There are many various ways of learning. I believe, by the time one becomes an adult, each of us has experienced many of these ways, if not all. However, each of us by virtue of our personality and the temperament prefers some learning ways to others. I have a rich experience of formal studying throughout my life. I have finished school, college, and university in Belarus. I attended English classes and studied in the University of Winnipeg in Canada and am now enrolled in the ESL Teacher Certificate program. Informal learning also occupies an essential part of my life. As any adult who aspires to learn, I eagerly seek for new experiences in different fields of my life.
In terms of my personality, I am an independent learner. I like to learn and plan learning on my own. I enjoy the situation when I do not depend on others. Although, I understand that in order to be a well-rounded and an educated person it is necessary to use help, experience and knowledge of other people (friends, relatives, teachers, neighbours, classmates, co-workers, and etc.). There are situations when successive learning depends on a confident feedback provided on time. Thus, it is better to have someone who will lead me through the education process. “Peer-based” or “collaborative” learning is less preferable for me, maybe, because of my mostly negative experience of group work. It often happens when some members of the group are more responsible and do all of the assigned work whereas others just wait for the results. However, there are many positive sides of collaborative work. In the Russian language there is an expression: “one head is good but two heads are better”. Many genius ideas are born thanks to collective work. Working collaboratively, people spend less time finishing a project. They can divide the assignment into the parts, so each member will have a smaller amount of work.
Thinking about what motivates me most and pushes to continuous learning, I can name two factors. They are: Personal advancement and Social welfare. I have always aspired to improving my professional skills to be in a good standing among my colleagues, students and students’ parents. To feel secure, I need to own not only the necessary knowledge to do my job but a little bit extra. Thus, I can intrigue my students, catch their attention and keep them interested in my subject. I also like to challenge my mind and my ability. I enjoy the learning process as it is. Consequently, the factor Cognitive interest is reflected in my motivation for learning as well.
If we take a look at Malkom Knowles’ characteristics of adult learners all of them to some extent are inherent to me. When I enrol in a course I usually know what I will gain by finishing it and how it will help me in my future. In other words, I am a goal- and relevancy-oriented adult learner. My life experience and my knowledge that I already possess are the first helpers in my learning. It becomes much easier for me to learn when I can connect the new material to my past experiences.
To finish, reading the materials of the first module helped me take a close look at myself as an adult-learner. Also, gave me the explanation of how the approach to adult learning is different from the approach to teaching children.
