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Learning Theories/Behavioralist Theories

Introduction
Behaviorism, as a learning theory, can be traced back to Aristotle, whose essay “Memory” focused on associations being made between events such as lightning and thunder. Other philosophers that followed Aristotle’s thoughts are Hobbes (1650), Hume (1740), Brown (1820), Bain (1855) and Ebbinghause (1885) (Black, 1995). Ivan Pavlov, John B. Watson, Edward Thorndike and B.F. Skinner later developed the theory in more detail. Watson is the theorist credited with coining the term "behaviorism".

A key difference in these various forms of associationism is that until Skinner, they were considered to be associations of mental or cognitive events. Skinner departed from this mental associationism and claimed that what associates two things is the environment itself, not the mind of the spectator. This departure has been noted as being part of a substantial number of changes in what was, until then, called Behaviorism - and which Skinner called Radical Behaviorism - that it may be a historical accident that it was called Behaviorism at all.

Behaviorism as a learning theory
Dr. Srinivasan (Sam Houston State University, Huntsville TX) actually created the original Behaviorism Learning Theory blueprints. The school of adult learning theory that adopted these principles has become known as the school of Behaviorism, which saw learning as a complex process of responses to several kinds of distinct stimuli. Skinner always referred to it as a three-term contingency comprised of a discriminative stimuli, or Sd, a response, or R, and a reinforcing stimulus, or Srein. Conditions of deprivation and satiation, and other changes in the environment, have come to be generally acknowledged as a kind of fourth term, and are denoted as Motivating Operations (MO) generally, Abolishing Operations (AO), or Establishing Operations (EO) depending on whether they make a reinforcer less effective (abolishing), more effective (establishing) and so on. Jack Michael has been instrumental in refining and exploring these elements.

A reinforcement is defined as a stimulus that strengthen the response, which is to say that it makes it more probable, or alters its frequency. Spillane (2002) states, “the behaviorist perspective, associated with B. F. Skinner, holds that the mind at work cannot be observed, tested, or understood; thus, behaviorists are concerned with actions (behavior) as the sites of knowing, teaching, and learning” (p. 380).

Teaching Machine
In 1954 B. F. Skinner introduced the "Teaching Machine" which is linked most notably to Skinners work on stimuli and response, a key attribute of behaviorism. Using teaching machines, Skinner explained that spelling, arithmetic, grammar and any other educational material can be introduced to the students to "create vastly improved conditions for effective study." Students use the machine by rotating rudimentary handle on the side. The movement causes a question to appear along with a space for an answer. The student manually writes the answer in the space provided then rotates the handle again to expose the correct answer. B.F. Skinner suggests that there are two reasons the teaching machine is superior to manually graded student work. First "it leads most rapidly to the formation of correct behavior" and "there is also a motivating effect. The student is free of anxiety and uncertainty about his [or her] success or failure." Skinner also maintains that using the teaching machine creates "engaged" students. Although this is evident in his class, it must also be acknowledged that teaching machines were new, novel, and interesting to these students. Students today would find these same machine, probably, old, irrelevant, and boring.

Another advantage of the teaching machine was the ability of students to learn at their own pace. He argues that, in a class taught in-person by a teacher without a teaching machine, the bright students may have to wait until the other students catch up. Whilst the students who may take longer could be anxious they have not finished the assigned work when the rest of the class is ready to move on. Skinner goes on to suggest a student using the teaching machine moves at the rate which is most appropriate for themselves. Ultimately both students are able to learn the material thoroughly.

B.F. Skinner states that the "chunking" of data into smaller sections makes learning easier for students and that 95% of the time students are able to master the material using the teaching machine. Skinner says "that the average high school student can cover twice as much material using the machine as with traditional classroom techniques."

The Technology of Teaching
Before the 1960s, most educational technology was focused on audio-visual materials, but there was a shift toward designing and implementing more interactive and independent materials that made it possible for students to learn without a teacher. This was called Programmed Instruction, and B.F. Skinner's teaching machine was among the earliest examples. It became the precursor for modern computer-assisted learning. Programmed Instruction was largely based on Behaviorism, including principles of sequencing, cues, and instruction to systematically shape the desired learning outcome. Early studies seemed to show that students who used programmed instruction did just as well or performed superior to students using traditional learning methods; however, later studies indicated that its success was less than previously believed. Since that time, instructional technology has addressed the limitations of Programmed Instruction by incorporating more social elements, a greater variety of feedback, better user appeal, and other improvements.

In addition to B.F. Skinner's Programmed Instruction, there have been several major Behaviorist innovations for improving learning, including Fred Keller's Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), Ogden Lindsley's Precision Teaching , and others. Technology of teaching must go hand in hand with that of learning. First the teacher must SURVEY the content of teaching. Then,QUESTION the topic to be teached. Followed by READING the topic and RECALL them. REVIEW in subsequent lesson-chapters.

B.F. Skinner also wrote a book on major problems in popular teaching theories called The Technology of Teaching which attacked educational problems which were then current. The descriptions of educational problems, not surprisingly, seems like it was written today: truancy, vandalism, violence in the classroom and more.

One of the keys to effective teaching is discovering the best consequence to shape the behavior. Consequences can be positive or negative – rewarding or punishing. Consequences transpire after the desired behavior occurs and can involve either positive or negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement involves a stimulus that increases the likelihood of a particular response, such as a child receiving a gold star for doing a chore. Negative reinforcement also increases the probability of the desired response and involves removing an undesirable stimulus upon completion of the desired response. An example might be entering the correct password to turn off a loud alarm. Punishment is often confused with negative reinforcement; however, punishment is used to erase undesirable behaviors by presenting a distressing stimulus when the behavior occurs. Paying a fine for bouncing a check is a form of punishment. “Extinction” occurs when there is no consequence at all – for example if you knock at the door and no one answers, pretty soon you simply stop knocking (Zemke, 2002).

Behaviorists view learning as a permanent change in behavior even after reinforcements are reduced or eliminated. Therefore, the schedule of reinforcement is an important component in behaviorism that must be considered. The schedule of reinforcement refers to the frequency of the reinforcers in relation to the behaviors and the interval of time in-between the reinforcers and the behavior.

Fixed Ratio: Behaviorist reinforces the desired behavior after a certain (fixed) number of occurrences.

Variable Ratio: Behaviorist reinforces the desired behavior after a variable number of occurrences.

Fixed Interval: Behaviorist reinforces the desired behavior after a certain (fixed) period of time.

Variable Interval: Behaviorist reinforces the desired behavior after a variable period of time.

Verbal Behavior
The seminal work of Pavlov demonstrated that the application of neutral stimuli could be used to elicit a response from animals in the same way that an unconditioned stimulus could. From these initial studies other psychologists such as John Watson demonstrated that these principles could be applied to humans (Cheetham & Chivers, 2001). Skinner invented the term operant to describe his attempt to better account for volitional behavior we usually call free. In Skinner's original work it was confined solely to animals, particularly the white rat. However, it wasn't long before operant behavior was observed in humans. Skinner's attempt to account for the operant behavior of humans, including complex language functions, resulted in his seminal work, Verbal Behavior (1951) which accounted for ways in which human operants differed for non-human ones. This was extended with the conception of rule governed behavior.

The Illusion of Free Will
One of the assumptions of many behaviorists is that free will is illusory, and that all behavior is determined by a combination of forces. These forces comprise genetic factors as well as the environment either through association or reinforcement. The "illusion of free will" concept is deeply embroiled in the nature vs. nurture controversy. Asking the question, "Are individuals shaped by genetics or by existentialism?" is the essence of this debate. Behaviorists believe that the environment is the primary influence that determines who individuals will be and the behavior they will develop. Hence, the reason why free will is only an illusion or imaginary deduction.

