Patricia Boverie

A survey of gender and learning styles

This study was conducted to investigate differences in learning styles between men and women. The study is based on the learning style work by Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule and David Kolb. A survey that included the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, 12 Educational Dialectical questions, and a subjective question was administered to 72 subjects of various ethnic groups. The results showed that men and women were found to have different learning styles, and in general, men seemed to find congruence between traditional education and their learning style while women did not.

Life Mission and Adult Learning.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between adult learning and life mission. This was a qualitative, exploratory study intended to generate theory by studying the impact of mission on learning. A model emerged from the research that proposes the relationship of life mission to self-directed learning and to transformational learning. This study suggests that adult educators can improve the learning process by providing the means for learners to understand their life mission and how it relates to their own learning. Life mission explication may also support a change in the learning experience from being more teacher-directed to being more student-directed. The study proposes that emancipatory learning must include not only awareness building but also purpose seeking.

Multimethodological approach to examining risk-taking

Research on risk-taking behavior has shown to yield inconsistent findings. Three studies were conducted using four different analysis techniques. The first study used a phenomenological approach and qualitative analysis to gain an understanding of risk-taking. A model of factors relating to risk-taking was developed and tested in a second study. The third study was conducted to develop scales of risk and used magnitude estimation and multidimensional scaling techniques. Results from the studies confirmed the multidimensionality of the construct of risk-taking. Also indicated was a gender difference in risk-taking behavior and perception. These studies expand our knowledge of risk-taking behavior in that 1) a method of categorizing risks was developed, 2) gender similarities and differences in risk-taking were explored, and 3) perceived magnitude and underlying dimensions of risk were developed.

Using the Discovering Model to Facilitate Transformative Learning in Higher Education

This chapter discusses a simple model that faculty and students can use to help understand the transformative learning process and the role personal agency can play for individuals who wish to initiate the process themselves.

Leading Individual Development and Organizational Change Around Learning, Meaning, and Nurturing Environment

The Problem Today’s organizations compete for top talent in a global marketplace. Employees seek work that is interesting and meaningful, where they can be engaged and continuously learning. While much is written about employee engagement, leaders need a model for structuring workplaces where employees can be passionate about their work and where there are opportunities for employees to learn and grow. The Solution This article contends that the time is right for developing workplaces that are humane, positive, and challenging. Drawing on the Organizational Intimacy (OI) framework and incorporating ideas from positive psychology, leaders can create positive environments by promoting a nurturing workplace, encouraging meaningful work, and fostering environments where employees love their work. The Stakeholders The primary stakeholders for this article are senior leaders and Human Resource and Organizational Development practitioners seeking to build humane and positive workplaces. In addition, HRD scholars studying frameworks that incorporate ideas from positive psychology will also find this article of interest.

A Transformation Model for Passion in the Workplace

The more we know about the world, the more that we know that we cannot separate the physical from the social, the biological from the spiritual, or the historical from the present or future. Everything is interconnected. Stanley Milgram’s “six degrees of separation” research of the 1960s has developed into highly sophisticated studies of networks (Buchanan, 2002). It turns out that there are deeply similar network structures in areas as complex and diverse as the World Wide Web, the food webs of any ecological system, and the networks linking the economic activity of any nation (Buchanan, 2002).

The Restructuring of a College of Education: a case study

Abstract This paper documents the process and the results of restructuring the College of Education at the University of New Mexico. The goal is to inform other colleges and universities of these experiences to assist them to manage change and to anticipate the issues that will arise during the process. Results of the restructuring process are presented with a brief description of the actual implementation plan. Also included is a discussion of the major questions posed by the college as it experienced the restructuring process.