Sample records for adult learning center

  1. Developing Community-Based Learning Centers for Older Adults. A Technical Assistance Manual.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sprouse, Betsy M.; Brown, Karen

    Designed for community groups and organizations, groups of older adults, senior clubs, and agencies, this manual documents the process of developing community education programs for older adults. The first section introduces the concept of a community learning center, while the second section considers whether a learning center should be…

  2. Pilot Project in Computer Assisted Instruction for Adult Basic Education Students. Adult Learning Centers, the Adult Program, 1982-83.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buckley, Elizabeth; Johnston, Peter

    In February 1977, computer assisted instruction (CAI) was introducted to the Great Neck Adult Learning Centers (GNALC) to promote greater cognitive and affective growth of educationally disadvantaged adults. The project expanded to include not only adult basic education (ABE) students studying in the learning laboratory, but also ABE students…

  3. Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 5. Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice: A Project of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Comings, John, Ed.; Garner, Barbara, Ed.; Smith, Cristine, Ed.

    2005-01-01

    "The Review of Adult Learning and Literacy: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice, Volume 5" is a volume in a series of annual publications of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) that address major issues, the latest research, and the best practices in the field of adult literacy and learning.…

  4. Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 4. Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice: A Project of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Comings, John, Ed.; Garner, Barbara, Ed.; Smith, Cristine, Ed.

    2004-01-01

    "The Review of Adult Learning and Literacy: Connecting Research Policy, and Practice, Volume 4" is an addition to a series of annual publications of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) that address major issues, the latest research, and the best practices in the field of adult literacy and learning.…

  5. Toward a Learner-Centered System for Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hermans, Henry; Kalz, Marco; Koper, Rob

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present an e-learning system that integrates the use of concepts of virtual learning environments, personal learning environments, and social network sites. The system is based on a learning model which comprises and integrates three learning contexts for the adult learner: the formal, instructional…

  6. Centering Marxist-Feminist Theory in Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carpenter, Sara

    2012-01-01

    Using feminist extensions of Marxist theory, this article argues that a Marxist-feminist theory of adult learning offers a significant contribution to feminist pedagogical debates concerning the nature of experience and learning. From this theoretical perspective, the individual and the social are understood to exist in a mutually determining…

  7. Personal Adult Learning Lab (Pall). Implications for Practice.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Klippel, Judith A.; And Others

    The Personal Adult Learning Lab was establsiehd at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education (GCCE) at the University of Georgia to serve self-directed adult learners and conduct research on self-directed learning. The lab allows adult learners to design, conduct, and evaluate their personal learning experiences while proceeding at their own…

  8. The Residential Conference Center as a Learning Sanctuary.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Simpson, Edward G., Jr.

    1990-01-01

    Adult learning in residential conference centers is enhanced when a philosophical basis underlies their design. Six integrated elements for the development of learning sanctuaries are historical context, educational program, physical environment, support services, technology, and human resources. (SK)

  9. Learner-Centered Teaching Style: Comparing Face-to-Face and Online Adult Educators' Commitment Levels

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edwards, Shanda E.

    2013-01-01

    For at least 50 years, prominent adult learning theorists have recommended that adult educators commit to a learner-centered teaching approach. Extensive teaching styles research has been conducted on face-to-face and online adult educators, albeit separately, to examine their commitment levels to the learner-centered style. In addition, there has…

  10. Adult Basic Learning in an Activity Center: A Demonstration Approach.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Metropolitan Adult Education Program, San Jose, CA.

    Escuela Amistad, an activity center in San Jose, California, is now operating at capacity, five months after its origin. Average daily attendance has been 125 adult students, 18-65, most of whom are females of Mexican-American background. Activities and services provided by the center are: instruction in English as a second language, home…

  11. Identification and Analysis of Learning Preferences of Mentally Ill Adults in Rehabilitative Psychosocial Therapy at the Anderson Mental Health Center.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Newman, Michael K.

    A study identified and analyzed the learning preferences of 17 seriously and chronically mentally ill adults participating in the rehabilitative psychosocial therapy program at the Toxaway Church Site of the Anderson Mental Health Center. Staff perceived as boring and unfocused the traditional treatment approach that relied mainly upon…

  12. EVALUATION OF THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER OF ELIZABETHPORT BY STAFF AND PARTICIPANTS, OPERATIONS FROM 2/26/68 - 4/30/68.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    TATUM, WILLIAM; CHASNOFF, ROBERT

    ACTIVITIES, FACILITIES, AND PROGRAMED READING MATERIALS AT THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER OF ELIZABETHPORT (ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY) WERE EVALUATED IN 1968 BY STAFF MEMBERS AND PARTICIPANTS. STAFF OPINIONS DIFFERED AS TO THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MATERIALS, AND REASONS GIVEN FOR SUCCESS VARIED BETWEEN INTEREST LEVEL, SIZE OF PRINT AND LENGTH OF STORIES, THE…

  13. Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice. Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, Volume 7

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Comings, John, Ed.; Garner, Barbara, Ed.; Smith, Christine, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    "Review of Adult Learning and Literacy: Connecting Research, Policy, and Practice, Volume 7" is the newest volume in a series of annual publications of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) that address major issues, the latest research, and the best practices in the field of adult literacy and…

  14. Learning Center Ideas in Action. A How-to Handbook for Starting an Individualized Adult Learning Center. Revised Edition 1973.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Los Angeles City Schools, CA. Div. of Career and Continuing Education.

    This handbook provides guidelines for administrators and teachers for establishing classes that emphasize individualized programed learning. The suggestions are primarily for use in community adult school classrooms of standard size. Some of the "hows" of setting up the program are: (1) the utilization of the classroom (space, size, and…

  15. Adult Learning Assumptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baskas, Richard S.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine Knowles' theory of andragogy and his six assumptions of how adults learn while providing evidence to support two of his assumptions based on the theory of andragogy. As no single theory explains how adults learn, it can best be assumed that adults learn through the accumulation of formal and informal…

  16. Engaging Education: Integrating Work, Technology and Learning for Adults.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC.

    This guide is for Neighborhood Networks center staff and volunteers who want to learn how centers across the country are helping adults meet work force demands. It provides resources to work force development programs so examples can be tailored to meet the needs of other communities. It focuses on challenges that integrating academics and job…

  17. Adult Learning: A Reader.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutherland, Peter, Ed.

    This book on adult learning is divided into six sections. Section 1, Cognitive Processes, includes the following chapters: "Cognitive Processes: Contemporary Paradigms of Learning" (Jack Mezirow); "Information Processing, Memory, Age and Adult Learning" (Gillian Boulton-Lewis); "Adult Learners' Metacognitive Behaviour in Higher Education" (Barry…

  18. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN CLASSROOM LEARNING, REPORT ON A CONFERENCE (BROMWOODS RESIDENTIAL CENTER, WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, ST. LOUIS, MO.).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    WIENTGE, KING M., ED.; AND OTHERS

    PAPERS WERE PRESENTED AT A CONFERENCE ON CLASSROOM LEARNING ON SUCH TOPICS AS PROGRAM DESIGN, TESTING, AND OTHER EVALUATION TECHNIQUES, COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION, PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION, SIMULATION, PACING, AND RETENTION. SEVERAL TREATED MILITARY TRAINING, ADULT LEARNING, AND ADULT-CENTERED CLASSROOM TECHNIQUES. IN ONE PAPER, THE SYSTEMS…

  19. Older Adults can Learn to Learn New Motor Skills

    PubMed Central

    Seidler, Rachael D.

    2007-01-01

    Many studies have demonstrated that aging is associated with declines in skill acquisition. In the current study, we tested whether older adults could acquire general, transferable knowledge about skill learning processes. Older adult participants learned five different motor tasks. Two older adult control groups performed the same number of trials, but learned only one task. The experimental group exhibited faster learning than that seen in the control groups. These data demonstrate that older adults can learn to learn new motor skills. PMID:17602760

  20. Adult Learning Week Planning Packet.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    New York State Education Dept., Albany. Office of Adult Learning Services.

    Each year one week is designated by the Governor of New York as Adult Learning Week because of the growing importance of adult education to society and the economy of New York State. The major purpose of Adult Learning Week is to promote greater public awareness of the availability and variety of learning opportunities for adults. In practical…

  1. The Physics Learning Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nossal, S. M.; Watson, L. E.; Hooper, E.; Huesmann, A.; Schenker, B.; Timbie, P.; Rzchowski, M.

    2013-03-01

    The Physics Learning Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison provides academic support and small-group supplemental instruction to students studying introductory algebra-based and calculus-based physics. These classes are gateway courses for majors in the biological and physical sciences, pre-health fields, engineering, and secondary science education. The Physics Learning Center offers supplemental instruction groups twice weekly where students can discuss concepts and practice with problem-solving techniques. The Center also provides students with access on-line resources that stress conceptual understanding, and to exam review sessions. Participants in our program include returning adults, people from historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, students from families in lower-income circumstances, students in the first generation of their family to attend college, transfer students, veterans, and people with disabilities, all of whom might feel isolated in their large introductory course and thus have a more difficult time finding study partners. We also work with students potentially at-risk for having academic difficulty (due to factors academic probation, weak math background, low first exam score, or no high school physics). A second mission of the Physics Learning Center is to provide teacher training and leadership experience for undergraduate Peer Mentor Tutors. These Peer Tutors lead the majority of the weekly group sessions in close supervision by PLC staff members. We will describe our work to support students in the Physics Learning Center, including our teacher-training program for our undergraduate Peer Mentor Tutors

  2. Examination of the teaching styles of nursing professional development specialists, part II: correlational study on teaching styles and use of adult learning theory.

    PubMed

    Curran, Mary K

    2014-08-01

    This article, the second in a two-part series, details a correlational study that examined the effects of four variables (graduate degrees in nursing education, professional development training in adult learning theory, nursing professional development [NPD] certification, and NPD specialist experience) on the use of adult learning theory to guide curriculum development. Using the Principles of Adult Learning Scale, 114 NPD specialists tested the hypothesis that NPD specialists with graduate degrees in nursing education, professional development training in adult learning theory, NPD certification, and NPD experience would use higher levels of adult learning theory in their teaching practices to guide curriculum development than those without these attributes. This hypothesis was rejected as regression analysis revealed only one statistically significant predictor variable, NPD certification, influenced the use of adult learning theory. In addition, analysis revealed NPD specialists tended to support a teacher-centered rather than a learner-centered teaching style, indicating NPD educators are not using adult learning theory to guide teaching practices and curriculum development.

  3. Correlating Science Center Use with Adult Science Literacy: An International, Cross-Institutional Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Falk, John H.; Dierking, Lynn D.; Swanger, Lisa Prendergast; Staus, Nancy; Back, Mariana; Barriault, Chantal; Catalao, Carlos; Chambers, Cindy; Chew, Ling-Ling; Dahl, Svein A.; Falla, Sigrid; Gorecki, Bern; Lau, Tak-Cheung; Lloyd, Andy; Martin, Jennifer; Santer, Jennifer; Singer, Silvia; Solli, Anne; Trepanier, Gabrielle; Tyystjarvi, Kati; Verheyden, Patricia

    2016-01-01

    This international investigation was designed to determine if, and under what circumstances experiences at science centers, significantly correlated with a range of adult general public science and technology literacy measures. Given the complex and cumulative nature of science and technology learning, and the highly variable and free-choice…

  4. The High-Energy Astrophysics Learning Center-and More!

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Whitlock, L. A.