Skinner argued that the assumption of lawfulness in human behavior was an unprovable prerequisite to the scientific investigation of human behavior. Without the assumption of lawfulness, that is the lack of freewill, such a science could not exist.

Skinner has continued this argument by noting in his controversial book Beyond Freedom and Dignity that the historically beneficial forces that have arisen to defend Freedom and Dignity may be violently opposing the scientific conception of man.

Criticism
This theory has latterly been criticized as overly simplistic. Nevertheless, its influence can be seen in educators’ insistence that feedback is critical to learning. The stimulus-response method is used frequently in adult learning situations in which the students must learn a time sensitive response to a stimulus. Aircraft emergency procedures, for example, are divided into two parts. The first, the time sensitive portion, must be immediately performed by rote memory upon recognition of a stimulus – a warning light, horn, buzzer, bell, or the like. These procedures are taught and reinforced with rote drills and successfully passing the tests is the reinforcement. The second portion of the procedure, which may be viewed as diagnostic action is performed with mandatory reference to checklists and other reference material and depends on what may be viewed as higher level learning and understanding of aircraft systems and performance characteristics.

Behaviorist Theory maintains a focus on the change in observable behaviors as the manifestations of learning. The theory emphasizes changes in behaviors due to the influence and control of the external environment, rather than the internal thought process of the subject (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). Simply put, people will learn desired behaviors due to stimuli from their external environment that recognize and reinforce the behavior in a positive manner. Undesired behaviors can be controlled or eliminated by an absence of attention to or recognition of such.

Behaviorism is comprised of several individual theories that have a common theme functioning within them. This common theme is found in the ways the theorists define what learning is, and how it is accomplished. The common assumptions of these theorists are threefold, as explained by Merriam and Caffarella (1999). The first common assumption is the emphasis on observable behavior rather than internal thought processes create learning. Second, ultimately it is the environment that creates learning and it determines what is learned, not the individual learner. Lastly it is the ability to understand the overall process, and the ability to repeat or reinforce that process that is a common thread (Merriam and Caffarella, 1999). This theory is most commonly seen in adult learning when organizations take repeatable training steps and systematize them into manageable tasks.

The hypothesis behind behavioralist learning theories is that all learning occurs when behavior is influenced and changed by external factors (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). Behavioralism disregards any notion that there may be an internal component to man’s learning. Grippin and Peters (1984) emphasize that “contiguity…and reinforcement are central to explaining the learning process” (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 251) in regard to an individual’s subjugation to external stimulus as a determinant of response (i.e., behavior). Contiguity is understood as the timing of events that is necessary to bring about behavioral change, while reinforcement refers to the probability that repeated positive or negative events will produce an anticipated change in behavior (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999).

Behavioral theory is a key component of animal training and skill training in humans. Teaching animals to sit for a kibble is very similar to clapping and hugging your child for their first steps or bike ride. Slot machines are based on intermittent reinforcement, which in turn leads gamblers to put more quarters in the machine to be reinforced by the ching ching of winning. As students, we are reinforced by the 100 points or A we receive on the test or paper, or by the removal of the F on the grade card. Source

Behavioral theories have also been studied and applied in organizational leadership. Dating back to the 1940's, studies were conducted at Ohio State University (OSU) and the University of Michigan (UM) (Robbins 1998). What the researchers found in the OSU and UM studies can be classified into two categories: relationships and results. In the OSU studies, researchers compiled behaviors into two dimensions: initiating structure (results) and consideration (relationships). UM researchers compiled their leader behavior under two similar dimensions: employee oriented and production oriented. From this research, Blake and Mouton developed the Managerial Grid, later to be called the Leadership Grid. This grid assists leaders in assessing possible outcomes to their behavior within an organization. Robbins states, "The grid does not show results produced but, rather, the dominating factors in a leader's thinking in regard to getting results" (p. 351). Behavioral leading and learning is based on organizational and cultural conditioning. This can be observed in the tough-handed, "hatchet wielding" approach of Jack Welch and in the benevolent "lend-a-hand" approach of Herb Kelleher. Behavioral theories within leadership have had "modest success in identifying consistent relationships between patterns of leadership behavior and group performance. What seems to be missing is consideration of the situational factors that influence success or failure" (p. 353).

Simplistic or fundamental?
Some might view this theory as being a very elementary learning process. It suggests, by and large, that any learning is result oriented, and, therefore, learned by repetitive actions based on punishments or rewards. Merriam and Caffarella (1999) refer to Thorndike's work which used animals in controlled experiments to determine learning behavior based on the stimulus presented. This process, while presenting a possible outcome for comparison, is unrealistic when compared to the intelligence capabilities of humans. It could be argued that this theory tends to diminish the possibilities in human learning. In some circumstances, however, this method of learning is necessary; particularly when dealing with individuals with lower reasoning abilities or lower intelligence.

Pattison (1999) suggested that American adult education’s roots in liberal arts education and then progressive education quoting (Elias & Merriam, 1995, p. 205). This progressive education focused upon the broad populace, not just social elites which liberal education intended to do according to Pattison. This progressive education began taking hold in the 1920’s in public education settings. Into this social setting Behaviorism came. Pattison suggests that early behaviorists like John Watson focused on job skills and behavior adaptation that would “secure the survival of humans, societies, and individuals.” Behaviorism coupled with progressive education would help “control human behavior and viewed education as a tool for bringing about societal change” (p. 6).

Behaviorist theory presents learning in short manageable blocks that build on previously learned behaviors. Kearsley (1994) identified three fundamental principles common in behaviorist learning:

 * 1) Positive reinforcement of the desired behavior will most likely prompt the same behavior.
 * 2) Learning should be presented in small manageable blocks.
 * 3) Stimulus generalization of learning can produce secondary conditioning.

The goal of this learning method is to transform the learner’s behavior to a “desired” behavior. The learner is rewarded often for exhibiting the desired behavior when they accomplish a learning block. This method is heavily used in the federal government to quickly train employees on the latest policies and procedures (i.e. government credit card use, anti-terrorism, and sexual harassment). In addition, this method is ideal for short lessons (no more than 20 minutes) which can be accomplished over the internet from the employee's desktop computer. Within the 20 minute timeframe, the employee will normally retain key points of the lesson. However, when the lesson goes beyond the 20 minute window, there is a potential for the employee to lose focus and hurry through it in order to fulfill the requirement and get back to work. As a result, the employee retains very little and the organization has very little success in achieving the desired behavior.

While it is true behaviorist theories can be simplistic in their concept, their application to the human has allowed for much to be discovered about learning, memory and even neuroscience. Since the late 1800s, psychologists using behavioral principles have established hundreds of tests to identify both how learning and memory occur in varying complexities of brain structures. Across many species, for example, it has been shown that when the reinforcing agent is "painless" then learning occurs in the cerebellum. However if there is an emotional connection (particularly negative such as fear) to the reinforcer then learning and memory occur in the amygdala (Kolb & Whishaw, 2005).

Training of individuals centers on the concept that all learning is the result of the environment acting upon behaviors. The environment of an individual reinforces behaviors either positively or negatively and all of learning takes place through environmental influences. Adult learning can be seen strictly through this focus, but a more centrist approach is neobehaviorism. Neobehaviorism suggests that not only does the environment reinforce behavior, but there is an interaction between the individual and the environment. This is an important concept as it relates to adult learning because of the relative importance of choices to motivation in the learning process (Ross, 2002).

