What do you think?
Rate this book
Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: The Power of Dialogue in Educating Adults
In this updated version of her landmark book Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach, celebrated adult educator Jane Vella revisits her twelve principles of dialogue education with a new theoretical perspective gleaned from the discipline of quantum physics. Vella sees the path to learning as a holistic, integrated, spiritual, and energetic process. She uses engaging, personal stories of her work in a variety of adult learning settings, in different countries and with different educational purposes, to show readers how to utilize the twelve principles in their own practice with any type of adult learner, anywhere.
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 7, 1997
28 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
Jane Vella
18 books2 followersJANE VELLA is adjunct professor at the School of Public Health of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also CEO of Global Learning Partners, a consulting and training company that has grown out of JUBILEE Popular Education Center.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 3, 2020
The author draws from the concept of quantum theory and applies it to adult education. Quantum thinking proposes a new radical way of thinking and sees all things to be holistic and interconnected (30). Based on that new perception of the world and its effect on humanists and education, the author offers 12 undivided principles that make for effective adult learning. The principles are Needs Assessment, Safe Environment, Sound Relationships, Sequence and Reinforcement, Praxis, Respect for Learners, Learning with Ideas, Feelings and Actions, Immediacy, Clear Roles, Teamwork, and Engagement and Accountability (4). These principles form the main approach behind quantum thinking that will cultivate dialogue between the teacher and learner (4). Through this dialogue, both the learner and the teacher learn together (239).
The author organizes the book into three different sections. Section 1 makes up the first three chapters and it gives an overview of the process and main thesis of the book, quantum thinking, and the twelve adult learning principles. Section 2 makes up chapters 4 to 15, and in that the author shares personal experiences of the application of the said principles in different cultural environments. Section 3 makes up the last two chapters of the book and the author reviews the shared principles in a more simplified way.
I found the author’s view on adult education to be relevant and eye-opening. I began to sense the importance of applying those twelve principles in my own life and ministry. The author re-stated personal observations that I gathered in the last years of trainings. Those principles will serve as criteria in my organizational work. What I found to be interesting is the author’s application of those principles in the book itself. For instance, one of the principles is sequence and reinforcement, the repetition of the same ideas in different ways to ensure learning (13). In all three parts of the book, the author recommunicates the same idea in different ways. Part 1 is more academic, part two is narrative and practical, and part three is more simplistic. Another example would be the use of praxis, the idea of doing and reflecting (14). In the second part of the book, at the end of each chapter, the author challenges the reader to reflect on the application of the principles. Thus, the author does not only teach about adult education but also applies it in the book. Therefore, the principles shared in this book will shape my thinking and understanding of teaching, training and even problem solving in my personal ministry.
The author organizes the book into three different sections. Section 1 makes up the first three chapters and it gives an overview of the process and main thesis of the book, quantum thinking, and the twelve adult learning principles. Section 2 makes up chapters 4 to 15, and in that the author shares personal experiences of the application of the said principles in different cultural environments. Section 3 makes up the last two chapters of the book and the author reviews the shared principles in a more simplified way.
I found the author’s view on adult education to be relevant and eye-opening. I began to sense the importance of applying those twelve principles in my own life and ministry. The author re-stated personal observations that I gathered in the last years of trainings. Those principles will serve as criteria in my organizational work. What I found to be interesting is the author’s application of those principles in the book itself. For instance, one of the principles is sequence and reinforcement, the repetition of the same ideas in different ways to ensure learning (13). In all three parts of the book, the author recommunicates the same idea in different ways. Part 1 is more academic, part two is narrative and practical, and part three is more simplistic. Another example would be the use of praxis, the idea of doing and reflecting (14). In the second part of the book, at the end of each chapter, the author challenges the reader to reflect on the application of the principles. Thus, the author does not only teach about adult education but also applies it in the book. Therefore, the principles shared in this book will shape my thinking and understanding of teaching, training and even problem solving in my personal ministry.
March 25, 2020
In the late nineties, I read Vella's first edition of this book. This second edition is greatly expanded and draws on the insights of quantum theory to undergird her discussion of learning design. In the book she offers 12 principles of learning design and seven steps for learning design which are applicable in a wide variety of learning situations. She then provides 12 case studies from her vast experiences of teaching in formal, informal and nonformal settings all over the world. The book not only provides a solid foundation for anyone designing learning events with a focus on dialogical education. Her insights will transform teaching and the leading of workshops into something far more meaningful and dynamic.
November 23, 2022
Assuming I understood anything Vella was on about:
Newtonian view of the world = Mechanical universe = mechanical education, people are like machines; input = output.
Quantum theory applied to education = In education everything is in relationship.
Read Chapter 1, and Chapter 16. Good Chapters.
The rest is filler stories and is akin to clawing out your own eyes really slowly with a toothpick.
Newtonian view of the world = Mechanical universe = mechanical education, people are like machines; input = output.
Quantum theory applied to education = In education everything is in relationship.
Read Chapter 1, and Chapter 16. Good Chapters.
The rest is filler stories and is akin to clawing out your own eyes really slowly with a toothpick.
April 1, 2015
I wish Jane Vella had a professional writer. That is the only thing that keeps this book from getting 5 stars.
But if you are a teacher at any level, I highly recommend reading this book AND PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE. I have had terrible experience being taught this material in a way completely divorced from the methods taught in the book. Praxis - action with reflection - is the key to this book.
