Contribution to Book
Prior Learning Assessment and the Developmental Journey: From “Mapless” to Cartographer
The Oxford Handbook of Reciprocal Adult Development and Learning (2nd edn)
(2011)
Abstract
Prior learning assessment (PLA), once primarily a process to earn academic credit for extramural
learning, has been recognized as a meaningful learning experience in its own right. This chapter,
which includes sections on history, research, theory, and practice, examines PLA-related outcomes
consistent with transformative learning and constructive-developmental theories. Using the metaphor
of “map maker” to describe changes in adult learners’ ways of knowing, the authors illustrate
movement from mapless to multiple map users to cartographers—the latter being those who can
reconstruct, redene, and recreate the maps they use to make meaning of an increasingly complex
world. Educational practices shown to support these changes include reecting critically on
experience, writing-to-learn, exposure to multiple perspectives, and mentoring. These discoveries
may inform adult educators’ approaches to teaching and learning beyond the boundaries of a PLA
course.
Keywords
- experiential learning,
- reflection,
- transformative learning,
- adult development,
- holding environment,
- cognitive complexity,
- teaching and learning,
- writing-to-learn,
- mentoring,
- adult education,
- epistemological transformation
Disciplines
Publication Date
2011
Editor
C. Hoare
Publisher
Oxford University Press
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199736300.001.0001
Citation Information
Kathleen Taylor. "Prior Learning Assessment and the Developmental Journey: From “Mapless” to Cartographer" The Oxford Handbook of Reciprocal Adult Development and Learning (2nd edn) (2011) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kathleen-taylor/168/