Running head: DEWEY PERSONAL REFLECTION 1

Dewey Personal Reflection

Arcadio Avalos III

Colorado State University

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Reflections on Experience & Education

Prior to this assignment, I had very little knowledge of John Dewey and his influence on

education. With this being my third semester in the Adult Education program, I had heard his

name mentioned in class and throughout various readings, but I never truly understood his work.

At first glance, I was shocked to see how short of a read the book is. But little did I know how

dense and somewhat complex his views were going to be. Even though much of this book

revolved around children and the issues surrounding traditional and progressive forms of

education at the primary level, the concepts and ideas are still very much relevant to adult

education and todays educational issues. I will focus this reflection on Deweys feelings on

experience and how his ideas have played a role in my own life as a learner and facilitator, while

also reflecting on what I have learned throughout the semester.

Prior Experiences

This reading took me some time to absorb and fully understand what was being

presented. At first I took this book to be a criticism, of sorts, of traditional education and how

progressive styles are better in the long term. Although I do feel his contempt for traditional

classroom learning when he states It imposes adult standards, subject-matter, and methods upon

those who are only growing slowly toward maturity (Dewey, 1938, pp. 18-19), he is really

being critical of a system, in general, that doesnt allow for learners experiences to guide their

education. I feel that Deweys primary objective in writing this text was to emphasize the power

of experience and how it effects learners in any setting. Personally, I am a firm believer in not

only what experiences learners bring with them to an educational setting, but also the

experiences they get out of the lessons being taught.

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As a student, I was never the most focused learner in the class. Even to this day, I have a

tendency for my mind to wander and I can lose focus on the information being presented very

quickly. I have learned throughout my student life that when I cant contribute to what is

being taught, because I have no real connection to the information, I tend to tune out the lesson.

This is something that I have worked on throughout my life. Dewey (1938) mentions the

trouble is not the absence of experiences, but their defective and wrong characterwrong and

defective from the standpoint of connection with further experience (p.27). It wasnt until the

latter years of my undergraduate studies that I really began to feel this connection of my past and

present experiences to what I was studying. I grew up with a passion for the outdoors, so pursing

a degree in Recreation, Parks, and Tourism Sciences was something that I felt gave me an

immediate connection to my life. I was then able to feel fully engaged as a learner because the

content being provided was something that allowed me to draw on my views and thoughts of

nature and its importance in our lives. This same concept has held true in my current studies in

Adult Education, with its heavy connections to my profession as an Army officer and leader.

As a trainer/facilitator, I do my best to ensure that the experience gained is the primary

objective of my facilitation. I feel that the experience Soldiers gain throughout their career and

the repetitive nature of how we train is a great tool for learning retention long term. Dewey

(1938) highlights this point when talking about students continuity, stating What he has learned

in the way of knowledge and skill in one situation become an instrument of understanding and

dealing effectively with the situations to follow (p. 44). In my profession, this is something that

is highly emphasized in the learning process. We teach tactics and techniques for warfighting,

which play on the principles of the past, but rely on the experience of those executing them to
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make them relevant for the present and future. It is this continuity and interaction with other

Soldiers, past and present, that helps to create a significant learning experience (Dewey, 1938).

Application in Adult Education and Training

Much of the information and ideas Dewey presents in Experience & Education have a

direct correlation to adult learning. Although much of his focus in this text is focused on

children, the idea of experience-based learning can be applied to any educational, corporate, or

basic form of instruction. I believe that it is the role of the facilitator to create learning

experiences that will cater to the needs of their learner, while it is also the role of the learner to

find the connections of the training to their own life experiences. This harmony will create an

organic connection between experience and education (Dewey, 1938).

Throughout the semester we have had many discussions about how we view ourselves as

facilitators and how we approach the design of our learning. It is clear to me that Dewey was a

man that believed in a system of learning that is learner-centered, which placed much emphasis

on what information learners already know and how they can apply it to their current learning

environment. Smith (2010) tells us that Learner-centered instruction is characterized by several

attributes that change the focus from teaching to learning, passive participation to active

involvement (p. 147). This idea follows the views of progressive educators, such as Dewey,

and how they consider the development of the learning environment. Dewey (1938) tells us

It thus becomes the office of the educator to select those things within the range of

existing experience that have the promise and potentiality of presenting new problems

which by stimulating new ways of observation and judgement will expand the area if

further experience. (p. 75)

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Since we know that many adults have already had many life experiences that will affect their

views and approach to learning, Deweys idea can be directly applied to how a facilitator creates

their learning experience, ensuring that the learner maintains the feeling of control in their

learning, while also being able to apply their experiences.

Chapter 6: The Meaning of Purpose, in Deweys book, provides us with information on

the importance of education having meaningful purpose in a learners life. The thought of

purpose and how it drives educational motivation takes me back to the online discussion we had

about the intersection of learning and development in adults. Dewey speaks of the importance

of the formation of purpose in a learner and how that can drive their motivation to seek education

(1938). I feel that it is important to recognize how development and purpose coincide with each

other in the learning environment. A classmate, Roni Scheidler, wrote in her discussion post on

November 5, 2016 about boredom and how it has a direct effect on learning development in

adults. Roni said that she views boredom as a halt on learning and found in her research that it

had a direct effect on worker productivity. I feel the same can be said about a learners lack of

purpose for education creating a halt on adulthood development. Dewey tells us that desire

drives the momentum for ideas and the intensity of that desire is what drives purpose (1938).

Without that desire to learn or understanding the idea of being a lifelong learner, many adults can

find themselves stalled in their personal and professional development and growth.

Summary

Having the opportunity to read this text and reflect on its ideas has allowed me to create a

connection with its content and adult education. Much of what Dewey discussed in this book has

reinforced what we have learned about adult education throughout the semester. His ideas and

concepts still hold as strong today as when he wrote Experience & Education. He highlights the
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issues and struggles that many educators or facilitators face when approaching how to create a

learning space that is appealing to its learners. It is important to recognize that this book shows

us that all learners have personal experiences, and even though not all experience is educational,

it is up to the facilitator and learner to find a balance for effective learning to take place.
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References

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience & Education. New York: Touchstone.

Scheidler, R. (2016). Re: Week 11: Adult Development [Online forum comment]. 2016FA-

EDAE-520-R01. Colorado State University. Retrieved from

https://colostate.instructure.com/courses/31425/discussion_topics/276830?module_item_i

d=1163939

Smith, R. O. (2010). Facilitation and design of learning. In C. E. Ross, A. D. Rose, & J. M. Ross-

Gordon (Eds.), Handbook of adult and continuing education (pp. 147-155). Los Angeles,

CA: Sage Publications, Inc.