The strongest ideas are one that Vella borrows. She acknowledges and reiterates Freire's brilliant insight that education is ALWAYS political. Especially if you don't teach politics, because then its political nature is hidden. Yes, I'm looking at you, American public education system. The question, "Who learns what as decided BY WHOM?" is crucial!
The second idea is one that is central to participatory development: the learner / beneficiary as active agent. This is also crucial to education. No one learns what they don't care about, unless the external incentive is big enough. As Dewey forecast 100+ years ago, education is either relevant or we bribe / force people to learn it or we make it so easy and entertaining that it takes no effort.
Oh yeah, it also has some crazy weird stuff about quantum physics. Just ignore that part. Everybody is allowed to be a little crazy. And those ideas (if you erase the quantum part) are still good.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes.
Julius Nyerere’s description is important: “Globalization is like a boxing match, where a huge professional boxer faces a small amateur, and the umpire disappears.” (p.97)
It is our job to collate and organize the responses of the groups when their tasks are completed. During this collation there is often occasion for our responses: linking one point with another, showing significant differences in points of view, sharing related experiences from similar groups, making corrections where the perception of learners is distorted. While learners enjoy this commentary, teachers must realize that this is not the only learning time. Students have been learning throughout the task. If our commentary, coming from another cultural perspective, does not seem reasonable to them, they will object to it or question it. Their objections are a vital part of the dialogue, clarifying both the materials and the tasks. It is important for the teacher to ask the open question, What are your questions about this synthesis? (p.61)
Paulo Freire in the early 1970s spoke of “problem-posing education” (1972, p. 74). This was a big step forward from a monologue that offered answers before questions were named.
A relationship of mutual respect between teacher and learner is often cited as the most important motivator of adult learners (p.227)
Open dialogue can readily be structured in any event: teaching a complex concept, practicing a skill, or learning an attitude. Concepts can be presented as open systems—as the hypotheses they actually are—and the adult learner can be invited to examine, edit, and add to them from their experience and unique context and do something with them through learning tasks. (p.105)
It was the German philosopher Hegel who spoke against perceiving human beings as objects and not as they truly are, subjects—decision makers—in their own lives. He was writing in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, when men were considered “hands” on the assembly line. The idea of being subject of one’s own life is a powerful one
We Americans were known in Nepal as “the quick ones,” apparently famous for wanting to achieve more than is possible or desirable in a given time. (p.143)
Without engagement there is no learning. We know this from our own learning experience. The protocols of formal learning, however, put the burden of engagement on the learners. Their response to a formal lecture is entirely up to them. In dialogue education we design programs based on a competent learning needs and resources assessment that is engaging. If we accept that we can set learning tasks as open questions put to a small group with the materials and resources they need to respond, we know how to engage learners. All the successful educational programs you have designed, taught, and celebrated in your life were those in which learners were deeply engaged. (p.235)
Without reinforcement, without a sequence of continued learning activities and a research agenda on the epistemology, without the stimulation of appropriate rewards and motivation, professionals will go back to teaching the way they were taught (p.222)
But if you are a teacher at any level, I highly recommend reading this book AND PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE. I have had terrible experience being taught this material in a way completely divorced from the methods taught in the book. Praxis - action with reflection - is the key to this book.
The strongest ideas are one that Vella borrows. She acknowledges and reiterates Freire's brilliant insight that education is ALWAYS political. Especially if you don't teach politics, because then its political nature is hidden. Yes, I'm looking at you, American public education system. The question, "Who learns what as decided BY WHOM?" is crucial!
The second idea is one that is central to participatory development: the learner / beneficiary as active agent. This is also crucial to education. No one learns what they don't care about, unless the external incentive is big enough. As Dewey forecast 100+ years ago, education is either relevant or we bribe / force people to learn it or we make it so easy and entertaining that it takes no effort.
Oh yeah, it also has some crazy weird stuff about quantum physics. Just ignore that part. Everybody is allowed to be a little crazy. And those ideas (if you erase the quantum part) are still good.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes.
Julius Nyerere’s description is important: “Globalization is like a boxing match, where a huge professional boxer faces a small amateur, and the umpire disappears.” (p.97)
It is our job to collate and organize the responses of the groups when their tasks are completed. During this collation there is often occasion for our responses: linking one point with another, showing significant differences in points of view, sharing related experiences from similar groups, making corrections where the perception of learners is distorted. While learners enjoy this commentary, teachers must realize that this is not the only learning time. Students have been learning throughout the task. If our commentary, coming from another cultural perspective, does not seem reasonable to them, they will object to it or question it. Their objections are a vital part of the dialogue, clarifying both the materials and the tasks. It is important for the teacher to ask the open question, What are your questions about this synthesis? (p.61)
Paulo Freire in the early 1970s spoke of “problem-posing education” (1972, p. 74). This was a big step forward from a monologue that offered answers before questions were named.