    2006-06-01

    As part of the education outreach efforts at NASA-Goddard's HEASARC (High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center), we have developed two World Wide Web sites for astronomy and space science education. "StarChild" is a site geared for ages 4-14, and the "High-Energy Astrophysics Learning Center" focuses on ages 14-adult. In both sites, information is presented on a variety of reading and comprehension levels. Interactive activities, movies, and animations are included. The sites have been developed with the participation of, and review by, teachers of all grade levels. The sites are now also being distributed in a CD-ROM format. Development of the sites and our future plans are discussed.

  5. Adult Resource Center--A Community/University Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vegso, Kathryn A.

    Cooperative planning, based upon a decade of reentry programs for adults, culminated in the establishment of a public service known as the Adult Resource Center at the University of Akron (Ohio). Located in a renovated building between the campus and the downtown community, the Adult Resource Center serves as a liaison with social service…

  6. Examination of the Teaching Styles of Nursing Professional Development Specialists, Part II: Correlational Study on Teaching Styles and Use of Adult Learning Theory.

    PubMed

    Curran, Mary K

    2014-07-16

    This article, the second in a two-part series, details a correlational study that examined the effects of four variables (graduate degrees in nursing education, professional development training in adult learning theory, nursing professional development [NPD] certification, and NPD specialist experience) on the use of adult learning theory to guide curriculum development. Using the Principles of Adult Learning Scale, 114 NPD specialists tested the hypothesis that NPD specialists with graduate degrees in nursing education, professional development training in adult learning theory, NPD certification, and NPD experience would use higher levels of adult learning theory in their teaching practices to guide curriculum development than those without these attributes. This hypothesis was rejected as regression analysis revealed only one statistically significant predictor variable, NPD certification, influenced the use of adult learning theory. In addition, analysis revealed NPD specialists tended to support a teacher-centered rather than a learner-centered teaching style, indicating NPD educators are not using adult learning theory to guide teaching practices and curriculum development. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2014;45(8):xxx-xxx. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

  7. Enhancing Young Adult Learning through Interpretive Skills Training: A Case Study of Student Tour-Guide Interns at a University Photography Center

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chien, Ting Fang

    2017-01-01

    This case study explores the application of interpretive strategies as tools to facilitate transformative learning and advance young adults' abilities in various learning contexts. While much of the literature on adult museum program education focuses on older adults' learning, this study emphasizes the impact of interpretive skills training at a…

  8. Community Learning Centers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jennings, Wayne

    2005-01-01

    The Community Learning Centers plan provides a systemically changed model for the 21st century. This top-to-bottom transformation of current education addresses all aspects of schools with a detailed framework to guide serious educational reformers. This fresh approach to principles of learning, curriculum, staffing, facilities, student as…

  9. Family Literacy Project. Learning Centers for Parents and Children. A Resource Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crocker, M. Judith, Ed.; And Others

    This guide is intended to help adult education programs establish family literacy programs and create Family Learning Centers in Cleveland Public Schools. The information should assist program coordinators in developing educational components that offer activities to raise the self-esteem of the parents and provide them with the knowledge and…

  10. Technology and Innovation in Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    King, Kathy P.

    2017-01-01

    "Technology and Innovation in Adult Learning" introduces educators and students to the intersection of adult learning and the growing technological revolution. Written by an internationally recognized expert in the field, this book explores the theory, research, and practice driving innovation in both adult learning and learning…

  11. Learning Enhancement for Adults with Disabilities. LEAD 2000 Congress Proceedings (Little Rock, Arkansas, January 29-31, 1993).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    University of the Ozarks, Clarksville, AR.

    Forty representative learning disabilities specialists from 19 states met to discuss ways of improving the diagnosis, remediation, and counseling of adults with learning disabilities. First, the activities of the Jones Learning Center at the University of the Ozarks regarding diagnosing and mainstreaming college students with learning disabilities…

  12. Integrating neuroscience in the training of psychiatrists: a patient-centered didactic curriculum based on adult learning principles.

    PubMed

    Ross, David A; Rohrbaugh, Robert

    2014-04-01

    The authors describe the development and implementation of a new adult psychiatry residency didactic curriculum based on adult learning principles and an integrative, patient-centered approach that includes a progressive 4-year neuroscience curriculum. The authors describe the process of conducting a needs assessment, engaging stakeholders and developing guiding principles for the new curriculum. The curriculum was evaluated using qualitative measures, a resident survey, course evaluations, and a pilot version of a specialized assessment tool. Feedback from the resident survey and from course evaluations was positive, and residents indicated interest in receiving additional training in neuroscience. Residents self-reported not incorporating neuroscience into formulation and treatment planning as often as other perspectives. They also reported that neuroscience was reinforced less by clinical faculty than other perspectives. Performance on the curriculum assessment corroborated that clinical application of neuroscience may benefit from additional reinforcement. Residents responded well to the design and content of the new didactic curriculum. The neuroscience component appears to have achieved its primary objective of enhancing attitudes to the field. Continued work including enhancing the culture of neuroscience at the clinical sites may be required to achieve broader behavioral goals.

  13. Adult Learning by Choice. Results of the CET LEARNING LINKS Project.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Dorothea

    The LEARNING LINKS project was undertaken to expand opportunities for adult learning in nonformal, noneducational settings. It had the following three broad aims: stimulate student-negotiated learning, stimulate and support informal adult learning, and test the usefulness of microcomputers in an information service for adults. Over a period of 2…

  14. Literature Review of Residents as Teachers from an Adult Learning Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blanchard, Rebecca D.; Hinchey, Kevin T.; Bennett, Elisabeth E.

    2011-01-01

    Academic medical centers represent the intersection of higher education and workforce development. However residents often utilize traditional pedagogical approaches learned from higher education settings that fail to translate with adult learners. The purpose of this study is to synthesize literature on resident teachers from the perspective of…

  15. Child Development Associate. Learning Centers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oscar Rose Junior Coll., Midwest City, OK.

    One of a series of 18, this Child Development Associate (CDA) training module provides a guide to the construction of learning centers in preschool settings. Upon completion of the module the CDA trainee is expected to be able to analyze and improve the arrangement of space, materials and equipment; specify and rotate learning centers in the…

  16. 7 CFR 226.19a - Adult day care center provisions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 4 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Adult day care center provisions. 226.19a Section 226..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM Operational Provisions § 226.19a Adult day care center provisions. (a) Adult day care centers may participate in the Program...

  17. 7 CFR 226.19a - Adult day care center provisions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 4 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Adult day care center provisions. 226.19a Section 226..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM Operational Provisions § 226.19a Adult day care center provisions. (a) Adult day care centers may participate in the Program...

  18. 7 CFR 226.19a - Adult day care center provisions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 4 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Adult day care center provisions. 226.19a Section 226..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CHILD NUTRITION PROGRAMS CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM Operational Provisions § 226.19a Adult day care center provisions. (a) Adult day care centers may participate in the Program...

  19. Learning How to Learn: Implications for Non Traditional Adult Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tovar, Lynn A.

    2008-01-01

    In this article, learning how to learn for non traditional adult students is discussed with a focus on police officers and firefighters. Learning how to learn is particularly relevant for all returning non-traditional adults; however in the era of terrorism it is critical for the public safety officers returning to college after years of absence…

  20. A Culture of Learning: Inside a Living-Learning Center

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kranzow, Jeannine; Hinkle, Sara E.; Muthiah, Richard; Davis, Colin

    2015-01-01

    Exploring the culture of a living-learning center, this study examines the educational practices that aim to link in- and out-of-class experiences. Through a cultural lens, the authors offer a glimpse into a living-learning center located within a state institution in the Midwest that models a way of effectively connecting the curricular and…

  1. Transformational Learning: Reflections of an Adult Learning Story

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foote, Laura S.

    2015-01-01

    Transformational learning, narrative learning, and spiritual learning frame adult experiences in new and exciting ways. These types of learning can involve a simple transformation of belief or opinion or a radical transformation involving one's total perspective; learning may occur abruptly or incrementally. Education should liberate students from…

  2. Overview of Training Practices Incorporating Adult Learning. Selected Federal Legislation and Programs Relating to Adult Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Univ., Washington, DC. Adult Learning Potential Inst.

    This document--a survey identifying federal legislation and programs that in some way address the adult learner--is one in a series of four developed to provide a comprehensive overview of the scope of training practices relating to adult learning. It provides a panoramic view of adult learning in response to national priorities based upon…

  3. Transitioning childhood cancer survivors to adult-centered healthcare: insights from parents, adolescent, and young adult survivors.

    PubMed

    Casillas, Jacqueline; Kahn, Katherine L; Doose, Michelle; Landier, Wendy; Bhatia, Smita; Hernandez, Joanna; Zeltzer, Lonnie K

    2010-09-01

    To determine Latino adolescent and young adults (AYA) cancer survivors' perceived barriers or facilitators to transition from pediatric to adult-centered survivorship care and to also assess the parents' perspective of care. Partnering with a community-based organization that serves Latino survivors, we conducted a qualitative, constant comparative analytic approach exploring in-depth themes that have salience for Latino pediatric cancer survivors seeking care in the adult healthcare setting. Twenty-seven Latino AYA survivors (>or=15 years of age) completed key informant interviews and 21 Latino parents participated in focus groups. Both AYA survivors and parents identified two major facilitative factors for survivorship care: Involvement of the nuclear family in the AYA's survivorship care in the adult healthcare setting and including symptom communication in late effects discussions. Barriers to care included: perceived stigma of a cancer history and continued emotional trauma related to discussions about the childhood cancer experience. Barriers to survivorship care include cancer stigma for both patient and nuclear family, which can impact on seeking survivorship care due to constraints placed on discussions because it remains difficult to discuss 'cancer' years later. Future research can evaluate if these findings are unique to Latino childhood cancer survivors or are found in other populations of AYA cancer survivors transitioning to adult-centered healthcare. This community-based participatory research collaboration also highlights the opportunity to learn about the needs of childhood cancer survivors from the lens of community leaders serving culturally diverse populations. (c) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. User-Centered Computer Aided Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zaphiris, Panayiotis, Ed.; Zacharia, Giorgos, Ed.

    2006-01-01

    In the field of computer aided language learning (CALL), there is a need for emphasizing the importance of the user. "User-Centered Computer Aided Language Learning" presents methodologies, strategies, and design approaches for building interfaces for a user-centered CALL environment, creating a deeper understanding of the opportunities and…

  5. Emotional Highs in Adult Experiential Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zeivots, Sandris

    2016-01-01

    Despite knowing that positive emotional experiences tend to be beneficial for adult learning, our incomplete understanding of the emotional system rarely allows us to incorporate emotion adequately in real learning situations. The experience of emotional highs, as observed in adult experiential learning courses, has been selected as the phenomenon…

  6. Barriers to Adult Learning: Bridging the Gap

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Falasca, Marina

    2011-01-01

    A fundamental aspect of adult education is engaging adults in becoming lifelong learners. More often than not, this requires removing barriers to learning, especially those relating to the actual organisational or institutional learning process. This article explores some of the main barriers to adult learning discussed in the literature and…

  7. OECD Thematic Review on Adult Learning: Norway. Background Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tangen, Fride

    Adult learning in Norway was examined in a thematic review that focused on the following areas: the contexts of adult learning; the participants in, providers of, and returns from adult learning; issues and problems facing adult learning; and good practices. The following are among the main findings of the review: (1) adult learning has a long…

  8. Tracking Active Learning in the Medical School Curriculum: A Learning-Centered Approach.

    PubMed

    McCoy, Lise; Pettit, Robin K; Kellar, Charlyn; Morgan, Christine

    2018-01-01

    Medical education is moving toward active learning during large group lecture sessions. This study investigated the saturation and breadth of active learning techniques implemented in first year medical school large group sessions. Data collection involved retrospective curriculum review and semistructured interviews with 20 faculty. The authors piloted a taxonomy of active learning techniques and mapped learning techniques to attributes of learning-centered instruction. Faculty implemented 25 different active learning techniques over the course of 9 first year courses. Of 646 hours of large group instruction, 476 (74%) involved at least 1 active learning component. The frequency and variety of active learning components integrated throughout the year 1 curriculum reflect faculty familiarity with active learning methods and their support of an active learning culture. This project has sparked reflection on teaching practices and facilitated an evolution from teacher-centered to learning-centered instruction.

