L for Lifelong Learning

The concept of lifelong learning is not new, even though it seems to be.  Smith (1996, 2001) said in an article to The Encyclopedia of Informal Education that the “éducation permanente,” as it is called in French, infers the idea of adult education as a lifelong process, an idea Yeaxlee articulated in 1929 following ideas from Lindeman, in 1926, who indicated that education and learning happens throughout a lifetime.  He revealed that Lindeman (1926) reflected on a variety of themes in his book The Meaning of Adult Education, such as an education with no ending, a non-vocational process that each time starts with a situation instead of a subject, a route without curriculum, because the learning happens in a context of student-centeredness in which the learner’s experiences are most valuable.  Moreover, the author of the article titled Lifelong Learning added that, in this type of learning, “it is not only that education carries on throughout life, it is also part of living” (Smith, 1996, 2001).

The term “lifelong education” has been utilized in different contexts and was given a variety of senses and directions that provoked much critique. Lindeman (1926) and Yeaxlee (1929) in particular were concerned with the variety of meanings given to the term which raised questions in the educational community; indeed, the term was not taken as seriously as it should have, I believe.

In 1970, Edgar Faure et al. (1972) prepared a report to UNESCO titled Learning to Be in which he and his team argued that “lifelong education and the learning society” (Smith, 1996, 2001) are interrelated and that the changes it will provoke within individuals have to be accepted.  Consequently, our thinking needs to change in order to correspond better with the society we are living in; the way schools are organized and are delivering knowledge might have to change.  Lifelong education and lifelong learning have to be distinguished so they will be more clearly understood when discussed by education system leaders and people in general.  That being said, I believe that learning as a lifelong process has to be understood better by people in general but should not be diminished in any way.  After all, how people learn is just a continuation of how we have always learned but in a different, modern, form.

My definition of a lifelong learner is someone who takes charge of his or her learning growth by taking new routes and making the appropriate changes they require.  It is the acceptance that in life changes of direction may occur, causing us to adapt to new realities, for example, such as making the transformation from being a digital immigrant to a digital native (Prensky, 2001).  It means that it is an ongoing process where transformation occurs through reflection and by making the right decisions for us.  However, I believe that this transformation doesn’t happen in isolation and that from time to time one needs to join a learning community in order to progress, using the guidance of a facilitator, an educator.  So, lifelong learning is not a solitary act; it happens in a community of practice and could take many forms.

ETEC 590, Graduating Project, was like no other course.  In that course, we built an ePortfolio that captured the learning we have done in the program; it required us to showcase how we have applied theory to practice.

Chosen Artifact

As you can see below, the artifact I chose for this part of my ePortfolio is the rubric I created for its assessment.

Artifact: My ePortfolio Assessment Rubric

Context

I created this rubric as it was required to be included within my eP proposal. It includes all the criteria I believe should have been considered to assess how I display and reflect on my work during the MET program.

Raison

I believe this is an important piece of my eP proposal because in order to develop my eP I had to plan and reflect on how I intended to organize and structure the display of my artifacts, and then prepare the discussion and reflection in each of the sections.

Discussion

Early on in the process, as part of the course, we were given examples of eP rubrics to discuss and compare in small groups.  I found the differences between these rubrics interesting; some had vague criteria and others had precise criteria.  I immediately thought that certain rubrics were better organized than others and I knew that mine should be well organized with clear and well-defined criteria.  Indeed, the criteria I included in my rubric were made with consideration for the technology I was using to build my eP which is WordPress.  I also looked into an assessment rubric I received from Dr. Teresa Dobson (2012) in ETEC 540 as well as at some Grading Practices for Masters Students from the Faculty of Graduate Students at UBC (see references section below).

I formed some objectives I was looking to meet while achieving the development of my eP and I generated my criteria around them.  Some questions were raised in my mind in regard to the Teacher Qualification Services (TQS) in British Columbia and if I should focus on them, since I was not looking to meet the same standards as my colleagues in British Columbia looking to qualify for salary category 6.  But finally, I decided that going after similar standards of competencies made sense for me.  Consequently, some of my criteria include connections with TQS competencies and I really hope that I have reached them.

Reflection

Clearly, building an assessment rubric is an educational activity that is relevant to pedagogy; it is highly valuable as it demands reflection and involves metacognition.  This process requires planning ahead according to personal and professional objectives.  I believe it was pertinent to start with this activity prior the development of the eP as all along I was looking at meeting the criteria I had created in my assessment rubric.

Even though an assessment rubric is normally used with school assessment, it has potential to be used in everyday life to evaluate skills that need to be improved.  It helps at reflecting and through that reflection it empowers us to better acquire the skills we need in order to reach our goals.  Clearly, lifelong learners will benefit from reflecting on learning growth and how to expand on what they already know.  Therefore, the development of an eP is the perfect assignment for someone who plans on continuing his or her journey as a lifelong learner.

As per Field (2000) and Smith (1996, 2001), there are good reasons to believe in lifelong learning; it is vital to be informed on the choices that are available to us.  Many changes have happened in the way people approach learning and it is essential that it doesn’t provoke more inequality in society.  Indeed, lifelong learning may facilitate exclusion and control because of the individualization it creates and it may render support more difficult to access.  With that said, again, it is important to realize that learning is not an isolated event, it takes place in group so the individualization of learning it may create should be taken seriously.

Many thanks to Dr. Franc Feng for his continuous academic support and encouragement during the development of my ePortfolio in this course (Winter/Spring 2013).

References

Dobson, T. (2012). ETEC 540 Assessment Rubric. Master of Educational Technology. The University of British Columbia.

Grading Practices for Master’s Students. Faculty of Graduate Students at UBC. Retrieved from http://www.grad.ubc.ca/faculty-staff/policies-procedures/grading-practices

Irwin, R. L. (n.d.). Letter to teacher education program about marking practices. Teacher Education Office. The Faculty of Education at UBC. Retrieved from http://www.teach.educ.ubc.ca/resources/pdfs/pass-fail.pdf

Kilbane, C. & Milman, N. (2003). The digital teaching portfolio handbook: A developmental guide for educators. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, Digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5). Retrieved from http://www.nnstoy.org/download/technology/Digital%20Natives%20-%20Digital%20Immigrants.pdf

Smith, M. K. (1996, 2001). Lifelong Learning. The Encyclopedia of Informal Education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/lifelonglearning/b-life.htm

Yancey, K. (2002). Shane Peagler Sample Rubric retrieved from https://www.vista.ubc.ca/webct/urw/tp0.lc5116011/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct, and sample rubric, “What makes a good web portfolio” retrieved from https://www.vista.ubc.ca/webct/urw/tp0.lc5116011/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct