Seizing Learning Opportunities:
Embracing A Collaborative Process
Randee Lipson Lawrence and Craig A. Mealman
National-Louis University
The most exciting moments of learning can result from our seizing opportunities. These opportunities come like the wind and move like the water. The difference between an engaged and engaging cohort learning group that is energizing and one that just does not seem to work may be in how the instructor(s) promote and foster a climate that allows the benefits of collaborative learning to be fully realized. How can we as instructors help individual students and groups of students seize opportunities for enriching their personal and professional lives? The purpose of this paper is to offer colleagues the opportunity to reflect on their learning and teaching processes to gain a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the value of collaboration and cohort learning, and to develop an increased awareness of the ways in which we can unleash potential opportunities for learning, while limiting or eliminating the barriers to collaborative learning.
The authors have woven together their experiences with cohort groups and brought two additional frameworks into the web of understanding. Material and concepts from courses taken from Tom Brown Jr. during 1992-1994 at his Tracking, Nature, Wilderness Survival Schools -seven keys to developing awareness- have been utilized extensively along with metaphors from photography. Tom Brown studied under and gained most of his ideas and knowledge from Stalking Wolf, an Apache scout and medicine person who lived his vision of seeking universal truths and sharing those with others. Many of the skills associated with Tom Brown's knowledge have been learned through "dirt time" or being in direct, intense personal contact with what is being studied (Brown, 1983 p.115), or experiential learning as we know it. It is through the use of these concepts and metaphors and the language associated with them that we hope to connect with your own experiences with collaborative learning in cohort groups.
The paper is organized in two sections: Barriers to Collaborative Learning and Deepening Awareness: Moving Beyond the Barriers. As you read this paper, we invite you to search for examples from your own experience that illustrate the concepts we have presented here.
Barriers to Collaborative Learning
Barriers are ideas, patterns, ways of thinking, or ways of perceiving the world which impede effective group functioning. Barriers prevent people from seeing the learning opportunities that surround them. Since these opportunities are not in one's conscious awareness, they are often missed.
We have observed the following barriers in our experience with collaborative learning groups: Tunnel Vision, The Rut, Automatic Vision and Dead Space. (T. Brown, personal communication, October 1992)
Tunnel Vision
In a tunnel, one focuses on the light at the endpoint, or ways to move out of the tunnel as quickly as possible. Because the tunnel is dark and the light (focus) is at the end, one never sees what is alongside of it. Students in alternative degree programs enter with high expectations and very specific goals, most often seeking the credential to support personal and professional development. They are focused on accomplishing their individual goals, walking a path on the straight and narrow, seeing only the destination, ignoring possible opportunities along the way. While some eventually broaden their vision, many students become stuck here and do not recognize the full potential that the educational experience can have. This "preoccupation with self" is described by Patterson (1989, p.9) as the greatest barrier to awareness of things outside oneself. In collaborative learning groups, the potential to increase learning opportunities by supporting peers' objectives is often obscured by tunnel vision.
Steve, a student in an accelerated bachelors degree program in management exemplified this phenomenon. Steve had been a manager for 15 years, but never completed his BA. He saw his program as an efficient way to complete the degree as quickly as possible. Since he already "knew everything" going in, he did not believe his classmates had anything to teach him. He spent most of his energy trying to convince them that his views were the correct ones.
Another form of tunnel vision stems from students' expectations from prior educational experiences that knowledge is created by and received from experts. Many students do not acknowledge the value of their own experience nor the experiences of their peers as a way of accessing and creating knowledge. Horton (1990) discovered that people who attended his workshops
Didn't value their own experience because they were never allowed to or taught how. They had been taught to listen to somebody else and to follow directions, though they had come with an enormous amount of experience. They just hadn't learned from it and therefore didn't value this experience. (p.147). . . I knew that it was necessary to do things in the opposite way, to draw out of people their experience, and to help them value group experiences and learn from them. (p.57)
While Horton was talking about an oppressed Appalachian population, many parallels can be drawn to adult college students. They too have not learned to value their own experience. It is the role of the instructor and enlightened peers to draw out these experiences through the collaborative learning process.
