This article provides some insight into the constraints on the potential of recognition of prior learning (RPL) to widen access to educational qualifications. Its focus is on a conceptual framework that emerged from a South African study of RPL practices across four different learning contexts. Working from a social realist perspective, it argues…

Video games are pervasive in today's culture, and the time kids spend playing them may seem, from a teacher's perspective, as time that is lost to education. Sometimes, sadly, this is true. But many good video games, although not explicitly educational in focus, provide powerful experiences that are rich fodder for subsequent instruction. Looking…

This quasi-experimental study investigated the impact of visual art making on the cortisol levels of 39 healthy adults. Participants provided saliva samples to assess cortisol levels before and after 45 minutes of art making. Participants also provided written responses about the experience at the end of the session. Results indicate that art…

The American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO) initiated a series of surveys designed to capture member institutional practice snapshots in 60 seconds or less. The December 2014 "AACRAO 60 Second Survey" asked respondents to indicate their institutions' credit for prior learning practices (CPL). To…

We investigated the effects of using experiential learning and direct instruction to teach metacognitive theory and to determine whether instructional type differentially affected higher vs. lower level learning. We randomly assigned 87 introductory psychology students to either experiential learning or direct instruction conditions. We pretested…

Prior learning assessment (PLA) is the term used for the various ways in which higher education institutions and other organizations assess an individual's learning for the purposes of granting college credit, certification, or advanced standing in a postsecondary education program. In recent years, there has been growing interest in PLA from…

Previous research from the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) found that prior learning assessment/credit for prior learning (PLA/CPL) 1 has a positive effect on adult student credential completion--an effect that was evident for every student subgroup analyzed in a…

The definition of education and learning has been changing in recent years, as the field experienced, and is still experiencing, many changes. One of those changes is a rise in adult learners in higher education. In order to cope with this particular change and set their classrooms up for success, it is vital for educators to be aware of and…

This research study, grounded in experiential learning theory, utilized a draw-and-explain assessment to measure change in secondary students' knowledge before and after an experiential field trip. Our results indicated that the secondary students (aged 15-18 years) had pre-existing knowledge of the local delta area that included both abiotic and…

The concept of learning styles in education is highly questionable when used to categorize students in particular ways and attempt to match them to corresponding forms of instruction. This paper argues that the various learning modalities called Learning Styles are only cognitive tools that all learners have access to and must use to process…

Perception is the reconstruction and interaction between the new information and prior knowledge in mind or in the process of internalization about the new information. It has three teaching procedures: First, teachers elicit the learners to acquire text meaning. Second, teachers create situation in practical teaching. Third, learners comprehend…

This article presents a meta-disciplinary and institutional framework of practices used by nurses and doctors to manage the indeterminacy of knowing in emergency departments (EDs) in Australia. We draw on Schatzkian perspectives of how practices prevail and reflect particular site ontologies. We posit that nurses and doctors draw on a repertoire…

Narrative learning is strongly allied with transformational learning and adult development (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007), given that it creates context for adult meaning making. Through the use of narrative writing, adult students have the opportunity to engage multiple aspects of learning. Many colleges and universities allow…

Recognition of Acquired Competencies (RAC) as it is known in Quebec, Canada, or Prior Learning Assessment (PLA), requires a learner to engage in retrospective thought about their learning path, their learning style and their experiential knowledge. This process of critical self-reflection and rigorous analysis by the learner of their prior…

This paper explores the idea of unlearning in Critical Action Learning (CAL) as applied to the wicked problems of organisations and societies. It draws on data and ideas developed during a research project conducted for "Skills for Care" by Pedler, Abbott, Brook and Burgoyne ("Skills for Care" 2014) and from experiences on…