  9. Center-Based Teaching and Children's Learning: The Effects of Learning Centers on Young Children's Growth and Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bottini, Michael; Grossman, Sue

    2005-01-01

    Many early childhood professionals recommend the use of learning centers in classrooms for young children (Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren, 2004). Centers provide children with opportunities for making choices, working with others, being involved in hands-on activities, and becoming fully engaged in learning. In contrast, traditional classroom…

  10. The Emergence of Learning Societies: Who Participates in Adult Learning?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Belanger, Paul, Ed.; Valdivielso, Sofia, Ed.

    This book contains nine papers in which data from the Adult Education Participation Survey (a part of the International Adult Literacy Survey) are used to identify and compare trends in organized learning in seven countries. The following papers are included: "Introduction: Who Participates in Organized Adult Learning?" (Paul Belanger,…

  11. Learning through Action: Parallel Learning Processes in Children and Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ethridge, Elizabeth A.; Branscomb, Kathryn R.

    2009-01-01

    Experiential learning has become an essential part of many educational settings from infancy through adulthood. While the effectiveness of active learning has been evaluated in youth and adult settings, few known studies have compared the learning processes of children and adults within the same project. This article contrasts the active learning…

  12. Remaking Adult Learning: Essays on Adult Education in Honour of Alan Tuckett

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Derrick, Jay, Ed.; Howard, Ursula, Ed.; Field, John, Ed.; Lavender, Peter, Ed.; Meyer, Sue, Ed.; von Rein, Ekkehard Nuissl, Ed.; Schuller, Tom, Ed.

    2010-01-01

    Remaking Adult Learning provides an exciting and innovative addition to the literature on adult learning. Charting challenges and successes in the sector, it illustrates how taking part in well-thought-out programmes can have a positive and sometimes life-saving impact on people's lives. While grounded in adult learning practice, the book draws…

  13. Gallery Educators as Adult Learners: The Active Application of Adult Learning Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCray, Kimberly H.

    2016-01-01

    In order to better understand the importance of adult learning theory to museum educators' work, and that of their profession at large, museum professionals must address the need for more adult learning research and practice in museums--particularly work informed by existing theory and work seeking to generate new theory. Adult learning theory…

  14. Working with Young Adults. NIACE Lifelines in Adult Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jackson, Carol

    This document explains how adult educators and others in the United Kingdom can increase levels of participation and achievement in learning for young adults by providing informal learning opportunities for those young people who are least inclined to participate in formal education and training programs. The guide outlines a step-by-step approach…

  15. Animal-Centered Learning Activities in Pharmacy Education

    PubMed Central

    Lust, Elaine

    2006-01-01

    Objectives To assess the contribution of animal-centered activities to students achieving learning outcomes in a veterinary therapeutics course. Design Qualitative methods were used to assess the outcome of using “hands-on” animal interactions as tools of engagement in the course. Reflective commentary on animal-centered activities was collected and analyzed. Assessment Animal-centered learning activities are effective tools for engaging students and facilitating their understanding and application of veterinary therapeutic knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Analysis of qualitative data revealed themes of professional caring and caring behaviors as a direct result of animal-centered activities. Elements of empathy, caring, compassion, and self-awareness were strong undercurrents in student's comments. Conclusions Animal-centered learning activities provide an innovative learning environment for the application of veterinary pharmacy knowledge, skills, and attitudes directly to animal patients. The use of animals in the course is a successful active-learning technique to engage pharmacy students and assist them in developing caring attitudes and behaviors beneficial to future health care providers. PMID:17149415

  16. Adult Learning Matters

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomson, Rachel

    2009-01-01

    Adult Learners' Week--which is supported by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the European Social Fund, amongst a raft of other organisations--is all about raising demand for learning. At its core, the campaign is about encouraging under-represented groups--including low-skilled, unemployed and low-paid adults and those…

  17. Tracking Active Learning in the Medical School Curriculum: A Learning-Centered Approach

    PubMed Central

    McCoy, Lise; Pettit, Robin K; Kellar, Charlyn; Morgan, Christine

    2018-01-01

    Background: Medical education is moving toward active learning during large group lecture sessions. This study investigated the saturation and breadth of active learning techniques implemented in first year medical school large group sessions. Methods: Data collection involved retrospective curriculum review and semistructured interviews with 20 faculty. The authors piloted a taxonomy of active learning techniques and mapped learning techniques to attributes of learning-centered instruction. Results: Faculty implemented 25 different active learning techniques over the course of 9 first year courses. Of 646 hours of large group instruction, 476 (74%) involved at least 1 active learning component. Conclusions: The frequency and variety of active learning components integrated throughout the year 1 curriculum reflect faculty familiarity with active learning methods and their support of an active learning culture. This project has sparked reflection on teaching practices and facilitated an evolution from teacher-centered to learning-centered instruction. PMID:29707649

  18. Dimensions of Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foley, Griff, Ed.

    2004-01-01

    This broad introduction to adult and postcompulsory education offers an overview of the field for students, adult educators and workplace trainers. The book establishes an analytical framework to emphasize the nature of learning and agency of learners; examines the core knowledge and skills that adult educators need; discusses policy, research and…

  19. A Learning Center Approach to Infant Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adams, Polly K.; Taylor, Michaell K.

    Following a prefatory description of infant development and high-quality infant day care centers, this paper focuses on the construction of learning centers for infants and toddlers in day care. Issues for consideration are specified, and 18 different care/learning centers and 6 work sstations for parents/staff are briefly described. In addition…

  20. Adult Learning Matters

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adults Learning, 2009

    2009-01-01

    The Campaigning Alliance for Lifelong Learning is to lobby parliament for the restoration of the 1.5 million adult learning places lost over the past two years. The campaign has attracted supporters from an astonishingly wide range of backgrounds. In this article, Gordon Marsden, Caroline Biggins, Beth Walker, Mike Chaney, Peter Davies, Sian…

  1. Interview Schedule for Studying Why Adults Learn.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tough, Allen

    Designed for use in a 1968 study of why adults learn, this interview schedule contains situation-description and question sheets for use by the interviewer and subject for examining thirteen reasons why adults begin and why they continue a learning project. (The study, "Why Adults Learn: A Study of the Major Reasons for Beginning and Continuing a…

  2. Jewishly-Informed Mature Adult Service-Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bretan, Gail Helene

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to describe, implement, and interpret the intersection of service-learning, Jewish values and ways of knowing, adult education, and lifelong learning for people over the age of 50. By expanding service-learning to include both older adults and Jewish ways of knowing, there is potential for transforming these frameworks…

  3. Teaching caring and competence: Student transformation during an older adult focused service-learning course.

    PubMed

    Brown, Karen M; Bright, Leslie M

    2017-11-01

    Innovative teaching strategies develop nurses' knowledge, skills, and attitudes while simultaneously integrating the art of caring and transforming attitudes toward adults over age 65. The study's purpose was to explore students' experiences and attitudes toward older adults with cognitive and/or physical limitations as well as the effects on students' knowledge and skills during a baccalaureate nursing, course which included a service-learning experience. Service-learning synthesizes meaningful community service, academic instruction, and reflection. Participants included baccalaureate students enrolled in a service-learning nursing course focused on older adults. This retrospective, qualitative, phenomenological study used reflective journals and an online survey to explore baccalaureate nursing students' experiences toward older adults with cognitive and/or physical limitations. Themes included initial attitudes of anticipation, apprehension, anxiety, and ageist stereotypes. Final attitudes included a "completely changed perspective" of caring, compassion, and respect indicative of a rewarding, "life-changing" experience. Participants cited enhanced learning, especially in the areas of patient-centered care, collaboration, communication, advocacy, empathy, assessment skills, and evidence-based practice. This innovative teaching strategy led to transformed attitudes toward older adults, reduced fear of older adult populations, an increased desire to work with older adults, and the ability to form a transpersonal, caring relationship while enhancing nursing knowledge and skills. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Reflections from Graduate Adult Learners about Service Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alston, Geleana Drew; Clegg, T. E.; Clodfelter, Roy J., Jr.; Drye, Kimberly C.; Farrer, J. V.; Gould, Derek; Mohsin, Nidhal M.; Rankin, Tomiko N.; Ray, Sherri L.

    2016-01-01

    Adult education is grounded in responding to the needs of others, and the field places emphasis on adult learning theories such as transformative learning and experiential learning. Service learning is an educational approach that balances formal instruction and direction with the opportunity for adult learners to serve in the community as a…

  5. Generative Learning: Adults Learning within Ambiguity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nicolaides, Aliki

    2015-01-01

    This study explored the extent to which ambiguity can serve as a catalyst for adult learning. The purpose of this study is to understand learning that is generated when encountering ambiguity agitated by the complexity of liquid modernity. "Ambiguity," in this study, describes an encounter with an appearance of reality that is at first…

  6. Adult Learning and the Future of Work.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Singh, Madhu, Ed.

    This book contains 15 papers: "Introduction" (Madhu Singh); "Adult Learning and the Transformation of Work" (Paul Belanger); "Future of Work and Adult Learning" (Ettore Gelpi); "The Obligation of Education in the Face of Globalisation" (Nicole Arnaud); "Lifelong Learning and Vocational Education and…

  7. Promoting Adult Learning in Public Places: Two Asian Case Studies of Adult Learning about Peace through Museums and Peace Architecture

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Duffy, Gavin

    2009-01-01

    This paper explores an area of adult learning that has received little attention of late, the terrain of public education through museums and civic architecture. The goal of promoting adult learning in public places e.g. through the work of museums has become commonplace in countries seeking to encourage adult learning about peace. This invariably…

  8. Library Media Learning and Play Center.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Faber, Therese; And Others

    Preschool educators developed a library media learning and play center to enable children to "experience" a library; establish positive attitudes about the library; and encourage respect for self, others, and property. The center had the following areas: check-in and check-out desk, quiet reading section, computer center, listening center, video…

  9. Adult Perspectives of Learning Musical Instruments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roulston, Kathryn; Jutras, Peter; Kim, Seon Joo

    2015-01-01

    This article reports findings from a qualitative study of adults' perceptions and experiences of learning musical instruments. Conducted in the south-east United States, 15 adults who were learning instruments were recruited via community music groups and private instrumental teachers. Analysis of transcripts of semi-structured interviews…

  10. Adult Literacy Learning and Computer Technology: Features of Effective Computer-Assisted Learning Systems.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fahy, Patrick J.

    Computer-assisted learning (CAL) can be used for adults functioning at any academic or grade level. In adult basic education (ABE), CAL can promote greater learning effectiveness and faster progress, concurrent learning and experience with computer literacy skills, privacy, and motivation. Adults who face barriers (financial, geographic, personal,…

  11. Learning To Bridge the Digital Divide: Schooling for Tomorrow. Education and Skills. [National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL)/Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Roundtable (5th, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, December 8-10, 1999)].

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jame, Edwyn; Istance, David

    This publication builds on the papers and discussions of the Fifth National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL)/Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Roundtable. The volume presents an analysis of the "learning digital divide" in different countries--developed and developing--and the policies and innovations designed…

  12. Adults as Learners. Increasing Participation and Facilitating Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cross, K. Patricia

    The literature on adult learners is reviewed, and two models of adult learning are developed. Demographic, social, and technological trends that stimulate the increasing demand for learning opportunities are examined, and the views of those who see dangers in new pressures on adults to participate in organized learning activities are considered.…

  13. User-Centered Design of Online Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lambropoulos, Niki, Ed.; Zaphiris, Panayiotis, Ed.

