When teachers direct professional growth activities, learning is more meaningful and effective. But how can a program capitalize on this fact while remaining focused on larger school and district performance goals? Individualizing Professional Development explains how to satisfy both individual needs and preferences of teachers and organizational…

This do-it-yourself booklet is designed to help those who want to facilitate a Learning Circle but who cannot attend a training workshop. The booklet explains what a learning circle is; the principles of a learning circle; the difference among learning circles, discussion groups, and structured classes; why the learning circle methodology should…

The influence of selected discrete emotions on socialization-related learning and perception of workplace adaptation was examined in an exploratory study. Data were collected from 233 service workers in 4 small and medium-sized companies in metropolitan Washington, D.C. The sample members' average age was 32.5 years, and the sample's racial makeup…

The role of incarcerated women's writings as change agents for their communities was explored in a project during which 15 Anglo-American, African-American, and Latina women between the ages of 19 and 40 years voluntarily participates in three 10-week poetry reading and discussion sessions. The program was designed as a Freirian/humanities adult…

This tool kit suggests various International Literacy Day activities to raise awareness of the issues of adult literacy and language learning, to connect local literacy programs with national programs, and to help achieve the National Literacy Summit goal by 2010. The kit is intended for individuals, programs, and organizations that want to call…

To meet the government's objectives of high quality adult learning opportunities for all Albertans, the Minister of Advanced Education began a review of the system in 2005. This is one of several discussion documents prepared for feedback from stakeholders. Advanced education is recognized as a key component in ensuring rural communities are…

The "biography of place" can be available in the objective (currently valid and predominant) history of a given region of residence or it can be created by individuals in the process of reflections on their own social identity, which is defined by their place of living. Each perspective is conditioned by an epistemological and…

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) evaluated the feasibility of individual learning accounts (ILAs) as an approach to workforce development. Thirteen federal agencies volunteered to participate in the initiative. Together, they conducted a total of 17 pilot tests. Some pilot tests included all employees in the agency. Others targeted…

Distance teaching of online searching poses a number of problems especially with regard to its practical aspects. The principles of sound instructional design and technological developments can, however, be used to develop a multimedia study package that can solve these problems and be used to teach end-users, information specialists as well as…

A sample of 72 nuclear power plant operators in requalification training at a southeastern nuclear power facility was studied to investigate the role of trainees' perceptions of their self-regulatory activities in explaining achievement in an industrial training setting. Respondents completed the Self-Regulatory Activities Survey, which was a…

This module, which may be used as the basis for a workshop or as a special topic unit in adult basic education or English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) courses, addresses learning to learn. It is designed to help instructors explain and demonstrate how learning is part of life and provide a valuable opportunity for them to engage their students in…

For elderly refugees, coming from a variety of cultural situations and with varied educational backgrounds, transplantation to a new culture is an especially difficult process. There is no research evidence to suggest that older adults can not succeed in learning another language, although more deliberate efforts must be made to achieve this. In…

Theories about adult development have been grouped into four models: biological, psychological, sociocultural, and integrative. Biological models (those that are concerned with how physical changes affect development) and psychological models (those that view development as either sequential--defined by life events-- or as a series of transitions…

This book is designed to influence adult educators to make more intentional choices toward developmental growth in their work with adult learners. Part 1 provides a rationale for attending to developmental growth of adult learners and a framework of intentions to encourage such development. Chapter 1 describes characteristics of adult learners and…

Teaching adults should be different if adults learn differently than children do. Theories or perspectives on adult learning, such as andragogy, make a number of assertions about the characteristics of adults as learners. If there are indeed distinctive characteristics of adults, on which claims for the uniqueness and coherence of adult education…