Describes how videoconferencing was used at the University of Ulster (Northern Ireland) as a medium to deliver three modules to continuing education students over a five-year period. Discusses planning and implementation, and the move from conventional teaching to distance learning. Notes professional development reached an effective level and in…

The vocabulary, sentence structure, and organization of a pharmacy education handout were lowered, main ideas were highlighted, and special introductions were written. There was no statistically significant difference in reading comprehension scores between subjects receiving the modified pamphlet and subjects receiving the standard version. (21…

Reports on the gender-related difference in out-of-school writing experience of adult students returning to college. Discusses implications for teaching, maintaining that the differing writing backgrounds such students bring are resources to be utilized rather than deficits to be remedied. (SR)

The older population wants higher education institutions to meet its learning, cultural, and social needs. A number of program models have emerged in response including over 130 learning-in-retirement programs affiliated with individual institutions. Institutions stand to benefit greatly from such programs. (MSE)

Investigation of the influence of cultural background on how adult learners of English self-regulate second-language communication found that Hispanic subjects more frequently sought language clarification from others, and also more frequently used the progressive aspect form than past tense forms, than did Asian subjects. (17 references) (CB)

Planning for adult learning necessitates (1) identifying learner needs; (2) specifying aims and objectives; (3) rethinking content from learners' point of view; and (4) consulting and negotiating with adult students. (SK)

Studies the performance of a novice Spanish student using a Computer-assisted language learning (CALL) system designed for vocabulary enlargement. Results indicate that introspective evidence may be used to validate performance data within a theoretical framework that characterizes the learning approach as "surface" or "deep." (25 references)…

Four issue areas for research and practice based on the process model of experiential learning are understanding and honoring the diversity of individual learners; importance of social affiliation patterns; transfer of learning; and authentic assessment. (SK)

A survey of 29 adult reentry students enrolled in the Scottish Wider Access Programme to become secondary teachers showed the program has substantially increased the numbers and broadened the age range of students but is not attracting the unemployed and those of lower socioeconomic status. Participation is influenced by family, institutional,…

Health care workers in New York City hospitals shaped their workplace basic education program in a number of ways: the union helped design the program; participants served on advisory committees and as student delegates; they evaluated the program; and students developed individualized education plans that were used to set the learning agenda.…

Higher education must exploit opportunities for workplace learning to serve adult degree-seeking students by assessing workplace learning, integrating it into the curriculum, and sharing resources with companies. Continuing education is best positioned to serve working adults' learning needs. (SK)

Areas of concern for matching adult readers and programs are theoretical orientation (meaning based, code based, or interactive); programing factors (reading assessment, goal formation, affective factors, negative schooling attitudes, student interests, reading interpretations); and methodologies (phonics, whole word, neuro-impress, repeated…

The British government's White Paper asserts that courses of "leisure interests" should be self-supporting. The administrator of an adult college tries to show a political visitor the much broader context and value of adult and community education. (SK)

The effects of a task-based vocabulary learning technique that focuses learners' attention on the underlying meaning of a word were investigated. The words came from Xue and Nation's University Word List. The experimental exercises encouraged high quality discussion and increased utilization of context clues to determine word meaning. (26…

Discusses the rationale for using children's literature with English-as-a-Second-Language adult students, and offers selection criteria based on experiences at the Community College of Philadelphia with students aged 17-60. General children's books are distinguished from books categorized as literature. Lists of suggested books are appended. (two…