    2007-01-01

    User-centered design (UCD) is gaining popularity in both the educational and business sectors. This is due to the fact that UCD sheds light on the entire process of analyzing, planning, designing, developing, using, evaluating, and maintaining computer-based learning. "User-Centered Design of Online Learning Communities" explains how…

  14. Promoting Learning. NIACE Lifelines in Adult Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malone, Kate

    This document is intended to help adult educators in the United Kingdom promote learning. The guide presents practical advice, case studies, and tips for undertaking and implementing effective promotional work. Sections 1 through 11 discuss the following topics: recognizing the increasing need for lifelong learning; the rationale for campaigns…

  15. Beyond the Art Lesson: Free-Choice Learning Centers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Werth, Laurie

    2010-01-01

    In this article, the author emphasizes that by providing learning centers in the art studio environment and by providing "free-choice time," art educators can encourage and reinforce the natural learning styles of students. Learning centers give elementary students the freedom to pursue individual artistic expression. They give students an…

  16. Validating a Technology Enhanced Student-Centered Learning Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kang, Myunghee; Hahn, Jungsun; Chung, Warren

    2015-01-01

    The Technology Enhanced Student Centered Learning (TESCL) Model in this study presents the core factors that ensure the quality of learning in a technology-supported environment. Although the model was conceptually constructed using a student-centered learning framework and drawing upon previous studies, it should be validated through real-world…

  17. Greek Young Adults with Specific Learning Disabilities Seeking Learning Assessments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bonti, Eleni; Bampalou, Christina E.; Kouimtzi, Eleni M.; Kyritsis, Zacharias

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the reasons why Greek young adults with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) seek learning assessments. The study sample consisted of 106 adults meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria for SLD. Data were collected through self-report records (clinical interview) of adults…

  18. Adult Learning Principles and Their Application to Program Planning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brundage, Donald H.; MacKeracher, Dorothy

    This report examined adult learning principles which were developed through an analysis and synthesis of the literature in adult education, andragogy, teaching and learning, and other related fields. The report consists of six sections. The first section deals with background assumptions relevant to the field of adult education and adult learning.…

  19. Relationship between perceptual learning in speech and statistical learning in younger and older adults

    PubMed Central

    Neger, Thordis M.; Rietveld, Toni; Janse, Esther

    2014-01-01

    Within a few sentences, listeners learn to understand severely degraded speech such as noise-vocoded speech. However, individuals vary in the amount of such perceptual learning and it is unclear what underlies these differences. The present study investigates whether perceptual learning in speech relates to statistical learning, as sensitivity to probabilistic information may aid identification of relevant cues in novel speech input. If statistical learning and perceptual learning (partly) draw on the same general mechanisms, then statistical learning in a non-auditory modality using non-linguistic sequences should predict adaptation to degraded speech. In the present study, 73 older adults (aged over 60 years) and 60 younger adults (aged between 18 and 30 years) performed a visual artificial grammar learning task and were presented with 60 meaningful noise-vocoded sentences in an auditory recall task. Within age groups, sentence recognition performance over exposure was analyzed as a function of statistical learning performance, and other variables that may predict learning (i.e., hearing, vocabulary, attention switching control, working memory, and processing speed). Younger and older adults showed similar amounts of perceptual learning, but only younger adults showed significant statistical learning. In older adults, improvement in understanding noise-vocoded speech was constrained by age. In younger adults, amount of adaptation was associated with lexical knowledge and with statistical learning ability. Thus, individual differences in general cognitive abilities explain listeners' variability in adapting to noise-vocoded speech. Results suggest that perceptual and statistical learning share mechanisms of implicit regularity detection, but that the ability to detect statistical regularities is impaired in older adults if visual sequences are presented quickly. PMID:25225475

  20. Relationship between perceptual learning in speech and statistical learning in younger and older adults.

    PubMed

    Neger, Thordis M; Rietveld, Toni; Janse, Esther

    2014-01-01

    Within a few sentences, listeners learn to understand severely degraded speech such as noise-vocoded speech. However, individuals vary in the amount of such perceptual learning and it is unclear what underlies these differences. The present study investigates whether perceptual learning in speech relates to statistical learning, as sensitivity to probabilistic information may aid identification of relevant cues in novel speech input. If statistical learning and perceptual learning (partly) draw on the same general mechanisms, then statistical learning in a non-auditory modality using non-linguistic sequences should predict adaptation to degraded speech. In the present study, 73 older adults (aged over 60 years) and 60 younger adults (aged between 18 and 30 years) performed a visual artificial grammar learning task and were presented with 60 meaningful noise-vocoded sentences in an auditory recall task. Within age groups, sentence recognition performance over exposure was analyzed as a function of statistical learning performance, and other variables that may predict learning (i.e., hearing, vocabulary, attention switching control, working memory, and processing speed). Younger and older adults showed similar amounts of perceptual learning, but only younger adults showed significant statistical learning. In older adults, improvement in understanding noise-vocoded speech was constrained by age. In younger adults, amount of adaptation was associated with lexical knowledge and with statistical learning ability. Thus, individual differences in general cognitive abilities explain listeners' variability in adapting to noise-vocoded speech. Results suggest that perceptual and statistical learning share mechanisms of implicit regularity detection, but that the ability to detect statistical regularities is impaired in older adults if visual sequences are presented quickly.

  1. View, 2000: Commentaries on Adult Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adult Learning Australia, Inc., Jamison.

    This booklet is compiled from all the Adult Learning Australia (ALA) Commentaries produced in 2000. Emailed to ALA members each week, ALA Commentaries are written by people in the field of adult learning in the broadest sense, usually in Australia, sometimes overseas, and designed to stimulate discussion. ALA hosts an online discussion forum about…

  2. E-Learning and Virtual Science Centers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hin, Leo Tan Wee, Ed.; Subramaniam, R., Ed.

    2005-01-01

    "E-Learning and Virtual Science Centers" addresses an aspect of Web-based education that has not attracted sufficient attention in the international research literature--that of virtual science centers, the cyberspace annex of traditional science centers. It is the first book to be published on the rapidly advancing field of science education.…

  3. Integrating Learning, Problem Solving, and Engagement in Narrative-Centered Learning Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rowe, Jonathan P.; Shores, Lucy R.; Mott, Bradford W.; Lester, James C.

    2011-01-01

    A key promise of narrative-centered learning environments is the ability to make learning engaging. However, there is concern that learning and engagement may be at odds in these game-based learning environments. This view suggests that, on the one hand, students interacting with a game-based learning environment may be engaged but unlikely to…

  4. Mobilizing Learning Resources in a Transnational Classroom: Translocal and Digital Resources in a Community Technology Center

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Noguerón-Liu, Silvia

    2014-01-01

    Drawing from transnational and activity theory frameworks, this study analyzes the ways translocal flows shape learning in a community technology center serving adult immigrants in the US Southwest. It also explores students' constructions of the transnational nature of the courses they took, where they had access to both online and face-to-face…

  5. Science Learning Centers--An Aid to Instruction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Orlich, Donald C.; And Others

    1982-01-01

    Rationale for and examples of science learning centers are provided. "Life Beneath the Sea,""Humans in Space,""World of Insects" and "Experimentation" centers are described. Instructions for constructing centers from readily available materials are included. (JN)

  6. An interprofessional service-learning course: uniting students across educational levels and promoting patient-centered care.

    PubMed

    Dacey, Marie; Murphy, Judy I; Anderson, Delia Castro; McCloskey, William W

    2010-12-01

    Recognizing the importance of interprofessional education, we developed a pilot interprofessional education course at our institution that included a total of 10 nursing, BS health psychology, premedical, and pharmacy students. Course goals were for students to: 1) learn about, practice, and enhance their skills as members of an interprofessional team, and 2) create and deliver a community-based service-learning program to help prevent or slow the progression of cardiovascular disease in older adults. Teaching methods included lecture, role-play, case studies, peer editing, oral and poster presentation, and discussion. Interprofessional student teams created and delivered two different health promotion programs at an older adult care facility. Despite barriers such as scheduling conflicts and various educational experiences, this course enabled students to gain greater respect for the contributions of other professions and made them more patient centered. In addition, inter-professional student teams positively influenced the health attitudes and behaviors of the older adults whom they encountered. Copyright 2010, SLACK Incorporated.

  7. Student-Centered Learning in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wright, Gloria Brown

    2011-01-01

    In her book, "Learner-Centered Teaching", Maryellen Weimer contrasts the practices of teacher-centered college teaching and student-centered college teaching in terms of (1) the balance of power in the classroom, (2) the function of the course content, (3) the role of the teacher versus the role of the student, (4) the responsibility of learning,…

  8. Thematic Review on Adult Learning: Finland. Background Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris (France).

    In international comparisons, participation in adult learning in Finland is high. Work or career development is the main reason for participation. Persons starting with greater educational attainment participate in adult learning opportunities more. Roots of adult education and training (AET) lie in liberal education; those of occupational AET in…

  9. A Learning Center Can Happen to You.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Currey, Mary Nell; Hancock, Vickie

    This booklet describes the development and activities of the Clinton Park Elementary School Media Center, a first and second grade learning center located in Clinton, Mississippi. Following introductory materials on the establishment of the media center in September 1975 and federal funding of media center projects from 1975 to 1978, information…

  10. Older Adults' Motivation to Learn in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Yi-Yin

    2011-01-01

    A limited amount of literature has discussed older adults in formal education, especially their motivations to learn in higher education. This study aims to understand older adults' learning in the context of higher education. Specifically, this study argues that higher education can function as a stimulating learning environment that helps older…

  11. Adult Literacy, Learning Identities and Pedagogic Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crowther, Jim; Maclachlan, Kathy; Tett, Lyn

    2010-01-01

    This article discusses the relationship between persistence in adult literacy and numeracy programs, changes in the participants' attitudes to engaging in learning and pedagogic practices using data from eight Scottish literacy education organizations. It argues that literacy learning can act as a resource that enables vulnerable adults to change…

  12. Adult Learning Theories: Implications for Online Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Arghode, Vishal; Brieger, Earl W.; McLean, Gary N.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This paper analyzes critically four selected learning theories and their role in online instruction for adults. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review was conducted to analyze the theories. Findings: The theory comparison revealed that no single theory encompasses the entirety of online instruction for adult learning; each…

  13. Motivation to Learn among Older Adults in Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Dian-Fu; Lin, Sung-Po

    2011-01-01

    This study analyzed the survey on adults administered by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan in 2008, and logistic regression analysis showed a close relationship between learning motivations of older adults. The finding revealed that the higher age or the lower education attainment of older adults, the lower their learning motivation. The…

  14. Providing a Learning-Centered Instructional Environment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans, Ruby

    This paper describes efforts made by the faculty at Santa Fe Community College (Florida) to provide a learning-centered instructional environment for students in an introductory statistics class. Innovation in instruction has been stressed as institutions switch from "teacher-centered classrooms" to "student-centered…

  15. Adults' and Children's Understanding of How Expertise Influences Learning.

    PubMed

    Danovitch, Judith H; Shenouda, Christine K

    2018-01-01

    Adults and children use information about expertise to infer what a person is likely to know, but it is unclear whether they realize that expertise also has implications for learning. We explore adults' and children's understanding that expertise in a particular category supports learning about a closely related category. In four experiments, 5-year-olds and adults (n = 160) judged which of two people would be better at learning about a new category. When faced with an expert and a nonexpert, adults consistently indicated that expertise supports learning in a closely related category; however, children's judgments were inconsistent and were strongly influenced by the description of the nonexpert. The results suggest that although children understand what it means to be an expert, they may judge an individual's learning capacity based on different considerations than adults.

