Learning is a very individual activity. As a Motorcycle RiderCoach, a primary condition of adult learning is the dynamic environment where someone is personally engaged in the content and material. Education facilitators typically need to reach through a group of students and be able to attend to an individual’s needs. Conversely, learning in a small group environment can accelerate learning as it provides immediate feedback and reinforcement to students within the group. Before an individual student is ready to fully accelerate in group learning, the environment must be appropriately set, and balance is necessary to create a positive outcome.
Several enhancements can be added to learning environments to speed up the process. One is self-directed learning. Historically, teaching around the world has a basis in pedagogical lectures. Even now, almost two hundred years since Alexander Kapp coined the term andragogy, there remains a resistance to moving from pedagogy to self-directed learning, as described by Knowles (1975, 1988). Helping a learner shift from being dependent on the teacher – to being self-directed is not a difficult journey. Yet it can be unnerving for a teacher unable to recognize the situation.
A difficult aspect of self-directed learning is for the teacher to be able to “let go” of the ownership of knowledge and give students the autonomy and environment to learn (Candy, 1991). This does not mean a learning free-for-all; It means a structured environment of content, designed for the student to grasp with little assistance. The teacher’s movement from an authority figure to a consultant or delegator enables the student to receive locus of control and benefit from the intrinsic motivation to learn therefore creating an accelerated learning event (Rotter, 1966, 1990). What enhances learning, even more, is when a group of motivated students is working together toward similar goals. Being immersed in a guided (facilitated) learning events help students actively engage and relax without the normal power structure of traditional teaching, lecture, and rote memorization drills (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2015).
Another way to accelerate learning is to have a common foundation of knowledge to move forward from. Adult learner’s previous experiences are the basis for new learning, and having students with common mental models, speeds the informational processing of content (Senge, 1990). If students have similar knowledge, new learning accelerates because the facilitator does not have to deviate drastically from the content. A good technique is the frontloading of information (assignment or activity) before the course. When a group begins, all students have similar knowledge to work from. Students who have gaps in the pre-course content are then supported by other students who may be able to help.
By now, I hope the reader understands the balance between the individual’s need to have previous experience as a basis of learning is necessary before the enhanced acceleration of group learning begins. A student moving from dependent to self-directed takes effort by both student and facilitator. Helping a student develop further commonalities within a group can create stronger bonds and positive outcomes. Coaching rider education courses is more than putting students in the same room or range with a task to be completed after being lectured. Bennis (1969) explains that educational strategy is very complex, especially when attempting to change beliefs, attitudes, values, and social structures.
If we are to communicate the very basic riding knowledge of good judgment, risk assessment, physical skill, and social responsibility, it is necessary to attend to the individual as well as the group. The balance is important as one should not be overshadowed by the other. Learning is a very individual activity that can be enhanced and accelerated through group and social interaction.
References
Bennis, W. (1969). Organizational development: Its nature, origin, and prospects. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Candy, P. C. (1991). Self-direction for lifelong learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Knowles, M.S. (1975). Self-directed learning: A guide for learners and teachers. New York: Association Press.
Knowles, M.S. (1988). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Cambridge Adult Education.
Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F. III, & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The adult learner: the definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. New York, NY: Routledge.
Knowles, M. S., & Knowles, H. (1972). Introduction to group dynamics. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectations of internal versus external control of reinforcement. American Psychologist, 80(1), 1-28.
Rotter, J. B. (1990). Internal versus external control of reinforcement: A case history of a variable. American Psychologist, 45(4), 489-493.
Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday.
