Learning Capacity: An Adult Learner Success Story

by Dave Rozeboom
Leadership Development Instructor
Published February 22, 2007

Bryan came back to our institution to finish his degree. It had been three years since he had taken a class and studied something other than the opposing batters. That is, Bryan had left school to play minor league baseball for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and eventually for the St. Louis Cardinals as well. Having reached the ceiling of his playing potential, Bryan returned to coach collegiate baseball and to finish his undergraduate degree.

How did Bryan’s experiences outside of the classroom shape his experience in the classroom? Perhaps the better question is how we can enhance the capacity for learning in adult students given their varied experiences. Smith (1999) writes that learning capacity is critical for responding and adapting to change. This is particularly relevant given the need for continuous learning in a changing society. The capacity to learn enables us to effectively embrace change. Smith also identifies four approaches to learning as an overview for understanding: cognitive, social, doing, observation. These four broad approaches are the framework for sharing Bryan’s success story.

Interestingly, my course is a demanding one credit-hour leadership development course; it is an introduction to leadership theory. There were nine students in the class, and Bryan was by far the oldest. Additionally, Bryan brought to the class the most leadership experience. Hansman (2001) points out that the best learning environments are real-world contexts that provide opportunities for social relationships and interaction. Jacobson (1996, 23) adds, “learning is situated in interactions among peripheral participants and full participants in a community of meaning.” Our class was not only a place to study leadership theory, but also a place to live it. As a result, Bryan had numerous opportunities to contribute to our “community of meaning.”

Cognitively, Bryan’s learning capacity increased as he digested the information about leadership theories and demonstrated an intellectual understanding of the material that we were covering. Although Bryan alluded to a less-than-stellar academic career, he had matured and had a better understanding and appreciation of classroom learning. He had refocused his efforts.

Socially, Bryan’s capacity to learn flourished. Since small-group discussion ‘forced’ conversation and the sharing of different perspectives, Bryan gained new insights into the practice of leadership. Social learning is learning with others, and the leadership debate of “born versus made” was one opportunity to increase learning capacity. Bryan was particularly challenged to listen and appreciate the views of others. Since Bryan brought a plethora of leadership experience to our class, he had to work hard to be inclusive. Smith (1999) points out that conversation sharpens and clarifies our thinking, and some of the best learning is done by teams. Lencioni (2002) identifies the absence of trust as the first dysfunction of a team. Bryan’s transparency and authenticity in conversation helped build a foundation of trust that synergistically increased each student’s capacity to learn.

A number of activities, both inside and outside the classroom, helped shape Bryan’s ability to learn by doing. Bryan’s capacity to learn grew by seeing what worked in an actual experience. Additionally, Bryan’s baseball experiences gave him the opportunity to model leadership for his classmates; that is, his athletic shaping allowed him to model behavior and cognition. Hansman (2001) describes behavioral modeling as leading learners by relying on experience in doing an activity, and cognitive modeling as sharing the “how-to” from personal experience. Senge (1990) talks about personal mastery and how the incremental success in learning results from doing. In many ways Bryan had already lived the core concepts of a relational model of leadership.

Smith (1999) writes that the most comfortable development of learning is observation. Observation increases learning capacity because it connects significant findings with prior knowledge. Our class focused on leading with emotional intelligence, a concept that requires an understanding of situational nuances partially informed by observation (Goleman, Boyatzis, McKee, 2002). I was keenly aware of Bryan’s “larger-than-life” presence and found that he was actively engaged in increasing his learning capacity by observing and interacting with his classmates.

Merriam and Caffarella (1999) discuss wisdom as the hallmark of adult thinking. Bryan not only used his experience and maturity to increase his own learning capacity, but he inadvertently increased the learning capacity of his classmates. Bryan’s contribution to our class engaged the minds of the other students at a higher level and resulted in more “a-ha” moments than my typical undergraduate class would. Furthermore, my own capacity to learn was enhanced by Bryan’s extensive contribution.

Returning to finish one’s education requires determination and motivation. It also requires a measure of patience and resiliency (see Literacy Links Volume 10, No. 2, April 2006). As Smith (1999, 127) notes, “our potential for vocational growth and long-term vocational vitality exists in direct proportion to our capacity to learn.” Bryan’s story is successful because he increased his learning capacity.

References

Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). Primal leadership: Realizing the power of emotional intelligence. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Hansman, C. (2001). Context-based adult learning. The New Update on Adult Learning Theory, 89, 43-51.

Jacobson, W. (1996). Learning, culture, and learning culture. Adult Education Quarterly, 47(1), 15-28.

Lencioni, P. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a team. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Merriam, S. & Caffarella, R. (1999). Learning in adulthood. (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: The art and practice of the learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Smith, G. (1999). Courage and calling: Embracing your God-given potential. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.