While we have been steadily reading and learning about adult learning, I decided to simple google the words “adult learning” and see what kind of articles come up. I found an article in the New York Times, called “How to Train the Aging Brain” which was published on 12/29/09. I found this article very interesting as it explains how the “aging” mind works. The article also attempts to disprove the notion that as the brain “ages” information is lost. Rather, the article provides information on studies that prove that with time, the brain actually improves upon the ability to learn and absorb more knowledge. As the article states, a method to beef the brain and improve is to challenge the mind and to oppose what you’ve always held as true. I found this point very interesting, because discussed the concept of thinking critically and its true meaning. Therefore, the article brings to light the concept of learning by thinking critically and challenging the mind.
In Merriam’s book, “Learning in Adulthood”, we’ve touch on topics like, adult learning, life long learners and self-directed learners. I would like to assume that the majority of us in the class are life long learners. I dare to make the assumption because all of us have decided to continue our education and take a course in training. Some of us are doing so for security in our current role as trainers, while others are simple taking the course out of interest in taking the career path. Both forms represent those attributes of a life long learner. I propose the question, are we life long self-directed adult learners? Or, are we inadvertently acting out on the impact that society has instilled in us?
For anyone who is interested, the link to the NY Times article is below.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/03/education/edlife/03adult-t.html
Interesting article Adriane! Interesting that what is suggested as a way of beefing up the aging brain function is actually a higher order of thinking. I wonder if our learning is different as we age. Perhaps when we are younger we are taking in knowledge at an incredible rate and classifying that information and storing it. As we grow older this study seems to suggest that we are doing more critical and analytical thinking about all the knowledge we have amassed over our lifetime. So, in a sense, we are creating new knowledge out of combining, deconstructing, recombining things in new ways!
ReplyDeleteI think it's so reassuring to hear that getting older doesn't mean there is no hope for picking up new information. There are times when (I think in part because of the onslaught of information being thrown at us all the time) I find it hard to focus on really grasping new information. It's helpful to know that there are other factors contributing to that besides my brain being less able to handle it. Thanks for sharing that article!
ReplyDeleteI think some people may be more likely to pursue learning throughout their lives because of an internal motivation, but I definitely also see the influence of society in driving people to continuously improve themselves to stay competitive, whether in the workplace or communities. Before reading Merriam it really hadn't struck me that that was something that was happening.
I agree with Kiki that our thinking changes as we age. Or perhaps progresses through stages. I seem to expend a great deal of brain power analyzing and strategizing. I take new information and compare it to what I already know to come up with a partially new solution. I think I do this because I want to be as efficient as possible so I can move onto the next challenge.
ReplyDeleteThe article mentioned that we get “better at recognizing the central idea, the big picture.” I think this is a useful skill that comes with practice. Once we know what the big idea is, we can organize our thoughts around it and cut out the unnecessary information.