A relationship of mutual respect between teacher and learner is often cited as the most important motivator of adult learners (p.227)
Open dialogue can readily be structured in any event: teaching a complex concept, practicing a skill, or learning an attitude. Concepts can be presented as open systems—as the hypotheses they actually are—and the adult learner can be invited to examine, edit, and add to them from their experience and unique context and do something with them through learning tasks. (p.105)
It was the German philosopher Hegel who spoke against perceiving human beings as objects and not as they truly are, subjects—decision makers—in their own lives. He was writing in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, when men were considered “hands” on the assembly line. The idea of being subject of one’s own life is a powerful one
We Americans were known in Nepal as “the quick ones,” apparently famous for wanting to achieve more than is possible or desirable in a given time. (p.143)
Without engagement there is no learning. We know this from our own learning experience. The protocols of formal learning, however, put the burden of engagement on the learners. Their response to a formal lecture is entirely up to them. In dialogue education we design programs based on a competent learning needs and resources assessment that is engaging. If we accept that we can set learning tasks as open questions put to a small group with the materials and resources they need to respond, we know how to engage learners. All the successful educational programs you have designed, taught, and celebrated in your life were those in which learners were deeply engaged. (p.235)
Without reinforcement, without a sequence of continued learning activities and a research agenda on the epistemology, without the stimulation of appropriate rewards and motivation, professionals will go back to teaching the way they were taught (p.222)
December 20, 2021
Jane Vella’s credentials are impressive. Over the course of a lifetime, she has taught in East Africa, Peru, rural North Carolina, Haiti, Chile, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland, Ghana, El Salvador, Honduras, Sudan, Korea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Timor, Guatemala, Ecuador, Cyprus, Jordan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, the American Indian reservations of Arizona and New Mexico.
From this varied experience, Vella has derived twelve principles:
1) needs assessment
2) safety
3) sound relationships
4) sequence of content and reinforcement
5) praxis
6) respect for learners as decision makers
7) ideas, feelings, and actions
8) immediacy
9) clear roles and role development
10) teamwork
11) engagement
12) accountability
Some of these principles are so general, that it is hard to know how to apply them. I think everyone would agree that an environment has to be safe in order to generate effective learning. But figuring out how to make it safe is much trickier. Her guidelines are:
1) instill trust in the competence of the design and the teacher (okay, so far she has done that in her book by her list of credentials)
2) trust in the feasibility and relevance of the objectives by reviewed how the objectives have been informed by the learning needs and resources assessment
3) allow small groups to find their voices starting by naming their own expectations, hopes, or fears about a learning even
4) trust in the sequence of activities beginning with simple, clear, and relatively easy tasks before advancing to more complex and difficult ones (this, I find, is the hardest one to implement when you are generating your own curriculum, especially when it emerges as you go along.)
5) realization that the environment is nonjudgmental (a teacher can certainly set the tone by not judging and by being affirming herself, but does this carry over when she leaves the room?)
Okay, this is perhaps the most important point of the book: safety can be endangered by a “plop.” What she means by that is if a learner says something and it just plops on the ground with no acknowledgement that they even said anything. That’s a pretty concrete piece of advice on how to effectively build a safe environment.
The second part of the book consists of examples to flesh out each of these principles. Vella is even brave enough to share some examples that demonstrate what happens when her principles are not upheld and shares how she might have improved. When teaching in Tanzania, issues of gender and religion interfered with her ability to make the environment safe. She conjectures that if they had brought at Muslim on as staff into a Catholic organization with more orientation time, perhaps the transition would have gone more smoothly.
There is a third component to this book which offers ideas about how quantum physics can inform dialogic teaching. I’m as interested as anyone in the implications that quantum physics has to offer. I’m also gun-shy of authors of new age books that consist of quantum physics intersecting with other fields and really don’t know what they are talking about. Here is how Vella feels quantum thinking can inform education design:
1) All that we do in design and teaching is related.
2) The whole is far more than the sum of its parts.
3) Use both/and thinking rather than either/or.
4) Every theory is constantly being constructed by application to new contexts.
5) The observer is part of what she observes.
6) Learning demands energy.
Ok, I can begrudgingly grant those guidelines. It maybe wasn’t necessary or helpful to derive those from quantum physics.
I got a lot out of the first section of the book, but my attention petered off by the second section. But in the process of reviewing this book, I realized that there is a lot more value to this book than I had originally thought.
From this varied experience, Vella has derived twelve principles:
1) needs assessment
2) safety
3) sound relationships
4) sequence of content and reinforcement
5) praxis
6) respect for learners as decision makers
7) ideas, feelings, and actions
8) immediacy
9) clear roles and role development
10) teamwork
11) engagement
12) accountability
Some of these principles are so general, that it is hard to know how to apply them. I think everyone would agree that an environment has to be safe in order to generate effective learning. But figuring out how to make it safe is much trickier. Her guidelines are:
1) instill trust in the competence of the design and the teacher (okay, so far she has done that in her book by her list of credentials)
2) trust in the feasibility and relevance of the objectives by reviewed how the objectives have been informed by the learning needs and resources assessment
3) allow small groups to find their voices starting by naming their own expectations, hopes, or fears about a learning even
4) trust in the sequence of activities beginning with simple, clear, and relatively easy tasks before advancing to more complex and difficult ones (this, I find, is the hardest one to implement when you are generating your own curriculum, especially when it emerges as you go along.)
5) realization that the environment is nonjudgmental (a teacher can certainly set the tone by not judging and by being affirming herself, but does this carry over when she leaves the room?)
Okay, this is perhaps the most important point of the book: safety can be endangered by a “plop.” What she means by that is if a learner says something and it just plops on the ground with no acknowledgement that they even said anything. That’s a pretty concrete piece of advice on how to effectively build a safe environment.
The second part of the book consists of examples to flesh out each of these principles. Vella is even brave enough to share some examples that demonstrate what happens when her principles are not upheld and shares how she might have improved. When teaching in Tanzania, issues of gender and religion interfered with her ability to make the environment safe. She conjectures that if they had brought at Muslim on as staff into a Catholic organization with more orientation time, perhaps the transition would have gone more smoothly.
