5. ADULT LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS In an old school reader, one of the stories "with a moral" which used to so delight the editors of such texts gives an account of the chief minister of the king who approached three stonemasons engaged in work on St. Paul's Cathedral in London. The questioner asked each man in turn what he was doing. "I am trimming and laying stones," said the first man. "I am earning wages to care for my wife and family," said the second. "I am helping Sir Christopher Wren build a great monument to the glory of God," said the third. Whatever the reader thinks of such fables, there are at least three aspects in any learning transaction. And the cathedral that every learner is building is himself (Kidd, 1973, p. 124). Knowles (1978) suspected that for an organization to foster adult learning to the fullest degree it must go even farther than merely practicing a democratic philosophy, use a facilitative approach to teaching, and really stimulate individual self-renewal to the extent that it consciously engages in continuous self-renewal itself. Just as a teacher's most potent tool is the example of his own behavior, so Knowles believed an organization's most effective instrument of influence is its own behavior. This proposition was based on the premise that an organization tended to serve as a role model for those it influences. So if its purpose was to encourage its personnel, members, or constituents to engage in a process of continuous change and growth, it was likely to succeed to the extent that it modeled the role of organizational change and growth. This proposition suggested that an organization must be innovative as well as democratic if it were to provide an environment conducive to learning (pp. 92-93). Figures 4. and 5. presented on the following pages serve to illustrate the differences between pedagogy and andragogy in theory and design and how they apply to the learning environments for children and adult learners. The first is a comparison of how assumptions and design elements can and do differ for the two. The second is Knowles' schematic for a lifelong learning system to enhance individual development from "cradle to grave." ROLES COMPETENCIES Learner Reading, writing, computing, perceiving, conceptualizing, evaluating, imagining, inquiring Being a self (with a unique self-identity) Self-analyzing, sensing, goal- building, objectivising, value-clarifying, expressing Friend Loving, empathizing, listening, collaborating, sharing, helping, giving feedback, supporting Family member Maintaining health, planning, managing, helping, sharing, buying, saving, loving, taking responsibility Worker Career planning, technical skills, using supervision, giving supervision, getting along with people, cooperating, planning, delegating, managing Leisure-time Knowing resources, appreciating the arts and humanities, performing, playing, relaxing, reflecting, planning, risking(Knowles, 1978, p. 167) Knowles' (1978) assumption regarding pedagogy was that the primary purpose of schooling was to help children and youth learn the skills of learning. The ultimate behavioral objective of schooling would be: "The Individual engages efficiently in collaborative self-directed inquiry in self-actualizing directions." Knowles believed that the skills of andragogical learning (as listed above) included the following: 1. The ability to develop and be in touch with curiosities. Perhaps another way of describing this skill would be "the ability to engage in divergent thinking." 2. The ability to formulate questions, based on one's curiosities, that are answerable through inquiry (in contrast to questions that are answerable by authority or faith). This skill is the beginning of the ability to engage in convergent thinking or inductive-deductive reasoning. 3. The ability to identify the data required to answer the various kinds of questions. 4. The ability to locate the most relevant and reliable sources of the required data (including experts, teachers, colleagues, one's own experience, the various audio-visual media, and the community). 5. The ability to select and use the most efficient means for collecting the required data from the appropriate sources. 6. The ability to organize, analyze, and evaluate the data to get valid answers to questions. 7. The ability to generalize, apply, and communicate the answers to the questions raised. Knowles (1978) surmised that the curriculum of organized education would most effectively achieve the objective of schooling if it were organized according to a spiraling series of individual learning projects, with the understanding that several individuals with similar learning needs might engage in a learning project collaboratively (pp. 6-15). Under this assumption, Knowles visualized that the school (collective term) would be presented to learners as a learning resource center and that teachers would be presented as learning project consultants. Each individual's learning project spiral would proceed according to his maturational process. Knowles (1978) maintained that at each developmental stage the learning project consultant would expose the learner to appropriate role competency models. For example, in roles labeled "early learner", "friend", "family member", and "leisure-time user", the learning