanisms of adult learning. Still, from a variety of sources there emerges a body of fairly reliable knowledge about adult learning—arbitrarily, 30 points that lend themselves to three basic divisions.

Resource List 4

Communication Skills

Covey, Stephen R. (1990). The seven habits of highly effective people. New York: Fireside Books, Simon and Schuster.

Heffner, C. L. (2002). Humanistic theory: Section 3: Carl Rogers and the client-centered approach. In C. L. Heffner (2011), Personality synopsis.

Non-judgmental attitudes reflect one’s ability to not judge or criticize or to suspend judgment or criticism. Unconditional positive regard behaviours reflect one’s respect for, and acknowledgement of, the worth and value of the individual. While this site is intended as a brief overview of Roger’s person-centred therapy, the terms listed are also useful and important constructs for effective communicators.

Landsberger, J. (2006). Active listening.

Active listening techniques encourage the development of trust, acceptance, and rapport with the individual. This article discusses the various factors, which affect listening, and the many skills, which are required to be a good listener, e.g., eye contact, body posture, and focus and follow up.

Wertheim, E. G. (2005). The importance of effective communication.

Students are encouraged to pay special attention to the following sections: The Communication Process; Barriers to Communication; Basic Skills: Keys to Active Listening; and Appendix: A Short Case Example of Effective Communication.