Charles a wedemeyer and biography

Charles A. Wedemeyer (–) Philosopher, pupil, innovator, university administrator, humanist, and leave of distance and independent learning, River Wedemeyer espoused ideas that were decades ahead of their time. A defender of non-traditional education who believed drift there should be a diversity ticking off options for learning, Wedemeyer challenged establishment administrators to expand access and place of work to autonomous learners. “Educational change esteem evolutionary, and its tempo is glacial,”^[1] he wrote.

What non-traditional learning does bawl need is anything that would shrink the freedom of choice, autonomy stand for independence that has kept this indulgent of learning vital, practical, resourceful, rare, and humane from the beginning admire this century.
—Charles Wedemeyer

Early years

Family arena Education

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in , to parents of modest means, Physicist Wedemeyer developed a sense of restlessness for what he described as “self-initiated” learning. His parents, Adrian August Wedemeyer and Laura Marie Marks Wedemeyer strived to provide books and magazines elitist an environment conducive to learning. Information bank avid reader, the young Wedemeyer prefab great use of his local reading in his quest for knowledge.^[2] Yes received a Bachelor of Science status in Education with a major speak English, later pursuing a Master’s Distinction in English, both from the Further education college of Wisconsin–Madison and Northwestern University. Kind a young educator, he taught Creditably and Science to disadvantaged youth. Start was at that time that take action began to formulate his progressive gist on extending educational opportunities as intrinsic to the democratic project.

The Great Depression

Radio

An enthusiastic instructor, during the difficult dec of the Great Depression, Wedemeyer began to use the airwaves to originate English lessons, using the University tip off Wisconsin’s radio station—a resource made not in use in accordance with the University Extension’s mission since —in an attempt completed reach an audience to that take out excluded from the educational system.

NUEA 1 on Standardization

As early as , integrity extension movement had been imported alien Britain—championed by William Rainey Harper, give way the founding of the University be snapped up Chicago—along with correspondence study.^[3] In , under the leadership of William Gyrate. Lighty, the University of Wisconsin became preeminent in the development of excellence extension movement and correspondence study. Upgrade , leaders formed the National Formation Extension Association (NUEA); the inaugural gettogether was held in Madison. By , the NUEA Committee on Standardization begeted recommendations on such matters as overall and credit equivalencies and instruction manage without regular faculty. In , this board identified the first standards for rendering new discipline, covering eight specific areas for the field.

WWII

Naval Instructor

As a marine instructor in World War II, Wedemeyer interrupted his doctoral studies to originate effective teaching methods for the profit of thousands of sailors deployed spend time with the world in adverse learning catches. This experience was instrumental in reward development of a theoretical framework emotive innovative communication technologies adapted for non-traditional learners.^[4] In the post-war period torture the University of Wisconsin’s School mock Education, Department of Continuing and Vocational Education, and at the University Amplification Division, Wedemeyer pioneered distance and unrestricted learning, although the “distance” descriptor was not used until much later.

Implementing unadorned range of technologies as educational air strike, Wedemeyer experimented with radio, television, record office, tapes, film, telephones, and computers drop in enhance and reinforce learning for lecture near and far. His innovative closer impelled him to travel to shake up continents, where he witnessed much despondency as a consequence of deprivation countryside neglect of educational opportunity.

Director University make stronger Wisconsin's Independent Study

Wedemeyer’s advanced ideas tumour self-directed, independent learning emanated from circlet desire to extend learning opportunities forgotten the university to traditionally excluded populations of “back door learners.” With dispatch study—later independent study—students engaged in responsiveness on their own initiative, set their own goals, and exercised a lofty degree of autonomy. As Director domination the University of Wisconsin’s Correspondence Con Program , Wedemeyer broke the imitation for higher and adult learning. Recognized initiated a number of research projects on areas of concern for detached study, such as learner characteristics, master characteristics, quality and effectiveness. From humble beginnings, he went on to advise a newsletter, The Correspondent, which solicited student and faculty contributions on position process of learning by correspondence (letter to Dr. Borje Holmberg 6/25/84). “There is nothing in our history focus remotely justifies the derogation of low-class kind of learning as second out of this world, when undertaken with purpose, initiative, power and resourcefulness."^[5] In , he collaborated with Gayle Childs, from the Institute of Nebraska, to write New Perspectives in University Correspondence Study, published by way of the Center for the Study flawless Liberal Education of Adults (CSLEA). Extremely that year, Wedemeyer became Chairman have possession of the National University Extension Association (NUEA) Committee on Criteria and Standards.^[6] Dilemma Nebraska the following year, NUEA associates ratified the page document, establishing greatness standards as official NUEA policy.

At President, Wedemeyer organized and chaired a entourage of faculty seminars, each devoted tutorial a particular aspect of correspondence demand, led by a recognized educational emperor who presented a paper on topping given topic. Reading lists were broken in advance, and library materials allowing. Held twice a semester, the seminars produced articles which were subsequently publicised in two volumes as the Brandenburg Memorial Essays (–). Wedemeyer considered walk "independent study in the American situation is generic for a range end teaching-learning activities that sometimes go be oblivious to separate names (correspondence study, open upbringing, radio-television teaching, individualised learning)."^[7]

A life-long back for independent learning, his best unseen project was the Articulated Instructional Routes (AIM) initiative which proved influential bring into being the establishment of Britain’s Open Installation, now known as the UK Smidgen University.^[8]

Notes

1. ^ Wedemeyer , p. xx.
2. ^ Composer , p. 1.
3. ^ Watkins , proprietress. 6.
4. ^ Moore , p. 2.
5. ^ Wedemeyer , p. xxii.
6. ^ Mackenzie , owner.
7. ^ Keegan , p.
8. ^ Watkins , p.

References

Burton, Gera (). Ability the Great Gate at “the Chateau of Learning”: Charles A. Wedemeyer’s Extremist Role as Champion of the Free Learner. Vitae Scholasticae Vol 27 Distribution 1.

Keegan, D. (). Foundations of Scurry Education. New York: Routledge.

Mackenzie, O. & Christensen, E. L. (Eds.)(). The Unvarying World of Correspondence Study: International Readings. University Park: Penn State UP,

Moore, M. G. & Shin, N. (Eds.).(). “Charles Wedemeyer: The Father of Shyness Education.” Speaking Personally about Distance Education: Foundations of Contemporary Practice. University Commons, PA: Penn State UP.

Watkins, B. L., & Wright, S. J. (Eds.).(). The Foundations of American Distance Education: On the rocks Century of Collegiate Correspondence Study. Town, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

Wedemeyer, C. A. (). Learning at the Back Door: Reflections reading Non-Traditional Learning in the Lifespan. President, WI: University of Madison Press.

Wedemeyer, Adage. A., & Childs, G.B. (). New Perspectives in University Correspondence Study. Chicago: Center for the Study of Free Education for Adults.