  16. Adult Learning Principles and Presentation Pearls

    PubMed Central

    Palis, Ana G.; Quiros, Peter A.

    2014-01-01

    Although lectures are one of the most common methods of knowledge transfer in medicine, their effectiveness has been questioned. Passive formats, lack of relevance and disconnection from the student's needs are some of the arguments supporting this apparent lack of efficacy. However, many authors have suggested that applying adult learning principles (i.e., relevance, congruence with student's needs, interactivity, connection to student's previous knowledge and experience) to this method increases learning by lectures and the effectiveness of lectures. This paper presents recommendations for applying adult learning principles during planning, creation and development of lectures to make them more effective. PMID:24791101

  17. Travel and Adult Transformative Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lindstrom, Steven K.

    2011-01-01

    This phenomenological research study examines the lived experience of individual adult transformation in the context of travel. Adults throughout history have experienced profound personal and perception changes as a result of significant travel events. Transformative learning occurs through experience, crisis, and reflection, all of which are…

  18. Adult Learning Theory: A Primer. Information Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baumgartner, Lisa M.; Lee, Ming-Yeh; Birden, Susan; Flowers, Doris

    The purpose of this monograph is to serve as a primer for practitioners on the foundational theories of adult learning. It begins with an explanation two lenses through which learning theory is viewed: behaviorism and constructivism. The next section defines andragogy and delineates Knowles's five assumptions about adult learners. This is followed…

  19. Active-Learning versus Teacher-Centered Instruction for Learning Acids and Bases

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sesen, Burcin Acar; Tarhan, Leman

    2011-01-01

    Background and purpose: Active-learning as a student-centered learning process has begun to take more interest in constructing scientific knowledge. For this reason, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of active-learning implementation on high-school students' understanding of "acids and bases". Sample: The sample of this…

  20. Learning with the Arts: What Opportunities Are There for Work-Related Adult Learning?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Manning, Claire; Verenikina, Irina; Brown, Ian

    2010-01-01

    What can arts-based learning offer to adult, work-related education? A study was undertaken that explored the benefits of learning with the arts for professional development of an adult learner in Australia. The individual experiences of nine adults who participated in arts-based workshops to build work-related skills were examined using the…

  1. Policy Review on Adult Learning: The Adult Non-Formal Education Policy of Mali, West Africa

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gadio, Moussa

    2011-01-01

    This article focuses on the issue of policy development for adult learning in Mali, West Africa. On January 2007, the Malian government adopted the "Adult Non-formal Education Policy Document," which was intended to regulate the adult learning sector and federate the actions of policy makers, adult education providers, and adult…

  2. Learning Efficiency: Identifying Individual Differences in Learning Rate and Retention in Healthy Adults.

    PubMed

    Zerr, Christopher L; Berg, Jeffrey J; Nelson, Steven M; Fishell, Andrew K; Savalia, Neil K; McDermott, Kathleen B

    2018-06-01

    People differ in how quickly they learn information and how long they remember it, yet individual differences in learning abilities within healthy adults have been relatively neglected. In two studies, we examined the relation between learning rate and subsequent retention using a new foreign-language paired-associates task (the learning-efficiency task), which was designed to eliminate ceiling effects that often accompany standardized tests of learning and memory in healthy adults. A key finding was that quicker learners were also more durable learners (i.e., exhibited better retention across a delay), despite studying the material for less time. Additionally, measures of learning and memory from this task were reliable in Study 1 ( N = 281) across 30 hr and Study 2 ( N = 92; follow-up n = 46) across 3 years. We conclude that people vary in how efficiently they learn, and we describe a reliable and valid method for assessing learning efficiency within healthy adults.

  3. Observational Learning among Older Adults Living in Nursing Homes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Story, Colleen D.

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate learning by older adults living in nursing homes through observational learning based on Bandura's (1977) social learning theory. This quantitative study investigated if older adults could learn through observation. The nursing homes in the study were located in the midwestern United States. The…

  4. Adult Learning Disorders: Contemporary Issues

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolf, Lorraine E., Ed.; Schreiber, Hope E., Ed.; Wasserstein, Jeanette, Ed.

    2008-01-01

    Recent advances in neuroimaging and genetics technologies have enhanced our understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders in adults. The authors in this volume not only discuss such advances as they apply to adults with learning disorders, but also address their translation into clinical practice. One cluster of chapters addresses developmental…

  5. Repositioning Ideology Critique in a Critical Theory of Adult Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brookfield, Stephen

    2001-01-01

    Reexamines critical theory as a response to Marxism and repositions ideology critique as a crucial adult learning process. Argues that a critical theory of adult learning should focus on how adults learn to recognize and challenge ideological domination and manipulation. (Contains 31 references.) (SK)

  6. Integrating Adult Learning and Technologies for Effective Education: Strategic Approaches

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Victor C. X.

    2010-01-01

    As adult learners and educators pioneer the use of technology in the new century, attention has been focused on developing strategic approaches to effectively integrate adult learning and technology in different learning environments. "Integrating Adult Learning and Technologies for Effective Education: Strategic Approaches" provides innovative…

  7. A Treasure Chest of Primary Learning Center Ideas.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kessler, Margaret; Kessler, John

    Defining a learning center as a classroom area containing several learning stations where students may work independently with materials which teach, reinforce, or enrich their skills, this guide presents a number of ideas for use in the visual motivation display area of such a center. Suggestions for displays for the various teaching stations are…

  8. Self-help memory training for healthy older adults in a residential care center: specific and transfer effects on performance and beliefs.

    PubMed

    Cavallini, Elena; Bottiroli, Sara; Capotosto, Emanuela; De Beni, Rossana; Pavan, Giorgio; Vecchi, Tomaso; Borella, Erika

    2015-08-01

    Cognitive flexibility has repeatedly been shown to improve after training programs in community-dwelling older adults, but few studies have focused on healthy older adults living in other settings. This study investigated the efficacy of self-help training for healthy older adults in a residential care center on memory tasks they practiced (associative and object list learning tasks) and any transfer to other tasks (grocery lists, face-name learning, figure-word pairing, word lists, and text learning). Transfer effects on everyday life (using a problem-solving task) and on participants' beliefs regarding their memory (efficacy and control) were also examined. With the aid of a manual, the training adopted a learner-oriented approach that directly encouraged learners to generalize strategic behavior to new tasks. The maintenance of any training benefits was assessed after 6 months. The study involved 34 residential care center residents (aged 70-99 years old) with no cognitive impairments who were randomly assigned to two programs: the experimental group followed the self-help training program, whereas the active control group was involved in general cognitive stimulation activities. Training benefits emerged in the trained group for the tasks that were practiced. Transfer effects were found in memory and everyday problem-solving tasks and on memory beliefs. The effects of training were generally maintained in both practiced and unpracticed memory tasks. These results demonstrate that learner-oriented self-help training enhances memory performance and memory beliefs, in the short term at least, even in residential care center residents. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. A Computer Learning Center for Environmental Sciences

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Mustard, John F.

    2000-01-01

    In the fall of 1998, MacMillan Hall opened at Brown University to students. In MacMillan Hall was the new Computer Learning Center, since named the EarthLab which was outfitted with high-end workstations and peripherals primarily focused on the use of remotely sensed and other spatial data in the environmental sciences. The NASA grant we received as part of the "Centers of Excellence in Applications of Remote Sensing to Regional and Global Integrated Environmental Assessments" was the primary source of funds to outfit this learning and research center. Since opening, we have expanded the range of learning and research opportunities and integrated a cross-campus network of disciplines who have come together to learn and use spatial data of all kinds. The EarthLab also forms a core of undergraduate, graduate, and faculty research on environmental problems that draw upon the unique perspective of remotely sensed data. Over the last two years, the Earthlab has been a center for research on the environmental impact of water resource use in and regions, impact of the green revolution on forest cover in India, the design of forest preserves in Vietnam, and detailed assessments of the utility of thermal and hyperspectral data for water quality analysis. It has also been used extensively for local environmental activities, in particular studies on the impact of lead on the health of urban children in Rhode Island. Finally, the EarthLab has also served as a key educational and analysis center for activities related to the Brown University Affiliated Research Center that is devoted to transferring university research to the private sector.

  10. Leaders Who Learn: The Intersection of Behavioral Science, Adult Learning and Leadership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sabga, Natalya I.

    2017-01-01

    This study examines if a relationship exists among three rich research streams, specifically the behavioral science of motivation, adult learning and leadership. What motivates adult professionals to continue learning and how is that connected to their style and efficacy as leaders? An extension of literature to connect Andragogy,…

  11. The Varieties of Adult Civic Engagement in Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Munoz, Linda; Wrigley, Heide Spruck

    2012-01-01

    Civic engagement, or the practice of democratic deliberation in adult education and learning, asks that adults use their experiences to cooperatively build solutions to the difficult social, economic, and political problems that affect their lives and communities now and into the future. The articles presented in this issue look at the…

  12. Rehearsal Effects in Adult Word Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kaushanskaya, Margarita; Yoo, Jeewon

    2011-01-01

    The goal of this research was to examine the effects of phonological familiarity and rehearsal method (vocal vs. subvocal) on novel word learning. In Experiment 1, English-speaking adults learned phonologically familiar novel words that followed English phonological structure. Participants learned half the words via vocal rehearsal (saying the…

  13. Helping Adults Learn. Facilitator's Guide.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    California State Univ. and Colleges, Long Beach. Office of the Chancellor.

    This publication is a guide for those planning and facilitating a "Helping Adults Learn" Workshop designed to assist higher education faculty and staff in promoting greater access and success for adult learners in higher education. An overview of the workshop describes the purpose, goals (to increase understanding of theory and research…

  14. Helping Adults Learn. Participant Workbook.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    California State Univ. and Colleges, Long Beach. Office of the Chancellor.

    This publication is a workbook for those attending a "Helping Adults Learn" Workshop designed to assist higher education faculty and staff in promoting greater access and success for adult learners in higher education. An overview of the workshop describes the purpose, goals (to increase understanding of theory and research on adult…

  15. Environmental Studies. Plano Outdoor Learning Center.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Plano Independent School District, TX.

    This curriculum guide for the Plano Intermediate School District (Texas) Outdoor Learning Center is divided into three major sections. Section I provides information on the numbered stations/posts found along the perimeter and inner trails of the center and includes brief comments on the philosophy of environmental education and the history…

  16. Adult Learning in Health and Safety: Some Issues and Approaches.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O Fathaigh, Mairtin

    This document, which was developed for presentation at a seminar on adult learning and safety, examines approaches to occupational safety and health (OSH) learning/training in the workplace. Section 1 examines selected factors affecting adults' learning in workplace OSH programs. The principal dimensions along which individual adult learners will…

  17. Adult Learning in the Workplace.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    1999

    This document contains four symposium papers on adult learning in the workplace. "The Relationship between Workplace Learning and Employee Satisfaction in Small Businesses" (Robert W. Rowden, Shamsuddin Ahmad) reports the results of a study of the nature and extent of HRD, level of job satisfaction among workers, and correlation between…

  18. Surgical education and adult learning: Integrating theory into practice.

    PubMed

    Rashid, Prem

    2017-01-01

    Surgical education continues to evolve from the master-apprentice model. Newer methods of the process need to be used to manage the dual challenges of educating while providing safe surgical care. This requires integrating adult learning concepts into delivery of practical training and education in busy clinical environments. A narrative review aimed at outlining and integrating adult learning and surgical education theory was undertaken. Additionally, this information was used to relate the practical delivery of surgical training and education in day-to-day surgical practice. Concepts were sourced from reference material. Additional material was found using a PubMed search of the words: 'surgical education theory' and 'adult learning theory medical'. This yielded 1351 abstracts, of which 43 articles with a focus on key concepts in adult education theory were used. Key papers were used to formulate structure and additional cross-referenced papers were included where appropriate. Current concepts within adult learning have a lot to offer when considering how to better deliver surgical education and training. Better integration of adult learning theory can be fruitful. Individual teaching surgical units need to rethink their paradigms and consider how each individual can contribute to the education experience. Up skilling courses for trainers can do much to improve the delivery of surgical education. Understanding adult learning concepts and integrating these into day-to-day teaching can be valuable.

