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be motivated to reduce anxiety by avoiding situations that change the functional
requirements of their roles (Dahl, 1984; Hungwe, in press). Understanding the con-
nection between knowledge changes and learners' self-understandings is of critical
importance when the goal of learning is to effect changes in professional practices.
The prior experiences of adult learners may become a barrier to learning if they
entail changes in the roles and functions. An adequate theoretical perspective on
learning will seek to anticipate and account for such changes. Nevertheless, learn-
ing is often narrowly construed in terms of knowledge or mental change. However,
changes in knowledge may generate changes in self-understanding and identity as an
integral part of learning (Packer, 1993; Litowitz; 1993; Hungwe, in press). Litowitz
expands on this, arguing that:
Mastering activities and establishing a sense of oneself are not two distinct lines of devel-
opment but are rather, intertwined in complex ways—that one can not study one without
the other (p. 184).
Adult learners participating in professional development programs are, by virtue
of their backgrounds, established in careers where their positions are defined in
terms of specific competencies and roles. New learning experiences always have
the potential to introduce some disequilibrium into those roles and competencies.
The design of instructional programs for adult learners should therefore provide
opportunities to reflect on personal concerns about change as an integral part of the
teacher-learning process.
Overview of Course Design
The course on which this work is based was originally designed by faculty at
Michigan Technological University in 2002. The course was motivated by a desire
to provide professional development to certified science teachers in the state of
Michigan. The objective was to engage teachers with the discourse on the theory and
practice of classroom inquiry and to provide them an opportunity to reflect on the
methodology in the context of their practices. The goals did not include implementa-
tion of classroom inquiry on the part of the teachers. That aspect would be addressed
subsequently, through a different professional development experience. Although
the course was originally designed for teachers in the state of Michigan, teachers
from Hawaii, Florida, Massachusetts, and Canada have also taken the course.
The duration of the course was seven weeks. Web Courseware Tools (WebCT)
was adopted as the platform. WebCT has been acquired by Blackboard and has
been re-named Blackboard Learning System. It features, among other tools, (1) a
centralized Web page where students can locate course-related resources such as a
calendar and a syllabus; (2) a flexible gradebook that allows students to check their
own grades; and (3) communication tools including discussion forums, chat rooms,
and Internal private mail.
