Experiencing Dewey

I finished Dewey's small Education and experience just now... it's a little classic. It's highlighted to me how education is basically formed from experiences (d'uh), and the role of an educator as one who creates and manages effective experiences for the intentional development of the student. Dewey's keen insight on experience and its fundamentals provides a great foundation for considering tranformation in education. It was particularly encouraging to see Dewey's 'Either-Or' principle; this reinforces Palmer's notion of paradox and Tubb's 'broken middle'.

Elsewhere I have speculated on Dewey's response to 'education 2.0'.

Now it's on to Mezirow's Fostering critical reflection in adulthood. I can hardly wait... ;o) The problem with reading a little Dewey classic is that it only reduces my reading pile by about 5mm!

An 'experiential' theme

I finished taking notes from Malinen's Adult experiential learning tonight... it was a tough read, but rewarding. I was reminded of the work I did some eight or so years ago now on adult learning (see 2002 review, PDF); it is now free of charge, and one chapter was used by the University of London - and may still be used - as a text resource); my work still seems current, which is both exciting and somewhat disturbing. It probably means that I'm out of touch with the developments of literature ;o(

I found Malinen's distinction between first-order experience and second-order experience a helpful one, and her foundations in Kant's categories have also proved a useful lead. I could see the validity of Malinen's model... this from the notes I took:

In her integrative model of experiential learning, Malinen (2000) places ‘personal experiential knowing’ at the core. This is first-order experience, “tacit, holistic, ‘true’ and inadequate” (2000:135, emphasis original). This knowing has a solid core and a flexible boundary called a protective belt. Second-order experiences penetrate, permeate or ricochet away from this protective belt. The protective belt is “safe territory, and can be built up in an eclectic fashion” (2000:135); its width is determined by the subject's own receptivity and commitment to learning.

I would consider perspective to be a more useful term than 'personal experiential knowing', reserving the term 'experience' for Malinen's 'second-order experience'; it just seems less clumsy.

The differences between 'formation', 'transformation' and 'experience' need to be further explored. So, I have taken a necessary diversion down the adult education theory path. This sets the foundation for further reading on Mezirow, yet to arrive from Amazon. In the meantime I am working on Dewey's Experience and education (already very useful as s follow-on for Malinen, even though the great Dewey is some decades earlier), and have Gushee & Jackson's Preparing for Christian ministry waiting as a basic taster of Christian formation (to be followed by Gangel & Wilhout's Christian Educator's Handbook on Spiritual Formation).

Nothing too heavy at this stage! Mezirow will need to wait his turn, it seems...

Chewin' on adult education

The interloan mentioned in my last post has arrived - and it's a chewy one. Malinen's Adult experiential learning reads like a PhD written in book form... which makes it a challenge to read! Still, it is a worthwhile synthesis of Knowles, Kolb, Merizow, Revans and Schon - and, a valid place to start based on my research question:

To what extent, if any, are students of theology at a distance disadvantaged in terms of Christian formation?

I have a lot of reading ahead of me, and it is somewhat frustrating to change course again from the literature of theological education and distance and e-learning, to adult education with a formational bent. Still, it's what I signed up for...

...and my application for direct candidacy is now sent off. Back to Malinen...! This book will help me to get Merizow into perspective.

A *slight* distraction tinged with a new focus

I've been pretty silent lately, and, yes, the goal of one article per day has given way to other distractions! Apart from the need to prepare a church camp session, they were rather scholarly distractions - literally.

Over the last two weeks I have read and summarised four journal articles (more on them in a future post) but, more significantly, three books:

• Boyer, E.L. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate. USA: Jossey-Bass, Inc.
• Braxton, J.M. (Ed.) (2006). Analyzing Faculty Work and Rewards Using Boyer's Four Domains of Scholarship: New Directions for Institutional Research. USA: Jossey-Bass.
• Hatch, T. (2006). Into the Classroom. USA: Jossey-Bass.

These were interloans for a paper I'm working on for work purposes, so I wanted to deal with them quickly. On the PhD front, a few further developments have taken place:

• My primary supervisor, on learning about my intention to focus on formation through distance education, suggested starting with some adult education that has been done in the area. Jack Mezirow was the name given; titles are on the way courtesy of Amazon, along with one interloan.
  
• I have completed my application to formally enrol (I have interim admission at the moment). Filling in forms to apply for formal admission should actually bring its own qualification!
• I have my first deadlines: a self-review ready for July; a six-month report for August; and a 'Background to research question' of between 5,000-8,000 words for August/September.
  

The new research question, as on my memorandum of understanding:

To what extent, if any, are students of theology at a distance disadvantaged in terms of Christian formation?

The lack of 'e-learning' is actually intentional - it is actually subsumed in my use of the term 'distance'. Inevitably hybrid or blended learning will also be caught up in this. Disturbingly for me the theme of formation is a relatively new one... more reading ahead! The worth of reading is already apparent for me though. The topic is becoming more refined. I have also upped my weekly allocation of hours now that all is upon me.

The 'brief description of project' is as follows:

An investigation into the dynamics of personal formation as an additional outcome of distance education, from a Christian education perspective. Work by Patterson (1996), Le Cornu (2001) and Bramer (2007) tie the theme of Christian formation with distance education. Themes of pragmatic application of distance education without serious consideration of formation, the ‘authoritarian’ nature of distance education materials and a heavy emphasis on cognitive development through distance education require investigation and assessment through primary research.

Here goes...