While Behaviorist Theory was founded in the early decades of the twentieth century, there still exist many examples of support for the theory. It is not uncommon for organizations to articulate the desired behaviors they expect will lead to positive business results. Organizations then reinforce those behaviors through performance management and by adjusting the environment to reward or recognize the desired behaviors. For example, many companies measure employee performance on two dimensions: business results and desired behaviors. As well, organizations encourage, through recognition, such positive behaviors as perfect attendance, employee suggestions for improvements, raising quality issues that would adversely impact a customer, and good safety behaviors.

Various approaches to promote behavioralist theory in Organizational Learning are many times predicated on the belief that organizational members prefer, if not altogether require, specific standard operational procedures (SOP). In other words, creative problem solving does not come naturally with most group members. Following such rationale, Foil and Lyle (1985) note that this theory is counter to cognitive reasoning which would look at what is happening environmentally and determine whether SOP is the most appropriate response to each various event.

Attendance point system
One example of behavioral learning in the workplace is through an attendance point system. Often times, this type of system offers both positive and negative reinforcement. For example, most companies using a point system have a written policy stating that employees may accrue a maximum number of points during a 12-month revolving period. An employee is then given a partial point, or more, towards an accrual of the maximum allowable any time there is an infraction of the policy – especially an attendance infraction. The negative reinforcement is the notification of accrued points and disciplinary action taken per level of point accrual – sometimes culminating in termination of the employee. Positive reinforcement can occur when there is periodic recognition of employees with “perfect” attendance or zero points. There is one possible fallacy in the system, however. It occurs when an employee appears to be no longer controlled by the point system, but rather controls the system by knowing just how many points can be accrued without soliciting discipline. It is in this last scenario that one understands why most theorists have come to believe that learning is not solely comprised of external influence but that it also includes an internal component as well.

Continental Airlines
Continental Airlines applied this behavioral learning approach in a very successful effort to reduce absenteeism and increase performance during the turnaround engineered by Gordon Bethune. Taking over after the disastrous reign of Frank Lorenzo when employee morale and commitment declined to the point that Continental employees would frequently remove the company logos from their uniforms, Bethune realized that rewarding employees for what was really important would drive important behavioral changes. Bethune realized that what was important was rebuilding passenger confidence and preference by providing service that met customer needs. To this end, the company implemented quarterly bonuses for all employees based on achieving targeted levels of performance in the FAA quarterly ratings of airlines based on lost baggage claims, on time departures, and customer complaints. In addition, employees with perfect attendance each quarter were entered into drawings for Ford Explorers. Both programs resulted in marked changes in behavior and contributed to the turnaround from the edge of bankruptcy (Bethune and Thuler, 1998).

Time clock
Another example that is elementary yet worth mentioning is The Salvation Army, Canton Corps' use of a time clock. The initial purpose of the clock in that environment was uncertain. We found that most people who use the time clock were not using it as intended. Many did not remember to clock in or out, or they would not use the clock at all. Not until pressure was exerted on each employee by ruling that they would not get paid if their cards were not adequately punched, did employees begin to use the time clock appropriately. In a few short weeks of reminders and a few short paychecks, the time clock was being used properly.


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Learning Theories/Constructivist Theories

Introduction
Constructivism is a learning theory that attempts to explain how learners learn by constructing understanding for everyone. This section will explore the constructivist learning theory by defining constructivism, providing varying views of constructivism, and illustrating how constructivism relates to independent learning and higher education.

Constructivism really got its start in the late 1980s. But many people did not know how to label what they were doing.

In the 1990s, constructivist books abounded. Many people became interested in it.

The principles of Constructivism are broadly adopted in many areas of education today. The notions of authentic activities, social negotiation, juxtaposition of instructional content, nurturance of reflexivity, and student-centered instruction inspired many instructors to examine and think about the importance of interactions between teachers and students, students and students, and students and learning materials as well. Therefore, both instructors and students may have opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of their teaching and learning.

Constructivism gives teachers another perspective to rethink how students learn and to focus on process and provide ways of documenting change and transformation. It also reminds teachers to look for different ways to engage individual student, develop rich environments for exploration, prepare coherent problem sets and challenges that focus the model building effort, elicit and communicate student perceptions and interpretations(Abdal-Haqq, 1998).

Principles of Constructivism  Constructivist learning environments provide multiple representations of reality. These representations represent that complexity of the real world. Knowledge construction is emphasized over knowledge reproduction. Authentic tasks are emphasized in meaningful context. Real world settings or case-based learning is provided. Thoughtful reflection on experience is encouraged. Enable context- and content- dependent knowledge construction. Supports collaboration and social negotiation among learners. Discovery learning Collaborative activity Integration and activation of prior knowledge Opportunities for hands-on activities (Abdal-Haqq, I. 1998; Jonassen, 1994) [This is mostly straight out of Educational Technology Journal 1994 vol.34(4) pp.34-37 - Perhaps Abdal-Haqq reprinted the list? Regardless Jonassen should be listed - and this is definitely Copyrighted work].

Constructivism defined
Constructivism is a synthesis of multiple theories diffused into one form. It is the assimilation of both behaviorialist and cognitive ideals. The “constructivist stance maintains that learning is a process of constructing meaning; it is how people make sense of their experience” (Merriam and Caffarella, 1999, p. 260). This is a combination effect of using a person’s cognitive abilities and insight to understand their environment. This coincides especially well with current adult learning theory. This concept is easily translated into a self-directed learning style, where the individual has the ability to take in all the information and the environment of a problem and learn. Constructivism reflects the organismic world view (Goldhaber, 2000). Compared with behaviorism which is originated from the mechanistic world view, constructivism concerns how change occurs in development. For behaviorists, change comes about when an external force acts upon an object that is inherently at rest. For organismic theorists, behavioral change is inherent in the living organism itself rather than extremely driven.

Contrary to criticisms by some (conservative/traditional) educators, constructivism does not dismiss the active role of the teacher or the value of expert knowledge. Constructivism modifies that role, so that teachers help students to construct knowledge, rather than to reproduce a series of facts. Constructivism is also often misconstrued as a learning theory that compels students to "reinvent the wheel." In fact, constructivism taps into and triggers the student's innate curiosity about the world and how things work. And then, students create organizing principles that they can take with them to other learning settings.

View points
Although varying constructivist theories exist, there is agreement between the theories “that learning is a process of constructing meaning; it is how people make sense of their experience” (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 261). Two viewpoints of constructivist theories exist. They include the individual constructivist view and the social constructivist view. The individualist constructivist view understands learning to be an intrinsically personal process whereby “meaning is made by the individual and is dependent upon the individual’s previous and current knowledge structure” (p. 261) and as a result can be considered an “internal cognitive activity” (p. 262). The social constructivist view, however, premises that learning is constructed through social interaction and discourse and is considered, according to Drivers and others (1994), to be a process in which meaning is made dialogically (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999).

Constructivist theory and independent learning
When applying this theory to independent learning, it is essential to understand that we need to consider the cultural environment in which this learning takes place. Isolated learning is an oxymoron. Merriam and Caffarella (1999) suggest that adult learning, while self-directed, must have input from outside influences. That may take the form of investigation, social interaction, or more formal learning environments.

The constructivistic learning approach involves educators building school curriculum around the experience of their students. Constructivists believe learner-centric instructional classroom methods will strengthen the commitment and involvement of self-motivated learners because of their high level of interaction. Today, there is a trend for incorporating technology into the classrooms to support instructional learning methods. Yet, recent studies have revealed technology is not effectively integrated with the concepts of constructivism (Hare et al, 2005).

