Teorije facilitacije

Općenito

Teorija facilitacije (facilitation theory) ponekad zvana olakšano učenje ( facilitative teaching), je humanistički pristup učenju koji se razvio tijekom 1980-ih od strane utjecajnog američkog psihologa Carl Rogers i drugih te je najbolje opisana njegovim riječima:

“Mi znamo ... da iniciranje takve vrste učenja ne počiva na vještinama poučavanja vođe, njegovom akademskom znanju o tom području, njegovom planiranju nastave, korištenju audio-vizualnih pomagala, programiranom učenju koji koristi, njegovim prezentacijama i predavanjima, obilju knjiga, iako svaka od tih sastavnica može u jednom trenutku biti iskorištena kao važni izvor. Ne, važnost facilitiacije učenja temelji se na određenim osobinama stavova koje postoje između facilitatora (facilitator) i učenika.”1) Rogers, C. Freedom to Learn. 1969.

“Ne možemo direktno naučiti drugu osobu; možemo samo facilitirati njegovo učenje.”2) Rogers, C. On becoming a person. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 1961.

What is facilitation theory?

Rogersovo prvo područje interesa je bila psihologija i psihoterapija gdje je od 1940-ih počeo primjenjivati klijentu usmjerenu terapiju (client-centered therapy) koja promovira stajalište pomaganja ili savjetovanje (counsel) klijenta gledajući problem iz njegove perspektive. U drugoj polovici 1960-ih počinje primjenjivati sličan pristup na procese edukacije i učenja. Njegova početna vjerovanja su bila da su ljudi po prirodi dobri i zdravi te da sva živa bića nastoje što bolje iskoristiti svoje postojanje (tendecija samoaktualizaciji) (the actualizing tendency)).

U svom radu Rogers se oslanaj na dvije vrste učenja3) Patterson, C. H. Carl Rogers and Humanistic Education. In Foundations for a Theory of Instruction and Educational Psychology, Chapter 5. Harper & Row, 1977. koje su otrkili prijašnji teoretičari4) See for example Ausubel's Assimilation Theory :

učenje napamet (rote learning), misleći na besmisleno zapamćivanje činjenca, i

eksperimentalno učenje (experimantal learning) iz svakodnevnog života, koje ima značenje i osobnu važnost. Ono je rezultat prirodne znatiželje i prepoznate važnosti naučenih materijala često stečenih tokom ili barem facilitirane tijekom učenikove aktivne participacije u procesu učenja te često samoinicirane (self-initiated). Ovakvu vrstu znanja je teško prenijeti drugima.

Rogersova teorija vidi učitelje kao klučne u procesu učenja, ali ne kao hodajuće udžbenike koji reproduciraju svoj sadržaj, već kako facilitatore učenja(facilitator of learning). Facilitiranje se odvija kroz učiteljev stav tijekom privatnog odnosa sa učenicima. Rogers navodi tri kvalitete stava neophodne za vršenje facilitacije (u savjetovanju i edukaciji). Takozvane temeljne uvjete(core conditions)5) Rogers, Carl R. The Interpersonal Relationship in the Facilitation of Learning. In Humanizing Education: The Person in the Process. Ed. T. Leeper. National Education Association, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, p1-18. 1967. :

Realness. “It means that he [the teacher] is being himself, not denying himself.”5) The teacher has to be a real person aware of his feelings and able to communicate them appropriately, no matter how exactly does he feel. He should not be just a role in the play of education, “”a faceless embodiment af a curricular requirement or a sterile tube through which knowledge is passed from one generation to the next.“5)

Prizing, acceptance, trust. This refers to teacher's caring about the student and his acceptance of student's feelings (one that support learning as well as ones disturbing it). It is the trust and prizing of his capacity and abilities as a human being.

Empathy. Empathy means being able to walk in others shoes. This means that a teacher can understand student's perspective on the process on learning and his reactions from the inside. The accent here is on understand, not judge or evaluate.

Other tasks of teachers include establishing a pleasant atmosphere in the classroom and thereby facilitating learning and acquisition of new ideas by reducing possible negative effects of external factors. A facilitative teacher should also be open to new ideas, listen to students, pay as much attention to his relationship with the students as he does to the content he is teaching, encouraging learners to take responsibility for their learning and actions and to take self-evaluation as the highest form of evaluation. He should also use class feedback for further improvements.

Still, not all of the work during the educational process can be done by the teacher. Its effectiveness does depend on the learner as well. In order to contribute to their own learning, students should be:

aware of the facilitative conditions implemented for their benefit,

aware that the problem to be learned is realistic, relevant and meaningful

motivated, since motivation is, according to Rogers, a tendency towards self-actualization present in all healthy individuals.

If all the necessary conditions are satisfied,

”learning becomes life, and a very vital life at that. The student is on his way, sometimes excitedly, sometimes reluctantly, to becoming a learning, changing being.“5)

What is the practical meaning of facilitation theory?

Rogers' theory, as stated, has rather clear implementation goals, yet they are not always so easy to introduce to the classroom. Establishing a close contact with the students, getting to know them and offering them empathy and support requires a great amount of effort from teachers, who mostly ignore this side of educational process and orientate only on knowledge they are supposed to pass on to the students.

Some of Rogers' Advice for implementing the the core conditions are the following5):

Realness. Being real does not mean to release all the frustrations and anger on the students. That kind of teacher should not be in the classroom at all. “The attitudes being expressed in being real must be attitudes of respect, warmth, caring, liking and understanding.” The teacher must not pretend to be all-knowing and perfect, since the students know that can't be the truth.

Acceptance. Teachers should prize all students not for their positive/negative characteristics, but because they are all valuable human beings. This prizing can manifest as listening to what students are saying, but not necessary as listening to evaluate, but listening to learn his ideas, thoughts and feelings. Students need to feel free to explain their thoughts. Prizing can also manifest through responding to what the students say.

Empathy. Empathy enables teacher to understand the reasons that led the student to certain behavior or an answer, but also to understand his emotional situation that needs to be solved in order to enable significant learning.

Reported positive results of Rogers' theory in practice include: fewer disciplinary problems in the classroom, better knowledge and IQ test scores, usage of higher levels of thinking, fewer acts of vandalism, positive self-regard, increase in creativity and other.6) Aspy, D., Roebuck, F. Our research and our findings. In: Rogers, C. R. Freedom to learn: a view of what education might become, p. 199-217. Columbus, OH, Charles E. Merrill, 1969. Cited by Zimring, Fred. Carl Rogers. Prospects: the quarterly review of comparative education 24, no. 3/4: 411-422, 1994.

Criticisms

Rogers' theory is criticized for similar reasons as other humanist theories: doubtable claim about the inherent human goodness, and willingness to learn.

Keywords and most important names

facilitation theory, facilitative teacher, realness, acceptance, empathy

Carl Rogers

Bibliography

Rogers, Carl R. The Interpersonal Relationship in the Facilitation of Learning. In Humanizing Education: The Person in the Process. Ed. T. Leeper. National Education Association, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, p1-18. 1967.

Patterson, C. H. Carl Rogers and Humanistic Education. In Foundations for a Theory of Instruction and Educational Psychology, Chapter 5. Harper & Row, 1977.

Theories of learning: Holistic learning theory. Oxford Brookes University. Retrieved March 22, 2011.

Read more

Rogers, Carl R. Freedom to Learn: A View of What Education Might Become. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Publishing Company, 1969.

Smith, M. K. Carl Rogers and informal education, the encyclopaedia of informal education. 1997 - 2004.