Humanistic approaches; reading for 3 March Because I'm notifying you of this at rather shorter notice than usual, most of the links are on-line rather than proper sources.

Before we move on to humanistic approaches, though, there is the little matter of "learning styles". You already know where I stand on them--if not, it's here. But there is one body of useful and respectable research on learning strategies which we should take seriously;

Deep and Surface Learning

• See http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/deepsurf.htm for a quick outline with further links.
• PROSSER M and TRIGWELL K (1999) Understanding Learning and Teaching: the experience in higher education Buckingham: SRHE/OU Press. (They argue that a teaching style focused on information transmission is more likely to promote surface learning.)

And so, as a precursor to full-blown humanistic angles, to learning from experience;

• you'll find a fairly full and slightly critical account of the Kolb cycle at http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/experience.htm
• Phil Race's alternative Ripples model can be downloaded as a PowerPoint file at http://phil-race.co.uk/?page_id=813 
• I'll also introduce the Jarvis model during the session; see practically any of his writings 1987-2006. If I can work out how to make a slide show of it I'll post it.

The Humanistic tradition

• For a general account see:
  http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/humanist.htm and
  http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-humanistic.htm

One of the most plugged humanistic models, for adult education, is Malcolm Knowles' notion of "andragogy": literally "teaching men", see;

• http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/knowlesa.htm
• [which poses the question whether there is such a thing as "gynaegogy" (teaching women)? see the work of Belenky et al (1987) summarised here
• —which would in turn lead to the more radical humanistic perspectives in adult education: (see http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/culture.htm)
• and particularly to the work of Freire: see http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-freir.htm and http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-consc.htm

Back at the ranch, have a look at this article by Knowles himself; http://www.newhorizons.org/future/Creating_the_Future/crfut_knowles.html: don't you find it deeply patronising?

If the radical approach is taken seriously, then it suggests that adult education can transform lives, and that is indeed what Jack Mezirow and his followers explore; see

• Mezirow's Three Domains of Learning... http://www.fsu.edu/~adult-ed/jenny/learning.html#sldtrans
• Transformative Learning in Adulthood. ERIC Digest Authoritative account with references http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-2/adulthood.htm
• Jack Mezirow http://www.nl.edu/academics/cas/ace/resources/JackMezirow.cfm
• Transformative Learning and the Journey of Individuation. ERIC Digest http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-3/journey.htm
• Critical Reflection .http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/critical1.htm
• EEE: News & Events: Article: Transformative Learning Theory http://eee.uci.edu/news/articles/0601transformative.php
  
• ...but for a diametrically opposed viewpoint see Ecclestone K and Hayes D (2009) The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education Abingdon; Routledge (interestingly they do not cite Mezirow at all.) Brief introductory article here.

And for an overview of adult learning theory in context, see http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Learning_Theories/Adult_Learning_Theories

We have reached the point in the term where there are more potential directions to go than there is time to explore them, so be prepared to make some decisions.

And remember that next week--10 March--is our ed. tech. show and tell session, so be thinking about what you are going to bring to the party.

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