The Rut
In thinking of a rut, many examples come to mind: a comfortable place; a known path; a paved road; a worn trail; utilizing only predominant learning styles; relying on limited ways of knowing and secure modes of inquiry; consistent class seating patterns; routine assignments; being trapped in internal monologue or conversations with self (Howell, 1986); the attitudes held about teaching and learning such as what role students' experiences should have in adult degree programs; and adhering blindly to 'good teaching practice' such as using small group discussion, journaling, or student projects. Desire for security, coupled with fear of the unknown, can be a powerful influence that keeps students and teachers entrenched in repetitive, sometimes dysfunctional behavior and thinking.
There are advantages to, and motivations for, staying on a familiar path. Routine tasks allow for automatic responses in thinking and behavior, resulting in efficient use of time and energy. People can be depended upon in predictable ways. There is less risk and pain involved. Lastly, since options are limited, choices seem clear.
A very real risk that is involved in learning contexts is a form of disequilibrium known as cultural suicide. Often the student grows and develops in ways that go beyond his or her cultural boundaries, or mores and norms (those traditional ways of behaving in one's work setting and with family and friends). The fear of not fitting in with one's people, or in the worst case being outright rejected, can lead to resistance to pursuing certain streams of inquiry deemed appropriate by the dominant culture or mainstream society, but may be indeed taboo in the students' home culture. The same can be said for students who attempt to pursue inquiry that is inconsistent with the dominant culture's worldview.
For example, the character portrayed as Rita (a returning adult student) in "Educating Rita," a popular film, moves through a phase where she seriously considers what influence her personal growth and her education have had on her choices of work, motherhood, further schooling, friends, and values. As a result, she quits her job as a beautician and chooses to not have a baby, ultimately leading to the dissolution of her marriage. The film captures quite well the point of what cultural obstacles await some students. Most students, at least initially, are not conscious of such issues related to their returning to school.
Staying in a rut keeps us from fully engaging in the collaborative process. Hearing others' experiences can often enlighten us to diverse ways of seeing. Certain voices may be heard consistently on every topic to the exclusion of others'. Classmates, Joanne and Fred, were both police officers. They spent most of their time with those most like themselves, with whom they felt most comfortable. They sat in the same seats and did not venture out beyond what became a closed clique. Although other students seemed motivated to learn from these people, the feeling was not mutual. Members in this group gave minimal attention to what the rest of their classmates had to say. When group members perceive things in one way or stop at the first right answer, they probably miss opportunities to learn from individuals who hold different perspectives.
Students have come to expect clear, concise instructions regarding assignments with little room for personal and group choices. They stay in that rut, showing resistance, when an instructor gives seemingly vague instructions and offers negotiation and choices in regard to assignments. Students have learned to figure out what the instructor 'really' wants in terms of completing assignments. In our view this is a very educationally deadly form of the rut. In collaborative learning groups, it seems fairly common (or at least in the authors' experiences) that collaborative assignments with minimal direction and no clear maps can be enormously anxiety producing for some and exhilarating for others. In either case, instructors are seeking to have students "make the road by walking" (Horton and Freire, 1990), indirectly moving them out of a familiar way of approaching assignments thereby extending learning opportunities. Lastly, relying on the instructor to provide the exclusive or at least primary feedback of students' work can lead to students' undervaluing each other's contributions. Helping participants to develop competence in critiquing each other's ideas and work can promote collaboration where they are less afraid and realize the value in both giving and receiving meaningful feedback.
Automatic Vision/Dead Space
In everyday circumstances we are drawn to certain aspects of what is before us, not seeing the rest. Young parents, eager to record their child's development on film will snap a picture of a smiling toddler blissfully playing in the sand. When the film is developed, they are dismayed to discover in the picture somebody's disembodied elbow that seems to be growing out of the child's head. Where did that come from? They didn't see it when they took the photo. A trained photographer, on the other hand, sees what is in the space and selectively chooses what he or she wants to portray.