Nevertheless, constructivistic methods of instruction with using computer technology have developed to meet the instructional goals and conditions. One of the most powerful and versatile tools is the web-based learning. The web-based learning provides learners with optimal learning environment. They can be exposed to the multiple perspectives through collaborative social negotiation within peers or teachers. Additionally, in spite of PC games which originally have not been developed for instructional purposes, even in games such as games for virtual flight simulation or city planning simulation, learners can be exposed to the complex or probable environments. In order to improve the problem-solving skills, it is important for learners to be exposed to complex environments. Constructivism might be broad learning theory because it is synthesized with multiple theories into a single form. Thus it is evident that the method of instruction using technology can be applied with various approaches.

Constructivist theory's (J. Bruner) main theme is that learning is a process in which the learner is able to build on present and previous information. The student is able to take information, create ideas and make choices by utilizing a thought process. The trainer should encourage the student to develop the skills to find out principles on their own. There should be on-going dialog between the student and the trainer. The trainer is responsible for making sure the information is in a format the student can comprehend. The key is to assure the course builds on what has already been learned.

Constructivists think that learners build knowledge actively through the interactions with environmental stimuli. In other words, learning focuses on the learners' questions and exposure. Assessment should avoid standardized tests and grades such as achievement tests designed with multiple choices to test subject-specific knowledge. Assessment appears in the learning process, so students play an important role in examining their own progress.

Video Links
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2944672249148867588
 * Reasoning and Critical Thinking

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1215234304122679474
 * Group or Cooperative learning

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5497177369833882289
 * Ownership (grading one's own assignment by the use of primary spoken language)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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Learning Theories/Post-Modern Theories

Overview
Postmodernism, by the nature of the movement itself, is not easy to define. To understand postmodernism in the context of adult learning, it may be beneficial to first understand that the postmodern movement is much larger than adult learning. It is inclusive of a wide variety of disciplines and areas of study including art, architecture, music, film, literature, sociology, communications, fashion, technology, and education (Klages, 2003). Because postmodernism is as much a philosophical movement as it is a learning theory, it is impossible to discuss the movement without also discussing the underlying philosophy and ubiquity of the postmodern movement.

Post-modernism differs from most approaches to learning in two fundamental ways. The first is that rationality and logic are not important to attaining knowledge. The second is that knowledge can be contradictory. Because of the contextual nature of knowledge, individuals can hold two completely incongruent views of one subject at the same time (Kilgore, 2001).

Post-modernism relates to post-industrialism. The industrial era came about as a result of Newtonian thinking – an era wherein thought and processes were considered in mechanistic terms of efficiency and effectiveness and understood scientifically through the processes of reductionism (the simplification of the complex into understandable, and at times oversimplistic terms). The learning gleaned from the industrial (modern) era laid a foundation for the world to add new knowledge through a new era - what is now termed as the “post-modern” era. Presently, several post-modern theories exist, but at the core of each of these theories is the basic concept that what was once only understood within the context of reductionism is now beginning to be understood within the context of interrelatedness - an understanding that “things are much more diverse, fluid, illusionary, and contested, including the reality of the world itself” (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 356) than originally thought.

Though truth is central to postmodern thinking, it is not the search for truth that is valued. In contrast, the postmodern mind challenges what is accepted truth. According to Astley (1985) and Gergen (1992), as cited in Dierkes et. al. (2003), postmodernists challenge "the conventional wisdom, routines, static meanings, and axioms of 'normal' science, thereby exposing knowledge to non-dogmatic forms of thought" (p. 44). One can see how this philosophy has become embraced in academia and one could argue that it is the primary modus operandi in many institutions of higher learning, especially in philosophy and the humanities.

The postmodern approach to learning is founded upon the assertion that there is not one kind of learner, not one particular goal for learning, not one way in which learning takes place, nor one particular environment where learning occurs (Kilgore, 2001).

Kilgore (2001) makes several assertions about the postmodern view of knowledge:
 * 1) Knowledge is tentative, fragmented, multifaceted and not necessarily rational.
 * 2) Knowledge is socially constructed and takes form in the eyes of the knower.
 * 3) Knowledge is contextual rather than “out there” waiting to be discovered.

Hence, knowledge can shift as quickly as the context shifts, the perspective of the knower shifts, or as events overtake us.

The label of postmodernism defines a shift in culture that occurs over time. This can be understood best through defining causality, an understanding of cultural shifts, and collecting the basic overall concept of postmodernism.

Defining causality (What causes shifts)
Ultimately, shifts occur through modes of communication. The largest shift in the past century is the development of a global community through the use of internet. Past shifts in society have also connected to modes of communication. Technology shifts like Guttenberg and his creation of the printing press gave the power of books into the hands of the common people. This empowerment of information started a shift in society that affected the world.

Cultural shifts (How it occurs)
Cultural shifts happen in waves. Postmodernism as a cultural shift began its shift as early as the 1930s and 1940s in conversations about postmodernism and architecture. Over time the concepts and ideas that are on the fringe of society will affect conversations, artistic pieces, and eventually become pervasive on a large enough scale to affect the whole of a society.

The current debate (The basic definitions of PoMo)
In postmodernism everything is relative and is deconstructive. The division of the term "postmodernism" breaks down into two major parts, post and modernism. Post is built philosophically on thoughts from multiple arenas, and varied sources, who use deconstructionism as a modus-operandi. The idea of postmodernism is not to know what you are not, but to not really know what you are. What postmodernism is not is modernism. It is an after effect of the modernistic era that capitalized on individuality, built on absolutes, and the scientific method as its structure. Postmodernism in its current form is still developing and is not completed. Leonard Sweet and other futurists say this wave will be complete somewhere in the range of 2020, shifting the society from modernism into what it will become. All that may be understood at this stage is what the society on the fringes is saying we are not, which is modernism.

Deconstruction is a powerful postmodern tool for questioning prevailing representations of learners and learning. According to Kilgore (2001), the purpose of deconstruction is to identify and discredit the false binaries that structure a communication or “discourse”; that is, to challenge the assertions of what is to be included or excluded as normal, right, or good. In postmodernism there are no universal norms or “truth” on which to judge the validity of any message of knowledge; rather the postmodernist works toward a continuous construction of truth as multiple alternatives are included in the body of known information.

Sometimes it is easier to understand what a concept is by comparing it with what it is not. For example, according to Boje & Prieto (2000), when comparing modern to postmodern principles in the area of leading, Theory X or Y is modern while servant leadership is postmodern. Centralized leading is to modern as decentralized, wide spans, and few layers is to postmodern. Modernism is boss centered while postmodern is people centered. White male career track reflects modernism and tracks for women and minorities looks like postmodernism. Comparison of the theories indicates that servant leadership can indeed be considered a postmodern theory.

Merriam and Caffarella (1999) contend that "The self in post modern thought is not the unified, integrated, authentic self of modern times. Rather, the self is multiple, ever changing, and some say fragmented" (p. 357). Postmodern thinking has moved individuals to consider a new reference for self-identification. A life that was once in order based on societal norms is now in a state of constant flux as societal norms have shifted dramatically in recent decades. The "Leave it to Beaver" lifestyle is a faded memory. This causes educational institutions and adult learners to shift education and teaching toward a more non-traditional forms.

Postmodernism accepts a worldview that what is real is what one observes, believes, or experiences. For example, anthropologists see that … “the relation between part and whole has been made problematic”… because “the conception of the whole is a construct of the observer … (Smith, n.d.). Hence, what is real is what one observes occurring around them and gives definition and reality to a situation.

Postmodernism calls into question many of the assumptions once accepted by modernists. “From the postmodern point-of-view, modernism is defined by its belief in objective knowledge” (Lemke, n.d.). “Postmodernism … argues that what we call knowledge is a special kind of story, a text or discourse that puts together words and images in ways that seem pleasing or useful to a particular culture. … It denies that we can have objective knowledge, because what we call knowledge has to be made with the linguistic and other meaning-making resources of a particular culture, and different cultures can see the world in very different ways, all of which "work" in their own terms. It argues that the belief that one particular culture's view of the world is also universally "true" was a politically convenient assumption for Europe's imperial ambitions of the past, but has no firm intellectual basis” (Lemke).

