A study explored how adults perceived program learning; whether program learning helped them enact a particular social role; and whether they changed while participating in the program. For a year or more, researchers studied experiences of learning and change of 41 adult learners enrolled in three programs--at a community college, family literacy…

A model of educators' learning experiences in educational technology was developed by studying 205 educators who participated in professional development in educational technology at metropolitan area graduate schools of education over a 7-year period. Data were gathered over the entire semester for all participants. Additional data on a limited…

A practitioner's model of the processes of learning and knowing was developed through a review of global, societal, individual, and personal perspectives on learning. The first phase of the model's development consisted of using a method of exploration based on determining who, what, where, when, why, and how to investigate the following 10…

The experiences of the 12-woman Boston Women's Health Book Collective was examined in a case study that focused on the collective's activities from its formation in 1969 through its publication of the book "Our Bodies, Ourselves" in 1973 and its opening of a women's clinic in downtown Boston that is still in operation today. The case…

These proceedings contain the papers of the IADIS International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2013), October 22-24, 2013, which has been organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society (IADIS), co-organized by The University of North Texas (UNT), sponsored by the…

In this report, transformative learning processes in 10 successful extension staff partnerships involving a campus researcher and a county extension staff member were studied with a methodology that combines grounded theory and case study traditions with a constructivist approach. Data collection activities included a literature review;…

A somatic approach to education implies education that trusts individuals to learn from and listen to the information they are receiving from the interaction of self with the environment. Somatic or embodied knowing is experiential knowledge that involves senses, perceptions, and mind-body action and reaction. Western culture has been dominated by…

Educational research is distinctive inasmuch as it shares the moral objective of education, which is to help people make the best of themselves through processes of learning. Educational research is a service industry for education. As such, its contribution to the efficiency and effectiveness of educational processes can be increased by focusing…

The following papers are included: "Preface" (Huey B. Long); "Self-Directed Learning: Smoke and Mirrors?" (Huey B. Long); "From Self-Culture to Self-Direction: An Historical Analysis of Self-Directed Learning" (Amy D. Rose); "The Link between Self-Directed and Transformative Learning" (Jane Pilling-Cormick);…

Learners' views on their progress and achievement in literacy and numeracy were examined in a study during which practitioners from eight further education colleges in England interviewed 70 adults (ages 16 to over 60 years) enrolled in literacy, numeracy, or English-for-speakers-of-other-languages programs. The metaphor of traveling on a learning…

This document contains six papers exploring emerging viewpoints, issues, and trends related to mentoring and adult learning. "Mentoring: From Athena to the 21st Century" (Catherine A. Hansman) traces the definitions of the term "mentor" and mentoring practices that have evolved since antiquity. "Emerging Perspectives on…

Robert Kegan's constructive-development theory of adult growth postulates three different ways of knowing (instrumental, socializing, and self-authoring) and suggests that, although individuals develop differently, individual development can never be separated from culture. The potential of the constructive-development perspective on adult…

Increasingly, adult educators are using narrative and stories for many reasons, including their deep appeal, satisfaction, and cultural transcendence. As a fundamental structure of human meaning making narrative is a valuable classroom tool in that it can enable students to understand life events, personal actions, and solidify identity formation.…

This collection of 38 papers has as its focus adult learners, and covers a wide range of topics including: electronic peer networks; workplace training (in Australia); health professional accreditation; students with disabilities; vertically integrated courses; balancing instructional modes through journal writing and student collaboration;…

Appreciative inquiry (AI) is based on the heliotropic principle, which has been variously described as art and science, holistic theory and practice, and practical philosophy and change process. AI engages people and organizations in discovering what gives life to human systems when they are most effective and constructive and using that knowledge…