Title: Learning Theories/Post-Modern Theories - Wikibooks, open books for an open world
Headings: Learning Theories/Post-Modern Theories
Learning Theories/Post-Modern Theories
Contents
Overview
Defining causality (What causes shifts)
Cultural shifts (How it occurs)
The current debate (The basic definitions of PoMo)
Case studies & workplace examples

Content: Learning Theories/Post-Modern Theories - Wikibooks, open books for an open world
Learning Theories/Post-Modern Theories
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Contents
1 Overview
2 Defining causality (What causes shifts)
3 Cultural shifts (How it occurs)
4 The current debate (The basic definitions of PoMo)
5 Case studies & workplace examples
Overview
Postmodernism, by the nature of the movement itself, is not easy to define. To understand postmodernism in the context of adult learning, it may be beneficial to first understand that the postmodern movement is much larger than adult learning. It is inclusive of a wide variety of disciplines and areas of study including art, architecture, music, film, literature, sociology, communications, fashion, technology, and education (Klages, 2003). Because postmodernism is as much a philosophical movement as it is a learning theory, it is impossible to discuss the movement without also discussing the underlying philosophy and ubiquity of the postmodern movement. Post-modernism differs from most approaches to learning in two fundamental ways. The first is that rationality and logic are not important to attaining knowledge. The second is that knowledge can be contradictory. Because of the contextual nature of knowledge, individuals can hold two completely incongruent views of one subject at the same time (Kilgore, 2001). Post-modernism relates to post-industrialism. The industrial era came about as a result of Newtonian thinking – an era wherein thought and processes were considered in mechanistic terms of efficiency and effectiveness and understood scientifically through the processes of reductionism (the simplification of the complex into understandable, and at times oversimplistic terms).