This article considers various learning theories, applied to three key transforming areas in adult education in general, and distance learning in particular: the andragogical issues, the technical issues, and the cultural issues. Cultural Dimension Indexes from Hofstede (1997) are appended. (Contains 1 chart.)

Classes of undergraduate Hispanic students assigned to two professors were identified to determine the level of cooperative learning being implemented and to allow the professors to reflect on their experiences over a full semester. Pre-semester and post-semester surveys were completed by each of the undergraduate students. This study is based…

This article reports the findings of a recent empirical study that was conducted at a large university in the United States. The study compared the findings from modern learning theories to reported perceptions of undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in online learning environments. The intention of the study was to compare perceived…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the usability and interface design of e-learning portal developed for primary schools in Singapore. Design/methodology/approach: Using Singapore-based learning EDvantage (LEAD) portal as a case study, this paper reviews and analyses the usability and usefulness of embedded learning objects (LOs)…

Pre-service teachers face many challenges as they learn to teach in ways that are different from their own educational experiences. Pre-service teachers often enter teacher education courses with pre-conceptions about teaching and learning that may or may not be consistent with contemporary learning theory. To build on preservice teachers' prior…

Self-directed learning (SDL), is an essential concept in problem-based learning (PBL), and, in a broader sense, student-centred learning. Considering the complex nature of SDL, it has been taken for granted and given a shallow meaning, i.e. self-study. In order to develop a deeper understanding and make use of the potential in SDL, this paper…

The purpose of this study is to present the whole process step-by-step of how a science lesson can be planned and implemented based on Multiple Intelligences (MI) theory. First, it provides the potential of the MI theory for science teaching and learning. Then an MI science lesson that was developed based on a modified model in the literature and…

Does revision of graded essays for an electronic portfolio improve First-Year Composition students' scores from anonymous raters? In a sample of 450 paired essays, 46 percent improved by one or more points on a six-point scale, 28 percent remained the same, and 26 percent declined by one or more points. (Contains 3 figures, 1 table, and 7 notes.)

This paper discusses the ways in which the long-established tradition of the design "practicum" continues to structure teaching and learning in undergraduate programmes. It draws on an in-depth empirical study of one degree course in graphic design and accompanying research in a small number of professional graphic design studios; this dual focus…

This case study involves investigation of freshman students' abilities to engage in the pursuit and appreciation of complex thinking through their study of comedy and laughter in a Freshman Seminar at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. We offer an analysis of students' reflections on their confrontation with complexity as they attempt to…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been held up as powerful structures for teachers' continuing professional development. In this work, the author has applied transformative learning theory to highlight the psychic risks of collaborative teacher learning, as well as the need for practical efforts to improve student learning--the means…

Purpose--The paper aims to provide a theoretically-based set of skills and practices that develop organizational members and leaders while building organizational capacity. Design/methodology/approach--The paper advances four arguments about learning and leading, drawing on classical and contemporary scholarship of organizational learning theory…

We present the Personal Learning Environment (PLE) as a practical intervention concerning the organization of technology in education. We explain this by proposing a cybernetic model of the "Personal Learner" using Beer's Viable System Model (VSM). Using the VSM, we identify different regulatory mechanisms that maintain viability for learners, and…

In Vietnam, between 2000 and 2006, HIV rates among 15- to 49-year-olds in the general population have increased from 27% to 53%. The HIV epidemic is occurring in a context of rapid socioeconomic changes, which have brought about conflicting ideals and norms between "traditional" and "modern" gender roles. We discuss the…

Imagine an active happily engaged, communicative, curious group of four-year-old children investigating and discovering as they play together in an early childhood classroom. Imagine yet again, the teacher beckoning them to gather on the rug to listen to a story. What happens next? Are the children allowed to continue in this curiosity-seeking,…