This publication is part of the study materials for the distance education course, Adults Learning: The Changing Workplace A, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University. The first part of the document examines the roles, skills, and methods used by facilitators of workplace learning in light of a social action view of learning. The following…

Students are increasingly expected to be able to think critically, solve complex problems, and communicate clearly. Educators are expected to facilitate that learning in a variety of situations for an increasingly individualized student population. Therefore, educators who attempt to change their practices must become active learners. A school…

This paper presents the final report of a project designed to produce an effective individualized adult learning program in mathematics. The need for such a project has been reflected in the reports of national commissions and studies which provided documentation and statistics on the lack of proficiency of adults and young adults in the basic…

Numerous cognitive psychologists have validated the hypothesis, originally advanced by the Russian physician, A. Luria, that different individuals process information in two distinctly different manners: simultaneously and sequentially. The importance of recognizing the existence of these two distinct styles of processing information and selecting…

The structure and validity of Guglielmino's Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) have been examined repeatedly. In 1979, Mourad and Torrance investigated the construct validity of the SDLRS in a study involving a random sample of 684 of the 1,500 students enrolled in the University of Georgia's Program on Gifted/Talented Education. In…

A study compared the intellectual development among 118 technical college instructors aged 35-65 who had different educational backgrounds. In a 3 x 2 factor design, 3 groups of educational experience (no baccalaureate degree, baccalaureate degree, and master's degree) were represented, with 20 subjects (10 men and 10 women) in each group. The…

The current discourse about access can be changed by using three adjectives: old, wide, and deep. Regarding the first, since the 1870s, when the professionalization and specialization of knowledge took off in so many fields, inequalities in education have actually increased where it matters most--who knows how much of what is available to be…

A study examined how developmental learning and adaptive flexibility relate to critical thinking though a survey of 119 organizational leaders (of 341) who had attended a 5-day Leadership Development Program. A questionnaire adapted from the Center for Creative Leadership's Job Challenge Profile measured developmental learning, the Adaptive Style…

To help meet the needs of adult students who find it difficult to attend classes regularly on campus, New York's Iona College developed video distance learning courses in psychology that combine independent reading, guided study, video program viewing, and faculty mentoring to provide a challenging learning experience for students. Video courses…

From October 1993 to September 1994, a project provided equipment and materials to extend literacy efforts to older adults at the Hammond Public Library, Indiana. Notebook computers containing user-friendly software, used in coordination with the local Laubach Literacy Program, as well as books, audiocassettes, videocassettes, and BiFolkal media…

The role that individual learning proficiency, individual personality characteristics, and chance occurrences in the learner's environment play in self-directed professional development was examined through semistructured interviews with a purposeful sample of eight professional men and women of high achievement with no postsecondary schooling in…

This book presents six critical commentaries on the state of the discipline and practice of adult education. "The Critical Turn in Adult Education Theory" (Michael R. Welton) takes the position that the critical theoretical tradition from Marx to Habermas can provide a foundation for an emancipatory educational practice.…

A project implemented a new tutor training model that used integrative learning strategies to teach more effectively to different intelligences and learning styles of adult learners. A 15-hour tutor training curriculum focused on designing lessons that do the following: involve several learning styles and intelligences, encourage an equal…

An adult learner task force at a small liberal arts college conducted a telephone survey of a random stratified sample of approximately 40 recent graduates from 3 college programs to identify factors perceived as contributing to the graduates' academic success. Additionally, a focus group was convened to assess faculty perceptions of institutional…

Although andragogy became an article of faith among many adult educators in the 25 years since Knowles first popularized the concept, relatively few studies have attempted to compare andragogy and pedagogy experimentally. Eighteen studies that attempted to do so included 15 dissertations and 3 journal articles. The studies were organized by…