  19. Surgical education and adult learning: Integrating theory into practice

    PubMed Central

    Rashid, Prem

    2017-01-01

    Surgical education continues to evolve from the master-apprentice model. Newer methods of the process need to be used to manage the dual challenges of educating while providing safe surgical care. This requires integrating adult learning concepts into delivery of practical training and education in busy clinical environments. A narrative review aimed at outlining and integrating adult learning and surgical education theory was undertaken. Additionally, this information was used to relate the practical delivery of surgical training and education in day-to-day surgical practice. Concepts were sourced from reference material. Additional material was found using a PubMed search of the words: ‘surgical education theory’ and ‘adult learning theory medical’. This yielded 1351 abstracts, of which 43 articles with a focus on key concepts in adult education theory were used. Key papers were used to formulate structure and additional cross-referenced papers were included where appropriate. Current concepts within adult learning have a lot to offer when considering how to better deliver surgical education and training. Better integration of adult learning theory can be fruitful. Individual teaching surgical units need to rethink their paradigms and consider how each individual can contribute to the education experience. Up skilling courses for trainers can do much to improve the delivery of surgical education. Understanding adult learning concepts and integrating these into day-to-day teaching can be valuable. PMID:28357046

  20. Pediatric trauma at an adult trauma center.

    PubMed

    Siram, Suryanarayana; Oyetunji, Tolulope A; Khoury, Amal L; Walker, Sonya R; Bolorunduro, Oluwaseyi B; Chang, David C; Greene, Wendy R; Cornwell, Edward E; Frederick, Wayne A I

    2010-08-01

    Accidental traumatic injury is the number 1 cause of morbidity and mortality in the pediatric population. In this study, we aim to prove that certain pediatric patients can be treated with good outcomes at an adult level 1 trauma center. Retrospective analysis using the Howard University Hospital trauma registry identified 71 patients treated at Howard University Hospital between the ages of 1 and 17 years old. Specific variables were identified and collected for each patient. The majority of pediatric traumas treated at Howard University Hospital between June 2004 and May 2005 had high survival rates (93%). The patients who did not survive (7%) included 3 patients who were dead on arrival and 2 who died shortly after arrival to the hospital. Certain pediatric populations who present with minor and/or isolated injuries can be treated in an adult level 1 trauma center with similar outcomes to treatment in a pediatric level 1 trauma center.

  1. Waiting to Exhale: African American Women and Adult Learning Through Movies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rogers, Elice E.

    Scholars have addressed adults and the impact of popular culture on adult learning, but little attention has been directed toward the relationship between adult learning and African Americans. Most specifically, minimal information is related to adult learning that evolves as a result of popular culture influences. Popular culture promotes…

  2. Interdisciplinary Handbook of Adult Lifespan Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sinnott, Jan D., Ed.

    This book is divided into three parts: theories and models, learning in specific life contexts, and the influence of aging on learning. Chapters include: "Chaos Theory as a Framework for Understanding Adult Lifespan Learning" (John C. Cavanaugh, Lisa C. McGuire); "The Future Impact of the Communication Revolution" (Lynn Johnson); "The Educated…

  3. Screening for Learning Disabilities in Adult Basic Education Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reynolds, Sharon L.; Johnson, Jerry D.; Salzman, James A.

    2012-01-01

    The extant literature offers little to describe the processes for screening students in adult basic education (ABE) programs for potential learning disabilities, referring adult students for diagnostic assessment, or barriers to obtaining diagnostic assessment for a learning disability. Without current documentation of a learning disability, ABE…

  4. Didactic Content and Experiential Aging Simulation for Developing Patient-Centered Strategies and Empathy for Older Adults.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Carole E; Jilla, Anna Marie; Danhauer, Jeffrey L

    2018-02-01

    The number of people over 65 years of age is increasing, and many of those individuals will have sensorineural hearing loss in addition to other chronic health conditions. Future hearing health care providers need to be sensitive to the needs of elderly patients. The purpose of this article is to describe an experiential learning curriculum used in the Doctor of Audiology program in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. The curriculum uses simulations of sensory disorders common in the elderly to transform knowledge and active experience into patient-centered, empathetic counseling skills and strategies to use with older adults with hearing loss.

  5. Developing an English Mobile Learning Attitude Scale for Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Tzu-Ying

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, with the rapid development of mobile devices, mobile learning (m-learning) has becoming another popular topic. There is a strong need for both researchers and educators to be aware of adult learners' attitudes toward English mobile learning, yet relevant studies on mobile learning to promote English learning for adult learners are…

  6. Applying adult learning practices in medical education.

    PubMed

    Reed, Suzanne; Shell, Richard; Kassis, Karyn; Tartaglia, Kimberly; Wallihan, Rebecca; Smith, Keely; Hurtubise, Larry; Martin, Bryan; Ledford, Cynthia; Bradbury, Scott; Bernstein, Henry Hank; Mahan, John D

    2014-07-01

    The application of the best practices of teaching adults to the education of adults in medical education settings is important in the process of transforming learners to become and remain effective physicians. Medical education at all levels should be designed to equip physicians with the knowledge, clinical skills, and professionalism that are required to deliver quality patient care. The ultimate outcome is the health of the patient and the health status of the society. In the translational science of medical education, improved patient outcomes linked directly to educational events are the ultimate goal and are best defined by rigorous medical education research efforts. To best develop faculty, the same principles of adult education and teaching adults apply. In a systematic review of faculty development initiatives designed to improve teaching effectiveness in medical education, the use of experiential learning, feedback, effective relationships with peers, and diverse educational methods were found to be most important in the success of these programs. In this article, we present 5 examples of applying the best practices in teaching adults and utilizing the emerging understanding of the neurobiology of learning in teaching students, trainees, and practitioners. These include (1) use of standardized patients to develop communication skills, (2) use of online quizzes to assess knowledge and aid self-directed learning, (3) use of practice sessions and video clips to enhance significant learning of teaching skills, (4) use of case-based discussions to develop professionalism concepts and skills, and (5) use of the American Academy of Pediatrics PediaLink as a model for individualized learner-directed online learning. These examples highlight how experiential leaning, providing valuable feedback, opportunities for practice, and stimulation of self-directed learning can be utilized as medical education continues its dynamic transformation in the years ahead

  7. Anytime, Anywhere: Student-Centered Learning for Schools and Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolfe, Rebecca E., Ed.; Steinberg, Adria, Ed.; Hoffman, Nancy, Ed.

    2013-01-01

    "Anytime, Anywhere" synthesizes existing research and practices in the emerging field of student-centered learning, and includes profiles of schools that have embraced this approach. Educators have argued that students should be at the center of learning, constructing new knowledge based on what is interesting to them, and receiving…

  8. Efficacy of Learning Strategies Instruction in Adult Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hock, Michael F.; Mellard, Daryl F.

    2011-01-01

    Results from randomized controlled trials of learning strategies instruction with 375 adult basic education participants are reported. Reading outcomes from whole group strategic instruction in 1 of 4 learning strategies were compared to outcomes of reading instruction delivered in the context of typical adult education units on social studies,…

  9. FaculTea: Professional Development for Learning Centered Academic Advising

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Voller, Julie Givans

    2013-01-01

    The theory of learning centered academic advising states that the purpose of advising is to teach undergraduate students about the logic and purpose of their education. Previous scholarship on learning centered advising has focused on the theoretical or on implementation by faculty at small colleges and universities. Methods for supporting…

  10. Compensatory processing during rule-based category learning in older adults.

    PubMed

    Bharani, Krishna L; Paller, Ken A; Reber, Paul J; Weintraub, Sandra; Yanar, Jorge; Morrison, Robert G

    2016-01-01

    Healthy older adults typically perform worse than younger adults at rule-based category learning, but better than patients with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. To further investigate aging's effect on rule-based category learning, we monitored event-related potentials (ERPs) while younger and neuropsychologically typical older adults performed a visual category-learning task with a rule-based category structure and trial-by-trial feedback. Using these procedures, we previously identified ERPs sensitive to categorization strategy and accuracy in young participants. In addition, previous studies have demonstrated the importance of neural processing in the prefrontal cortex and the medial temporal lobe for this task. In this study, older adults showed lower accuracy and longer response times than younger adults, but there were two distinct subgroups of older adults. One subgroup showed near-chance performance throughout the procedure, never categorizing accurately. The other subgroup reached asymptotic accuracy that was equivalent to that in younger adults, although they categorized more slowly. These two subgroups were further distinguished via ERPs. Consistent with the compensation theory of cognitive aging, older adults who successfully learned showed larger frontal ERPs when compared with younger adults. Recruitment of prefrontal resources may have improved performance while slowing response times. Additionally, correlations of feedback-locked P300 amplitudes with category-learning accuracy differentiated successful younger and older adults. Overall, the results suggest that the ability to adapt one's behavior in response to feedback during learning varies across older individuals, and that the failure of some to adapt their behavior may reflect inadequate engagement of prefrontal cortex.

  11. Compensatory Processing During Rule-Based Category Learning in Older Adults

    PubMed Central

    Bharani, Krishna L.; Paller, Ken A.; Reber, Paul J.; Weintraub, Sandra; Yanar, Jorge; Morrison, Robert G.

    2016-01-01

    Healthy older adults typically perform worse than younger adults at rule-based category learning, but better than patients with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. To further investigate aging's effect on rule-based category learning, we monitored event-related potentials (ERPs) while younger and neuropsychologically typical older adults performed a visual category-learning task with a rule-based category structure and trial-by-trial feedback. Using these procedures, we previously identified ERPs sensitive to categorization strategy and accuracy in young participants. In addition, previous studies have demonstrated the importance of neural processing in the prefrontal cortex and the medial temporal lobe for this task. In this study, older adults showed lower accuracy and longer response times than younger adults, but there were two distinct subgroups of older adults. One subgroup showed near-chance performance throughout the procedure, never categorizing accurately. The other subgroup reached asymptotic accuracy that was equivalent to that in younger adults, although they categorized more slowly. These two subgroups were further distinguished via ERPs. Consistent with the compensation theory of cognitive aging, older adults who successfully learned showed larger frontal ERPs when compared with younger adults. Recruitment of prefrontal resources may have improved performance while slowing response times. Additionally, correlations of feedback-locked P300 amplitudes with category-learning accuracy differentiated successful younger and older adults. Overall, the results suggest that the ability to adapt one's behavior in response to feedback during learning varies across older individuals, and that the failure of some to adapt their behavior may reflect inadequate engagement of prefrontal cortex. PMID:26422522

  12. Federally sponsored multidisciplinary research centers: Learning, evaluation, and vicious circles.

    PubMed

    Youtie, Jan; Corley, Elizabeth A

    2011-02-01

    Despite the increasing investment in multi-year federally funded science and technology centers in universities, there are few studies of how these centers engage in learning and change based on information submitted from various agents in the oversight and evaluation process. One challenge is how to manage and respond to this evaluative information, especially when it is conflicting. Although the center can learn and adapt in response to this information, it can also become subject to a vicious circle of continuous restructuring and production of documentation to address various and potentially inconsistent recommendations. In this paper we illustrate the effects of such a dynamic based on our experiences as external evaluators of the $25 million NSF-funded Learning in Informal and Formal Environments (LIFE) Center. The case study presents an analysis of annual reports and strategic planning documents along with other sources of evidence to illustrate the evolution of center organizational approaches in response to evaluations by external review panels, center evaluators, program managers, and other external stakeholders. We conclude with suggestions for how evaluators may help centers ease the cost of learning and reduce the likelihood of a vicious circle. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Sleep benefits consolidation of visuo-motor adaptation learning in older adults.

