Monthly Archives: September 2006

A Little Serendipity

Uncategorized

Back to School – Virtually « Library Journeys…

Stumbled on this blog through Library Stuff because this blog originally had the same name. A little flurry in the blog world…

But this post caught my eye because it is all about adult learning: she is going to MLIS school and has done an online program:  “This is my third degree and I’m glad I chose to do it through an entirely online program. I felt I’d done my fair share of sitting in stuffy classrooms and I wanted to learn a bit more on my own terms.”  She admits that the degree will not carry as much respect but “her terms” are more important, illustrating Knowles’ idea of developing self-concept.  She also talks about the fact that she is missing classroom discussion but she’s done that.  A perfect example of her experience dictating her current learning.

The Five Assumptions of Andragogy

adult learning

From Andragogy and Self-Directed Learning: Pillars of Adult Learning Theory, a chapter by Sharan B. Merriam in New Directions:
“The five assumptions underlying andragogy describe the adult learner
as someone who (1) has an independent self-concept and who can direct his
or her own learning, (2) has accumulated a reservoir of life experiences that
is a rich resource for learning, (3) has learning needs closely related to chang-
ing social roles, (4) is problem-centered and interested in immediate appli-
cation of knowledge, and (5) is motivated to learn by internal rather than
external factors.”

I wonder how much #2 can also be a barrier to adult learning? For instance, I work with teachers who have a rich reservoir of experience of enduring really bad professional development. Some of what I do is try to earn their trust by trying to understand their context and concerns and letting them know that, while I have an agenda, it can be modified as needed to meet their interests. I try to customize as much as possible.

Later:  I am reading Knowles’ New Perspectives on Andragogy and he discusses this very issue, noting that a learners’ experience can create biases against learning.  He says that this issue has been the subject of much recent research.  He goes on to discuss Senge’s work with mental models.

Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy

adult learning

Malcolm Knowles, informal adult education, self-direction and andragogy
“Several important differences are found between the interests in organized classes and the interests in lecture, forum and club programs. In the first place, the former are likely to be stable, long-term interests, while the latter are more transitory. In the second place, lectures, forums and club programs are more flexible than organized classes. In a program series the topics can range from pure entertainment to serious lectures, while an organized class is necessarily limited to a single subject-matter area. Third, the lecture, forum, and club types of programs generally require less commitment of time, money and energy from participants than do organized classes. As a result they are likely to attract people with somewhat less intense interest.” (Knowles 1950: 24)

In addition, they are likely to attract people with different motives.  For instance, when I first moved to Coatesville, Pennsylvania, I took an archaeology class through a local adult education program, partially because I was interested but also because I was hoping to meet some new people.  So, I was using learning in a social way.  I didn’t really meet anyone but I did learn a bit about local archaeology and Native Americans.

Postmodern Learning?

documentary film, Postmodernism

One of my friends made the recent comment that with the advent of the supplementary material on DVDS, watching movies can require a huge time commitment.  I think it’s mostly a way to use b-roll stuff and justify charging all that money for 50 cent piece of plastic.

The Monterey Pop documentary DVD includes commentary by Lou Adler and director DA Pennebaker.   Adler was one of the organizers.  I did not know that the festival collected funds for a charitable foundation that is still in existence today although I couldn’t find a website.  I was fascinated by their commentary.  There were things they simply didn’t remember after 40 years.  They talked about how people who had gone to the concert still thanked them for both holding the festival and producing the movie.

Pennebaker focused on the emergent nature of the whole movie.  They didn’t do much pre-planning or storyboarding. They did decide they were only going to include one song from each group.  They stationed seven cameras different places and did at least try to record the same songs using a red light to indicate which to record.  It didn’t always work and sometimes they couldn’t see it; yet, somehow they all recorded the same songs.  Zen, according to Pennebaker. According to this review, one of the camera men was direct cinema pioneer Albert Maysles.  But some of the other camera men were musicians rather than camera men and had little or no experience.  In fact, two of them filmed the Ravi Shankar raga.

So, I ended up watching the film again and listening to their running commentary.  I think this is what I’m labeling post-modern…in the modern era, we went to see a film and perhaps knew something of its production.  Now, I can get the director’s viewpoint frame by frame.  And, this new series that came out in 2002 includes two more disks with two films of additional material along with outtakes.  One thing people complained about with the original documentary was which songs and groups Pennebaker chose to include.  For instance, he ended the movie with this incredible Ravi Shankar raga that took place Sunday afternoon even though there were more groups on Sunday night. And what a contrast that was to the sexually charged footage of Jimi Hendrix and his guitar. So, while Pennebaker may have taken a Zen-like approach to filming, he had to make choices when it came to keeping the film to a reasonable length.  In the commentary, he also discussed his decision to not use transitions; instead, he moved directly from one group to another without any fades or other breaks.

This commentary provides a way to “look at” the film itself, the techniques used to create it, the way it represents reality.   Without the commentary, I wouldn’t have thought too much about the Otis Redding section where Pennebaker gets behind the singer and shoots straight at the stage lights.  Redding’s head in encircled in light.  The singer died in a plane crash in December 1967 while Pennebaker was editing the film and that light has come to be seen as an aura rather than just a trick of the light.  It’s another example of Zen, according to Pennebaker.