This article presents findings from a participatory evaluation of alumni groups--Think Tanks--affiliated with the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Think Tanks are cocurricular settings wherein participants develop and apply skills and capacities valuable within and beyond the context of meetings. Data come from nine focus groups convened in…

Educational research on belonging shows that a student's sense of belonging in the classroom can positively affect everything from cognitive functioning and academic achievement to participation and retention (Baumeister et al., 2002; Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Goodenow, 1993; Osterman, 2000; Pintrich & DeGroot, 1990; Slaten et al., 2018).…

This research explores the difficulties faced by many migrant, refugee, and immigrant adults confronted with technological ubiquity in economically developed countries. Preparing migrant adult learners for the digital world by building digital literacy skills can help to maintain home language proficiency, support English language learning, and…

Correctional Education English as a Second Language (ESL) literacy programs vary from state to state, region to region. Some states enroll their correctional ESL students in adult basic education (ABE) classes; other states have separate classes and programs. At the Maryland Correctional Institution in Jessup, the ESL class is a self-contained…

This article reviews teacher professional development norms as they are shifting toward collaborative practice. It is posed that passive and individual practices are inadequate to prepare teachers to integrate the academic skills that learners need for both workforce and college readiness. Promising practices in professional development are…

Self-directed learning has contributed significantly to adult learners' personal and professional growth. Approximately 70% of adult learning is through a self-directed learning context (Heimstra, 2008). This quantitative correlational study involved an attempt to determine the nature of the relationship between situational, dispositional, and…

Recent research from the K-12 field indicates that professional development (PD) is a necessary (although not sufficient) factor in improving teacher quality. The research also clearly identifies ways to make professional learning activities for teachers effective. Yet the adult basic education and literacy (ABEL) field is not, for the most part,…

The current economic crisis, a growing workforce, the increasing lifespan of workers, and demanding, complex jobs have made organizations highly selective in employee recruitment and retention. It is therefore important, to the adult educator, to develop models of learning that better prepare adult learners for the workplace. The purpose of…

This study investigated informal learning activities among low-education adults, using data from the 2005 National Household Education Survey. Survey respondents were asked about their participation in six types of informal learning activities, from reading books to using computers to attending conventions. Respondents with the lowest educational…

Student feedback is essential to improving the quality of instruction in higher education. This article chronicles the process by which an end-of-course reflection exercise was used to gather additional feedback from students and to determine learning outcomes in online course for adult learners. Students were given guiding questions for the…

Adults who have low levels of education often lack the skills needed to succeed in the labor market (OECD and Statistics Canada 2000). One way for adults to overcome this skill disadvantage is to participate in learning activities offered through the formal education system, at the workplace, or by other organizations. This Issue Brief uses data…

In many U.S. prisons an overuse of individualized instruction silences literacy learners and reinforces oppressive notions about what knowledge is and whose knowledge counts. In these classrooms, methods that invite learners to tap their background knowledge, reflect on their worlds, and dialogue with others to construct meaning--commonplace in…

This exercise is intended to help those working with adult basic education (ABE) students gain greater insight into the interests and concerns of adults entering their program. It is a group activity that presumes that at least some of the participants are familiar with entering students. It can be adapted to reflect the traditional two or three…

A learner-centered approach to adult group instruction involved learners in investigating 20th-century events. The approach allowed learners to concentrate on different activities according to their abilities and gave them opportunities to develop basic skills and practice teamwork. (SK)

This book of supplemental exercises is one of a series of books designed to provide educational materials for students in addition to the instructional texts in the Adult Learning Skills Program. Exercises in this basic level book are for the reading subject area. Course numbers and exercise topics are: 301 (antonyms, compound words, silent…