    PubMed

    Mantua, Janna; Baran, Bengi; Spencer, Rebecca M C

    2016-02-01

    Sleep is beneficial for performance across a range of memory tasks in young adults, but whether memories are similarly consolidated in older adults is less clear. Performance benefits have been observed following sleep in older adults for declarative learning tasks, but this benefit may be reduced for non-declarative, motor skill learning tasks. To date, studies of sleep-dependent consolidation of motor learning in older adults are limited to motor sequence tasks. To examine whether reduced sleep-dependent consolidation in older adults is generalizable to other forms of motor skill learning, we examined performance changes over intervals of sleep and wake in young (n = 62) and older adults (n = 61) using a mirror-tracing task, which assesses visuo-motor adaptation learning. Participants learned the task either in the morning or in evening, and performance was assessed following a 12-h interval containing overnight sleep or daytime wake. Contrary to our prediction, both young adults and older adults exhibited sleep-dependent gains in visuo-motor adaptation. There was a correlation between performance improvement over sleep and percent of the night in non-REM stage 2 sleep. These results indicate that motor skill consolidation remains intact with increasing age although this relationship may be limited to specific forms of motor skill learning.

  14. Lifelong Learning: Making It Work. An Adult Learning Australia Discussion Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Tony, Ed.

    This discussion paper is from the Adult Learners Week National Seminar on Lifelong Learning Policy (Canberra, Australia, September 1999) that identified a number of ideas about how to foster national policy development on lifelong learning. It consists of three sections. Part 1 contains "A National Lifelong Learning Policy for…

  15. Involvement of Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Learning and Forgetting

    PubMed Central

    Yau, Suk-yu; Li, Ang; So, Kwok-Fai

    2015-01-01

    Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is a process involving the continuous generation of newborn neurons in the hippocampus of adult animals. Mounting evidence has suggested that hippocampal neurogenesis contributes to some forms of hippocampus-dependent learning and memory; however, the detailed mechanism concerning how this small number of newborn neurons could affect learning and memory remains unclear. In this review, we discuss the relationship between adult-born neurons and learning and memory, with a highlight on recently discovered potential roles of neurogenesis in pattern separation and forgetting. PMID:26380120

  16. Environments for Lifelong Learning in Senior Centers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eaton, Jacqueline; Salari, Sonia

    2005-01-01

    Senior-center learning opportunities must adapt, as new retirees are better educated than their predecessors. We examined 3 multipurpose senior centers using 120 hours of observations and 30 participant interviews. Variation existed in the ability to maximize synomorphic relationships, where the physical environment supported educational…

  17. Practice of Adult Education--Older Adults, Tourism, and Learning in Yellowstone

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberson, Donald N., Jr.

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to present a program of learning for older adults in a national park. Because of the growing trend of tourism among retirees this learning during leisure is gaining prominence. The paper brings together the concepts of aging, self-directed learning, and tourism and leisure. In addition this paper presents a…

  18. Teachers' Evaluation of Student-Centered Learning Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cubukcu, Zuhal

    2012-01-01

    Problem Statement: The student-centered teaching is the arrangement of the teaching experience focusing on the students' responsibilities and activities in the learning process which takes into consideration the students' interests, demands and needs. According to this approach, while teaching experiences are planned, different learning strategies…

  19. QuickStats: Percentage of Adult Day Services Center Participants, by Selected Diagnoses

    MedlinePlus

    ... MMWR ) MMWR Share Compartir QuickStats: Percentage of Adult Day Services Center Participants,* by Selected Diagnoses † — National Study ... which is the estimated number of enrolled adult day services center participants in the United States on ...

  20. Comparing Adult Learning Systems: An Emerging Political Economy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rees, Gareth

    2013-01-01

    Adult learning systems have come to be dominated by the view that the essential role of adult learning is to generate the high levels of skills deemed necessary for competitiveness and growth in the globalised economy. This 'education gospel' is underpinned by human capital theory (HCT) and its contemporary conceptualisation in terms of…

  1. An Evaluation of Self-Learning Centers in Adult Education: A Research Report of a Ph.D. Dissertation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lifer, Charles W.; And Others

    This report presents a study undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of contacting previously unreached urban audiences through the use of films at automatic self-learning centers. To accomplish this, the study attempted to determine: (1) the extent to which people in an urban business (a large insurance company) would look at agricultural films…

  2. Overview of Mediated Courseware in Learning Centers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spangenberg, Ronald W.

    A limited overview of some media related factors, this document should be helpful to the learning center manager who lacks extensive experience with media. It discusses important theoretical factors associated with media selection and summarizes research concerning the use of color and of motion in learning. Descriptive information concerning…

  3. Learning Journeys: A Resource Handbook on Adult Learning and Mental Health.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mather, Joy; Atkinson, Sue

    This document explains how tutors and managers in adult education programs across the United Kingdom can smooth the journeys of adults with mental health difficulties who are returning to learning. The handbook begins with suggestions for its use and case studies of two adult learners with mental health difficulties. Sections 1 through 4 discuss…

  4. Assessment of a Professional Development Program on Adult Learning Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malik, Melinda

    2016-01-01

    Librarians at colleges and universities invested in graduate education must understand and incorporate adult learning theories in their reference and instruction interactions with graduate students to more effectively support the students' learning. After participating in a professional development program about adult learning theory, librarians…

  5. Environmental Learning Centers: A Template.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vozick, Eric

    1999-01-01

    Provides a working model, or template, for community-based environmental learning centers (ELCs). The template presents a philosophy as well as a plan for staff and administration operations, educational programming, and financial support. The template also addresses "green" construction and maintenance of buildings and grounds and…

  6. Efficiency at the Center of Learning and Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goff-Kfouri, Carol Ann

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this article was to clarify the seemingly contrary philosophies of learner centered and teacher centered teaching approaches. First, the benefits of both approaches are described. Examples of ways in which teacher centered classes using thoughtful questioning techniques or focused lectures enhance learning are presented. The…

  7. Informal Adult Learning and Everyday Literacy Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Taylor, Maurice C.

    2006-01-01

    This study investigated the types of informal learning activities that adults with low literacy skills engage in outside of formal literacy programs and how these activities relate to their literacy practices. Key informants for the study included 10 adults identified at International Adult Literacy Survey levels 1 and 2. Using ethnographic…

  8. Adult Learning in the Language Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Stacey Margarita

    2015-01-01

    This book explores connections between the fields of foreign/second language teaching and adult learning. This interdisciplinary approach serves as a framework in order to: (a) understand the teaching methods that promote the deeper, more critical sort of language learning advocated by scholars and professional organizations, (b) understand how…

  9. Measuring Self-Directed Learning: A Diagnostic Tool for Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khiat, Henry

    2015-01-01

    Self-directed learning is an important form of adult learning (Caffarella, 1993; Knowles, 1975; Knowles, Holton & Swanson, 2005; Merriam, 2001; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). The strategies of self-directed learning allow adult learners to cope better with their studies while fulfilling family, work and other commitments. This study…

  10. Interrupting Adult Learning through Online Pedagogy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stuart-Buttle, Ros

    2014-01-01

    This paper considers online pedagogy in relation to Christian adult learning and asks how this might be interpreted by theological educators. The online community of inquiry is proposed as one recognized pedagogical approach and illustrated by reference to a continuing professional development programme for online adult learners across the church…

  11. Adult Learning for Social Change in Museums: An Exploration of Sociocultural Learning Approaches to Community Engagement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Junghwan; You, Jieun; Yeon Park, Soo

    2016-01-01

    This integrative literature review critically examined how scholars were articulating the work of museums to make a space for "adult learning for social change through community engagement". We applied sociocultural adult learning theories (situated learning and cultural-historical activity theory), to 25 theoretical and empirical…

  12. Adult Learning and Naval Leadership Training

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2004-06-01

    Jerome Bruner , R. M. Jones and others look at learning as a means to modify behavior while others see behavior modification as a means to increase the...informal learning , the chief purpose of which is to discover the meaning of experience; a quest of the mind which digs down to the roots of the...NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited ADULT LEARNING AND

  13. Creating an Effective Educational Environment for Adult Learners: A Qualitative, Multi-Case Study of Off-Campus Center Administrator's Use of Invitational Leadership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKnight, Carolyn P.

    2012-01-01

    This qualitative, multi-case study was designed to examine off-campus centers and their administrators in creating an effective learning environment for adult learners. Serving as the conceptual framework, invitational leadership theory is a holistic approach which nurtures the belief that everyone is intrinsically motivated and it is the leaders'…

  14. They're Not Just Big Kids: Motivating Adult Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thoms, Karen Jarrett

    This paper discusses motivation of adult learners. The first section discusses the adult learner, including the concepts of andragogy and pedagogy, as well as student-centered learning. The second section summarizes changing student demographics and predictions. The third section presents principles of adult learning. The fourth section covers…

  15. Open Education 2030: Planning the Future of Adult Learning in Europe

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Castaño Muñoz, Jonatan; Redecker, Christine; Vuorikari, Riina; Punie, Yves

    2013-01-01

    Adult learning and open education have become key elements on the European Agenda. This paper presents the first results of a foresight activity that aims to contribute to an understanding of how "Opening up Education" can improve adult learning in Europe in the future. It argues that to open up adult learning two main challenges must be…

  16. Computer Game-Based Learning: Perceptions and Experiences of Senior Chinese Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Feihong; Lockee, Barbara B.; Burton, John K.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate senior Chinese adults' potential acceptance of computer game-based learning (CGBL) by probing their perceptions of computer game play and their perceived impacts of game play on their learning of computer skills and life satisfaction. A total of 60 senior adults from a local senior adult learning center…

  17. Experiential Learning Theory as One of the Foundations of Adult Learning Practice Worldwide

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dernova, Maiya

    2015-01-01

    The paper presents the analysis of existing theory, assumptions, and models of adult experiential learning. The experiential learning is a learning based on a learning cycle guided by the dual dialectics of action-reflection and experience-abstraction. It defines learning as a process of knowledge creation through experience transformation, so…

  18. Does Learning-Centered Teaching Promote Grade Improvement?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mostrom, Alison M.; Blumberg, Phyllis

    2012-01-01

    When the grade distribution within a course shifts towards higher grades, it may be due to grade inflation or grade improvement. If the positive shift is accompanied by an increase in achievement or learning, it should be considered grade improvement, "not" grade inflation. Effective learning-centered teaching is designed to promote student…

  19. Teaching Reading in a Learning Assistance Center.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caverly, David

    This paper reviews nine principles regarding the reading process, and six scaffolds for teaching students to read, and then suggests a specific developmental reading program for a learning center built upon this knowledge. It is generally accepted that four factors interact to form the reading/learning process: (1) Material; (2) Self; (3)…

  20. The efficacy of student-centered instruction in supporting science learning.

    PubMed

    Granger, E M; Bevis, T H; Saka, Y; Southerland, S A; Sampson, V; Tate, R L

    2012-10-05

    Transforming science learning through student-centered instruction that engages students in a variety of scientific practices is central to national science-teaching reform efforts. Our study employed a large-scale, randomized-cluster experimental design to compare the effects of student-centered and teacher-centered approaches on elementary school students' understanding of space-science concepts. Data included measures of student characteristics and learning and teacher characteristics and fidelity to the instructional approach. Results reveal that learning outcomes were higher for students enrolled in classrooms engaging in scientific practices through a student-centered approach; two moderators were identified. A statistical search for potential causal mechanisms for the observed outcomes uncovered two potential mediators: students' understanding of models and evidence and the self-efficacy of teachers.