There is a third component to this book which offers ideas about how quantum physics can inform dialogic teaching. I’m as interested as anyone in the implications that quantum physics has to offer. I’m also gun-shy of authors of new age books that consist of quantum physics intersecting with other fields and really don’t know what they are talking about. Here is how Vella feels quantum thinking can inform education design:
1) All that we do in design and teaching is related.
2) The whole is far more than the sum of its parts.
3) Use both/and thinking rather than either/or.
4) Every theory is constantly being constructed by application to new contexts.
5) The observer is part of what she observes.
6) Learning demands energy.
Ok, I can begrudgingly grant those guidelines. It maybe wasn’t necessary or helpful to derive those from quantum physics.
I got a lot out of the first section of the book, but my attention petered off by the second section. But in the process of reviewing this book, I realized that there is a lot more value to this book than I had originally thought.
November 19, 2015
I HAVE SEVERAL PROACTIVE QUESTIONS:
What I would like to know from this book that will help me in my ministry?
1. How can I adopt principles of Vella’s dialogue education and quantum thinking?
The WWW, ‘Who needs What and defined by Whom’, is a key assessment principle that I want to adopt in all of our programs. To do that I believe I need to be intentional on a personal level first. I need to keep a journal as I pray for individuals in my team and network around the world. In my journal I need to write a WWW assessment for the individuals and their projects. As I take on projects with and for others I need to have this principle become a part of my regular practice.
2. Which of the quantum thinking principles have I already practiced and how can I improve on them?
The Field Ministry Internship program is a serving/learning outreach project for university student teams integrating their field of study with ministries cross-culturally. Vella’s book referred to so many things that I have been attempting to do since 1989. For example, to help students feel ‘safe’ we form small teams of 4 to 7. During the first few days in the host country, we typically send small teams out on a ‘scavenger hunt’ in order to learn how to get around with some measure of independence within the safety of their small group. We send small teams to integrate well as a short-term team on a long-term field project. In this way, the students also gain a greater level of participation in the serving/learning process. The students design their own field projects on site as they assess the needs of the long-term personnel and projects they are serving.
I can see how we practice a learning needs assessment, but we do not involve the students enough. We are concerned for safety in the learning process, but I can see that some additional structure and demonstration of concern for the students learning process will raise the energy level and create an environment where learning can take place even when there is much uncertainty. We have deliberately sequenced the program from Orientation to Cultural Awareness to Ministry to Debriefing, but we need to be more deliberate about an Assessment Phase before the Ministry Phase begins. To date it has been assumed by the leadership, but students have had little understanding of that important phase. To show more respect for the students/learners, we need to document the Assessment Phase. By doing so we will be showing more respect to the learners giving them more opportunity to participate and take responsibility to decide.
This book is providing a guideline for a full team leader training program for FMI. I am very excited about the potential increase in skills that our team leaders can develop through a week-long seminar for FMI team leadership.
3. Do any personal or ministry leadership experiences come to mind as I read this book? Which ones? Why?
The FMI team to Albania in 1997 comes to mind because we consulted with the local leadership a year in advance to send a health and education team to the Pogradec region to research the needs of handicapped children and their families. We narrowed the research to 5 mountain villages along the Macedonian border. The following year, the student team created an assessment tool by visiting with the director of the national handicapped school in Tirane and the chief pediatrician in Pogradec. The participation of our students in the process of creating the assessment tool helped them to take responsibility in their learning process and the results of the research that was done as they visited five villages, 100 homes, to interview the handicapped children and their parents. They found that 40% of the children with severe handicaps were directly linked to a cultural practice of ‘baby-wrapping’. The students compiled the data, wrote a report, and presented their research to the director and the chief pediatrician before we returned home.
My role definition on summer teams of interns has always been the director, but during the Orientation Phase that role has always quickly moved to the background in order to encourage the students to have full participation and responsibility for their learning experience. In 1991 in Guatemala, one of our teams was working the medical clinic at the city dump community. Annette, a pre-med student intern, was the most fluent Spanish speaker on the team. The FMI team leader, a nurse, depended on her to help in the clinic. But Annette was also a very dominant personality. I heard from some of the other team members that she was being very ‘bossy’ in the clinic. I decided to visit. When I walked in the door I could see she was the ‘in charge’ person. The nurse, team leader, was faithfully ministering to patients and mentoring the students. But it was Annette who was giving everyone ‘orders’. She handed me a broom and told me to go sweep. I did. But I also prayed. I asked the Lord what is the right response to Annette. I could have asserted my ‘role’ and told her to stop ordering people around. But God spoke to me with a simple phrase, “She has a leadership gift, but she is not using my gift my way.” I spoke to her privately about God’s kind affirmation and admonition. I said, “God wants you to use your gift to release the gifts in the other members of your team. Can you do that?” She responded positively and the team was transformed. My role was not a directive teacher, but a facilitator in the learning process.
4. What areas of specific training do I most need in light of Vella’s book?
As I read the book I was challenged to intentionally adopt several principles that I generally understand. The new thing is the ‘quantum’ concept that the whole is greater than the sum. If I can personally learn these principles and intentionally put them into practice, there will be a quantum leap of energy release in the teaching/learning experiences that make up most of my leadership role. For example, I need to encourage my staff to participate in the process of writing their own job descriptions. I need to be more effective at listening and giving open questions, especially in the teachings I give. Those open questions need to be put to the ‘safe’ environment of small groups. I have practiced this sort of thing at some level, but I see I need to be more intentional. For example, I have asked the question, “What was your best learning experience?” Sometimes, but not always, I send the participants to small group to discuss the question. I need to be more effective at defining learning tasks and follow through on them so that the participants truly participate in the learning process.
