This paper presents a critical account of the extent and the ways in which learner-centred education approaches are used as a tool for enhancing adult learning in distance learning universities as well as the conditions and restrictions they face. The exploration is illustrated by qualitative data from interviews with eight adult educators and 16…

Most adult education practitioners will understand the special requirements educators should attend to when educating adults. While Malcolm Knowles's adult education principles might not meet the strictest definition of principles, their universal adoption and acceptance by adult educators affords them the same weight as principles. So, as Knowles…

Play, along with curiosity, confidence, challenge, control, and communication, is one of six components of an intrinsically motivated museum experience (Perry, 1993). The potential of play in museums is centered in its ability to promote situations where a person is not only motivated to learn, but is propelled into the learning process, and finds…

This paper deals with specific characteristics of elders,1 bearing in mind both their cognitive and their non-cognitive aspects. Regarding their way of learning, the paper refers to basic principles for this group of people: active learning, situational analysis, their experience, awareness that they have--and need--specific time and rhythm for…

Examines differences in teaching adults as compared to younger learners. Discusses variations in background and expectations, reasons for taking courses, applying what is learned, fears of not fitting into school settings, and fears of not achieving. (CT)

Three years of helping faculty members at a state university learn computing technology yielded the following lessons: (1) for faculty members, the ownership of a computer is an emotional event during which computers are viewed successively as glorified typewriters, status symbols, and tools; (2) even to highly knowledgeable individuals, learning…

The document contains a brief outline of the conference proceedings and the text of two papers presented at the conference. Alan M. Rubin's paper, "Give Me a Fish and I Eat for a Day. Teach Me to Fish and I Eat for a Lifetime" (from the Babylonian Talmud), examines the question of whether our institutions of higher education are providing the…

Older learners are often led into adult education by a quest for self-development and the wish to make meaning of the human experience. Adult educators should explore and appreciate the process of human development in the last stage. In old age there can be a merging of the knowledge of the body (life's stories) and of the spirit (developmental…

This module on enhancing motivation is the eighth of 11 modules in the set, Introduction to Teaching Adults. Designed to meet the learning needs of part-time continuing education instructors, these modules can be used as resource materials for local workshops or study-discussion groups, as self-instruction (each module takes approximately two…

This monograph for the experienced or novice adult basic education (ABE) instructor reviews some basic concepts in the area of adult learning and provides some ideas for practical application of these concepts in individual settings. It is divided into two parts. The first four chapters are aimed at the trainer who is instructing part-time ABE…

One of the most important implications for professional adult educators drawn from this review of the literature (emphasizing seven research studies which focus on the individual learner) stems from the increasing evidence that adults plan a great deal of learning for themselves without any assistance or intervention from professional adult…

This book, which is intended to serve as a practical and immediately usable resource for adult educators, trainers, and staff developers, examines ways of deepening adult learners' motivation to learn. Chapters 1-3 examine the following: theory and research supporting how motivation affects instruction; characteristics and skills of a motivating…

BROAD TOPICS COVERED IN THE SYLLABUS FOR TEACHERS OF ADULT BASIC EDUCATION ARE--THE INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE, DEFINITION OF THE DISADVANTAGED POPULATION (CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS OF MINORITY GROUPS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS), ADULT LEARNING PROCESS (MOTIVATION, OBJECTIVES, TYPES OF TEACHERS NEEDED, TEACHING TECHNIQUES), COUNSELING AND GUIDANCE…

This document explains how adult and community educators in the United Kingdom can involve adults as equal partners in the provision and delivery of adult learning. The guide profiles many innovative and imaginative ways in which adult and community learning practitioners are engaging with their communities in increasing the demand for adult…