Chapter 1 and Principle #1

I really need to check out Vella's 1995 book - she named 50 principles and practices that work to make dialogue education effective. Can you image attempting to remember 50??!! I'm just working on the 12 in this book!

First, Vella's basic assumption "is that adult learning is best achieved in dialogue. Dia means 'between,' logos means 'words.' Hence, dia + logue = 'the word between us.' (p. 3.). Vella further quotes from Knowles that "adults have enough life experiences to be in dialogue with any teacher about any subject and will learn new knowledge, attitudes, or skills best in relation to that life experience" (p. 3.)

Sticking with the 12 principles in this book - Vella states all are interconnected and intrinsically related to one another and you cannot exclude any of them. The first chapter briefly discusses each principle.

Principle 1: Needs Assessment. This is the WWW question: Who needs what as defined by whom? That short questions speaks volumes -- who (as needers), what (as needs), whom (as definers.) As Vella states "reveals the political issues involved in preparing a course for adult learners" (p. 5.) Vella also makes another statement that I like, "Remember that needs assessment does not form the course; it informs it" (p. 7.)

Applying quantum theory to a needs assessment may open a plethora of alternatives to capture this information. Vella is not short on offering ideas that have been used. One that caught my attention was contact with participants prior to the learning event. Now some of the naysayers might be saying, 'how the heck can you call every student?' - but I follow the path 'if there's a will; there's a way'. I just have to spend more time figuring out the way!