Analysis of Ways of Knowing in Adult Education Assignment

Analysis of Ways of Knowing in Adult Education - Assignment Example Henschke (2005), an international Human Development Consultants, notes that irrespective of the global location, adults in all corners of the world learn in a similar fashion (p. 23). Adult learning usually takes a more multidimensional nature, which can be construed to mean that it takes a more holistic approach just as would been seen in the ensuing narrative. Embodied or Somatic Learning in Adult Education: According to Mathew (1998) somatic learning occurs in experiential learning, which in part involves â€Å"knowing through the senses, body action and reaction, and precepts (Mathew, p. 4)†. The knowing that experiential learning describes is one where the leaner participate actively in the process of knowledge acquisition through taking part in discussion, role playing or similar activities that might characterize the learning process. Clark’s (2001, p. 3) definition of somatic learning is more generalized when compared to Mathew. According to him, somatic learnin g is basically â€Å"the way we know from our bodily or physical experience† (Clark, p. 3). Almost all other definitions of somatic learning from prominent scholars have placed the body at the heart of the somatic learning concept. A common feature of these definitions is that they position somatic learning through or within the body instead of knowledge without or about the body (Brockman, 2001). Spiritual in Adult Education: Spirituality is and as always been an important component of adult learning. Many people might think that spirituality is one and the same with religion, which is fundamentally wrong. There is however no doubt that the two are related, but, spirituality per see is all about a person’s consciousness and honoring of completeness and the connection of all thing with what can only be referred to as a higher power (Elias, & Merriam, 2005). Just as there has been acceptance among the health care worker on the role of spirituality in healthcare, there h as been a similar acceptance among educators on the role of spirituality in adult education. The role of spirituality in adult education has particularly been found in the way people construct knowledge. A good example can be found in the Howard Gardner’s ground breaking research on multiple intelligences. Emancipatory spirituality, one of the spiritualities, whips people into small social and political groupings, while filling such groupings with strong spiritual practices like meditation (Jarvis, 2006). Just as the spirituality of each one of us is unique there is the communal dimension of spirituality. This community dimension of spirituality can be found in the fact that people spirituality can connect to what they collectively value and think is best for them as a group. A case in point of this connecting for the common good can be found in the Moken sea gypsies who are said to have fled the December 2004 Tsunami to high ground after â€Å"feeling† it advancing. T his spirituality is at the center of adult education. Narrative learning in Adult Education: The good thing with storytelling and sensemaking as a mean of transferring knowledge to an adult learner is that they can relate to these stories being narrated and thereby retaining the knowledge in those stories. This is because just as Merriam (2008, pp. 96) notes, the learning experience has to stem from something that is not only