Modeling the personal adult learner: the concept of PLE re-interpreted

ABSTRACT

This paper argues for conceptualizing the notion of personal learning environments in higher education from an explicit adult education perspective that emphasizes the realization, re-instrumentation, and integration of learning activity in the wider context of adult life. It discusses and re-interprets an existing proposal for modeling “the personal learner” on the basis of the Viable System Model in this context and provides an empirical illustration for the conceptual utility of such an approach for educational intervention work in higher education. The paper concludes that a careful redesign and reconfiguration of learning activity in formal educational settings is a necessary and important educational intervention goal in itself, allowing for expansive connections between specific forms of learning activity and the wider context of adult life. Such an approach treats participants as developing “adult learners” who gradually gain conscious control over their own modeling of learning activity, its flexible realization via personal learning projects, and their instrumentation via personal learning environments.

KEYWORDS:

• Personal learning environment
• personal adult learner
• viable system model
• higher education
• learning activity
• personal learning projects

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Dr. Terje Väljataga is a senior researcher at Tallinn University in the Centre for Educational Technology. She holds a Master degree in Geoecology, Tallinn University, Estonia; a Master degree in Telematics Applications in Education and Training, University of Twente, The Netherlands and a Doctor of Science in Technology, Hypermedia Lab, Tampere University of Technology, Finland. Terje has teaching and coaching experience on the level of secondary, higher, and adult education. Currently, her research interests are related to adult education and media pedagogy, social media implementation in higher education and personal development, personal learning environments in formal and informal educational settings, competence advancement for self-directing intentional learning projects, and teachers’ educational technology competencies.

Dr. Sebastian H. D. Fiedler is a Professor for Digital Transformation at Nuertingen–Geislingen University, Germany. He holds a PhD in Education from the University of Turku, Finland, a MEd in Instructional Technology from the University of Georgia, USA, and a Master in Psychology from the University of Erlangen–Nürnberg, Germany. His research interests are in the area of digital re–mediation of learning activity in higher education, educational design research, experience design, and various aspects of digital transformation in the workplace, email address: [email protected].

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.