My dissertation research investigated an adult learner's experience in an online competency-based education (CBE) bachelor's degree program. The purpose of my study was to understand how CBE was transforming the practices of traditional post-secondary education and how CBE was serving the needs of students, particularly nontraditional adult…

A study framed by sociocultural theory involved 15 British Caribbean women immigrants in the United States. Home country culture and early schooling involved learning experiences in the host country. They faced challenges in negotiating language and identity. Length of time in the new culture, level of social support, and sociocultural environment…

Examines the principles and characteristics of mature learning and applies Kolb's learning cycle model to adults in vocational programs. Discusses strategies for self-development, institutional factors, and the democratization of the learning process. (SK)

Charles Sanders Peirce's phenomenological investigations throughout his lifetime led to discovery of his theory of semiotics and created both his earlier pragmatism and his later pragmaticism. After briefly discussing postmodernists' themes, description, and critiques of Western culture, this article shows how Peirce's theory of signs and…

Introducing exemplary theory and research findings bearing upon adult experiential learning, this article describes three emerging learning models that are "active" oriented. Implications for the future in terms of individual learning and postsecondary institutions are highlighted. (Author/DS)

Through the years, many researchers have advanced theories of problem solving. Probably the best definition of problem solving to apply to adult learning programs is Wallas' (1926) four-stage theory. The stages are (1) a preparation, (2) an incubation period, (3) a moment of illumination, and (4) final application or verification of the solution.…

This sourcebook, intended for museum professionals, is an introduction to issues of lifelong learning, adult education, continuing education, and community education. It also provides a brief historical review and examples of museum programs for adults. These programs and services include bulletins and journals, slide-tape and video presentations,…

Discussed is how education can be reorganized to respond to the needs of the individual over the life cycle unconstrained by the traditional compartimentalization of educational levels and structures. (MP)

The learning project interview is a group-interview technique that is useful for developing an awareness of the process of adult learning. Specifically, it provides insights concerning the types of things adults try to learn, the number of learning experiences they have, their methods of learning, and the sources of the subject matter that they…

In order to capitalize on the learning experience which adults bring to the classroom, it is necessary to identify some of the components of the self-initiated learning cycle. A study of 12 adult graduate students' learning experiences in an adult learning class was used to identify a common pattern of experience. The pattern of the learning…

Discusses two current monograph publications that provide frameworks for adult learning approaches that stress active, participatory, and reflective learning experiences for early care and education professionals, in an effort to eliminate passive learning by adults. A constructivist teacher-education approach is drawn from both works. (SD)

An interview study examined the assumptions about adult learning held by 28 educational policy-makers, researchers, and staff developers. Fifteen assumptions were inferred from the interview data, each forming a dimension that describes learning as experienced by the participants: (1) Adult learning experiences are envisioned as similar for all…

Suggests that learning is a process undergoing change from infancy to adulthood and that the more consciously aware the learner is of the process, the more the learner can be in control. Presents the Performance Pathfinder Plan as a model of appropriate adult learning. (Author/DC)

Continuing education in the health professions should stress the process approach--teaching learners how to learn. The administrator of continuing medical education should be an adult educator trained to be an educational facilitator, instructional designer, and manager of the learning environment. (SK)

A pilot study into adult learners' perceptions of adult learning was undertaken in early 1980 at Adelaide College of the Arts and Education (Australia). The research set out to explore whether there are underlying dimensions which adult learners use in evaluating and comparing learning experiences. Five volunteer subjects completed Kolb's Learning…