In class we are drawn to certain participants' comments. Their personality, their work, or their character attracts our attention. Do we ignore others? Do we miss what some people are saying because we are familiar with them and think we know what they are going to say?
When we rely on automatic vision, intentionally or unintentionally ignoring what is in the dead space, we block opportunities for collaborative learning. Dead space includes the phenomena that is present but not seen. One way this occurs is through labeling. When we label things or people we set up expectations for who they are or how we see them, which prevents us from seeing them in their fullness. If Joe is a police officer, we may perceive his comments from that context and miss seeing other aspects of Joe. If Barb is labeled as an annoying person, we may easily discount any of her comments, even when she may have something valuable to contribute. Students often have preconceived notions of teachers as knowledgeable authorities, therefore contributions by instructors are awarded higher value than contributions by peers.
Patterson (1989) reminds us that as we become familiar with things, we automatically classify or categorize them with labels. Doing so prevents us from seeing things (or people) in their uniqueness. When we attach a label we sometimes use it as an excuse not to discuss the idea so that we completely understand it. When we assume we understand what someone is saying, we don't probe, or question, or attempt to clarify their meaning and the opportunity to learn is lost. When we attach labels to ideas we unintentionally agree that we understand concepts without actually examining them. Ideas that are not adequately explored by the group remain in the dead space.
We establish our worldview by mentally organizing the mass of stimuli around us. We train ourselves to accept certain realities and ignore others.
Once we have achieved order in our lives, we stick with the realities we have established. We seldom try to rediscover the possible value of ignored stimuli, and are reluctant to do so as long as the old ones still seem to be working. We develop a tunnel vision, which gives us a clear view of the rut ahead of us, but prevents us from seeing the world around us. (Patterson, 1989 p. 10 ).
In the rut, we become firmly entrenched in our worldviews. Worldview construction is a naturally occurring process that "embraces knowledge, ideas, feelings, values, assumptions and beliefs." (McKenzie, 1991 p.15) and influences how we see and respond to the world around us. One response is only paying attention to ideas, concepts and contributions that support this worldview. The dead space includes other possibilities that exist but that we don't take the opportunity to acknowledge.
In Some Lessons in Metaphysics, Jose Ortega Y Gasset teaches that we need to give something or someone our full attention in order to become conscious of it (them). Often in a class discussion, someone will raise an issue that brings to our conscious awareness, that which we have known all along but never really thought of in quite that way.
When we discover them [truths] for the first time, it seems to us that we have always known them, but had not noticed them; that they were there before us, but veiled and covered. Therefore, it is true that truth is discovered; perhaps truth is no more than discovery, the lifting of a veil or a cover from what was already there. (Ortega Y Gasset, 1969 p.50)
Lifting the veils to discover the learning opportunities that exist involve venturing beyond our automatic vision and peering into the dead space. Unwillingness to do so will continue to create barriers to collaborative learning.
Deepening Awareness: Moving Beyond the Barriers
Seizing learning opportunities involves finding ways to remove the barriers that prevent us from seeing what is in front of us and increasing our powers of awareness. Six areas of awareness will be discussed. Wide Angle Vision, Varied Vision, Focused Hearing, Sacred Silence and Total Sensory Awareness are borrowed from the work of Tom Brown (T. Brown, personal communication, October, 1992). We have added an additional area from our experience with students, Reflective Vision or Mirroring.
Wide Angle Vision
The advantage of more a sophisticated camera becomes apparent when the photographer desires to capture the breadth of a scene, looking at the whole picture and being aware of the larger context. Having the ability to change a lens to wide angle in cohort groups can also help students focus in on their peers' interests, their strengths, and their experiences so that the collaborative process can be enriched. Even when one student uses this lens, it can help the group.
