The author presents notes taken from several talks by Malcolm Knowles. Topics include major forces affecting education; administrative involvement in training; and the use of functional work groups. (CT)

Summarizes the major findings of Allen Tough's adult education monographs and outlines some of the criticisms of his works. Discusses Tough's theories concerning self-teaching, learning projects and major learning efforts, and the planners of learning. (CT)

This study investigated the relative associations of curiosity evoked by surprise and of the perceived value of information to the desire to know more about psychological research topics. Comparison of results to similar research with adolescents suggested that the importance of curiosity as a motivation to learn may decline in adulthood. (CT)

The middle years of life have been neglected by educational psychology. There is a need for more, better, and better-understood psychological data so that learning can be enhanced in this age group. This issue of "Contemporary Educational Psychology" addresses five relevant questions about adult learning. (Author/RD)

A model for group training of foster parents focuses on self-directed learning and mutual support to overcome feelings of powerlessness and isolation. (Author/RH)

Integration of the cognitive psychology and sociocultural constructivist perspectives yields a more comprehensive account of adult thinking and acting. This synthesis is based on a view of individual knowledge acquisition as a socially mediated process and on ontogeny or life-history approach. (SK)

Transformative learning can be rational/analytical or intuitive emotional. It can effect personal or social change, and it can take place in a variety of contexts. (SK)

Adult-oriented assessment should be based on five principles: (1) learning is derived from multiple sources; (2) learning engages the whole person; (3) learning and self-direction are promoted by feedback; (4) learning occurs in context; and (5) learning from experience is a unique, meaning-making event contributing to adult learner diversity. (SK)

Knowledge about a culture is best understood as situated cognition, that is, contexts are inseparable from cognitive processes. Learning about a culture is similar to learning about a practice; both require new ways of perceiving, interpreting, and communicating experience. Successful learning depends both on individual factors and on access to…

Cooperative learning emphasizes task over process and the educator is in control. Collaborative learners work together to construct understanding, and the educator establishes an environment for shared exploration. Transformative group learning involves critical reflection, facilitated by the educator, for individual or social change. (SK)

Two practitioner inquiry networks demonstrate how learning in groups contributes to teacher development. Development occurs across the dimensions of intention, order, community, and voice. (Author/SK)

Defines the meaning of life as meaning making--filtering experience through basic assumptions. Uses the theory of perspective transformation to explain the relationship between learning and meaning making. Identifies techniques for teaching critical thinking to facilitate perspective transformation. (SK)

Reviews empirical studies on aging and learning that support the thesis that learning slows down aging and some of its physical and cognitive subprocesses. (Contains 54 references.) (SK)

Emotional reactions to text are manifestations of learners' inner selves. Adult learners can engage in the process of meaning making by working with images and integrating them into their holistic beings. (SK)

Challenges for adult education posed by the changing world of work and learning include establishing corporate universities and dissolving mental and geographic borders through technology. (SK)