So what about the age-old questions about truth and knowledge? Postmodernists might say, "Truth is what people agree on," or "Truth is what works," or "Hey, there is no Truth, only lots of little 'truths' running around out there!" Postmodernists tend to reject the idealized view of Truth inherited from the ancients and replace it with a dynamic, changing truth bounded by time, space, and perspective. Rather than seeking for the unchanging ideal, postmodernists tend to celebrate the dynamic diversity of life (Wilson 1997).

One can see that even once firm historical events, verified through empirical verification, are no longer viewed as an objective truth, but became the object of one’s understanding of the historical perspective out of their interpretation and story. Lemke quotes Foucault who “said, in effect, that it was chimerical to imagine that historians could reconstruct a real past; historical discourse is a discourse of the present, serving present ends, making sense for us today out of the archeological traces of past human activity”.

One of the significant difficulties organizations and individual relationships encounter is communication breakdowns when widely varied world views exist in the same discussion or dialogue. Lemke suggests that: “The phenomenological perspective does not need to be limited to conceptualizing how the world looks different to men and women; it can be used to examine how it looks different to the young and the middle-aged, to the novice and the expert, the student and the teacher, the ghetto child and the comfortable academic. We each construct our own lifeworlds, and even when we are in the same room, trying to talk to one another, we may still be worlds apart”. Kilgore (2001) points to the difficulties in communication that often misrepresent a message. The communication process is so convoluted that a message can be distorted in many ways. The construction of the message in the language used can be misinterpreted and misapplied by the learner. The cultural context of the communication can cause a lack of clarity or bias. The recipients of the knowledge are affected by other messages and experiences that result in many interpretations of the same information.

Postmodernism, in the context of an adult learning theory, invites contention in the attempt to discover the truth. Once considered a passing fad, postmodernism earned a strong following because of its motivation to draw upon multiple theories. In higher education, postmodernism encourages its followers to question every facet of the institution's structure and learning methods.

Case studies & workplace examples
The postmodern approach to learning offers the freedom from absolutes. There is no one good way to learn. In fact, there is not one good thing to learn. Learning takes place in the experience between the learner and the knowledge presented. Our current experience with all the do-it-yourself and information presenting, learning-based television shows illustrates this point. So many of us find ourselves watching a television show that informs us of a process or experience in which we will never participate or apply that knowledge. We will never overhaul a car, build a fountain in our backyard, travel to Peru to examine ancient ruins, or remodel our neighbour's house. The experience of interacting with the knowledge brings satisfaction in and of itself. What each of the viewers takes from the same show is inconsequential to most of the producers, the importance lies in interacting with and enjoying the content.

title: Learning Theories/Post-Modern Theories


text:
Learning Theories/Adult Learning Theories

Overview
Typical adult learning theories encompass the basic concepts of behavioral change and experience. From there, complexities begin to diverge specific theories and concepts in an eclectic barrage of inferences. Up until the 1950s basic definitions of learning were built around the idea of change in behavior (Merriam and Caffarella, 1999). After this point more complexities were introduced “such as whether one needs to perform in order for learning to have occurred or whether all human behavior is learned ” (Merriam and Caffarella, 1999, p. 249).

Jean Piaget states that there are "four invariant stages of cognitive development that are age related" (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 139). According to the authors, Piaget contends that normal children will reach the final stage of development, which is the stage of formal operations, between the age of twelve and fifteen. As cited by Merriam and Caffarella (1999), Arlin (1975, 1984), established from the work of Gruber (1973)on the development of creative thought in adults, has attempted to identify a fifth stage of development, in addition to Piaget's formal operations. "She [Arlin] contends that formal thought actually consists of two distinct stages, not one, as Piaget proposed" (p. 141). Arlin (1975) proposes that Piaget's fourth stage, formal operations, be renamed the problem-solving stage. According to Merriam and Caffarella (1999), Arlin's hypothesized fifth stage was the problem-finding stage. This stage focuses on problem discovery. Though Arlin's proposed fifth stage produced more questions than answers, it opens the door to understanding the learning needs of adults; to be approached as thinkers.

According to a literature review by Ross (2002), humanism, personal responsibility orientation, behaviorism, neobehaviorism, critical perspectives, and constructivism are all important facets of, and perspectives on, adult learning theory. The most common treatments of the research of these areas of self-directed adult learning are learning projects, qualitative studies, and quantitative measures. Collins (1991) explores adult learning as the interactive relationship of theory and practice. In basic terms, the adult learner studies a particular theory and then puts it into practice when presented with the opportunity to do so. Thus, the understanding of an adult learning theory can prompt practice and practice can prompt adult learning theory revision.

Adult learning theories in and of themselves have very little consensus amongst them. There is great debate on an actual determined amount of theories that are even possible, as well as labeling those theories into groups like Hilgard and Bower’s (1966) stimulus-response and cognitive theories as large categories of their eleven theories. Another groups dynamic labels theories as mechanistic and or organismic (Merriam and Caffarella, 1999). Overall it seems that the theory of adult learning is broken down into two elements; 1) a process that creates change within the individual, and 2) a process to infuse change into the organization.

Malcolm Knowles might well be considered the founding father of adult learning. He contrasted the “concept of andragogy, meaning “the art and science of helping adults learn,”…with pedagogy, the art and science of helping children learn” (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 272). Knowles’ original studies and writings arose from the assumption that there are significant, identifiable differences between adult learners and learners under the age of eighteen. Primarily, the differences, according to Knowles, relate to an adult learner being more self-directing, having a repertoire of experience, and being internally motivated to learn subject matter that can be applied immediately – learning that is especially “closely related to the developmental tasks of his or her social role” (p. 272).

Andragogy
Knowles (1968) popularized this European concept over thirty years ago. Andragogy, (andr - 'man'), contrasted with pedagogy, means "the art and science of helping adults learn" (Knowles, 1980, p. 43). Knowles labeled andragogy as an emerging technology which facilitates the development and implementation of learning activities for adults. This emerging technology is based on six andragogical assumptions of the adult learner:

 * 1) Need to Know: Adults need to know the reason for learning.
 * 2) Experience: Adults draw upon their experiences to aid their learning.
 * 3) Self Concept: Adult needs to be responsible for their decisions on education, involvement in planning and evaluation of their instruction.
 * 4) Readiness: The learning readiness of adults is closely related to the assumption of new social roles.
 * 5) Orientation: As a person learns new knowledge, he or she wants to apply it immediately in problem solving.
 * 6) Motivation (Later added): As a person matures, he or she receives their motivation to learn from internal factors.

These six assumptions dovetail with the thoughts and theories of others. Merriam and Caffarella (1999) point to three keys to transformational learning: experience, critical reflection and development. The aspect of experience (the second assumption to andragogy) seems like an important consideration in creating an effective learning opportunity for adults. The learning opportunity needs to be relevant and applicable to a person’s set of experiences. Argote, McEvily, and Reagans (2003) point to experience as an important factor in one’s ability to create, retain and transfer knowledge.

Critical reflection is the second key to transformational learning and part of andragogy’s self-directed learning. Reflection/think time is yet another essential principle to creating an effective learning experience for adults. Garvin (1993) shares the importance of fostering an environment that is conducive to learning including time for reflection and analysis. Adult learners need time to contemplate the ramifications of the learning experience to their experience and responsibilities.