For example, Sue knew about her classmate Estaban's job as a human resource manager. When she visited the library to conduct research for a course paper, she employed wide angle vision intentionally to keep on the lookout for material about employee selection practices related to his job and to the topic of his paper. There was no requirement to use this lens on the behalf of a peer, but she happened to see some materials and checked them out for him to review. This example was selected to demonstrate that the power of different lenses can be used to add contributions not only to the individual's personal development but to that of other individuals and to the learning group as a whole.
In Sue's case and in the case of many others like her, students open up their vision from time to time and move from the tunnel vision of attending to focused personal goals to paying attention to goals of others in their midst. When Sue shared the delight that she experienced associated with locating useful materials for a peer, her instructor noted this story and mentioned it in class during the opening comments of a subsequent class session. Student actions such as this, when reinforced by instructors or peers, can serve to open up new avenues and direction for the group to pursue that heretofore were unavailable.
Wide angle vision can also be selectively applied in other instances, especially if one wants to cultivate a climate in which serendipitous learning is likely to occur or where fruitful inquiry can be nurtured, akin to a gardener caring for a dormant seed. All of us probably have experienced instructors who go off on tangents and storytellers who talk in a circular mode. The student or listener employing tunnel vision, by tuning out seemingly irrelevant remarks, may easily miss the lessons present in such stories. Instructors, applying wide angle vision, can encourage the introduction of seemingly peripheral material to the discourse by allowing comments to bubble up prior to putting the lid on the geyser since this may be one's perception or frame using wide angle vision. More importantly, students using wide angle vision, who have contributions to make from their own frame or understanding, can bring in related points which serve to expand, contextualize, question or critique prior dialogue or points made by authors being referenced in class. There is a tension around what forms of seemingly tangential comments are encouraged, tolerated even allowed by instructors and other students and the continuity of focus on a given topic. How do we really know when a point being made is related or un-related to the topic at hand? When students make requests to deviate from a stated assignment and venture into 'related' topics or employ varied inquiry modes, how do teachers typically respond? Do we attempt to use the student's lens or the one we used when creating the assignment? Do we question the merit and potential contribution of that student's inquiry to their own and the group's growth and development? The use of intuition, one aspect of sacred silence, has proven effective in making decisions in response to the questions identified above.
Wide angle vision includes awareness of peripheral vision. Peripheral vision is a tool that we are taught in driver's education. It is important to be cognizant of those things around the edges because they might just enter the path suddenly, such as a deer bolting in front of us. While not so much as to avoid an accident, we can miss an opportunity to see or stop and focus on a wonderment as well or take a turn on an unmarked road to explore some inclination. Those trained in group process constantly use peripheral vision to note the varied non verbal cues. When pursued by the facilitator, those cues can be doorways to revealing much insight to the group. A quiet member may give a subtle cue that she or he has something to say. Because such cues are often overlooked a whole dimension of a topic could be missed. Timing is essential. It is difficult to locate the owl sitting on the sign post that was in the peripheral vision ten miles back down the road. You can turn around, but the owl may have gotten its prey and left the scene.
Patterson (1989) states that, "using a wide-angle lens simply to get more things in a picture seldom produces effective photographs. Like every other photographic tool, it should be used with a specific purpose" (p.134). So too, students who use the wide angle lens exclusively may be quite limited in terms of the depth they pursue in any given area. Teachers could encourage students to develop a larger repertoire of learning preferences or strategies and to go beyond certain dominant learning styles. One student's request for clarification to see the 'big picture' of a course, prior to delving into specific course concepts, can help both other students who may have similar unexpressed needs as well as those students who don't tend to use that particular lens. The strength of a cohort is that members can help each other break out of the rut of confusion, misunderstanding, and narrow or limited thinking that impedes individual and group learning, by articulating observations or by asking for clarification.
Instructors can facilitate wide angle vision by considering those comments made by students, or proposals to carry out assignments that seem out in left field (or in another ball park altogether) as perhaps related but outside those instructors' current personal vision. The student may be looking through a different lens. It seems to us that this is what honoring diversity is all about.
