Rachel Page

Reflection: Chapter 4
9/17/2015
1. At what moment did you feel most engaged with the course
materials and/or activities this week? Please describe what was
happening or what you were reading and tell me why you felt
engaged.
The moment I was most engaged with this weeks chapter was the in depth
analysis on McClusky Theory of Margin. McClusky describes his theory as
Grounded in the notion that adulthood is the time of growth, change, and
integration in which one constantly seeks balance between the amount of
energy needed and the amount available (2006 p. 93).
This theory is interesting to me, because as a working adult, I wanted to
understand what the difference was between amount of energy needed
and amount of energy available. The chapter goes on to talk about
Caroline who is a single mom and wants to make a better life for her
children. Caroline enrolls in school, and she also makes sure that her children
have proper child care, but if life gets in the way of any of these things,
Carolines margin of power would be interrupted and she would have very
little margin to deal with her present situation.
2. At what moment were you most distanced from course materials
or activities this week? What were you reading or doing? Please
describe your experience.
The activity that I was most distanced from this week was role with the
conference call. The actual conference call went well with lots of participation
and feedback but the role of the 10 person was hard for our whole group to
wrap our heads around. The question, Do adults learn differently from
children was brought up and we talked and debated this topic; but all in all,
its a confusing role.
3. What concept or idea did you find most helpful this week? Please
describe what was particularly helpful about this material.
The concept that I found most helpful for this week was Jarviss Learning
Process. This process theorizes that all learning begins with the five human
sensations of sound, sight, smell, taste, and touch. He believes that our
learning is ultimately dependent on our body and biology is a significant
factor in the learning process not because of our genes, but because of the
way that our senses function (2006, p.13). Javiss theory confirms that our

learning process begins in our mothers womb and that all learning
experiences occur within the learners world.

4. What concept or idea did you find most puzzling or confusing in

the readings this week? If you have any further questions about this
concept, please put them here.
The concept that I found most puzzling was the definition of what an adult is
in our PDFs this week. Our class defines adulthood as being 18 but Knowles
defines it as, One who has arrived at a self - concept of being responsible
for ones own life, of being self- directing (Knowles p.9). If that is the case,
then should educators view people who are 18 who do not take responsibility
for ones own life?