The third key to transformational learning is development (corresponding to the third assumption of andragogy). Merriam and Caffarella state that “the ability to think critically, which is mandatory to effecting a transformation, is itself developmental” (p. 330). If development is the outcome of transformational learning, then an effective adult learning opportunity needs to be created that will take personal development into consideration

Andragogy assumes the following about the design of learning:
 * 1) Adults have the need to know why they are learning something.
 * 2) Adults learn through doing.
 * 3) Adults are problem-solvers.
 * 4) Adults learn best when the subject is of immediate use.

According to Knowles ( 1984, Appendix D) an example used to apply the principles to personal computer training:

 * 1) Explain why certain skills are taught (functions, commands).
 * 2) Task oriented instead of memorizing. Tasks should be common tasks.
 * 3) Take diversity into play. Acknowledge different learning levels and experience.
 * 4) Allow adults to learn on their own and from their mistakes. ( M.Knowles)

Some would contend that Knowles only introduced a theory of teaching rather than a theory of adult learning. In commenting on this thought, Merriam and Caffarella (1999) referring to Hartree suggest, "that it is not clear whether Knowles had presented a theory of learning or a theory of teaching, whether adult learning was different from child learning, and whether there was a theory at all-perhaps these were just principles of good practice" (p. 273). It is further contended that Knowles did not establish a proven theory, rather he introduced a "set of well-grounded principles of good practice" (Brookfirle, 1986, p. 98).

“Within companies, instructional methods are designed for improving adult learners’ knowledge and skills. It is important to distinguish the unique attributes of adult learners so as to be better able to incorporate the principles of adult learning in the design of instruction” (Yi, 2005, p. 34). Within this context, adult learning is aimed at not only improving individual knowledge and skill, but ultimately it is the goal to improve the organizational performance by transfer of learning directly to work applications. Yi suggest three methods to foster learning in adult organizations: Problem-Based Learning which seeks to increase problem-solving and critical thinking skills; Cooperative Learning, which builds communication and interpersonal skills; and Situated Learning, which targets specific technical skills that can be directly related to the field of work (Yi, 2005). Each of these methods support the assumptions about how adults learn; specifically they are more self-directed, have a need for direct application to their work, and are able to contribute more to collaborative learning through their experience.

Multiple Intelligences
Howard Gardner represents those theorists who have dismissed the idea of one type of intelligence as typically measured by today’s psychometric instruments. He posited that there were seven (later eight) types of intelligences (Gardner, 1993):

 * 1) Linguistic intelligence
 * 2) Logical-mathematical intelligence
 * 3) Spatial intelligence or the ability to form a mental model of the spatial world and to  maneuver within it using this model.
 * 4) Musical intelligence.
 * 5) Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, or the ability to solve problems using one’s body as performed by athletes, dancers and other craftspeople.
 * 6) Interpersonal intelligence which is the ability to understand other people.
 * 7) Intrapersonal intelligence which is the ability to understand one’s self.

Gardner (1993) maintains that the first two are the types of intelligence commonly measured by IQ tests, and which are commonly accepted as “intelligence.”

Gardner later added an eighth intelligence to his taxonomy, Naturalist Intelligence, which he defined as “expertise in the recognition and classification of the numerous species -- the flora and fauna -- of his or her environment” (Gardner, 1999, p. 48) Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory can be viewed as an interpretation of intelligence as information processing. Li (1996) provides us with a useful summary of Sternberg’s theory. He tells us that: “In Sternberg's general theory, there are three subtheories: the componential subtheory, the experiential subtheory and the contextual subtheory, each divided into subdomains of concern. The contextual subtheory deals with the context of intelligence. Intelligence in the real world requiring adaptation, selection, and/or shaping the environment. Measurement of contextual intelligence would relate to the issue of social perception, culture fairness, and cultural relativeness. The experiential subtheory deals with the issue of novelty and automatizing of processing. It is related to the notion of learning and the dynamic interplay between controlled and automated processing in the competition for cognitive resources. Finally, there is the componential subtheory, which is subdivided into (a) metacomponents, (b) performance components, and (c) knowledge acquisition components, which are directly related to learning” (p. 38)

This idea of multiple "intelligences", however, presents a total lack of empirical evidences (Gardner 2004, Gottfredson 2006, Waterhouse 2006, Van der Ploeg 2016). There are several learning styles related to the mentioned categories (a person can learn mathematics in an easier way, for example, using logic symbols, or with linguistic explanations, or by music, or through shapes and movements, etc. depending on their cognitive abilities) but, according to the empiric evidences in neuroscience, QI measurement and psychology, intelligence is a capacity, represented by a mostly homogeneous brain phenomena, of logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, and problem solving; that can be enhanced by learning and knowledge acquisition processes.

Conditions/Environment
Some research suggests that situational circumstances constitute an environment that promotes or discourages learning. Those circumstances may be created by organizational structure, positive or negative environmental situations, or time constraints. Child and Heavens (2003) suggest, "The learning capabilities of organizational members are, at least in part, socially constructed by national, occupational, or other institutions" (p. 310). They further suggest that internal boundaries are established by specialities or departments within the framework of organizations that hinder cross-boundary learning.

In following the thread of environmental issues within organizations supporting or hindering learning, Starbuck and Hedberg (2003) suggest that positive outcomes are much more apt to result in a positive and successful learning experience. They contend, "Pleasant outcomes (successes) reinforce Stimulus-Response links whereas unpleasant outcomes (failures) break Stimulus-Response links. As a result, pleasant outcomes are much more effective at teaching new behaviors" (p. 331). This concept follows the transformational leadership theory providing positive opportunities for individuals to grow within the framework of organizational life. However, it may be contended that learning through failure (i.e. experiments which do not result in the anticipated outcomes) may provide a more thorough and circumspect understanding of the given topic or issue under examination, although this method will generally involve a longer learning curve. --The license to fail is often the surest key towards successful learning which an organization may provide.

Weber and Berthoin Antal (2003) suggest, "A key question is how long organizational learning processes take and whether the duration can be externally influenced" (p. 353). They further contend that learning processes that require practice are much slower than those that do not require practice. Time consideration is an important element in considering the process of learning within an organization that must meet specific deadlines or has a client base that needs to be managed continuously. The conditions may not be suitable for an elaborate training or educational program. Organizations must consider time pressure as a tool that can encourage learning and speed up processes. However, Weber and Berthoin (2003) contend, "Time pressure can both accelerate and slow down learning processes...is experienced as motivating or threatening...if the sense of threat becomes too excessive, however, learning can be slowed or made impossible altogether" (p. 355).

In 1998, the American Psychological Associations Media Psychology Division 46 Task Force Report on Psychology and New Technologies broadened the definition of media psychology and included eLearning and distance learning in among array of theories of learning to be included in research on adult learning. Learning psychologist and media psychology pioneer, Bernard Luskin expanded the understanding of "e" learning beyond electronic to included sensory response in this type of learning when he interpreted the "e" to mean education, excitement, enthusiasm, enjoyment and energetic, among other perceptions attached to media in the adult learning environment. This expansion added twenty-first century thinking into the theoretical framework comprising theories in adult learning.

Experiential learning
Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes the role that true experiences play in the learning process. It is this emphasis that distinguishes itself from other learning theories. Cognitive learning theories emphasize cognition over affect and behavioral learning theories deny any role for subjective experience in the learning process.