Varied Vision
In photography, there are various ways to portray reality so that it conveys a particular mood or perspective. Walking along a country road, one is captivated by the rich yellow of a cluster of Black Eyed Susans. Using different lenses, one could focus on a single flower or a field of flowers. Hold the camera slightly out of focus and the black centers create an interesting design. Different weather conditions and different times of day can change the mood of the photograph dramatically. At times, the photographer may choose to shift his or her position to capture a different image, even though it may be uncomfortable to do so. Backing up, the flowers become the foreground for the farmhouse in the distance. Climbing a hill, or a tree, or the top of a car and looking down on the flowers, creates still another image. Examining the flowers up close, it becomes evident that the centers of the Black Eyed Susans are not black at all, but a shade of dark brown. Laying on the ground gives one a view of the flowers from underneath. Patterson (1989) calls this process "thinking sideways." It is a way of breaking out of the rut and seeing things in new ways.
We have a premise or dominant idea, whether or not it is consciously determined, and we proceed along a line of thought that develops logically the implications of that idea. Eventually, we reach a conclusion. It's a closed process. Seldom do we look sideways, that is, search for other premises or new beginnings. (p.28)
In the classroom, students often remain in the rut of sitting in the same seats each time. This limits whom they speak with, whom they get to know, whom they have eye contact with, and often whom they work with in small task groups. In certain seating arrangements there may be some individuals who are outside of even one's peripheral vision. Since many students like Joanne and Fred, the two police officers, tend to choose people similar to themselves with whom to work, they may miss out on valuable opportunities to learn from the experiences and perspectives of other classmates. An instructor can be facilitative in helping the students to obtain varied vision by encouraging them to sit in different seats each session and by intentionally forming small groups to maximize heterogeneity.
The beauty of a cohort group is the rich diversity of experiences, perspectives and backgrounds of the individuals. When multiple perspectives are encouraged and honored, opportunities to learn are enhanced. Rosa, a Latina woman was a member of a group discussing non verbal communication in a course on interpersonal relationships. The students, predominately White with a few African Americans, had implicitly agreed that eye contact was an important and necessary component for effective communication. Rosa shared her experience of growing up in two cultures. Her teachers demanded eye contact as a sign of respect, yet in her Mexican culture at home, she would be punished for looking at her parents with direct eye contact. Listening to Rosa's story prompted many of her classmates to begin to view communication from a multicultural perspective. This had a far more lasting impact than reading about Hispanic culture or hearing about it from an Anglo teacher. In another group, Melissa, a Filipino American shared that any decisions she made had to take her entire family into account, not just herself. This sparked a discussion of the differences between individualistic and collectivist cultures. It not only opened the door to viewing decision making from different domains, it helped the participants to get to know Melissa.
Opportunities to learn from others' experiences and worldviews abound in collaborative learning groups, however it doesn't happen automatically. People need to be open to venturing into the dead space by viewing ideas from various perspectives. This often means going out of one's way to shift positions in sometimes uncomfortable ways like the photographer crouching down to look at the underside of the flower. At times, this involves letting go of deeply held beliefs and assumptions.
Varied vision is the melding of lived experiences from multiple participants while allowing for different interpretations of those experiences to coexist simultaneously. As practitioners of adult education, we can promote this learning by creating a safe environment that encourages participants to share their stories. This involves open dialogue, critical questioning and suspending judgment while listening attentively with the intent to increase understanding.