SUMMARY
I have created a matrix grid in my journal for follow up. I’ve listed Vella’s 7 steps for course design. The key words, RESPECT and ENERGY, are at the top of the list to encourage me to focus my attention on these key values for the adult learners. I have placed column on the page for each of the 10 different programs I am leading or developing. For each of the seven steps I am considering the different approaches for each of the different programs, depending on the participants, the outcomes, the context, the content, and how learning can be measured and sequenced for greatest effectiveness. I’m expecting quantum changes in all of our programs.
What I would like to know from this book that will help me in my ministry?
1. How can I adopt principles of Vella’s dialogue education and quantum thinking?
The WWW, ‘Who needs What and defined by Whom’, is a key assessment principle that I want to adopt in all of our programs. To do that I believe I need to be intentional on a personal level first. I need to keep a journal as I pray for individuals in my team and network around the world. In my journal I need to write a WWW assessment for the individuals and their projects. As I take on projects with and for others I need to have this principle become a part of my regular practice.
2. Which of the quantum thinking principles have I already practiced and how can I improve on them?
The Field Ministry Internship program is a serving/learning outreach project for university student teams integrating their field of study with ministries cross-culturally. Vella’s book referred to so many things that I have been attempting to do since 1989. For example, to help students feel ‘safe’ we form small teams of 4 to 7. During the first few days in the host country, we typically send small teams out on a ‘scavenger hunt’ in order to learn how to get around with some measure of independence within the safety of their small group. We send small teams to integrate well as a short-term team on a long-term field project. In this way, the students also gain a greater level of participation in the serving/learning process. The students design their own field projects on site as they assess the needs of the long-term personnel and projects they are serving.
I can see how we practice a learning needs assessment, but we do not involve the students enough. We are concerned for safety in the learning process, but I can see that some additional structure and demonstration of concern for the students learning process will raise the energy level and create an environment where learning can take place even when there is much uncertainty. We have deliberately sequenced the program from Orientation to Cultural Awareness to Ministry to Debriefing, but we need to be more deliberate about an Assessment Phase before the Ministry Phase begins. To date it has been assumed by the leadership, but students have had little understanding of that important phase. To show more respect for the students/learners, we need to document the Assessment Phase. By doing so we will be showing more respect to the learners giving them more opportunity to participate and take responsibility to decide.
This book is providing a guideline for a full team leader training program for FMI. I am very excited about the potential increase in skills that our team leaders can develop through a week-long seminar for FMI team leadership.
3. Do any personal or ministry leadership experiences come to mind as I read this book? Which ones? Why?
The FMI team to Albania in 1997 comes to mind because we consulted with the local leadership a year in advance to send a health and education team to the Pogradec region to research the needs of handicapped children and their families. We narrowed the research to 5 mountain villages along the Macedonian border. The following year, the student team created an assessment tool by visiting with the director of the national handicapped school in Tirane and the chief pediatrician in Pogradec. The participation of our students in the process of creating the assessment tool helped them to take responsibility in their learning process and the results of the research that was done as they visited five villages, 100 homes, to interview the handicapped children and their parents. They found that 40% of the children with severe handicaps were directly linked to a cultural practice of ‘baby-wrapping’. The students compiled the data, wrote a report, and presented their research to the director and the chief pediatrician before we returned home.
My role definition on summer teams of interns has always been the director, but during the Orientation Phase that role has always quickly moved to the background in order to encourage the students to have full participation and responsibility for their learning experience. In 1991 in Guatemala, one of our teams was working the medical clinic at the city dump community. Annette, a pre-med student intern, was the most fluent Spanish speaker on the team. The FMI team leader, a nurse, depended on her to help in the clinic. But Annette was also a very dominant personality. I heard from some of the other team members that she was being very ‘bossy’ in the clinic. I decided to visit. When I walked in the door I could see she was the ‘in charge’ person. The nurse, team leader, was faithfully ministering to patients and mentoring the students. But it was Annette who was giving everyone ‘orders’. She handed me a broom and told me to go sweep. I did. But I also prayed. I asked the Lord what is the right response to Annette. I could have asserted my ‘role’ and told her to stop ordering people around. But God spoke to me with a simple phrase, “She has a leadership gift, but she is not using my gift my way.” I spoke to her privately about God’s kind affirmation and admonition. I said, “God wants you to use your gift to release the gifts in the other members of your team. Can you do that?” She responded positively and the team was transformed. My role was not a directive teacher, but a facilitator in the learning process.
4. What areas of specific training do I most need in light of Vella’s book?
As I read the book I was challenged to intentionally adopt several principles that I generally understand. The new thing is the ‘quantum’ concept that the whole is greater than the sum. If I can personally learn these principles and intentionally put them into practice, there will be a quantum leap of energy release in the teaching/learning experiences that make up most of my leadership role. For example, I need to encourage my staff to participate in the process of writing their own job descriptions. I need to be more effective at listening and giving open questions, especially in the teachings I give. Those open questions need to be put to the ‘safe’ environment of small groups. I have practiced this sort of thing at some level, but I see I need to be more intentional. For example, I have asked the question, “What was your best learning experience?” Sometimes, but not always, I send the participants to small group to discuss the question. I need to be more effective at defining learning tasks and follow through on them so that the participants truly participate in the learning process.
