When I left high school I attended cooking school and during that two-year program, we spent a small amount of time on theory and lectures and the bulk of our time learning through doing through an experiential mode of learning. In this program, our training followed quite closely what Hansman describes as a cognitive apprenticeship (2001, p. 47). First, we would watch a process being modelled by our instructors and then try our own hands at it (often quite badly in our first year of the program). There was much coaching or scaffolding that faded away over our two years together until in the last few months of the program we took on the responsibility of running our own menus and teams, teaching the newer students some of what we had learned, which reflects the latter aspects of the cognitive apprenticeship, I believe. I would never have learned how to cook from listening to lectures and hearing other cooks talk about how they cook, or even just from reading books and watching videos. 

Hansman, C. A. (2001). Context-based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 43–52.

I feel that I learn better through the experiential model but, it would have been impossible to learn as much as I did during my teaching block without the 6 months of solid knowledge that I had garnered before it. I think both models work to serve different purposes.

 

St. Clair (2015) describes part of transmission learning is the information that "[i]nstructors must be experts in the content, and there is a specific, approved version of the content that must be passed on to the learners." (p. 14). There are certainly times when transmission learning was more effective for me. In some courses, I found myself required to have a printout of my professor's PowerPoint so that I could take notes throughout their lecture.

 

When I think of experiential learning, I picture hands-on experiences that involve active participation. This learning style worked best for me in my clinical course in post-secondary. Sometimes I worked independently on my clinical skills. Other times I was partnered with a peer and could mentor or be mentored.

 

When reading about how Hansman's work experience did not make her feel prepared when hired to teach a writing program, I reminisced about how I felt very similar in my work experience, wondering what would allow me to feel ready when mentoring students chairside?

According to Hansman (2001), learning to teach happens both in and outside the classroom, including interactions with students, trying new assignments, and observing another professor's class.

In my learning journey, I have appreciated the sociocultural learning theory. Learning from a coworker's knowledge and vice versa is rewarding and helpful during my process.

References

 

Hansman, C. A. (2001). Context-based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 43–52.

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (pp. 1–23).

 

Hansman, C. A. (2001). Context-based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 43–52.

 

In my experience, the teaching model an instructor uses depends on the content and learning objectives of the course. I strongly believe that the experiential model is the most effective as it engages students in their learning, encourages creativity, fosters reflective learning, and allows them to connect theory and knowledge learned in the classroom through internships/placements.

References:

Hansman, C. A. (2001). Context-based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 43–52.

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

By contrast, experiential learning is hands-on learning that is conducted through the use of activities and experiences. One often thinks of on-the-job workplace training. As a child, I participated in 4-H, an extra-curricular group to teach youth about agriculture and a variety of life skills. The motto of 4-H is ‘Learn to do by doing’, which is a great example of experiential learning.

Third, social constructivism is formed based on collaborative interactions between learners. This helps reinforce learning, and can provide opportunities for learners to develop shared experiences that reinforce learning. This methodology also promotes problem solving, and collaborative team work skills. Like experiential learning, my interpretation is that social constructivism is learner focused versus instructor focus. Uniquely, social constructivism allows learners to be educators themselves!

In my perspective, I think a combination of transmission learning and experiential learning can be more effective than the use of a unique approach. Without transmission learning, hands-on learning lacks content and context related to theory, and conversely, without active practice, transmission learning can become boring and easily forgotten.

 

Hansman, C. A. (2001). Context-based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 43–52.

St. Clair, R. (2015). Creating courses for adults: Design for learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

My experience working in a post-secondary institute shows that the core education models rely on cognitive apprenticeships.  I can visualize the steps Hansman (2001) includes from modeling as the observation by learners, having them try the skills in a safe environment with feedback, and eventually having decreased supervision.  Perhaps my own experience, but it is because of this learning process and doing that social cognitivism is more effective in this capacity.  

Hansman, C.A. (2001). Context-based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89. 43-52.

On the other hand, Experiential models focus on the role of perceptions, emotions, and context in shaping communication outcomes. As a result, in experiential models, "the learning is in the doing or the experience" Hansman (2001, p.46)

In addition, Social constructivism is hugely influential because it helps to encourage us as learners to take on an active role in our learning, which often leads to greater motivation and engagement. Moreover, social constructivism recognizes the imperative of context and culture in shaping our understanding of the world, which often helps us as learners to develop a cultural perspective.

Reference

Hansman, C. A. (2001). Context-based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 43–52.

In my workplace, we use a provincial database that is quite complex. The first several days of training when I started were simply watching the trainers navigate the program. While a little boring, this was essential to my learning and built a foundation that helped me master other parts of the job. Once the navigation portion of the training was complete, the program moved on to using more experiential models. We were given scenarios and had to enter the client’s information accurately, or have to look at the client’s information and determine their eligibility for our program. After the formal classroom learning portion of training was complete, we moved on to job shadowing where we were immersed in a situated learning environment and learned from our mentors and peers. Combined, this training program does a great job of preparing new staff for their new role.

Hansman, C. A. (2001). Context-based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 43–52.

I find transmission-based learning is essential in this program of study, as it has to do with human anatomy and the musculoskeletal system, as well as massage techniques to safely apply. Without gaining that prior knowledge, it would not be possible to let the students engage in the experiential portion of learning in the same way. The instructors are still involved in the clinical placements, but as the students progress through the program, the involvement of instructor changes and becomes more passive. 