Focused hearing
Active listening and listening for meaning are crucial in collaborative learning groups. How one becomes part of the flow of dialogue and rhythm of the group is important. Deer and many other animals have different shaped ears which allow them to hear things at a distance or sounds to be amplified. Tom Brown's teacher, Stalking Wolf, taught himself to listen like certain animals, hearing humans approach in the woods from miles away (T. Brown, personal communication 1992). There is a system of normal rhythm in the natural setting. Sounds, patterns, and cycles are critical to hearing. An interruption in any of these can have significant meaning. Certain birds, especially ravens and crows, alert others of what is going on. One simply needs to focus attention and listen. Also, one must be aware of that particular, unique ecological system, similar to working in diverse learning cohorts. People, especially elders have learned to cup their ears, to form a deer shaped ear to amplify hearing and sounds. However, one must also know what those sounds mean. Normal good hearing can be improved immensely by focusing ones hearing. Dewitt Jones, a photographer for National Geographic Magazine called this intuitive listening or listening with all your senses. Applying these forms of listening in cohort groups is critical for effective learning.
In the many forms of attentive listening, eliminating other attractions or distractions is important. For instance self talk or internal monologue can interfere with hearing a point a peer is attempting to make. Even applying the set of skills of active listening (Bolton, 1979) rigorously can impede really listening because one is focused on listening just right or paraphrasing without inserting personal interpretation. Brookfield (1995) teaches a form of critical conversation which is focused on the speaker or storyteller. There is a concerted attempt to pay attention to the other; yet one is tempted to form a response, even in ways that appear helpful such as aiding in the identification of assumptions. In attempting to formulate a response or pose a question, the temptation is to leave the world of the other and to enter ones own.
At times pursuing this inner world can be a fruitful process. For instance, one's inner world may be, in part, what other members of a collaborative group are experiencing but cannot verbalize. When one person has a question, concern or observation, often others in the group have similar concerns. It is essential at those times to not lose an opportunity to pursue those questions. Any member can follow up on such a comment and focus the hearing to understand what is being said. Members who tune themselves in through focused hearing can offer the group a tremendous gift. The many forms of attentive listening can aid and offer much to the practice of focused hearing in collaborative learning groups, as long as the technology of those listening strategies does not become the focus and the people and the meaning of their comments remains at the heart of the conversation.
Reflective Vision or Mirroring
Looking at a lake on a sunny day, one sees the reflection of the surrounding area mirrored in the water. Depending upon the vantage point, one may see images in the lake that are not visible on land. Looking down, one may be captivated by shimmering impressions of swaying willow trees, sharp mountain peaks and billowy clouds reflected in the water. Shifting one's gaze outward and upward and one realizes that the mountains, trees and clouds are indeed present but unnoticed until the reflection caught his or her attention.
In collaborative learning groups, students' experiences are central to the learning process. As students share their experiences, and others ask clarifying questions, make personal connections and offer interpretations, it often helps them to make sense of their experiences in new ways. Relating to the experiences of another requires one to "stretch her vision" (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger & Tarule, 1986) which enriches that vision beyond what one can achieve alone. The group can act as a mirror or reflection pond to help individuals to see aspects of themselves that may not have been present in their awareness. According to Dewey (1916), when persons share their experiences with one another, both are affected.
The experience has to be formulated in order to be communicated. To formulate requires getting outside of it, to see it as another would see it, considering what points of contact it has with the life of another so that it may be got into such a form that he can appreciate its meaning. (p. 5-6)
Participants in cohort groups also learn by observing the immediate experiences of their classmates. It is difficult to observe one's own lived experience as it occurs. This requires a reflective act once the experience is completed. However, one can immediately observe the lived experience of another. "This means that, whereas I can observe my own lived experiences only after they are over and done with, I can observe yours as they actually take place." (Schutz, 1967 p. 102) Classmates can then give immediate feedback to their peer about his or her experience which can be facilitative in drawing out learning. If students are open and receptive to that feedback, it can, not only result in increased self-understanding, but the potential for increased collective knowledge is enhanced.
Sacred Silence
While each aspect of awareness discussed above is in itself sacred, silence transcends all spiritual traditions. For it is in silence where the greatest learning occurs.