SUMMARY
I have created a matrix grid in my journal for follow up. I’ve listed Vella’s 7 steps for course design. The key words, RESPECT and ENERGY, are at the top of the list to encourage me to focus my attention on these key values for the adult learners. I have placed column on the page for each of the 10 different programs I am leading or developing. For each of the seven steps I am considering the different approaches for each of the different programs, depending on the participants, the outcomes, the context, the content, and how learning can be measured and sequenced for greatest effectiveness. I’m expecting quantum changes in all of our programs.
August 24, 2018
The title contains an important lesson: that listening and teaching are related; that using what is called 'dialogue education' takes some work and thoughtfulness but is absolutely worth it for the impact and quality in teaching that results.
Unfortunately this book (the 'blue' Vella book) falls far short of being a well-designed and executed learning experience. It is mostly her telling of various educational opportunities around the globe, and while the actions are laudable, the narrative comes off sounding conceited. Each chapter/story is supposed to illustrate a specific point about dialogue education, but the learning points often seem forced or misplaced.
Dialogue education has a lot to offer, but if you are an educator, the place to go to learn about it is the much better organized and written 'yellow' Vella book: 'On Teaching and Learning.' That book also at least includes a modicum of actual research/data which is distinctly lacking in the blue book (aside from a few favorite authors she liked to quote). Perhaps an even better book, and with a much firmer evidence-base, is 'How Learning Works' by Ambrose et al. which I'd absolutely recommend for an educators.
A few worthwhile quotes:
-"The demand for testing and competency-based education can be met, not through more severe tests, but through designs of accountable learning"
-"In adult learning accountability is mutual"
-"How can we offer adult learners as many opportunities for choice as possible... Don't ever do what the learner can do; don't ever decide what the learner can decide....be careful not to steal that learning opportunity from the adult learner"
-"learners learn far more (or less) than we teach"
For reference, the 12 principles of adult learning and dialogue education discussed: needs assessment, safety, sound relationships, sequence and reinforcement, praxis, respect for learners, ideas/feelings/actions, immediacy, clear roles, teamwork, engagement, accountability.
Unfortunately this book (the 'blue' Vella book) falls far short of being a well-designed and executed learning experience. It is mostly her telling of various educational opportunities around the globe, and while the actions are laudable, the narrative comes off sounding conceited. Each chapter/story is supposed to illustrate a specific point about dialogue education, but the learning points often seem forced or misplaced.
Dialogue education has a lot to offer, but if you are an educator, the place to go to learn about it is the much better organized and written 'yellow' Vella book: 'On Teaching and Learning.' That book also at least includes a modicum of actual research/data which is distinctly lacking in the blue book (aside from a few favorite authors she liked to quote). Perhaps an even better book, and with a much firmer evidence-base, is 'How Learning Works' by Ambrose et al. which I'd absolutely recommend for an educators.
A few worthwhile quotes:
-"The demand for testing and competency-based education can be met, not through more severe tests, but through designs of accountable learning"
-"In adult learning accountability is mutual"
-"How can we offer adult learners as many opportunities for choice as possible... Don't ever do what the learner can do; don't ever decide what the learner can decide....be careful not to steal that learning opportunity from the adult learner"
-"learners learn far more (or less) than we teach"
For reference, the 12 principles of adult learning and dialogue education discussed: needs assessment, safety, sound relationships, sequence and reinforcement, praxis, respect for learners, ideas/feelings/actions, immediacy, clear roles, teamwork, engagement, accountability.
February 16, 2017
Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach is a great book on adult education, specifically focused on teacher skills and course content preparation.
The author spreads her life experiences in adult education in many countries throughout this book to highlight specific concepts and to show the inter-relatedness of the concepts.
In the end, it is possible to view the concepts together in an integrated manner. Excellent presentation of the material!
If you teach adults in any venue, applying this book should help you improve what you offer. Enjoy!
The author spreads her life experiences in adult education in many countries throughout this book to highlight specific concepts and to show the inter-relatedness of the concepts.
In the end, it is possible to view the concepts together in an integrated manner. Excellent presentation of the material!
If you teach adults in any venue, applying this book should help you improve what you offer. Enjoy!
September 6, 2020
I love the principles and will incorporate them in future teaching of adults. I thought the link to quantum theory was forced. While her case studies exhibiting each concept were fascinating, they weren’t long term nor were they in an environment I would ever be teaching in. Nonetheless, this was certainly worth the read.
October 24, 2023
While the examples are somewhat dated, this is a very helpful volume covering twelve proven principles for adult continuing education, with an emphasis on reflection, engagement, and agency. I may be using this for a book study with coworkers who lead professional development activities as a shared learning exercise.
October 22, 2019
Fascinating and very useful topic. Just not the most engaging read for me.
June 18, 2020
I read this for a class assignment a few months ago and forgot to log it! Definitely recommend for any teacher/educator sorts who are interested in critical pedagogy.
January 28, 2018
Vella, J. (2002). Learning to listen learning to teach the power of dialog in educating adults [Kindle] (2nd ed.).
