Toward a Theory and Practice for Whole-Person Learning: Reconceptualizing Experience and the Role of Affect

Abstract

Although the importance of affect is acknowledged in the North American literature on adult learning and adult education, its role remains undertheorized. Ve argue that the inffluence of American pragmatism contributtes to a cultural bias favoring reflective discourse and, thus, theoretical inattention to the role of affect. IVe descr,ibe a theory of personhood developed by John Heron to explore howv his phenomenological lens on experience provides a more serviceable framewvorkJ in ivwich to understand the affective dimension of learning. Taking a plhenomenological perspective suggests hjowv adult learning strategies can be linked to a group habit of being that we call learning-wlithin-relationship. Posited on Ivhat Ive describe as the paradox of diversity, Ive argue that there is a direct relationship betwveen the degree of diversity among learners and the need to create whole-person learning strategies thatfutlly engage learners affectively.

Learning through the body

“…This customization should be based on commonalities and differences among learners in considering how to incorporate appropriate experiences of embodiment. In previous studies, shared connections among learners was found to be highly important for fostering a sense of relatedness and comfort in approaching the body in learning (Freiler, 2007;Mills and Daniluk, 2002;Yorks and Kasl, 2002). The kinds of experiences provided also depend on the background and comfort level of the instructor or facilitator.…”

“…Other experiential activities in higher education interrelate embodied learning with affect in social processes to analyze power differentials in society manifested in racism, sexism, and classism (Crowdes, 2000) and social representations of racial consciousness (Yorks and Kasl, 2002). Crowdes (2000) discusses experiential activities in an undergraduate sociology course using a progressive bowing exercise with prescribed conditions of authority and submission.…”

“…Crowdes (2000) described the responses as "an integrity of mind, body, and action accompanied by some awareness of the nature of the connections in the broader social context" (p. 27). Yorks and Kasl (2002) also discuss experiential embodied engagement in a classroom context in terms of whole-person learning. From the context of "learning-within-relationship" (p. 177), adult learners participate in a collaborative inquiry process and experiential activity involving team presentations merging affective and cognitive domains of knowing with embodied representations to construct knowledge on themes of racial consciousness and racial identity.…”

“…As the systematic study of adult learning seeks to explain how adults learn, attention to the body is emerging as a new direction. Theoretical discussions of embodiment are becoming associated with holistic frameworks and innovative practices that link bodies and minds through multiple ways of knowing with a shift in scholarly interest toward interrelated knowing processes (Clark, 2001;Grauerholz, 2001;Tisdell, 2003;Yang, 2003;Yorks and Kasl, 2002). From the vantage of exploring the value of embodied knowledge in adult learning, Clark (2001) discusses the significance of embodiment as an opportunity to open other spaces within educational contexts, to "encourage adult educators to look around and to notice new modes of learning" (p. 91), and to present crucial questions that direct and stimulate discussion on revaluing embodiment in learning.…”

The arts as an occasion for collective adult learning as authentic community development

“…At the interpersonal and group level presentational, or expressive, knowing permits an empathic connection between individuals and is a pathway for critical discourse ; see Figure 5.1). This empathic connection is the basis for learningwithin-relationship amid diversity (Yorks and Kasl, 2002).…”