As I posited in my theory critique, post-formalism describes a process of drawing upon one’s personal experience, and combining it with knowledge acquisition in order to make sense of the world and one’s place in it. In this scenario, the teacher takes on the role of facilitator – one who is responsible for providing the opportunity to arrive at that crossroads. This is how I came to gain a more nuanced understanding of human history.
My educational development was derailed by a teen pregnancy. The extent of this derailment has only recently become apparent to me, but it explains a lot about my incomplete understanding of major events in human history – their …show more content…
There have been times in my life when I’ve experienced gaps in my knowledge that I feel should not exist in an educated person. Other times, I’ve been compelled to reflect on the transformations I’ve experienced with each new piece of knowledge gained. Sometimes, my inner reflections seem more akin to those of a much younger person; at these times I remind myself that I am an adult learner and will therefore assimilate academic knowledge and knowledge about myself (meta-knowledge) in a similar manner as traditional college students, but perhaps on a different timeline.
The Perry Scheme of Intellectual and Ethical Development (the “Perry scheme”) is a framework built upon qualitative analyses of the ways in which the students described their experiences and transformations over their college years. This framework allows me to trace my own educational development as an adult learner. The Perry model “reflects the critical intertwining of cognitive and affective perspectives at the heart of a college education”. In other words, Perry is describing that process that integrates personal experience and academic knowledge – “a difficult journey toward more complex forms of thought about the world, one’s discipline/area of study, and one’s self” (Rapaport, …show more content…
This category describes a learner’s commitment to assimilate outside knowledge learned from others (as opposed to academic knowledge) with personal experience. Part of this journey includes reflecting on this assimilation and recognizing that implications will flow from this process. This commitment is ongoing and ever-evolving, perhaps a lifelong activity.
I feel a deep connection with this part of my educational (and life) journey. As I got older, my circle of influencers widened, and, with the advent of the internet, I had greater access to heretofore undiscovered points of view. I feel that I’m at this stage in every aspect of my life, and that my commitment to honing my views is a necessary part of that