Provides guidelines to assist the continuing educator in understanding and working with older adults. The guidelines follow the development of a probable learning session: (1) gaining attention and developing expectations, (2) reviewing relevant information, (3) presenting new information, (4) feedback, and (5) transforming information to life…

Argues that adult literacy instruction should develop slowly over time and begin in the expressive and poetic discourse modes. (HOD)

Examines the construction of competence-based instruction in a curriculum designed for working adults, offering principles of good practice related to stated outcomes, responsiveness to student differences, instructional modes and settings, advising, and promoting self-directed learning. Suggests that course materials should be chosen to provide…

Favors community college recognition of the diversity of potential college students. Argues for research into the major areas and stages of adult development through analysis of individual ego, moral, and intellectual differences in relation to individual orientations toward knowledge, educational practices, and programmatic alternatives. (CM)

Makes teaching suggestions based on teaching writing to older adults. Addresses such issues as teacher condescension toward students, students' needs for teacher support of their activities, death as a writing subject, displaying emotion in class, and the politics of aging. (RL)

Autobiography has generally been recognized for its literary and artistic aspects, and as a result has been largely overlooked as an instructional method in adult and continuing education. This paper argues for a wider use of autobiography in adult and continuing education programs, proposing that autobiography actually encompasses not only the…

This book seeks to locate the essence of adult experiential learning, a central phenomenon in adult education. Chapter 1, The Theme of Adult Experiential Learning in Research, addresses theory building in adult education and developing a deeper understanding of adult experiential learning. Chapter 2, Theoretical Underpinnings and Methodology,…

This book is designed to influence adult educators to make more intentional choices toward developmental growth in their work with adult learners. Part 1 provides a rationale for attending to developmental growth of adult learners and a framework of intentions to encourage such development. Chapter 1 describes characteristics of adult learners and…

This publication, the first in a series on theory, innovation, and practice in andragogy, is a reproduction of two papers first published in 1971 by Coolie Verner and Catherine V. Davison. The first paper in this booklet explores psychological factors in adult learning and instruction, while the second discusses physiological factors. In the five…

This second issue of a series on theory, innovation, and practice in andragogy analyzes some of the instructional variables in adult learning and discusses ways to influence the degree of learning through the application of instructional and behavioral technologies. It unites theory and practice, generating recommendations from the abstract…

This paper identifies and describes specific applications of knowledge from other disciplines to adult education. It is observed that the concept of adult educators' borrowing from other fields has been widely discussed in both North and South America. Verner's criteria for selecting usable material are cited. The following four general topics of…

This book discusses how spiritual development is informed by culture, how spirituality assists in meaning making, and how understanding the relationship between culture and spirituality can help adult educators make their students' educational experiences more transformative and culturally relevant. Particular attention is paid to spirituality's…

Robert Kegan's constructive-development theory of adult growth postulates three different ways of knowing (instrumental, socializing, and self-authoring) and suggests that, although individuals develop differently, individual development can never be separated from culture. The potential of the constructive-development perspective on adult…