“A Case Study of Learners in a Collaborative Post-Secondary Program: Experiences of Lifelong Learning and Social Constructivism”
Date
2014-09-04
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Abstract
Over the last two and a half decades, many post-secondary institutions have undertaken a shift from a teacher-centred approach to a learner-centred approach to learning. With this change came a new dominant theory in education called social constructivism. Students engaged in this type of learning structure would gain knowledge from interactions with instructors and peers, and they would experience a fundamental shift in strategies used to learn. In this study, learners’ worlds are revealed through exploration of lived experiences of lifelong learning and by examining the extent to which they reflect the dominant theory of our time: social constructivism.
This qualitative study involves the convergence of two stories about learning and social constructivism. Through narrative, the first story involves an instructor finding her way through teaching and learning. It reveals her struggle trying to fit into perceived ways of teaching that never quite seemed effective, to her realizing a social constructivist path. The second, most important aspect of the story is the nine learners who have engaged in lifelong learning as adults and who shared experiences of communications classes in a collaborative post-secondary program between Lethbridge College and Athabasca University. This project seeks to reveal their worlds as learners, to hear their voices in an educational system that often makes decisions based on trends rather than learners’ needs.
The narrative that follows speaks to the importance of listening to the participants in their own journeys of reflection and growth as they engage as lifelong learners. This is accomplished through individual and group interviews, along with document analysis from each educational institution.
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Education--Adult and Continuing, Education--Higher
Citation
Hadley, D. L. (2014). “A Case Study of Learners in a Collaborative Post-Secondary Program: Experiences of Lifelong Learning and Social Constructivism” (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/24643