Scholars in the field of education have two contrasting views when it comes to the concept of experiential learning. The first view defines experiential learning as a sort of learning which enables students to apply newly acquired knowledge in a relevant setting. The relevant setting can be a sponsored institution of learning with trainers, instructors, teachers, or professors to guide the lesson. The other school of thought defines experiential learning as "education that occurs as a direct participation in the events of life" (Houle, 1980, p. 221). Thus, learning is not achieved in a formal setting, but in the practice of reflection of daily experiences. Kolb furthers the second definition of experiential learning by developing a model which details learning process through experiences. Kolb and Fry's (1975) experiential learning model is a continuous spiral process which consists of four basic elements:

 * 1) Concrete experience
 * 2) Observation and reflection
 * 3) Forming abstract concepts
 * 4) Testing in new situations

Immediate or concrete experiences are the basis for observation and reflections. These reflections are assimilated and distilled into abstract concepts from which new implications for action can be drawn (Kolb & Fry).

According to Kolb and Fry (1975), the adult learner can enter the process at any one of the elements. The adult learner moves to the next step once he or she processes their experience in the previous step.

Action learning, a form of experiential learning, is a pedagogical approach rooted in managerial and professional training but has gained momentum in the higher education environment in recent decades. Davidson & Major (2014) provide clarity to the muddy waters of action learning by delineating the various forms often used. Cooperative learning allows students to work together in small groups, in real time, so that all group members can participate in a collective task. Students who engage in collaborative learning work together in groups, alongside a teacher, to develop knowledge. Through action learning approaches such as collaborative problem solving and team learning, the adult student should be motivated to learn (Revans, 1982).

Anxiety and the Adult Learner
An interview with psychologist Edgar Schein, Coutu suggests that more often than not, organizations fail at transformational learning. They rarely fundamentally change the behaviors within the organization. Schein dismisses the notion that learning is fun, especially for adults. He equates adult learning within organizations with that of the brainwashing techniques he observed while studying prisoners of the Korean War (Coutu, 2002). Organizations must find a method to deal with the anxiety adults experience when they are forced to “unlearn” what they know and learn something new (Coutu, 2002, p. 6). Schein discusses two kinds of anxiety: learning anxiety and survival anxiety. It is in this manner that he draws the parallel to brainwashing; that is “learning will only happen when survival anxiety is greater than learning anxiety” (Coutu, 2002, p. 6). Each of these anxieties could be managed, for example learning can be constructed in a “safe” environment where the consequences of failure are minimal. Survival anxiety can obviously be increased by threatening job loss, a lack of security, or recognizing competitive elements of the market.

Jarvis’s Learning Process and Adult Learning Theory
One of the most significant qualities unique to adult learning as compared to that of children, teens, and traditional college students is life experience. That experience offers adult learners a meaningful advantage in the learning process. The sum of those experiences provides many reference points for exploration, new application, and new learning. Merriam & Caffarella (1999) review Jarvis’s Learning Process in a wider discussion of adult learning. These authors quote Jarvis (1987a, p. 16) who suggests, “All learning begins with experience.” Real learning begins when a response is called for in relation to an experience. If an individual is unchanged by a situation, Jarvis questions whether real learning has taken place. He proposes that new experiences need to be experimented with, evaluated, reflected upon and reasoned about for the most effective change and therefore learning to take place. Jarvis continues, suggesting that these post experience behaviors culminate in the best and highest form of learning where change and increased experience have happened. Jarvis’s model offers an excellent learning model that can assist both facilitators and learners in advancing education and learning situations. A few questions come to mind in light of Jarvis’s theory. Does Jarvis’s model reflect a deeply postmodern worldview where experience is either ultimate or paramount? How might this worldview expand or narrow learning theory? Does Jarvis’s model seem to accept the maxim that ‘experience is the best teacher’? We can of course qualify this statement by asking whether there is any learning which does not consist of experience in some form, whether in the classroom, on the playground or on the battlefield. Is it possible that some hurtful and negative life experiences could be avoided if a person learned from another person who has already encountered and experienced a significantly negative life situation? Learning from an older or more experienced mentor provides an incredibly valuable learning forum and support network. Listening, and learning from a mentor’s successes, failures, or mistakes can help expand one’s knowledge base and shorten learning cycles experience alone would require. It seems that living largely out of one’s personal experiences also short-circuits meaningful, relational connections that expand one’s horizons and better equip one to succeed in this world and avoid so many of its pitfalls. Yet, it may be reasonably argued, that personal experience provides the most integral and visceral form of learning.

Case studies & workplace examples
The adult learning experience presented itself in all of its glory and contradictions through a curriculum review taking place in a school setting. The objective was to examine the current school curriculum and evaluate it for strengths and weaknesses. The purpose for this review was to both align the curriculum with current practice and augment the curriculum to enhance student learning. Interestingly, the teachers involved in this process seemed to exhibit all the qualities of adult learners mentioned previously: learning through projects, applying self-direction to the process, challenging the process for purpose, and some approached the process with much anxiety. Engaging in the process illustrated that adult learning is individual and there were as many approaches to adult learning as there were people involved in the process.

At GM, there are several examples of learning opportunities in manufacturing operations that fulfill the key criteria of adult learning. That is, they provide adults with the need to know why they are learning something, usually via a review of competitive analysis and the importance of the topic to our improved competitive position. Secondly, they are often done in a workshop-type format, where adults can learn through doing. Next, the format typically will cover an application that will have immediate use and will require the students to bring their experiences to the class to assist and involve themselves with problem solving. Typical courses or learning opportunities cover safety issues, quality improvements, and productivity improvements as they apply to specific departments in the plant. In these workshop-style classes, actual problems are brought to the class for the students to learn and practice problem-solving skills. The outcomes and recommendations are then immediately applied in the regular operations.

At Medical Protective, adult learning has been promoted and encouraged among the entire community. Some learning is required for work-related functions, but other types of courses are intended to benefit professional development. Motivational factors, such as monetary incentives, courses being paid for, recognition, and the hope of advancement have encouraged all employees to participate in a learning course. By utilizing various information technologies, knowledge programs can be accessed online, downloaded to a PC, or printed off for manual review, depending on the need of the individual learner. Medical Protective employees are constantly adapting to the changing IT environment in the market around them, and are using these systems to become more efficient, knowledgeable workers.


text:
Learning Theories/Organizational Learning: Contributions by Discipline

Introduction
Just as a wide variety of the social science disciplines have contributed to the study of Organization Behavior (OB), so too have they contributed to the subset of OB called Organizational Learning. Greenberg and Baron (2003) define an organization as “a social system consisting of groups and individuals working together to meet some agreed-upon objectives” (Greenberg & Baron). When one considers the key elements of that definition – individuals, groups, social systems, and objectives -- the disciplines of Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Anthropology, Political Science, Management Science and higher education as a whole would seem to have the most widespread and profound impact on the contributions to the understanding of organizational learning.

Organizational learning contribution from educational psychology
Educational psychology has contributed to the field of learning since the mid-nineteenth century. Johann Friedrich Herbart may be thought of as the first voice of modern educational psychology. His disciples, called Herbartians, were instrumental in enhancing the field. They wrote on the subject referred to now as the schema theory and promoted five formal steps for teaching:

 * 1) Preparation (of the mind of the student)
 * 2) Presentation (of the material to be learned)
 * 3) Comparison
 * 4) Generalization
 * 5) Application

It was this group who started the evolution of researching and studying the field of teaching. In addition to Herbart's work, we have the classic contribution by Bloom.

Bloom's taxonomy delineates six categories of learning: basic knowledge, secondary comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Bissell and Lemons (2006) aptly distinguish the first two categories, basic knowledge and secondary comprehension, both of which do not require critical-thinking skills, from the last four--application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation--all of which require the higher-order thinking that characterizes critical thought. The definitions for these categories provide a smooth transition from educational theory to organizational and adult learning. Researchers can use this taxonomy to evaluate the type of learning and the depth of thinking needed for effective knowledge sharing to take place.

