As the population ages, more older adults seek learning opportunities in various educational settings. This article highlights the understanding of older adult learners and the greater heterogeneity within this demographic. I explore why and how older adults learn, including their learning needs, the challenges of aging that may affect their…

Refugees suddenly face life transitions and challenges such as the need to learn a new language, learn the rules of a new culture, endure traumatic situations, and loss; all of these are factors that impact their integration. This article describes the language and culture learning needs of adult refugees resettling in the United States suggests…

Intuitive knowing is one of the most complex and misunderstood ways of knowing. It is difficult to put into words and verbalize. Intuition is spontaneous, heart-centered, free, adventurous, imaginative, playful, nonsequential, and nonlinear. People access intuitive knowledge through dreams, symbols, artwork, dance, yoga, meditation, contemplation,…

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…

Community based learning and education can be viewed from at least two perspectives. One is a lens that focuses on engagement with service to the community, with all of the explicit and implicit values reflected by those contexts and activities. Another focuses on the learning and associated processes, objects for consideration in and of…

Whole language learning implies that teachers look at adult learners as whole persons rather than just ESL learners. It asks the teachers to see the learners in their classes as parents, spouses, employees or business owners, neighbors, churchgoers, and members of various communities. In other words, when they approach learners in their classes as…

This chapter discusses two case studies where face-to-face courses were converted into online courses.

Somatic or embodied learning recognizes bodily experience as a source of knowledge. Narrative learning involves examination of personal stories as a process of meaning making and identity development. Both offer creative alternatives for adult learning. (Contains 28 references.) (SK)

The idea that popular culture and entertainment media influence us in both conscious and unconscious ways is not new. The use of alternative spaces, such as internet sites, for creating entertainment will continue to influence society and challenge educators. The importance of the internet was reflected in Time magazine's choosing YOU (meaning the…

This chapter discusses how to draw on hip hop as a culturally relevant tool for teaching educators and adult learners to read the word, the world, and the media.

Reviews themes, issues, and challenges addressed by the articles in this issue. Provides an annotated list of six recommended readings on adult education and spirituality. (SK)

Presents guidelines for constructing group learning activities, describes group learning methods (discussion, gaming, role play, simulation, projects), and provides tips for facilitating group activities. (SK)

Adult learning theories do not address the real learning needs of women, people of color, or working class learners. Adult educators should teach nondichotomous ways of knowing, acknowledge and foster alternative forms of knowing, construct a supportive environment, and teach with love. (SK)

This chapter highlights the central role of experience in learning and consciousness; it also outlines experience-based instructional processes that adult educators can use. (Contains 1 figure.)

Spiritual epistemology is a learner-centered teaching approach that conceives of education as creative, critical action and adult educators as resource persons. Its principles include dialogue, respect, accountability, demand and support, and an invitation to learners to take a moral stance. (SK)