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Week 7 Discussion

Culture is an important part of human beings. Each one of us grew up with a set of norms

and believes that we think it is normal but might be unusual, unfamiliar, or uncommon for

someone who has a different background and culture than us. Merriam and Bierema (2014)

mention “the word culture may conjure different images…” (p. 238). As an educator, it is

important that we understand that culture affects individuals in so many levels, therefore we

should learn about their culture and accept them regardless of their culture. Learning about a

culture does not mean that we must know everything about that culture, but to familiarize

ourselves with the most important viewpoints that might affect the students learning.

One of the specific tools that we can bring to our work is our knowledge about our

privileges and powers. Merriam and Bierema (2014) provide a great example of the privileges

and powers of doctors and teachers. In this example, they mentioned that the doctors were not

even aware of their privileges and powers (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). If we understand our

own privileges, powers, and biases, we can understand our students as well. The next tool that

we can use is the environment. Adult learners need a safe, welcoming, and relax environment

where they feel comfortable to share their thoughts and ideas. As mentioned by Merriam and

Bierema (2014) culture the way that adult learners respond to teachers. Not all students are

comfortable asking questions before they learn about the subject or sit in a non-traditional way

and have a discussion. Therefore, creating an environment that fosters cultural acceptance is an

important tool.

Educators are responsible to understand the cultural shock, specifically working with

adults from different backgrounds. Cultural shock is the moment when the individual realizes the

newness of the environment (TEDx Talks, 2016). Only then they can guide their students from a
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culture shock to a cultural familiarity. As an educator, it is our responsibility to recognize that

every learning situation has some elements of culture shook both for the students and educators.

As true lifelong learners, we should constantly learn and change our perspective about our

students’ culture and familiarize ourselves with how culture affects their learning.

The POP “is an easy to remember design trick that reminds us to decide the learning purpose,

outcome(s), and process” (Merriam & Bierema, 2014, p. 257). The POP tool helps educators to

identify the purpose of learning for the student, the outcomes or objectives of the lessons, and the

best process for an authentic and meaningful experience. This tool aligns with the topic because

as adult educators, we should understand that adult learners participate in learning to reach a

specific goal and to support them, we should be able to identify their goals and provide the

materials that help them reach the outcomes that they want. Some might argue that the outcome

of the program is an important element. However, we should keep in mind that adults chose to be

in that specific classroom and know what the outcomes and objectives of the course are.

Peer Question: How did you overcome a cultural shock? Please explain.
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References

Merriam, S. & Bierema, L. (2014). Adult learning linking theory and practice. Jossey-Bass.

TEDx Talks. (2016, November 3). Why we need to embrace culture shock | Kristofer Gilmour |

TEDxTownsville [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGSD6jduFJg