Week 4 Overview and Lecture

The Sociocultural Context of Learning

Due: Complete this online lesson before posting in the discussion board or completing any other assignments due this week.

The week 3 lesson focuses on how culture and other sociocultural factors affect learning.  We will explore alternatives to traditional learning theory with an emphasis on how cultural and social factors impact motivation to learn and/or present barriers to learning. 

Course Objectives covered this week include:

• CO3: Evaluate methods of overcoming barriers that could impede sustained learning. (SLO 2)
• CO5: Assess how culture can impact one’s ability to critically think and learn. (SLO 2)

Week 3 Lecture

Select Next to complete the Week 3 Reading.

Culture and Context, Theory and Practice in Adult Learning

This course began by looking at the necessity of learning globally, addressing how technology has advanced faster than one can keep up with, and how changing demographics have demanded that we acknowledge and embrace differences. This portion of the lecture will focus on a framework that will integrate culture, theory, and practice in adult education.

Culture and Context

Culture is a set of beliefs that dictate how a group perceives, thinks, and feels. It is passed on to new members of any given group. Culture often permeates one’s thoughts and actions. Culture can be examined from different perspectives in adult education. These perspectives include:

• Positionality is a visible or invisible attribute such as age, class, gender, race, etc. It is unique to each person and is derived from and influences life experiences and relationships with others.
• Privilege is unearned power based on race, gender, class or other positionality.
• Context refers to the social system that shapes the thought and action of people within a particular setting such as a classroom, school, organization, community, or nation.
• Power is the ability to influence others or to bring about change. Within the classroom, the educator possesses formal power, but this does not leave the students powerless.

These dynamics intersect to create power relations within a social context, including educational settings.

As classrooms become more multicultural and diverse, learning cultures can clash, especially between the East and West. Obviously, teaching and learning approaches across cultures can be very different, hence it is important for educators to build accessible and motivating learning environments for a range of learners. How can educators be culturally sensitive to meet the needs of the diverse population of adult learners? One must approach learning holistically and recognize ways of knowing beyond cognitive to include somatic, emotional, and spiritual. Everyone has a valuable contribution to make to the learning environment that can heighten the learning experience for all.

The educator must also understand how learning is embedded in everyday life by honoring the experiences and informal learning people encounter in daily life and by providing opportunities for reflection on learning. Providing this type of learning environment requires educators to be lifelong learners as one is more open to and continually exploring new views in their pursuit of learning.

Motivation

Motivation is defined as, “the drive and energy we put into accomplishing something we want to do” (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 147). Motivation can be extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic motivators are factors that come from the outside, such as a reward, a certificate, a promotion, etc. Intrinsic motivators are factors that come from within, such as learning for the challenge, or in an effort to master something.

Houle performed a study on 22 adults engaged in continuous learning. He identified three types of learning orientation. Goal-oriented learners engage in learning to achieve a goal and the goal is usually extrinsic and economically motivated. Activity-oriented learners choose to participate in learning for the opportunity to socialize and to learn the activity. Activity-oriented learning can be extrinsic or intrinsically motivated and compelled by social and need-driven motivation. Learning-oriented learners want to obtain additional knowledge for the sake of learning. These learners are intrinsically and cognitively motivated.

There have been measuring tools developed to measure what motivates adults to learn, the Education Participation Scale and the Educational Participation Scale-Modified. Motivation theory clearly helps to understand what persuades people to learn however, it does not account for limitations or barriers that can be encountered by the learner to learn. Hence the development of McClusky’s Theory of Margin. McClusky’s theory states that motivation to learn is affected by how one is able to balance the pressures of life by offsetting it with power or resources (i.e. family support, stamina, etc.), a ratio known as Margin in Life. See your text for additional information on this topic.

Wlodkowski poses two assumptions about learning and motivation: (1) “If something can be learned it can be learned in a motivating manner” and (2) “Every instructional plan also needs to be a motivational plan” (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 167). Wlodkowski’s framework provides a model of motivation and a utility for instructional design. Wlodkowski cites four motivational conditions an educator must attend to in order to effectively teach adults and be culturally sensitive. These four conditions include: establishing inclusion, developing the attitude, enhancing meaning, and engendering confidence. See the table in your text for motivational strategies that can be used in teaching.

Learning Styles:  Motivator or Barrier to Learning?

