Adult learners are a significant proportion of distance learners and many of these students are working mothers. Several instructional design models center the learner, and this requires understanding the learner needs, strengths, and context. There is a gap in the literature describing the experience of modern working mother students in distance…

It is no secret that many adult learners who enter GED® preparatory programs across the country experienced hardship and difficulty in K-12 schools. Often, many of these same students had to battle with learning disabilities such as ADD/ADHD, making school and learning an even more challenging task. Learning and concentration difficulties are…

Through an analysis of students' reactions to transcription exercises, this exploratory study examined some of the differences between two forms of written help enhancing listening passages--second language (L2) captions and transcripts. This primarily qualitative analysis highlighted the role that student proficiency levels may have played in…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe how Colombian adult English language learners (ELL) select and use language learning strategies (LLS). This study used Oxford's (1990a) taxonomy for LLS as its theoretical framework. Semi-structured interviews and a focus group interview, were conducted, transcribed, and analyzed for 12…

A survey of study behaviors was mailed to 300 adult students enrolled in two distance learning programs of The American College. The sample included three groups: high passers, low passers, and failers. The survey instrument was a 50-item rating scale measuring study practices in six areas: elaborative processing, information processing, attitude…

Reports on a study that examined the response of adult learners, 11 undergraduates, to instructional content presented as hypermedia. Most learners adapted comfortably to the medium, both by imposing "old" learning techniques on it and using new "situated" ones suggested on the tutorial. Their self-evaluation assessed both…

This book on adult learning is divided into six sections. Section 1, Cognitive Processes, includes the following chapters: "Cognitive Processes: Contemporary Paradigms of Learning" (Jack Mezirow); "Information Processing, Memory, Age and Adult Learning" (Gillian Boulton-Lewis); "Adult Learners' Metacognitive Behaviour in Higher Education" (Barry…

There is evidence to suggest that mature students learn particularly effectively in a problem-solving environment, and that they appear to be especially responsive to analogies and metaphors. Three examples are given of domains where the student has to convert a formulation into an equivalent diagram. Arguably, the process of performing this…

Discusses the following factors influencing learning: (1) environment; (2) emotional makeup; (3) persistence; (4) timing of learning; (5) teaching method; (6) cognitive style; (7) food intake; and (8) psychological factors, including the difference between analytical and global thinking. Discusses how to get a sense of one's personal learning…

This article defines the cultural nature and scale of change in learning consciousness that has to take place when the organizationally-based adult learner makes the transition from formal prescriptive learning practice to self-owned, self-directed learning. It articulates some of the learning-to-learn process models that introduce, accelerate,…

Reports on three studies of the learning strategies of adult students of second languages. The research identified two distinct approaches to vocabulary learning that differed in aspects relating to independent study, self-initiated learning activities, recording of lexical items studied, review of these records, and practice of vocabulary outside…

Maintains that adult students have distinctive learning characteristics. Briefly discusses these characteristics, their relationship to learning the musical keyboard, and pedagogical approaches that accommodate these characteristics. Interviews several teachers and recounts their specific techniques. A selected resources list includes methods and…

The focus of the adult education field is shifting to adult learning. Current trends are the continued development of the concepts of andragogy and self-directed learning, increased emphasis on learning how to learn, and real-life learning. Cognitive psychology is influencing work in adult learning. The concept of intelligence as it relates to…

This booklet presents strategies developed by six adult basic education (ABE) staff members for helping students with specific learning problems. The strategies were devised through reading, talking with experts in the field, attending a workshop, and experimenting with modified teaching strategies. The guide addresses 36 specific learning…

A study focused on the relationship between instructional strategies and students' reported meta-skill attainment in an adult education context. Using the data collected from 2,507 end-of-course surveys of students in the Graduate Studies in Education program at Indiana Wesleyan University, analyses were run to test for correlations between the…