My philosophy on adult learning theory

I’m a true believer that things are created twice. First internally and then manifested externally. Further the amalgamation of both your conscious and subconscious thoughts help to form your belief system. That said one’s personal beliefs, however shaped or formed, heavily impacts their decision making and has a major influence on their actions. However narrowing the scope of my own belief system to specifically focus on the views and areas I most value with respect to learning theories. I will briefly expound on the Behaviorist theory, as this is the philosophy that I scored the highest via the Philosophy of Adult Education Inventory (PAEI). Further the results resonate and I tend to agree with the description of behaviorism as it relates to my views on how a learning environment should be designed. Hence I concur and subscribe to the fact that the Behaviorist theory focuses on measurable and observable aspects of human behavior. “In assuming that human behavior is learned, behaviorists also hold that all behaviors can also be unlearned, and replaced by new behaviors; that is, when a behavior becomes unacceptable, it can be replaced by an acceptable one.” (Strandridge, 2002.)  White and Brockett’s, adult education philosophy applied to extension practice states that behaviorism, “Emphasizes importance of the environment in shaping desired behavior. Behaviorism has contributed to the development of systematic instructional design models and emphasizes accountability.”(as cited in Gailbraith, 2004). Although I am not extremely rigid or methodical by nature, my adapted ‘work style’ tends to be a bit more systematic and structured in approach. I am huge proponent of individual’s owning and being accountable for their learning. When writing curriculum and creating activities to apply the theory learned, I often include critical thinking exercises to allow the learner to evaluate and reflect on the responses formulated.

“In defining behavior, behaviorist learning theories emphasize changes in behavior that result from stimulus-response associations made by the learner. Behavior is directed by stimuli. An individual selects one response instead of another because of prior conditioning and psychological drives existing at the moment of the action.”   (Strandridge, 2002.)  

This seems to suggest that past practice, i.e. prior conditioning dictates the response in a given situation. As a point of reference, I will use my little teacup Yorkshire terrier, Britney. We initially trained her based on a rewards system. If we wanted her to come when we called her name, she would at times ignore our beckoning. However if we said or still say something to the effect of, “Britney, let’s go bye-bye”, she will come to you without hesitation. We quickly discovered her motivational drivers are food and to go outside. This goes hand in hand with (“what’s in it for me”, the WIIFM). Unfortunately the downside is that she will not consistently come to you unless something is in for her. This is reminiscent of the Pavlov theory.

 
References

Standridge, M. (2002). Behaviorism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/

Merriam, B. (2008). Adult Learning Theory for the Twenty-First Century.  Retrieved from http://www.anitacrawley.net/Resources/Articles/Merriam.pdf  DOI: 10.1002/ace.309

Sanders, E. & Ruggles, J. (n.d.) HPI Soup. http://www.astd.org/~/media/Files/Education/HPISoupArticlepages4-16.pdf.  Retrieved from  © American Society for Training & Development.

Galbraith, M. (Ed.). (2004),  Adult learning methods:  A guide for effective instruction (3rd ed.) Malabar, Florida: Krieger.