Adult Development Theories

Baumgartner (2000) mentions four lenses through which adult development will be seen are: behavioral or mechanistic, cognitive or psychological, contextual or socio-cultural, and integrative.

1.       Behavioral Approach: According to this approach people learn by responding to stimuli. Instructors provide opportunity for drills and practice to the learners. They use positive and negative reinforcement to develop a certain behavior.

2.       Cognitive Approach: The psychological or cognitive perspective focuses on an individual's "internal developmental processes" in interaction with the environment (Clark & Caffarella,1999,p.5). It emphasizes that adult learner learn through active participation and interaction with their environment.

3.       Contextual Approach: The contextual or socio-cultural perspective on development works from the point of view that adult development cannot be understood apart from the socio-historical context in which it occurs (Miller, 1993). Socio-cultural elements such as race, class, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation influence adult development. It is the intersection of these factors rather than a single factor that affects adult development and learning (Baumgartner & Merriam, 2000). The instructors who favor this approach try to blend the different cultural and contextual content into their teaching methods. They keep themselves aware of the diversity of their learners.

4.       Integrated Approach: The integrated approach to adult development takes a holistic view of adult development. This perspective is focused on how the intersections of mind, body, and socio-cultural influences affect development (Clark & Caffarella, 1999). It is believed that there is a connection between mind, body, spirit and socio-cultural factors. Educators believe in the all round development of the learners. The learner should grow intellectually, physically, emotionally, spiritually, aesthetically and morally. (Miller, 1999).

Teaching Philosophy: A good teacher follows one teaching philosophy. A better teacher favors two philosophies. The best teacher always considers his learners to adopt a certain teaching philosophy. I never remain stuck to one teaching philosophy. I believe in alternative and suitable learning model that suits my learners. After examining the above mentioned approaches, I find my teaching philosophy mostly fit into the integrated approach as I always favor the all round development of my learners.  

References:

Baumgartner, L., & Merriam, S. M. (2000). Adult Learning and Development: Multicultural Stories. Malabar, FL: Krieger. Retrieved from http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=268.html on 25 August 2013

Clark, M., & Caffarella, R. (eds.) (2000), An Update on Adult Development Theory: New Ways of Thinking about the Life Course. (New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, No. 84.) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Retrieved from http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=268.html on 25 August 2013

Miller, J.  (1999). "Making connections through holistic learning." Educational Leadership, 56 (4), 46-48. Retrieved from http://www.ncsall.net/index.html@id=268.html on 25 August 2013