here - Aontas

Community Education
Learner-Centred Approaches
IDEAS AND THOUGHTS IN
RELATION TO ‘WHAT TO
PAY ATTENTION TO?’
FOR CONSIDERATION AND
REFLECTION
What to pay attention to?
The Task
Learning / The
Programme or
Curriculum
Individual
Group
(Process)
Person / Learner
The Class / The
Group
Who is the learner?
IS THE LEARNER THE
INDIVIDUAL LEARNER?
OR IS THE LEARNER THE CLASS
OR THE GROUP?
The Individual – Individual needs
Transcendence needs
SelfActualization
needs
Aesthetic needs
Cognitive needs
Esteem needs
Belongingness and Love needs
Safety needs
Biological and Physiological needs
Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Needs
The Individual
Learning / Teaching styles
Concepts
• Behaviourist
•
Things are learned though
doing which provokes
particular behaviour – reenforcement
• Cognitive
•
Things are learned through
understanding them at a
conscious level –
comprehension and sense
making
• Constructivism
•
Things are learned through
creating realities and
meanings – co-creation
Styles
• Visual
•
Maps, diagrams, charts
• Aural / Auditory
•
Heard or spoken
• Read / write
•
Words in a written form
• Kinesthetic
•
•
(Experience and Practice)
Often the preferred style
of Adults
VARK
Individual’s journey (Mezirow)
Building
confidence and
competence in
new role
Trying out new
role
Reintegration
into one’s life
with new
perspectives
Phases in
transformative
education process
Acquisition of
knowledge and
skills
Planning a
course of
action
Exploration
of options
Disorienting
dilemma
Selfexamination
with feeling
of guilt or
shame
Critical
assessment of
assumptions
Recognition that
discontent and
transformation are
shared and have
been successfully
negotiated by others
Paying attention - The Individual
There is a need to
 Pay attention to the needs of the Learner perhaps the
lower ones in Maslow Hierarchy for Community
Education
 Pay attention to the Learning styles of participants
 Consider the ‘journey’ the individual is on
Group / Individual
In joining a class or group individuals take or are given role:
 Initiator
 Co-ordinator
 Evaluator
 Mediator
 Gatekeeper
 Harmoniser
 Blocker
 Avoider
 Doubter
 Critic
These roles may be perceived as negative or positive by Tutor
and other members of class / group
The Group – Group Dynamics at task level
Tuckman (1975)
Stages in Group Development
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning / Ending
Garland, Jones and
Kolodny (Boston – 1978)
Stages in Group development
1. Pre-Affiliation
2. Power and Control (Trust
Testing)
3. Intimacy (Mutual support)
4. Differentiation (Challenge
and change)
5. Separation
Group Dynamics at a psychological level -Bion
Task
Pairing
Dependence /
Independence
Fight / Flight
One-ness*
Me-ness*
Group Dynamics at a psychological level
(Jarlath Benson)
Will
1. Mobilise power
2. Separate
3. Differentiate
4. Action
5. Compete
6. Judge
Love
1. Unification
2. Connecting
3. Understanding
4. Fusing
5. Uniting
6. Relating
The Group - Paying attention
 Paying attention to the stages of group development
(Tuckman and Boston Model) might allow you to
understand group behaviour and support the group
to understand it too!

Tutor to allow the stages to happen
 Paying attention to Psychological aspects will
support you to avail of behaviour in the ‘here and
now’ as a rich vein of learning and development

Bring learners back to each other and engage (love)
Content –what is to be learned
and taught?
THE CONTENT IS THE SYLLABUS AND
THE PROGRAMME
THE CONTENT IS THE PEOPLE
What the Learners bring
What the tutor brings
Content –The syllabus and the
programme
•
•
•
Material to be covered
Learning Outcomes
Exams to be passed
•
•
•
Projects
Tests
Assignments
Content –The People
Learners
• Their experiences
•
•
Prior learning
Lived experience
• Their desired outcomes
•
•
•
What they want to learn
consciously
What they want to learn
unconsciously
What they ‘need’ to learn
for accreditation
Tutor
• Insights
• Knowledge
• Principles and values
 When is this useful
and when is it not?
What to pay attention to????
The Task
Learning / The
Programme or
Curriculum
Individual
Group
(Process)
Person / Learner
The Class / The
Group
Bibliography
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Aontas. (Bailey, N. Ward, M. and Goodrick, M.) (2011) Sowing the Seeds of Social Change – the outcomes and Impact
of a Social Action Model of Community Education. Dublin Aontas
Benson, J. F. (1991, 1997). Working More Creatively with Groups. London, England: Routledge
Bion, W. (1961). Experiences in Groups and other papers. London: Routledge.
Brookfield, S. D. (1990). The Skillful Teacher - on Technique, Trust and Responsiveness in the Classroom. San
Francisco CA, Oxford England: Jossey-Bass (2nd Edition 2006)
Brookfield, S. D. (2012). Teaching for Critical Thinking – Tools and Techniques to help students question their
assumptions. San Francisco CA: Jossey-Bass
Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Penguin Education.
Garland, Jones and Kolodny (1978) A Model for Stages of Development in Social Work Groups. In S. Bernstein (Ed)
Explorations in Group Practice (p 12-53) Boston University of Social Work, USA
Hope A. and Timmel S. (1984) Training for Transformation – A Handbook for Community Workers Book 1. Mambo
Press, Zimbabwe
Illich, I. ((1971) Deschooling Society. London: Penguin Education
Mezirow, J. (1991). Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Newman, M. (1994, 2007). Defining the Enemy - Adult Educatioin in Social Action. Sydney: Stewart Victor Publishing
; also on-line: Michael Newman (www.michaelnewman.info).
Newman, M. (2007). Teaching Defiance - Stories and Strategies for Adult Educators. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Sheehy M. (2001) Partners Companion to Training for Transformation. Partners Training for Transformation, Dublin
Tuckmann, B. (1965). Developmental Sequences in Small Groups . Psychological Bulletin Vol 63 (6) , 384 - 399.
Zastrow C. (2009) Social Work with Groups – a Comprehensive Workbook. Brooks/Cole Centage Learning CA, USA