Text Purpose:
The purpose of Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: The Power of Dialog in Adult Education by Dr. Jane Vella (Vella, 2002) is to promote dialog education as a method for andragogy; andragogy is the art and science of teaching adults (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2015). Dr. Vella makes it clear that her fundamental assumption is adult learning happens best through dialog (Vella, 2002). The word dialog has a root meaning of the words between us these words express perceptions of the world, allow for communication and share observations (Vella, 2002). Through dialog in adult education both teachers and students are equally engaged and connected to the learning process in terms of shared observations, perceptions, and communication (Vella, n.d.). As a means for dialog education Dr. Vella in her book (Vella, 2002), proposes 12 principles for adult education in association with teaching adults via dialog. These principles include: an assessment of students’ needs, the creation of an environment of safety, the development of sound relationships, the design of an appropriate learning sequence that ensures reinforcement of content, the incorporation of consistent reflective action known as praxis, the respect for learners as decision makers, the union of the three learning domains of ideas, feelings, and actions to engage cognitive, affective, and psychomotor aspects of the learner, the need for immediacy in the application of knowledge and skills acquired to accomplish genuine tasks, the determination and communication of clear roles, the fostering of teamwork and collaboration, the engagement of all participants in the learning community, and lastly, accountability for individuals and participants in the learning community (Vella, 2002). Dr. Vella demonstrates these principles of dialog education with stories and experiences from her career as a teacher in different countries across the globe. An example of Vella’s storytelling as a means to communicate examples of her 12 principles deals with the principle of creating a safe environment for all participants (Vella, 2002). The story of a Muslim entrepreneur in Tanzania who was offered a position in a Catholic rural development project and was opposed and ostracized by Tanzanian Catholic authorities illumines the need to develop a safe sense of community in adult education settings (Vella, 2002).
Dialog education, in Vella’s viewpoint based on her worldwide experiences, not only leads to improved learning but ultimately produces a more peaceful world; the tagline for Dr. Vella’s website reads: “The means is dialog, the end is learning, the purpose is peace.” (Vella, n.d.). Vella enhances her ideas on adult education with allusions to quantum thinking in the text (Vella, 2002); quantum thinking, which is also referred to as the new science, incorporates explanations of twentieth century physics into an understanding of human interactions and to the social sciences (Vella, 2002).
Author’s Background and Credentials:
In 1978, Jane Vella received her doctorate in education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Vella, 2002). Dr. Vella is an experienced global educator, having taught on five continents and some 40 countries during her career. Dr. Vella is also the founder of Global Partners in Learning, a company dedicated to assisting and coaching adult educators worldwide in how to use dialog in adult education (Vella, n.d.). As a consequence of her dedication to the craft of teaching Dr. Vella is a mentor for hundreds of educators (Vella, n.d.). Dr. Vella’s ideas on dialog education blossom in her work at Global Partners in Learning and in her experiences around the globe; however, they grow out of the work of many adult education scholars, particularly from the work of Malcolm Knowles and Paulo Freire (Vella, n.d.).
Text Purpose:
The purpose of Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: The Power of Dialog in Adult Education by Dr. Jane Vella (Vella, 2002) is to promote dialog education as a method for andragogy; andragogy is the art and science of teaching adults (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2015). Dr. Vella makes it clear that her fundamental assumption is adult learning happens best through dialog (Vella, 2002). The word dialog has a root meaning of the words between us these words express perceptions of the world, allow for communication and share observations (Vella, 2002). Through dialog in adult education both teachers and students are equally engaged and connected to the learning process in terms of shared observations, perceptions, and communication (Vella, n.d.). As a means for dialog education Dr. Vella in her book (Vella, 2002), proposes 12 principles for adult education in association with teaching adults via dialog. These principles include: an assessment of students’ needs, the creation of an environment of safety, the development of sound relationships, the design of an appropriate learning sequence that ensures reinforcement of content, the incorporation of consistent reflective action known as praxis, the respect for learners as decision makers, the union of the three learning domains of ideas, feelings, and actions to engage cognitive, affective, and psychomotor aspects of the learner, the need for immediacy in the application of knowledge and skills acquired to accomplish genuine tasks, the determination and communication of clear roles, the fostering of teamwork and collaboration, the engagement of all participants in the learning community, and lastly, accountability for individuals and participants in the learning community (Vella, 2002). Dr. Vella demonstrates these principles of dialog education with stories and experiences from her career as a teacher in different countries across the globe. An example of Vella’s storytelling as a means to communicate examples of her 12 principles deals with the principle of creating a safe environment for all participants (Vella, 2002). The story of a Muslim entrepreneur in Tanzania who was offered a position in a Catholic rural development project and was opposed and ostracized by Tanzanian Catholic authorities illumines the need to develop a safe sense of community in adult education settings (Vella, 2002).
Dialog education, in Vella’s viewpoint based on her worldwide experiences, not only leads to improved learning but ultimately produces a more peaceful world; the tagline for Dr. Vella’s website reads: “The means is dialog, the end is learning, the purpose is peace.” (Vella, n.d.). Vella enhances her ideas on adult education with allusions to quantum thinking in the text (Vella, 2002); quantum thinking, which is also referred to as the new science, incorporates explanations of twentieth century physics into an understanding of human interactions and to the social sciences (Vella, 2002).
Author’s Background and Credentials:
In 1978, Jane Vella received her doctorate in education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (Vella, 2002). Dr. Vella is an experienced global educator, having taught on five continents and some 40 countries during her career. Dr. Vella is also the founder of Global Partners in Learning, a company dedicated to assisting and coaching adult educators worldwide in how to use dialog in adult education (Vella, n.d.). As a consequence of her dedication to the craft of teaching Dr. Vella is a mentor for hundreds of educators (Vella, n.d.). Dr. Vella’s ideas on dialog education blossom in her work at Global Partners in Learning and in her experiences around the globe; however, they grow out of the work of many adult education scholars, particularly from the work of Malcolm Knowles and Paulo Freire (Vella, n.d.).
