Describes a study undertaken to identify the personal characteristics of some adult learners in U.S. colleges. Findings are presented in the following areas: sociodemographic characteristics and psychosocial characteristics (orientation to learning, institutional choice, critical life incidents, and age). (CT)

Mentoring provides both a holistic and individualized approach to learning. A mentor-protege relationship also serves various professions by the teaching and learning of relevant skills and values. Proteges learn risk-taking behaviors, communication skills, political skills, and specific skills from their mentors. (DF)

By locating three possible fallacies associated with the conventional "needs approach" of program planning for adult learners, the present paper proposes a theoretical model that accounts for a possible evolution of real educational needs of learners and identifies varying impacts of the process upon learners' perceived need changes. (Author)

This Study Circle guide was created by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) as part of the Practitioner Dissemination and Research Network (PDRN). The guide is part of NCSALL's effort to help connect research and practice in the field of adult basic education and adult literacy. The purpose of the study circle…

Dr. Howard Gardner's introduction of multiple intelligences theory (MI theory) in 1983 generated considerable interest in the educational community. Multiple intelligences was a provocative new theory, claiming at least seven relatively independent intelligences. MI theory presented a conception of intelligence that was in marked contrast to the…

In the last decade of the twentieth century nearly 40 million people enrolled in the programs of the U.S. Adult Education and Literacy System (AELS). This chapter provides a broad-brush history of the emergence of the present-day AELS in the United States over the last four hundred years. Exhibit 2.1 provides some historical signposts for keeping…

In this book, the authors provide an overview of adult learning and its impact on professional development. The chapters provide a theoretical foundation along with practical advice on implementing team-based professional development among educators within school districts which will lead to true systemic reform. The following seven chapters are…

This document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report "Using Information and Communication Technologies in Adult Literacy Education: New Practices, New Challenges," and is an added resource for further information. The contents of this support document are divided into two parts. Part I includes: (1) Literature…

This paper presents two elements of a broader set of findings resulting from a qualitative doctoral dissertation. This research gives voice to the learning experiences of 21 diverse adult learners who participated in a community-based multicultural immersion program. Key perspectives of their learning experiences were drawn from two main themes:…

These four newsletters focus on issues related to adult basic education and the challenges faced when teaching adult learners. The first issue introduces the LDA (Learning Disabilities Association) Learning Center, a private, nonprofit agency intended to maximize the potential of all people with learning disabilities or related learning…

This paper describes how one large, urban school district is successfully building a quality program for educators by combining organizational development, job embedded learning, and collaboration. POET (Professional Organizational Enhancement Training) works to improve learning by enhancing working environments in schools and departments. It…

Chormmunity is a group's collaborative, embodied text-making. It explores interfacings of intention, metaphor, empowerment, inspiration, vision, negotiation, collusion, the propositional, the practical, the experiential, the presentational, the tacit, the sociological, the psychological, epistemology, methodology, and ontology. Chormmunity is…

This study addressed how to maintain "use or lose" language skills among Department of Defense linguists. The study, which involved over 300 linguists at 61 installations worldwide, supported the Air Force strategy of global engagement by regularly providing pedagogically sound language maintenance materials in small doses and…

Author states a philosophy of education describing the significance of adult education at all levels in the development of a nation. (GB)