Learning from Our Lives Using Educational Biographies with Adults

"This book is refreshingly personal and studded with insightful case study examples. It is a timely and major contribution to the literature of adult education.

Educational biography is a promising new approach to helping adult learners understand what they already know, how and why they learned in the past, and what motivates them to pursue new educational opportunities. Through the process of talking in groups and writing their histories, participants can not only reflect on their learning experiences, but enhance their critical thinking, collaborate in their own educational journeys, and build their awareness of such situational influences as family, work, and community.

Learning from Our Lives is the first professional guide to using educational biography with adult learners. It offers engaging anecdotes and narratives, insightful interpretations and analyses, and numerous examples of different biographical approaches. Written for practitioners who conduct adult educational programs in formal or informal settings, this book can help teachers, trainers, career counselors, and human resource professionals to empower learners in assuming greater responsibility for their education and development. Author Pierre Dominicé draws valuable lessons from his work with educational biography to describe the multiple ways in which adults think and learn. His explorations help educators to stay focused on learning and not just teaching.

"This book is refreshingly personal and studded with insightful case study examples. It is a timely and major contribution to the literature of adult education."
--Jack Mezirow, professor emeritus, Adult and Continuing Education, Teachers College, Columbia University

"A brilliant tribute to the value of teachers intentionally guiding students to sharpen what I believe Howard Gardner has named intrapersonal intelligence."
--Margaret Holt, assistant professor, University of Georgia, Athens

"A valuable contribution to the growing dialogue centering around narrative approaches to education, autobiographical learning, and ways in which autobiographical activities stimulate personal growth and transformative learning."
--Marsha Rossiter, associate director, Division of Continuing Education and Extension, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh

This is the first professional guide to using educational biography with adult learners. It offers engaging anecdotes and narratives, insightful interpretations and analyses, and numerous examples of different biographical approaches. Written for practitioners who conduct adult educational programs in formal or informal settings, this book can help teachers, trainers, career counselors, and human resource professionals to empower learners in assuming greater responsibility for their education and development. Pierre Dominice draws valuable lessons from his work with educational biography to describe the multiple ways in which adults think and learn. His explorations help educators to stay focused on learning and not just teaching.