This volume challenges the dominant paradigm of how knowledge is typically constructed and shared in adult education settings by focusing on ways in which adult educators can expand learning opportunities and experiences for their learners. Chapter contributors include actors, musicians, photographers, storytellers, and poets, all of who also happen to be adult educators. In each chapter, the author describes how one or more forms of artistic expression were used to promote learning in formal or informal adult education settings. In each case, the purpose of education was not to teach art (that is, not to develop expertise in acting, poetry writing, or creating great works of art). Art appeals universally to us all and has the capacity to bridge cultural differences. Art can also foster individual and social transformation, promoting dialogue and deepening awareness of ourselves and the world around us. This volume is an essential resource for adult educators interested in artistic expression as an teaching tool. This is the 107th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series "New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education".
Table of Contents
EDITOR'S NOTES (Randee Lipson Lawrence). 1. Knowledge Construction as Contested Terrain: Adult Learning Through Artistic Expression (Randee Lipson Lawrence) The chapter challenges rational ways of knowing and textual forms of teaching and learning that predominate in adult education. A case is presented for incorporating the arts into educational programs. 2. Music Works: Music for Adult English Language Learners (Kristin Lems) The value of music for helping adult second language learners master listening comprehension, oral pronunciation, and reading and writing skills is described. Attention to the learners' cultural context is emphasized. 3. Lessons from the Anhinga Trail: Poetry and Teaching (Anne McCrary Sullivan) A poet educator describes uses of poetry in a graduate research course, and as a way of accessing knowledge in a national park. 4. Autophotography in Adult Education: Building Creative Communities for Social Justice and Democratic Education (Keith B. Armstrong) Autophotography, an artistic strategy combining autobiography with photography, is discussed in the context of a participatory residential learning community. 5. Mental Illness Through Popular Theater: Performing (In)Sanely (Steven E. Noble) The author describes how popular theater helped people with mental disorders move from marginalization to social inclusion, and at the same time educated the community about the myths and realities of mental illness. 6. Music for Community Education and Emancipatory Learning (Kevin Olson) This chapter is an historical review of music in adult education for social change, community development, and group identity and solidarity in a variety of contexts. Implications for music in educational programs are discussed. 7. Scrap Mettle SOUL: Learning to Create Social Change at the Intersection of Differences Through Community Performance Theater (Bette Halperin Donoho) The author describes her experiences as a participant observer in an urban community performance group, dramatizing the stories of community residents to bring about awareness and social change. 8. Weaving the Tapestry: Tying Themes and Threads Together (Randee Lipson Lawrence) This chapter integrates and synthesizes the themes presented in the various chapters in this volume. Although the authors work with a number of art forms in varied contexts, there are many commonalities. INDEX.
