In today's digitally interconnected world, one's ability to collaboratively create with others and compose multimodal texts is essential. Yet, high-stakes standardized assessments that value individualistic print centric conceptions influence instruction, leading schools to often undervalue the multimodal and collaborative composing processes and…

In the assessment of aural skills of second language learners, the study of the inclusion of visual stimuli has almost exclusively been conducted in the context of listening assessment. While the inclusion of contextual information in test input has been advocated for by numerous researchers (Ockey, 2010), little has been said regarding the…

As information literacy programs become more robust, finding methods of reaching students beyond the traditional undergraduate has become a priority for many institutions. At Duquesne University, efforts have been made to reach adult learners in an accelerated program targeted to nontraditional students, much of which is provided online. This…

The incorporation of hot and cold food bars into grocery stores in an effort to capture a portion of the home meal replacement industry is presenting new challenges for retail food establishments. To ensure retail success and customer safety, employees need to be educated in food safety practices. Traditional methods of training are not meeting…

Reduced corporate training budgets require cost efficiencies in professional development. Distance learning, with its lower intrinsic costs, will likely become more prevalent. Therefore, the educational experience will change for many professionals. The objective of this study was to examine the perceptions of adult learners attending a drug…

This article reports on a survey study that investigated the types of authentic materials and activities that ESL teachers of adults utilize and deem successful in their classrooms. Data were gathered through the use of a researcher-developed questionnaire consisting of nine items. Thirty participants provided examples of authentic materials and…

This study examines the effects of learning context and age on second language development by comparing the language gains, measured in terms of oral and written fluency, lexical and syntactic complexity, and accuracy, experienced by four groups of learners of English: children in a study abroad setting, children in their at-home school, adults in…

The authors present a study that used a conceptual framework of adult learning and differentiated learning styles with graduate students in a counselor education classroom. Students in a hybrid course had higher midterm, group proposal, and posttest scores than did students in a face-to-face course taught by the same professor.

There have been few studies comparing student performance in online and face-to-face economics courses. Those studies that have been undertaken have concentrated on traditional students (18- to 22-year-olds). This paper examines student outcomes in an undergraduate course in microeconomics taught to non-traditional students (average age is 33…

The application of Communities of Practice (CofP) can potentially serve as an effective learning strategy for higher education classrooms by contributing to student professional development while fostering a desire for life-long learning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess the effectiveness of this learning strategy and help…

Traditional forms of teaching and learning based on textual forms of representation and rational thought may limit how we perceive our world. Artistic forms of expression and their implications for adult education are discussed.

Describes a study that determined the effect of two types of instructional media--interactive video and print--and learner gender on attitudes toward instruction. The use of role models with unemployed adults in an employment skills program is discussed; and the use of the Instructional Materials Motivation Scale is described. (32 references) (LRW)

This packet of materials is designed to aid teachers in redesigning their courses to accommodate diverse students. The worksheets help organize information on what aspects of diversity are present in each class, what course elements can and cannot be adapted to them, and how these adaptations might be implemented. The worksheets, along with the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between academic achievement, rote learning, learning for understanding, cognitive style, and the medium of presentation (print versus television) for adult students in lifelong learning situations. A content learning package was prepared for presentation in the two media and…

Students entering beginning computer courses have a wide range of experiences with and prior learning in the use of computers. Additionally, adult learners who have returned to school at the community college level may be apprehensive and anxious about computer use. A hypertext computer-assisted instruction (CAI) program was developed in order to…