On Teaching Others

Even if personal statements of philosophy aren't your thing, you may find Lorraine Zinn's Philosophy of Adult Education Inventory most useful. Thanks to the learning designers of MDE617 for including this activity, and to the work of Roger Hiemstra and Ralph Brockett for bringing clarity to the process with their advice on how to construct a philosophy statement.

These statements describe my philosophical beliefs:

My philosophical system. I am most at home with the educational foundation set by the progressive model, particularly as articulated by John Dewey, who felt that all genuine education comes from continually reconstructing experiences and interacting with the environment, that students play an active role in the learning process, that the instructor's role is to guide this process, and that education plays a prominent role in bringing about social change.

Meaning. I believe in the radical notion that people create meaning. Meaning making is a process that is both a personal mental activity and a socially interactive exchange. And so, there are personal meanings and public meanings. Furthermore, meanings are never permanent; they are always open to reinterpretation. They only change when people voluntarily let go of their present beliefs in favour of a new interpretation. So, creating meaning is a messy process that may take time.

What is Real? Each of us creates our own interpretation of what is real. Reality is the sum of all these interpretations. Like meaning, views of reality also evolve and each new contribution reflects the perspective of the person offering it. I believe that feelings evoked during the experience are especially important in defining what is real.

Nature of Being Human. I believe that most human beings (the fortunate ones) are emotionally tied to one another. Our self-interests co-evolve into a system of interdependence once we realize that we have shared interests. Thank goodness. This prevents life from devolving into a boring, fruitless game of trying to dominate one another, in favour of a moment of connectedness with an other, a bridge to someone or something outside of our own empty plans.

And these describe my professional practice values

Purpose. The purpose of learning is to develop these emotional ties. The purpose of education and training is to support learners' responsible participation in their community (or class, or team, or organization or nation). By responsible participation, I mean sharing culture and structure as is, or should be.

Learners. Each learner is unique, because of their unique experiences, individual reflection and the social and historical context in which they find themselves. I also believe that learners choose whether or not they share their unique perspectives. It is not possible to coerce learners into learning. Learners only develop an alternative view when they let an experience question their present beliefs. We are all learners.

Role of the learning designer. When I organize formal training in response to a problem, I see my role as a convener who involves learners in the creation of change, rather than someone who delivers it. This recognizes that someone has already figured out the resolution to a problem (and it is usually not me), or is already practicing what others think is impossible, or has critical information that would help find a solution. In between formal training, my role is to advocate for learners because they are far more capable than most of us know.

Content. Content resides not only in the authority that is the Western canon (as I was taught), nor the environment (as behaviourists believe, and the lens through which training is conceived), nor even exclusively in the learners themselves. These are important, but supplemental, sources. Instead it is the cultural situations in which the learners find themselves that provide the key source for learning. In formal training, we begin with everyday problems that can be solved through the using practical skills and knowledge. The learnerss' feelings provide energy that directs the learning process, and the content evolves with their interest.

Methods. My favourite method is negotiation, for which I have two preferred techniques. The first is is to ask questions, particularly questions that highlight paradox or probe ambiguity: What are you trying to accomplish? Why is training the solution? Who else should be involved in this discussion? and so on. The second technique is listening, to how the problem is articulated, and letting the answers shape the training event. All this begins long before formal training. My purpose is to have as much participation in the training design as possible. I've recently come to realize that this preliminary work is the actual training; the training event itself is a celebration of a job well done.