Volunteering – adult learning – Acting Communities

According to ZRINSZKY [1] , in order to understand, assist and guide adult learning, two variables need to be understood regarding learning performance:

Existing competence (quantity and quality of knowledge and creativity) and
learning ability (renewal ability), which depends on motivation, utilisation of knowledge, existing knowledge (education), social conditions.

Features of an adult learner:

Deliberate and shared attention is practised
Mindfulness remains at its peak for 40-50 years
Typical is the conscious, regular, deliberately directed imagination
Comprehensive, broad, flexible, fast and practical thinking characterises an adult
The desire for productive action is noticeably greater than the need for reproduction
The adult practitioner asks for the truth of the word and the practical utility of the theory
For those interested in public affairs, it costs more than you need
The adult is driven by the need for design, foresight, contemplation of the present and the future.

Effective learning can be self-stimulating with volunteer training sessions. The volunteer can be reinforced as they experience the joy of learning. This increases self-confidence, can lead to a high level of demand, increases the intensity and scope of interest and motivation to learn. And as a positive feedback mechanism, performance and success continue to grow.

Retention factors of learning in adulthood:

There is no clear goal, general, distant – so how attractive it is, but unrealistic to achieve the training goal.
No timely feedback is received on the effectiveness of learning.
Not handled as an adult.
Training regimes do not take into account living conditions.
Bad group atmosphere, excessive performance, competitive spirit, unequal opportunities.

The model of experiential learning is related to KOLB and FRY[2], which addresses the issue of cognition. This model can help interpret the competency development that volunteering achieves. The theory is that learning should be interpreted as four cycles. To be successful, an adult must have four abilities: specific experience acquisition, abstract conception, reflective observation, and active experimentation. [3]

A problem-solving strategy can also provide a good framework for action-based learning, i.e. developing competences during volunteering. (Associated with John DEWEY and Kurt LEWIN.) The essence of the strategy is that curriculum and thinking, action tasks activate thinking and action that perceives, understands, and seeks to solve a problem. As a result of such a learning process, one develops a mindset and attitude that thinks about problems and is able to solve them. After the problem is detected, the solution process begins which, according to Dewey, has the following stages of thinking: the problem is noticed; defining and exposing the problem; creating hypothesis for solution; testing the premise; confirmation of the presumption.

The most effective methods of teaching problem-solving are the following:

Discussion methods (consultation, post-lecture discussion, forum, roundtable discussion, small group discussion);
Questioning methods (e.g. interview);
Discussion methods (small group, panel discussion, staged debate, thesis-based, brainstorming);
Simulation methods (multiple choice, case study, role play);
Methods presuming cooperation (beehive method, mind training).

References:

[1] Zrinszky L.: A felnőttképzés tudománya. Bevezetés az andragógiába. 2005, Budapest, OKKER
[2] Kolb, D. A. – Fry, R.: Towards an Applied Theory of Experiential Learning. In: C. L. Cooper (ed.) Theories of Group Process., 1975, New York, John Wiley & Sons
[3] Nagy M.: A felnőttkori tanulás. Speciális andragógi. 2011, Budapest, Szent István Egyetem. http://www.tankonyvtar.hu/en/tartalom/tamop412A/2010-0019_Specialis_andragogia/index.html (utoljára megtekintve: 2018.08.02.)

This article based on the following document: This article based on the following document: Practical Guide for the Establishment and Operation of Volunteer Programmes at Institutions : abridged English version

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