Despite little evidence to support learning style theory (Hussmann, 2019; Merriam & Baumgartner, 2020), educators hold on to the idea that we should adapt our teaching methods to include all learning styles. Over 70 assessments claim to measure learning styles.  They commonly focus on the notion that students are visual, auditory, verbal, or kinesthetic learners. However, research does not demonstrate a correlation among teaching methods, learning styles, and student outcomes. There are a number of reasons for this. First, teaching and learning are not the same thing. Most learning occurs outside of the classroom, when students study the material on their own or in small groups (Bulent et al., 2015). This is when students would most likely employ study techniques that play to their preferences and strengths. Even then, we would expect that students who use compatible study strategies will have better outcomes. The supporting evidence for this assumption is weak.  In fact, a student’s “learning style” may not even predict the way they prefer to be taught or the way they actually choose to study on their own (Newton & Salvi, 2020).

Students usually find learning style assessments interesting but do not typically develop new strategies based on the information (Hussmann & O’Laughlin, 2019). They respond to these assessments based on what has worked for them in the past, but not necessarily because of any innate preferences.  In fact, most students identify with multiple learning styles. Dr. Bill Cerbin, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin, points out that learning style descriptors are more suitably connected to the nature of the discipline being taught. Rather than modify teaching practices to incorporate student learning styles, educators should consider which learning styles (and subsequent teaching methods) best reflect the subject matter and learning outcomes (Cerbin, 2011). For example, a group of nursing student might consider themselves primarily visual learners, but they will not become proficient with hands-on skills through reading alone. Skills require tactile/kinesthetic learning and teaching methods.  Most skills require multiple learning “styles.” Pashler et al. (2009) argue that teaching methods need to match the learning task and desired outcomes rather than student preferences. The following resources provide additional information on learning styles.

Learning Styles Links to an external site.

Another Nail in the Coffin for Learning Styles Download Another Nail in the Coffin for Learning Styles

So, even if learning outcomes have not been correlated to student achievement, what is the harm in knowing about them?  There probably isn't any harm if students are taught that these represent multiple ways of learning.  Problem arise if students come to believe there is a single "best" way for them learn, or if teachers believe they have to accommodate all styles all of the time. If students are repeatedly encouraged to know and use their “preferred” learning style, they may avoid trying to develop others. Students may overly rely on their preferred learning style rather than try to match study methods to the task at hand. Teachers may spend an inordinate amount of time creating lessons to accommodate multiple learning styles instead of focusing on the most effective method to present specific material.  

Universal Design for Learning

Even if student learning styles were proven to be valid predictors of student success, how can faculty realistically obtain and use this information?  Each student in a class will have different learning preferences.  If we teach to one (or use what we are most comfortable with), what about the other students? The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a model of teaching and learning that encourages faculty to consider learner variation up front.  In other words, assume you will always a diverse group of students and account for it at the outset. This model seeks to optimize learning for everyone by encouraging 1) multiple means of engagement, 2) multiple means of representation, and 3) multiple means of action and expression, different styles of learning are accounted for at the outset, reducing the need to personalize every activity (CAST, 2022). 

This brief video further explains the principles of UDL.

Conclusion

Culture and context impact adult learning, serving as both motivation and potential barriers. The world has become so diverse, resulting in a multicultural classroom setting where differences must be appreciated. The diverse classroom requires the educator to create an educational environment conducive to promoting holistic learning for all students.

References

CAST (2018). Universal design for learning guidelines version 2.2. Retrieved September 22, 2022 http://udlguidelines.cast.org

Cerbin, W. (2011). Understanding learning styles: A conversation with Dr. Bill Cerbin. Interview with Nancy Chick. UW Colleges Virtual      Teaching and Learning Center.

Hussmann, P & O’Laughlin, D. (2019). Another nail in the coffin for learning styles? Disparities among undergraduate anatomy students’ study strategies, class performance, and reported VARK Learning Styles. Anatomical Science Education 12, 6-19. https://doi.org/10.1002/ase.1777

Jarvis, P. (1995). Adult & continuing Education. Theory and practice (2^nd ed.). Routledge.

Kumar, S. (2012). Holistic education: learning with your whole body [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWo1k4jrbgk.

Merriam, S. B. and Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult learning: linking theory and practice. Jossey-Bass.

Merriam, S. & Baumgartner, L. (2020). Learning in adulthood (14th ed). Jossey Bass.

Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R.  (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 9 (3),103-119.