Twenty-eight African American women involved in voluntary organizations reported some systematic nonformal education, but more frequent and more valuable were informal, incidental learning opportunities, resulting in changed ability to interact with others, growing self-confidence, and greater connection to group and community. They generally…

Adult education's attention has shifted from old social movements such as unions to new social movements (NSMs) such as environmental groups. However, informal learning provided by unions is not very different from that of NSMs. In addition, labor represents the working class whereas NSMs are dominated by the middle class. (SK)

Reviews adult education in relation to the social movements of 1960s and 1970s and the narrowing focus in the recessionary 1980s. Highlights two trends in Canadian adult education: further vocationalization and a shift from institutions to independent adult learning. (SK)

Situated cognition, the concept that learning is integrally situated in everyday activity, enables more accurate understanding of adult learning. Authentic activity, involving situations requiring actual rather than simulated cognitive processes, may be a better basis for adult education. (SK)

A complete theory of adult learning must take into consideration the learner, learning process, and context. Andragogy, self-directed learning, consciousness, critical theory, feminism, transformational learning, and situated cognition contribute to understanding of this complex phenomenon. (SK)

Meeting teachers' different needs calls for varying staff development strategies. Options offered by the Charleston (South Carolina) schools include individualized education plans, short-term sabbaticals, substitute teacher teams, teachers as instructors, peer coaching, teacher exchanges, release time, summer workshops, weekend retreats, and…

Knowles' foundational principles of adult learning in making presentations are that (1) the audience should be active participants in a process of inquiry and (2) the process should build on the background, needs, interests, problems, and concerns of the audience. (SK)

Staff should be aware of four adult learning principles influencing their conference learning experience: (1) adults learn what they really want to learn; (2) they learn by doing; (3) their motivations are varied and strong; and (4) their experiences enrich the learning situation. (SK)

A learning contract provides a plan of action for one's objectives in attending a conference and selection of appropriate activities. Fine tuning involves reviewing objectives, deciding whether to stay in a session, and later evaluating the usefulness of the conference experience. (SK)

In response to Cunningham's review of his book "Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning" in the Spring 1992 issue of "Adult Education Quarterly," Mezirow clarifies his transformation theory of how adults learn and points out how his meaning has been misrepresented. (SK)

A good lesson plan has an introduction, body, opportunity for questions, and summary. These components are bound together with time cues, media cues, practice and provide-help paragraphs, instructor's notes, and transitions. Motivational principles guiding lesson plan development are relevance, conceptual framework, learning outcome, method,…

A nursing education course at the Medical University of South Carolina focuses on the student as a person, a learner, and a professional. Important components of the course are the principles and concepts of adult learning that incorporate concepts of self-directed learning and self-awareness. (Author/JOW)

Comparison of a nursing course delivered by videoconferencing (n=21), administration course via audiographics (n=23), and education course via audioconferencing (n=31) showed that, regardless of the technology, learners were most influenced by instructor's teaching style. The importance of relational and interactive factors in distance teaching…

Discusses the importance of ongoing adult education, summarizing four books that provide a comprehensive guide to the themes and concerns of contemporary adult educators, considering various issues raised in the books (borders and boundaries of adult education, impact of economic restructuring, and emphasis on learning) and examining how the…

In the discourse of learner self-management, learners must take responsibility for learning and are offered the possibility of individual autonomy and control. A critical perspective reveals that environmental constraints inhibit the success of technical-rational self-management techniques. An alternative view is the entrepreneurial self, a…