Hansman, C. A. (2001) highlights the key phases of cognitive apprenticeships in this article as being “modeling, approximating, fading, self-directed learning, and generalizing” (p. 47). I can see how my interactions with students in the massage program can relate directly to this type of learning scaffolding, particularly when they are in the upper years of the program and begin working with the public. As students become more proficient in their massage techniques and in their assessment of the patient, the teachers and clinical instructors tend to take more of a back seat, allowing the students to engage in more self-directed learning and generalizing rather than continuing to model the behaviours to them like we would in semester one. I believe this is very important, particularly in a hands-on field like this, to allow the learner the space to implement things they have learned and allowing them to make slight corrections along the way in order to best digest the content. 

References: 

Hansman, C. A. (2001). Context-based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 43–52.

Owen Wilson, L. (n.d.). The Four Types of Learning. Thesecondprinciple.com. Retrieved May 5, 2023, from https://thesecondprinciple.com/optimal-learning/types-of-learning/ 

 

The transmissive phase can be seen as formal learning—spending time listening, learning, reading, writing on theory and understanding history where facilitators use teaching tools to help portray the message (Hansman, 2001). I look back at my bachelor’s degree and my post graduate certificate because this is what I tie it to—constant reading, listening, and asking questions to clarify. I found this stage to be helpful in intensive heavy courses, like employment law or history. Images, texts, and graphs, as someone who is a visual and audio learner, I need to see things and hear the story behind it. Take for example history—I love learning about history; being able to step on to a battlefield with a tour guide who discusses what happened and how the troops came in will have a greater impact on me understanding then listening to a podcast. 

 

In comparison, the experiential learning allows us to learn the task independently (Hansman, 2001 p. 46). I think of my co-op that I need to complete for my post graduate certificate in HR; while completing the co-op, I was able to connect the dots that I learned in theory and apply them in a practical day to day session. I like to think of experiential learning as the non-formal/self-directed learning as described by Merriam et al; someone would learn something without realizing it, like going to a museum (Merriam et al., 2013 p.19).  

 

I think a combination of transmission and experiential learning will be beneficial and effective to the audience, if the facilitator knows how to do it. Adding social constructivism, where adults can be social and collaborate, learning will be better understood, reinforced, and shared between peers. The facilitator should understand that technology, family, work, and money play a major role in someone’s decision to attend school or a course; the material itself should also be engaging and understanding to someone. Allowing adults to share experiences, understanding, or even a group where people can help work through a problem will resonate with the students and how they remember the material. A mixture of these 3 will be beneficial to push adult education in the future. 

  

 

Hansman, C.A. (2001). Context-Based Adult Learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89. 43-52. 

 

Merriam, S.B. and Bierema, L.L. (2013). Adult Learning: Linking theory and practice. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. 1-23. 

 

Hansman (2001) argues that experiential model of learning is an excellent example of context-based learning, highlighting the important of connecting new and prior learning experiences. Experiential learning models emphasize the importance of hands-on learning, problem solving and using personal experiences to enhance learning. In my experience with experiential learning this works best with technical and tangible learning/training. For example, courses and workshops where you learn how to decorate a cake or arrange floral arrangements. Alternatively, experiential learning is likely to occur for on-site training such as apprenticeship programs.

 

Both transmission learning and experiential models have their place and strengths in adult education. The best approach would be dependent on the learners' needs, goals, and the subject matter being taught. Overall, the key is to create a learning environment that is relevant, engaging, and meaningful to adult learners. Transmission learning may be more useful for younger learners who need to learn things like vocabulary, or basic mathematical formulas. There may also be situations where learners may simply prefer a more structured and formal approach to learning. social constructivism and experiential learning models are typically preferred by adult learners. Adult learners are motivated by connecting new knowledge to prior experiences, and when they feel the content is relevant. They also tend to be more autonomous, self-directed, and prefer learning environments that are more learner-centered and interactive.

Hansman, C. A. (2001). Context-based adult learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 89, 43–52.

Whereas the experiential model involves the teacher as more of the “guide on the side”, and the learners interacting with each other, tools, and their environment to learn.

I attended university for the first time from 2004-2008. At that time, in my specific program, the model of teaching was largely based on the transmission model. Learners spent most of their course time in lecture halls listening to the professor lecture and taking notes. Personally, this was what I had always known learning to be, it was what I was used to and how I had learned to learn. So, for me it was useful and effective. The only exception was if your course also had a seminar component. In that case, you would have a chance to meet with a small group of classmates and discuss relevant topics with each other. At the time, I did not enjoy the experiential part of learning – seminars. However, I was much younger then, and I would much prefer that learning environment now. 
 I have been most likely to encounter experiential learning throughout my vocational training. The career I have been in for most of my adult life is one that requires constant upskilling and mentoring. These are typically achieved by completing the tasks in a real world or simulated environment. Since my work results in unpredictable and sometimes risky interactions with individuals, social constructivism is incredibly effective in this situation. It allows my colleagues and I to learn how to work effectively with each other and with the varying personalities we may encounter. 

 

I have a question for anyone to answer… is completing a discussion post based on the material you’ve read considered experiential learning or part of the experiential model of teaching? I ask because when typing up this discussion post I wondered if I was currently involved in the transmission model or experiential model.