This weeks Course Project assignment requires you to apply these perspectives to your own adult development and then to reflect on this process as an adult educator. Complete the following:
Your Development
Consider the ways that these perspectives have influenced your own development, and, in turn, have influenced the ways that you learn. For this part of the assignment, address the following:
Describe yourself in terms of biological aging. To what extent do you believe you have experienced changes in your body, brain, or senses? To what extent has this impacted how you learn over time?
The psychological model of development explores the internal experiences of the individual. Consider the models presented by Erikson, Levinson, and others to describe your own psychological profile. How has this profile impacted how you learn?
The social and emotional worlds in which we live influence our development. Describe yourself relative to social roles and the timing of the events in your life. How have socially constructed notions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation influenced your development and how you learn? How have changes in society influenced your development? How have your emotional reactions and experiences impacted your learning?
Think about your own intelligence. To what extent do you believe your intelligence is the result of biology? To what extent do you believe it is a result of your environment and experience? Describe what has contributed to and shaped your intellectual ability.
Reflection
Reflect on what you wrote for the first part of the assigment about your own development and learning. Consider how you might apply these insights to help you become a more effective adult educator. For this part of this assignment, address the following:
How might your new understanding of learning theories affect your current or future work as an adult educator?
In what ways might you need to broaden or deepen your thinking in order to help adults other than you to learn successfully?