would actually take place over several years, outside the classroom, and with increasingly complex competencies being presented as the person matured. In early adolescence the emphasis would gradually shift to the roles of unique self, citizen, and worker. Following each exposure to a role competency model the learner would select a set of competencies for which learning projects would then be developed with the help of learning project consultants and other relevant resource specialists. Emphasis would be placed on the learner's making use of learning resources proactively and in widening circles out into the community. At the completion of each learning project the consultant would engage with the learner in an analysis of the experience in a variety of dimensions, including cognitive gains, learning skill gains, affective gains and losses, and diagnosis of further needs (pp. 25-29). Choosing a curriculum for adult learners meant several things for Kidd (1973) like understanding the needs and interests of the learner, understanding the situation in which he lives and the kinds of content that may serve his needs. It meant a careful statement of objectives in a form that sets out the desired changes as well as the subject matter. Finally, it meant the selection of the precise learning experiences that may best accomplish these objectives. It assumed the fullest possible participation by the learner in curriculum planning (p. 278). Regarding evaluation of adult learning, Lindeman (1956) suggested the following types of questions be asked when a course of study was completed by the adult learner and he wanted to discover if he learned anything: 1. Has it increased my usable fund of reliable information? 2. Have I changed my vocabulary? Have I, in other words, learned how to make use of some new concepts or principles? 3. Have I acquired any new skills? 4. Have I learned how to sort out the moral ingredients in the various situations considered in this study group? Have I learned to think in terms of values? 5. Have I altered any of my attitudes, or beliefs? Tough (1979) described the six basic principles adult educators must follow to create effective adult learning environments. PRINCIPLE 1. First, he will not feel or act as though he is on a pedestal--superior in all ways to all learners. Instead, he will comfortably accept the fact that there are differences in status on various dimensions between him and the learners. He will realize "the importance of respecting the person-to-person parity which exists between teacher and students," to use Mccluskey's phrase (1964, p.166). He will not feel the need or urge to show off, bluff, pretend to know all the answers, or pretend to be superior in all ways. He is unlikely to act in an overly authoritarian, dictatorial, or arrogant manner. If the learner's expectations tend to force him onto a pedestal, he will resist or discuss these expectations. PRINCIPLE 2. The instructor's feelings of equality with the learners will probably lead to his interest in establishing friendly relationships with them, before, during, and after the group sessions. Their conversations will deal not only with the subject matter of the course or workshop, but also with many other things they have in common: housing, cars, family, travel, problems,interests. He expects to learn from them, just as they learn from him. PRINCIPLE 3. The equality may be reflected in the seating arrangement. In the traditional classroom, learners face the instructor, because it does not matter whether the learners can see and hear one another. The basic assumption is that the instructor knows all the answers, and will be the only one with much experience and knowledge to contribute to the group. When the instructor is aware of the wealth of resources and knowledge among the learners, though, he will probably arrange the seating so they can see and hear one another. In addition, he will probably make some effort to help them become well acquainted. PRINCIPLE 4. The instructor may be eager to have the learners assume certain responsibilities in planning the learning activities. If he accepts their competence and experience, he will realize that the specific content and learning activities can be made even more appropriate as a result of their suggestions. PRINCIPLE 5. The teacher may emphasize that any superiority he has is strictly limited to the one area of expertise, as suggested by Geer (1968). He may clearly expect some reciprocal help and thus be a learner and receiver as well as a helper. He may not call himself a teacher. He may let he learners take much of the initiative in asking questions and setting directions. PRINCIPLE 6. If the instructor realizes that he is approximately equal to the learners in his group, he will probably not experience the difficulties and embarrassment that sometimes arise because an instructor is inferior in some way to some of his students. If the instructor accepts equality between teacher and learner as a normal occurrence in adult groups, if he has sufficient competence in teaching the central subject matter, and if he has a pleasant, friendly, demeanor, is unlikely to encounter resistance. Instead, he will probably be accepted readily by the learners despite his youth, lack of experience, lower rank, or whatever (pp.150-151).