Adult Education Theories & Tools
Branch Out by Vrindy Spencer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Branch Out by Vrindy Spencer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Students are experiencing emotions the majority of the time they are learning. In one study they found “the participating students reported being in a neutral state only about a quarter of the time. The rest of the time, they were experiencing lots of feelings: surprise, delight, engagement, confusion, boredom, frustration” (Paul, 2012). Furthermore, understanding the emotions present in students and altering material or structure of the class can support them in ways that may be otherwise inaccessible: “recognizing and making adjustments when a student feels sad, stressed, or threatened can remove roadblocks not solvable by cognitive strategies alone” (p. 35) Another way emotions are involved in our learning process is the key role they play in recognizing patterns (Meacham, 2014). Barkley shares, "students are more likely to remember material in which they have made an emotional investment” (2010, p. 35). In fact, learning requires an “emotional tag,” even if you have not intended to elicit an emotional connection (Meacham, 2014). Meacham makes a great point, “Why not make the linkage between emotions more intentional, so we can heighten the effect?” (2014). The benefits of designing courses to address the emotional states of students includes inspiring them to put greater effort into their work, therefore supporting them in reaching their highest potential and increasing the likelihood that they will remember longer and learn more deeply (Barkely, 2010, p.35). Negative emotions, specifically confusion, can even “play a productive role in learning” (Paul, 2012). Participants who felt confused within a roleplaying exercise scored higher on the test following than those who were not confused (Paul, 2012). When one is confused, the uneasy feeling we experience motivates us to return to our content state through “thought, reflection, and problem-solving” (Paul, 2012). Paul suggests, “’productive confusion’ should be the aim. It’s achieved by helping the student recognize that the way out of confusion is through focused thought and problem solving; by providing necessary information and suggesting strategies when appropriate; and by helping the student cope with the negative emotions that may arise.” (2012). ..to be continued.
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AuthorI am passionate about creating experiences of personal growth for adults through self-reflection and connection with others in groups. Archives
March 2018
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