As I reflected upon my experience teaching English to adult seminary students in Haiti, I identified three of Knowles’ assumptions about Androgogy cited in the Unit 6 notes (Leadership 500, n.d.). The three assumptions are: adults are mostly driven by motivation; an adult is more problem- than subject-centered in learning; adults move towards self-direction and away from dependence.
The learners in my class were all there because they were internally motivated out of a desire to use their English in practical ways. It was not a requirement of the seminary. I can recall only one student who seemed to want to develop her English skills for the purpose of being able to carry a conversation. Other students wanted to become travelling evangelists, teachers, and one wanted to become a pastor. Therefore they all were seeking to develop their English skills to be able to use them in the not-so-distant-future, not simply to earn a certificate of some sort.
Knowles’ (Leadership 500, n.d.) notion that the adult learner’s experience is a rich resource for learning is very valid. I wish I had realized this during my trip to Haiti. If I return again, I will capitalize upon this valuable resource by having the learners talk about their personal experiences. As an adult learner of French, I find that I am more motivated to speak in French despite the inevitable errors I know I will make, when I am talking about a topic that I am passionate about. Having the adult learners talk about their own experiences would almost reverse our roles—I would become the student and they would become the teacher. This would help those who are less confident in their English skills to communicate more freely as they speak about things with which they have much familiarity.
With respect to transformative learning, my teaching partner and I used drama and visual images to support our work with our students and we found it to be effective. This is in agreement with the notion that transformational learning can be fostered through critical reflection on media such as music, poetry, art, photography, literature, dreams, drama and fiction (Leadership 500, n.d.). However, I now realize that for the experience to be truly transformative for the learners in Haiti, it should have occurred over time. Sokal and Sharma (cited in Leadership 500, n.d.) found that an ideal program would entail 30 – 100 hours of training over six to 12 months, and include coursework and professional learning communities. This presents a way that the program can be expanded in the future. But prior to that, ‘transformation’ in the context of the adult English-language learners in Haiti would have to be defined. We would have to determine what the goal of the program would be, and how exactly we would recognize when students have undergone ‘transformation’. This leads me to ask the question: how does one define what the end result of transformative learning looks like within the context that you are in?
Leadership 500 (n.d.). Unit 6 notes. In Unit 6 [Web page]. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-6/unit-6-notes/