October 9, 2012
I'm reading this now, and I'm on Chapter 8, "Praxis: Turning Practice into Action and Reflection." As a teacher, I need to explore new ways to teach adults. Praxis, as the writer explains, is a Greek word that means 'action with reflection.' "It is doing with built-in reflection" (115).
Reflection is a word that we use often in education, but we may not fully appreciate the concept of teaching people to think about what they are doing while they are doing it. It may seem that people would do this naturally, but that's not always the case. As Vella notes, "Engaged learners do learning tasks USING new content and then do further learning tasks to REFLECT on what they have completed" (115) --- emphasis mine.
Today when I was going over verb tenses, my class and I used our text and a website for basic understanding of a couple of tenses. Then they did exercises using this content together in small groups. We went over the answers, and then I used a couple of videos to underscore what we had learned and what still needed to be learned: for example, irregular verbs. The learner pretty much has to memorize the forms of irregular verbs such as bring, brought, brought, which does not follow the same pattern as sing, sang, sung, or ring, rang, rung. I recommended that my students use the music they regularly listen to and start to write down partial lyrics that use verbs in different tenses, especially but not exclusively nonstandard English. We worked with a song in which the singer says, "It be on," and determined as a group that the meaning is, "We are ready to begin," or "We are ready to fight."
This is a good example of learning and then reflecting. I plan to use more of this type of activity in my classes with adults.
Reflection is a word that we use often in education, but we may not fully appreciate the concept of teaching people to think about what they are doing while they are doing it. It may seem that people would do this naturally, but that's not always the case. As Vella notes, "Engaged learners do learning tasks USING new content and then do further learning tasks to REFLECT on what they have completed" (115) --- emphasis mine.
Today when I was going over verb tenses, my class and I used our text and a website for basic understanding of a couple of tenses. Then they did exercises using this content together in small groups. We went over the answers, and then I used a couple of videos to underscore what we had learned and what still needed to be learned: for example, irregular verbs. The learner pretty much has to memorize the forms of irregular verbs such as bring, brought, brought, which does not follow the same pattern as sing, sang, sung, or ring, rang, rung. I recommended that my students use the music they regularly listen to and start to write down partial lyrics that use verbs in different tenses, especially but not exclusively nonstandard English. We worked with a song in which the singer says, "It be on," and determined as a group that the meaning is, "We are ready to begin," or "We are ready to fight."
This is a good example of learning and then reflecting. I plan to use more of this type of activity in my classes with adults.
August 6, 2013
I hate the fact that everyone wants to dress up perfectly good information with pseudoscience just to make it sound even better than it is. This author is in love with the word "quantum" but what she really means is "holistic" and instead of saying "quantum thinking" she should be saying things like "holistic sensory engagement" or "holistic engagement" or even "dynamic approach". Just because you call a thing "quantum" and give a sloppy analogy regarding quantum and Newtonian physics at the beginning of the book, doesn't make your approach scientific.
That said, there is a wealth of good information shoved into this book, however I got the sense that the author has problems with strict organization (maybe that's the true difference between the her approach and the rest). In fact, despite the listed "12 key points" which were supposed to be represented anecdotally, I felt each exposition to be rather unclear. Instead, there is wisdom thrust helter-skelter amidst the pages, so much knowledge it practically leaks out everywhere tangentially--I would not be surprised to learn that the writer suffers from a touch of ADD.
That said, there is a wealth of good information shoved into this book, however I got the sense that the author has problems with strict organization (maybe that's the true difference between the her approach and the rest). In fact, despite the listed "12 key points" which were supposed to be represented anecdotally, I felt each exposition to be rather unclear. Instead, there is wisdom thrust helter-skelter amidst the pages, so much knowledge it practically leaks out everywhere tangentially--I would not be surprised to learn that the writer suffers from a touch of ADD.
September 20, 2008
I read this in the hopes that it would help with training volunteers, and I think it did! If nothing else there are interesting stories in it from all over the world. And the general concept, that adults actually know already what they would like to learn and can tell you what that is, should be a no-brainer but is so potentially powerful.
May 22, 2009
This is a great book for anyone working with adult learners. Vella's background is in corporate training specifically, and she has experience working all over the world, even with people whose language she doesn't speak. Her 12 principles for dialogue education are helpful, useful, and fully described. I expect to return to this book again and again.
March 2, 2015
Sorry, but Jane Vella is no linguist. "Praxis" is NOT a Greek word meaning action with reflection. She has many other failures with language. However, as an educator, I believe she does well and provides practical help that has value. Some of this stuff just helps you think differently about teaching, and that is a plus.
June 9, 2012
Just ordered 2/7/10 off ebay! Total price=$23.00
May 18, 2013
I love Jane. Her insight into teaching is invaluable. She is not only a wonderful author, she is also a dear friend.
June 26, 2013
By listening and responding to the learner, by respecting what the learner brings to the conversation, those who facilitate adult learning can be more effective. And isn't that the point?
November 12, 2016
Kind of hard to read, but very informative.
April 13, 2017
Our group that taught Utah Core Academy several years ago read this book in a group study. It addresses how to teach, value, engage and involve adult learners. I found all information extremely valuable when teaching adult educators.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews