A study compared the effects of retesting (with and without the benefit of short term instruction) on the scores of subjects in an upper-division university who had failed a writing test. Subjects who did not receive a passing score in their first attempt at the essay test were given the opportunity of attending a 4-hour workshop designed to…

The stories in this collection result from a class activity in an English-as-a-Second-Language course at Prague Institute of Chemical Technology (Czechoslovakia). The students, most in their third or fourth year of postsecondary education, had all studied English previously but primarily as an academic exercise, and had had little contact with…

In research on second language instruction, the researcher's knowledge of the learner's background has not always been central in data collection. However, data collection is part of a research design that should include both a description of the sample population and the role of the learner in the decision to carry out a given study.…

A survey of study behaviors was mailed to 300 adult students enrolled in two distance learning programs of The American College. The sample included three groups: high passers, low passers, and failers. The survey instrument was a 50-item rating scale measuring study practices in six areas: elaborative processing, information processing, attitude…

Critical thinking is often defined as that which a particular instrument measures. The most prominent tests are the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test, and the Cornell Critical Thinking Tests. Watson and Glaser's (1980) view of critical thinking is "a composite of attitudes, knowledge, and…

A practicum explored the use of instructional materials based on the whole language approach to second language learning in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. The approach was implemented in a beginning ESL classroom at an adult education center that had previously used publisher textbooks, which were not thought to provide…

The needs of adult college students (25 years old or older) and support services that could promote achievement and retention of these nontraditional students are considered, based on the literature on current research. Of concern are students enrolled in credit courses at two-year or four-year institutions. Attention is directed to four kinds of…

This document contains a collection of essays written by students in General Educational Development (GED) programs. The students had dropped out of high school and are now seeking an equivalency diploma. In the essays, students discuss why they quit school, how well they did in school, what they learned there, and whether it was difficult for…

One of the issues facing educators is the increasing number of nontraditional students appearing in the college classroom. Recent conceptualizations of adult reasoning have suggested that there are qualitative differences in reasoning from young to late adulthood. The objective of this study was to examine cognitive differences rather than…

The increased college attendance of mature women students has played a major role in the changing demographics of college enrollment. This study examined the experience of reentry women during the initial period of adjustment from the time just prior to college entrance to the end of their first or second academic year. A pre- and post-test…

This handbook consists of five staff training packages, four of which constitute a series of four one-half-day workshops for institutional staff--administrators, faculty, librarians, and student services staff--who work with adults returning to school. These training packages may be used independently, sequentially over time, or together for an…

This document presents research findings for the first task in the Appalachian Educational Laboratory's Lifelong Learning Program which addresses the adult vocational development process--making the commitment to vocational training. Its focus is the second phase of the research, the phase of problem investigation. Section 1 summarizes procedures…

Between 1969 and 1984, the number of adults participating in educational programs increased 79 percent and the number of adult education activities doubled. The following facts should be considered when developing instructional programs for adult learners: individuals can learn throughout their lives, adult life cycles influence learning, adults…

Vocational education has been altered to meet the needs of the growing number of adults participating in educational activities. Adult vocational education is a process by which adults prepare to enter an occupation or upgrade a present occupation. Programs and activities are designed to develop basic education skills, enhance occupational and…

Designed to provide a broad picture of the state of instructional television for adults and to identify major issues relating to instructional telecourses, this reader presents 50 articles in seven categories relating to the production and distribution of telecourses. Section I presents six articles on the growth in the use of telecourses, which…