Organizational learning contribution from sociology
Dierkes, Berthoin Antal, Child, & Nonaka (2003) state, "Sociologists approach learning not as something that takes place in the mind but as something produced and reproduced in social relations of individuals when they participate in society" (p. 47). This concept opens the realm of integrated learning as a part of our every-day life. It suggests that a large part of our learning comes from the informal source of social relationships. This further introduces the concept of practice as a prominent factor in the sociological discipline. Dierkes et. al. (2003) further states, "Practice is a system of activities in which knowing is not separate from doing and situations might be said to coproduce knowledge through activity" (p. 49). The sociological discipline presupposes that every activity in life is an opportunity to learn and that learning in casual social settings is as important as formal learning experiences.

Organizational learning contributions from economics
Contributions to organizational learning by the discipline of Economics have been most apparent in the development, usage, and mastery of analytical models used to improve decision making. Organizations or companies must be adept at quickly learning the implications of the competitive landscape for their particular sector. For instance, let's assess an economic model that seeks to optimize profitability based on current or anticipated market conditions. To achieve a perfect, optimal decision, the decision-maker must have complete and perfect information. Economic models and databases have been developed to improve this completeness and accuracy of information. By use of such models, learning is generated through the iterative review of outcomes predicted by models versus actual outcomes. This iterative process then perpetuates further development of models and inputs that lead to improved decisions or organizational learning (Greenberg & Baron, 2003).

Organizational learning contribution from anthropology
It’s hard to find a clear connection with anthropological studies and language concerning organizational learning, although this is changing. The cause of this lack of connection can be directly attributed as a result of literature and the use of language, for example, “in the social sciences, the word ‘organization’ was traditionally understood not as a social unit but as a state, an attribute or an activity, and the relevant adjective was ‘organized’, not ‘organizational’” (Czarniawska, 2001, p. 118). Anthropology began to use the term ‘organizational learning’, as it refers to the learning we do, in context of social structures. This is an important delineation of terms because it crosses disciplines. Understanding the use of the term organizational learning in this light helps focus on how we learn in social structures, which is diffused differently than in the context of independent learning.

Organizational learning contributions from political science
Research in the area of public sector learning is one example of the political science field's contribution to organizational learning. Allison's (1971) research indicated leaders in public organizations tend to use historical data to help make decisions and improve internal processes. One prime example is the use of historical data to develop war doctrine. The process begins with a war theory being transformed into a strategy. The strategy is field tested with exercises and experiments. Lessons learned from the exercise and experiments are evaluated and corrected. Once leadership is satisfied with the product, it is incorporated into an overall war-fighting doctrine. The ultimate test involves implementing the newly developed doctrine in battle. Thus, the battle generates more historical data for military leaders to use in improving their processes.

Organizational learning from management science
The concept of management science is best understood within the framework of post-modern learning theories. The post-modern notion that all existence is interrelated can be applied to organizational learning by way of management science - purposing toward a new awareness. Peter Pawlowsky defines this organizational learning approach as the

...transformation of informational and knowledge resources in integrated work systems. [He adds that] innovation, growth, and productivity gains do not result from separating tasks in the workflow of a knowledge-intensive operation but rather from integrating and combining knowledge in order to develop new ideas and jointly develop solutions through problem-solving processes (Dierkes, 2003, p. 61). Margaret Wheatley (1999) conceptualizes it in her book Leadership and the New Science as a “focus on holism” (p. 10) rather than reductionism. She recalls Donella Meadows’ recitation of “an ancient Sufi teaching that captures this shift in focus: “You think because you understand one, you must understand two, because one and one make two. But you must also understand and” (p. 10). It is the and that guides management science thinking into a new realm – with new perspective and learning gleaned through collective wisdom and realized in a dimension not solely supported by rational thought.

The manager plays a critical role in establishing the learning environment for his or her employees. Creating an effective learning environment will allow people to draw upon resources, make sense out of things and construct meaningful solutions to problems. This will emphasize the importance of meaningful, authentic activities that help the learner to construct understandings and develop skills relevant to solving problems. The environment for learning is best when the risk of failure is understood and the consequences non-threatening. In other words, the environment must be one that enables, even encourages, learning from mistakes. It is with regard to this risk of failure, where the differences can be seen in the contributions between the academics and the practioners. Often it is difficult for the practioner to encourage risk-taking and learning from mistakes, as the consequences could directly impact the organization's performance. It is clear that those in academics understand what a learning organization is. The difficulty lies in implementing practices in an organization that augment performance and make a difference. Applying the concepts of a learning organization to an operating company is difficult for both academics and practitioners (Albert, 2005).

Organizational learning in departments of higher education
Departments within institutions of higher education are forced to choose between two approaches; maintaining the status quo in practice and presentation or seek to develop new ways to engage students in the learning process. Apps (1994) noted a conversation he had with a high-level university administrator. "[The administrator] said, 'We develop the best and process the rest.' No matter how old the learners we are talking about, the emerging age requires more than developing a few and processing the many" (p. 167). Institutions of higher education and continued learning have to come to understand that they must be more than diploma and/or certification mills. Students must be engaged relationally, experientially, and academically. One of the ways this is accomplished is to assist students in the self-discovery process. This allows students to take ownership of who they are and what they perceive to be their life calling.

IWU doctoral program
One example of management science (or holistic) learning is the ongoing process of creating a learning portfolio for the IWU doctoral program. It has become apparent that as the program progresses, doctoral student learning tends to become more exponential in nature – meaning that new knowledge is built upon prior knowledge and what is learned in one area is almost immediately applicable to another area. This was evidenced in a situation where one student went to a work-related seminar and attended a decision-making/problem-solving session. The decision-making/problem-solving tools gleaned at the seminar are currently being integrated into various aspects of the portfolio, being taught to others for their benefit, and combined with other knowledge and tools to construct workplace solutions.

Private school
Another example of organizational learning out of the field of education comes from a faith-based not-for-profit private school. Learning within a school setting only seems natural. However, effective learning can be taking place inside the classrooms, but a dearth of effective organizational learning taking place within the structure of the school system. Organizational hierarchy exists within a traditional school setting in similar ways to most business and companies. The DCS System is no exception to the paradigm. A parent corporation oversees a governing school board to whom the superintendent reports. The superintendent directs seven principals on three campuses. Each principal has a faculty and staff for which he/she is responsible. Every teacher ministers to an average of 112 students (families).

Parents
The lines of communication are vast and vital. One important line is the one connected to the parents. Although DCSS has struggled with parent communication over the years some of the attempts of knowledge sharing and organizational learning have been exemplary. The school system has an informative and current website. Parents can obtain “real-time”, up-to-date grades online. A monthly parent communication goes home in hard copy and can also be viewed online. Each teacher, administrator, and staff member has an email address assessable to students and parents. The traditional face-to-face parent/teacher conferences are still a critical piece of the school’s communication with the home. However, teachers use phone calls and personal conferences throughout the year for additional lines of information sharing. Additionally, the guidance office provides several evening meetings for parents interested in college and career preparation for their students. This serves not as an exhaustive list of the communication efforts of DCSS, but as a sampling of what a school can do to share knowledge with shareholders that are not physically present in the organizational environment.

The Salvation Army Canton Citadel Corps
The Salvation Army Canton Citadel Corps is engaged in a process to integrate learning in every area of employee life. Such tools as an annual cultural survey, quarterly leadership assessment surveys, monthly staff meetings, and quarterly staff day away events are in place to introduce shared knowledge and to learn through social interaction. A current exercise is underway in which each employee picks the name of another employee out of a hat. Each employee then has one month to learn about the other person through whatever means they see fit. At the end of the month, a simple survey is conducted to see what each employee has learned. This process will help to enhance the social ties among the employees.