The mode which we call sacred is one where inner focus and outer focus are balanced and blended, where there is a reciprocal mirroring of idea and sentiment from within and imagery and sensation from without. It is a waking trance state, ripe with knowledge. This knowledge seems to come to us from a wise source which calls us home. . .Upon approaching or entering the zone of a sacred shrine, an ancient and wonderfully subtle sense of reverence is called forth, asking for silence and respect. If we heed this signal, and rest with it patiently, we may find ourselves rewarded with a gift of knowing. (Lehrman, 1988 p.6)
A classroom can be viewed as a sacred shrine where openness and receptivity can lead to gifts of knowing. Silence allows open space for individual and group reflection as well as opportunity to hear voices which have not been expressed. As group facilitators we are often uncomfortable with silence in the class. If we throw out a question for discussion and no one responds within a few seconds, we are tempted to jump in and fill the void. At this point, it is fundamental to ask ourselves the question of whose needs are being served? (Bolton, 1979) Is breaking the silence a way of saving our students from the possible embarrassment of not knowing the answer, or are we seeking a way to relieve our own inner disquiet? When we pause and allow our students the luxury of quiet reflection, they often respond in more thoughtful ways. At times, we need to quiet our own "expert" voices to encourage students to grapple with ideas and discover their own answers.
Silence can also be called upon intentionally in a classroom. Palmer (1983) sometimes calls for silent reflection in the midst of an emotionally charged discussion that seems to be counter-productive to achieving understanding.
I try to help my students learn to spot these moments and settle into a time of quiet reflection in which the knots might come untied. We need to abandon the notion that "nothing is happening" when it is silent, to see how much new clarity a silence often brings. (p.80)
Group facilitators might also regulate conversation by limiting the amount of times any one person may contribute, or by using a talking piece (Baldwin, 1994) where only the person holding the piece may speak and others must listen without interruption. This serves to quiet the more dominant class members while bringing the quieter voices into the discourse. Jerry was not aware that he and other males tended to dominate class discussions until it was brought to his attention by an instructor. He just assumed that those who were quiet didn't want to speak out. When questioned, they admitted that they did want to participate but did not feel they had as much to contribute. After this revelation, Jerry made more of an effort to draw out the quieter class members by asking for their input. He realized that he was not learning while he continued to talk, so he focused on listening. As other voices were brought into the circle, the richness of the learning experience was increased.
All of us need time to grow quiet within ourselves, actively and passively seeking the knowledge and insight that comes through reflective ways of knowing.
Total Sensory Awareness
In our research, many students relate that, for them, class is a very invigorating experience. Often, the adrenaline continues well into the night after students return home. They simply cannot go to sleep. For us as instructors this is a common occurrence as well. We attribute this to a heightened state of awareness. There is high expectation for class meetings including intense discourse, meaningful connections with other people, and the after effects of exhilaration. Why is this? Patterson (1989) suggests that, "seeing, in the finest and broadest sense, means using your senses, your intellect, and your emotions. It means encountering your subject matter with your whole being" (p. 12). A key aspect to experiential learning, whose assumptions underlie many cohort learning groups, is that the learner is in direct contact with a person, place or thing. Being in direct contact with other persons pursuing inquiry and thus seizing opportunities makes for a powerful, often transforming educational experience.
Peter Kelder (1989), a yoga teacher, has said that practicing any one of the six postures, that he has learned and teaches, will have great impact. However, he has said that practicing all six postures, routinely, can be life changing. So too, if members of cohorts practice any one of the methods to deepening awareness, the experience will be richer. However, when all of these methods are utilized the potential for collaborative groups is yet to be realized.
While preparing for this paper, sitting by a lake, a Great Blue Heron in perfect profile caught our attention. In the process of retrieving the camera in an attempt to photograph the heron, it shifted its position. While focusing the camera and composing the photograph, the heron took off in flight. The photographic opportunity was lost. In our work with students we have come to realize the importance of seizing learning opportunities as they occur; or like the heron, they disappear.
References
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Palmer, P. J. (1983). To know as we are known: A Spirituality of Education. San Francisco: Harper & Row.
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Presented at the Alliance/ACE Conference
October 3, 1996.
