Adults returning to school may experience shyness when speaking to teachers and in seminars. Causes include lack of confidence, feeling inadequate or out of place, and imagining themselves inferior to younger students. Increasing familiarity with college and opportunities to practice academic skills in supportive conditions may help. (SK)

Shopping malls are environments in which many adults find community. They are potentially ideal for adult learning, especially via the Internet, because they can offer pacing, flexible hours, and self-direction and interaction. (SK)

To overcome resistance to distance education as a disruptive technology, deliver it where learners need it, place projects in institutional subunits, plan to fail early and inexpensively in searching for a market, and value the attributes of the disruptive project. (SK)

Interviews with 19 African-American college students age 24 and older indicated that they reentered college with a clearer sense of their goals. To them, meaningful learning had real-world relevance. Self-efficacy was a key to their success and faculty and personal support made a difference. (SK)

A survey of 67 land-grant institutions found that administrators had varying definitions of distance education, they offered a variety of support services to learners and faculty, distance education is now an important part of their mission, and management of distance learning is the responsibility of individual departments. (SK)

Distance learners need practical, emotional, and academic support. The Learning Support Needs Questionnaire is constructed on the following assumptions: (1) it must relate to students' life history; (2) it must help develop critical self-analysis; (3) it should co-opt students into participating; (4) it should facilitate development of an action…

Learning autobiographies enable adult learners to gain a deeper insight into theories of adult learning. Writing their learning autobiographies helps adults chart how they have grown and developed. (Contains 11 references.) (Author/JOW)

The term learning covenant adds a spiritual dimension to the notion of learning contracts. The learner develops and enters into a written contractual agreement with a facilitator, who creates a space that fosters learning and spiritual growth. (SK)

Teachers, instructional designers, and corporate trainers pursuing graduate degrees in education participated in small-group collaborative activity in an asynchronous online graduate course. A group charter, which provided structure for group evolution and collaboration, was a powerful element in success. Proactive and reactive means of nurturing…

The Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) curriculum and teaching method uses art to help students think critically, listen attentively, communicate, and collaborate. VTS has been proven to enhance reading, writing, comprehension, and creative and analytical skills among students of all ages. The origins and procedures of the VTS curriculum are…

This article discusses continuing education and the implementation of clinical practice guidelines or best evidence, quality improvement, and patient safety. Continuing education focuses on the perspective of the adult learner and is guided by well-established educational principles. In contrast, guideline implementation and related concepts…

As a result of a growing immigrant population in the United States, many adult education programs are working with new populations of adult learners who need to learn English. There is a need for a strong workforce of trained and knowledgeable practitioners who can work effectively with adults learning English and facilitate transitions to…

In this article, learning how to learn for non traditional adult students is discussed with a focus on police officers and firefighters. Learning how to learn is particularly relevant for all returning non-traditional adults; however in the era of terrorism it is critical for the public safety officers returning to college after years of absence…

Oregon educators, policymakers, and business people are working together to increase the number and quality of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in secondary and postsecondary institutions. CTE is an integral component of Oregon's education and workforce development system and prepares students for careers in areas ranging from the…

In New Zealand there are four university-based centres for continuing education which provide non-credit short courses. This paper presents data from a survey which was conducted with the intention of building understanding of the cohort of learners who attend short non-credit courses, to better understand their views and values and to determine…