Many degree programs for adults include a self-directed learning component to offer learners the opportunity to use mature skills in a flexible learning environment. Problems with making the self-directed component work may be the learning setting, learner attitudes, and fears of both skilled and less skilled adult learners. Some learner fears are…

Suggestions are made regarding ways teachers can help adult learners reduce their test anxiety. These general comments apply to content-oriented courses and may have some general applicability to all testing situations. The suggestions include clearly characterizing the test prior to its administration, planning for last-minute questions on test…

Corporate education and its challenge to traditional higher education institutions are discussed. Two of the four basic missions of advanced education are the same at corporations and colleges: research and training. Educational programs offered by corporations range from the remedial to the doctoral and include educational skills development,…

To determine demographic characteristics of students enrolled in a variety of telecourses and some of the factors that led to their enrollment, the Annenberg/CPB (Corporation for Public Broadcasting) Project funded a study in which 8,000 students enrolled in 42 telecourses were surveyed during the spring of 1984. Data from the study were tabulated…

The critical incidents method is an instructional method that is particularly suited for use with adult learners. The method involves the following sequence of activities: brief introduction to the subject under consideration, short explanation of the critical incident technique, presentation of the critical incident and directions, group work and…

Warmline, a peer counseling program at Memphis (Tennessee) State University which aims to provide information and support for older-than-average returning or first time students, is described in this training manual. Objectives of the program discussed include reaching out to returning students and welcoming them to campus, providing encouragement…

Rapid technological advances will double America's information system every 8 years. As a result, adults in and out of the work force will need continual updating of the information and skills they use in all aspects of life. Of the current 58.4 million adults engaged in some form of organized education, only 12.4 million are attending colleges or…

Guidelines for teaching English as a second language (ESL) are directed at teachers and teacher trainees. With an emphasis on teaching ESL quickly and efficiently to adults, the six chapters address teaching ESL to competencies, teaching ESL to nonliterate adults, vocational ESL, ESL instruction in the workplace, teaching ESL in the multilevel…

Information on undertaking an external degree program to obtain a college education is presented. An external degree program is one that has no, or minimal requirements for residence (on-campus attendance). Most often it can be entered at any time of the year and usually grants credit for documented learning already acquired. An external degree…

This guide is designed for administrators of universities, colleges, school boards, and private institutions who wish to consider the implementation of a program for the recognition of prior learning within their institutions. To explain the possibility of transferring learning skills, some examples of the recognition of prior learning are…

The contributions of acceptance of misconceptions about mathematics, mathematical self-concept, and arithmetic skills to mathematics anxiety and to statistics course performance were studied in 92 adult students aged 18 to 57 with a median age of 27, (16 males and 76 females). Results showed that acceptance of misconceptions and mathematical…

Authors considered the responsibility of community colleges for the education of adult students, some prerequisites for effectively dealing with adult students, and proposed a workable model for adult education in the community college. (Author/RK)

In order to identify continuing education student characteristics, learning goals, and program satisfaction in the San Mateo County Community College District, a random sample of continuing education classes were surveyed in three district colleges in fall, 1976. From the 2,093 respondents, the typical adult education student emerged as 25 years…

A round table discussion among community college presidents and humanities faculty on how to encourage adults to enroll in humanities courses resulted in eleven recommendations. These included experimentation in how to access community interests in humanities courses, the integration of humanities with occupational training to help people deal…

More and more older adults are returning to college, either to complete academic degrees or to take refresher courses in their professional areas. Educators can accommodate nontraditional students' needs by understanding the motivations that bring these students back to school and by providing them with educational counseling that will enhance…