  1. Adult Learning and Literacy in Canada

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shohet, Linda

    2001-01-01

    In Chapter Six, Linda Shohet offers a description of the adult literacy and learning system in Canada. In providing a historical overview of the development of the field, Shohet notes key political events that have influenced the funding and development of services for adults. Through her description, the author reveals the complexity and…

  2. Learning-Centered Leadership and Teacher Learning in China: Does Trust Matter?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Shengnan; Hallinger, Philip; Feng, Daming

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: In this era of global education reform, teacher professional learning (TPL) has emerged as a key factor in efforts to create sustainable school improvement. The same holds in Mainland China where ambitious curriculum reforms have been undertaken since 2000. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of learning-centered leadership…

  3. Evaluation Report on the Community Learning Center.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fried, Robert L.

    The Community Learning Center (CLC) evaluation is based on on-site visits and interviews with staff and students of widely differing ethnic backgrounds. Teaching resources are varied. The Model Cities program is the basic source for CLC funding; the Cambridge Public Library is the center's local sponsor. The external bureaucratic framework needs…

  4. Effective Literacy Instruction for Adults with Specific Learning Disabilities: Implications for Adult Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hock, Michael F.

    2012-01-01

    Adults with learning disabilities (LD) attending adult basic education, GED programs, or community colleges are among the lowest performers on measures of literacy. For example, on multiple measures of reading comprehension, adults with LD had a mean reading score at the third grade level, whereas adults without LD read at the fifth grade level.…

  5. Electronic Pathways. Adult Learning and the New Communication Technologies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Field, Jane, Ed.

    This book, which is intended as a practical resource for individuals who are professionally concerned with adult learning, contains 21 papers and 3 checklists concerning the new communication and information technologies (IT) and adult learning. The following papers and checklists are included: "Introduction" (Jane Field); "The Use…

  6. Building a Dynamic Online Learning Community among Adult Learners.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Minjuan; Sierra, Christina; Folger, Terre

    2003-01-01

    Examines the nature of learning communities constructed among a diverse group of adult learners in an international online graduate-level course. Discusses independent work, team tasks, the variety of computer-mediated communication tools used, and implications for promoting adult learners' active participation in online learning and instructional…

  7. Understanding Adult Lifelong Learning Participation as a Layered Problem

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boeren, Ellen

    2017-01-01

    This paper discusses the layered nature of lifelong learning participation, bringing together fragmented insights in why adults do or do not participate in lifelong learning activities. The paper will discuss the roles and responsibilities of individual adults, education and training providers and countries' social education policies, often…

  8. Predictors of senior center use among older adults in New York City public housing.

    PubMed

    Schneider, Amanda E; Ralph, Nancy; Olson, Carolyn; Flatley, Anne-Marie; Thorpe, Lorna

    2014-12-01

    Despite agreement among stakeholders that senior centers can promote physical and mental health, research on senior center use in urban populations is limited. Our objective was to describe demographic and health factors associated with senior center use among urban, low-income older adults in order to inform programming and outreach efforts. We used data from a 2009 telephone survey of 1036 adults randomly selected from rosters of New York City public housing residents aged 65 and older. We analyzed senior center use by race/ethnicity, age, gender, health, housing type, and income, and used a forward selection approach to build best-fit models predicting senior center use. Older adults of all ages and of both genders reported substantial use of senior centers, with nearly one third (31.3%) reporting use. Older adults living alone, at risk of depression, or living in specialized senior housing had the greatest use of centers. Senior center use varied by race/ethnicity, and English-speaking Hispanics had a higher prevalence of use than Spanish-speaking Hispanics (adjusted prevalence ratio [PR]=1.69, 95% CI: 1.11-2.59). Spanish-speaking communities and older adults living in non-senior congregate housing are appropriate targets for increased senior center outreach efforts.

  9. Toward a New Motivation to Learn Framework for Older Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Yi-Yin; Sandmann, Lorilee R.

    2012-01-01

    Although existing literature addresses adults' motivation to learn, and some specifically focuses on older adults, it is now recognized that older adults are more heterogeneous and complex than other age groups. Therefore, this study seeks to provide an alternative theoretical framework to investigate motivation to learn for older adult learners…

  10. Cocreating Value in Teaching and Learning Centers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schumann, David W.; Peters, John; Olsen, Taimi

    2013-01-01

    The advent of faculty development centers that focus on the improvement of teaching skills and better understanding of student learning concepts dates back to the 1960s. These centers were initiated from a realization that the effectiveness of a faculty member resulted from growth and maturity over time and that certain support systems were…

  11. Toward an Interdisciplinary Perspective: A Review of Adult Learning Frameworks and Theoretical Models of Motor Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roessger, Kevin M.

    2012-01-01

    Researchers have yet to agree on an approach that supports how adults best learn novel motor skills in formal educational contexts. The literature fails to adequately discuss adult motor learning from the standpoint of adult education. Instead, the subject is addressed by other disciplines. This review attempts to integrate perspectives across…

  12. Enhancing Digital Literacy and Learning among Adults with Blogs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sharp, Laurie A.

    2017-01-01

    Digital literacy and learning among adults has been identified as an area requiring research. The purpose of the present study was to explore technology acceptance and digital collaborative learning experiences with blogs among adult learners. This analysis employed a quasi-experimental mixed-methods approach guided by a sociocultural theoretical…

  13. Problem-Based Learning: Instructor Characteristics, Competencies, and Professional Development

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2011-01-01

    cognitive learning objectives addressed by student -centered instruction . For instance, experiential learning , a variation of which is used at the...based learning in grade school science or mathematics . However, the measures could be modified to focus on adult PBL (or student -centered learning ... student -centered learning methods, the findings should generalize across instructional methods of interest to the Army. Further research is required

  14. Salvaging the Self in Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hunt, Celia; West, Linden

    2009-01-01

    This paper stems from a dialogue on the subjects of learning and learners: one forged out of experiences in research and teaching, and the application of psychodynamic insights, developmental psychology and recent work in the neurosciences, to thinking about adult learning and subjectivity. We argue that some notion of the self needs to be…

  15. Add Sparkle to Your Learning Centers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Susan

    2005-01-01

    This brief column offers ten tips on how to revive classroom learning centers by cleaning up, reassessing spaces, and adding fresh materials. Some of the tips include: create colorful banners; provide inspirational materials; and share surprise boxes.

  16. Understanding and Managing Learning Disabilities in Adults. Professional Practices in Adult Education and Human Resource Development Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jordan, Dale R.

    This book reviews learning disabilities (LD) in adults and makes suggestions for helping adults cope with these disabilities. Each chapter covers a type of learning disability or related syndrome or explains characteristics of the brain. Chapter 1 explains several types of specific learning disabilities that make classroom performance difficult…

  17. The Analysis of Adult Immigrants' Learning System in Canada

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mukan, Nataliya; Barabash, Olena; Busko, Maria

    2015-01-01

    In the article the problem of adult immigrants' learning in Canada has been studied. The main objectives of the article are defined as: analysis of scientific and pedagogical literature which highlights different aspects of the research problem; analysis of the adult immigrants' learning system in Canada; and the perspectives for creative…

  18. ESL Instruction and Adults with Learning Disabilities. ERIC Digest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schwarz, Robin; Terrill, Lynda

    This digest reviews what is known about adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners and learning disabilities, suggests ways to identify and assess ESL adults who may have learning disabilities, and offers practical methods for both instruction and teacher training. Topics covered in some detail include identifying and diagnosing learning…

  19. Assessing the Reading Comprehension of Adults with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, F. W.; Long, K.; Finlay, W. M. L.

    2006-01-01

    Background: This study's aim was to begin the process of measuring the reading comprehension of adults with mild and borderline learning disabilities, in order to generate information to help clinicians and other professionals to make written material for adults with learning disabilities more comprehensible. Methods: The Test for the Reception of…

  20. Adult Learning in Vocational Education. EEE700 Adults Learning: The Changing Workplace A.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Little, David; And Others

    This monograph is part of the study materials for the one-semester distance education unit, Adults Learning: The Changing Workplace A, in the Open Campus Program at Deakin University (Australia). It explores four complex and interrelated issues: how vocational educators view their own practice, the characteristics and aspirations that distinguish…

  1. Learning to Be Drier: A Case Study of Adult and Community Learning in the Australian Riverland

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Mike; Schulz, Christine

    2009-01-01

    This article explores the adult and community learning associated with "learning to be drier" in the Riverland region of South Australia. Communities in the Riverland are currently adjusting and making changes to their understandings and practices as part of learning to live with less water. The analysis of adult and community learning…

  2. Students´ Perspectives on eLearning Activities in Person-Centered, Blended Learning Settings

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haselberger, David; Motsching, Renate

    2016-01-01

    Blended or hybrid learning has become a frequent practice in higher education. In this article our primary research interest was to find out how students perceived eLearning activities in blended learning courses based on the person-centered paradigm. Through analyzing the content of a series of semi-structured interviews we found out that…

  3. Lifelong Learning and Adult Education: Russia Meets the West

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zajda, Joseph

    2003-03-01

    This article examines the impact of social change and economic transformation on adult education and lifelong learning in post-Soviet Russia. The article begins with a brief economic and historical background to lifelong learning and adult education in terms of its significance as a feature of the Russian cultural heritage. An analysis of Ministerial education policy and curriculum changes reveals that these policies reflect neo-liberal and neo-conservative paradigms in the post-Soviet economy and education. Current issues and trends in adult education are also discussed, with particular attention to the Adult Education Centres, which operate as a vast umbrella framework for a variety of adult education and lifelong learning initiatives. The Centres are designed to promote social justice by means of compensatory education and social rehabilitation for individuals dislocated by economic restructuring. The article comments on their role in helping to develop popular consciousness of democratic rights and active citizenship in a participatory and pluralistic democracy.

  4. Re-Examining Cognition during Student-Centered, Web-Based Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hannafin, Michael; Hannafin, Kathleen; Gabbitas, Bruce

    2009-01-01

    During student-centered learning, the individual assumes responsibility for determining learning goals, monitoring progress toward meeting goals, adjusting or adapting approaches as warranted, and determining when individual goals have been adequately addressed. This can be particularly challenging while learning from the World-Wide Web, where…

  5. Contextualized Writing: Promoting Audience-Centered Writing through Scenario-Based Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Golden, Paullett

    2018-01-01

    Scenario-based learning is an approach for student-centered learning used in the medical and legal fields, but is little used in liberal arts. In this study, I examine students' understanding and application of audience-centered writing techniques after a semester of formal scenario-based essays and problem-based activities. Comparing the grades…

  6. Phonological similarity influences word learning in adults learning Spanish as a foreign language

    PubMed Central

    Stamer, Melissa K.; Vitevitch, Michael S.

    2013-01-01

    Neighborhood density—the number of words that sound similar to a given word (Luce & Pisoni, 1998)—influences word-learning in native English speaking children and adults (Storkel, 2004; Storkel, Armbruster, & Hogan, 2006): novel words with many similar sounding English words (i.e., dense neighborhood) are learned more quickly than novel words with few similar sounding English words (i.e., sparse neighborhood). The present study examined how neighborhood density influences word-learning in native English speaking adults learning Spanish as a foreign language. Students in their third-semester of Spanish language classes learned advanced Spanish words that sounded similar to many known Spanish words (i.e., dense neighborhood) or sounded similar to few known Spanish words (i.e., sparse neighborhood). In three word-learning tasks, performance was better for Spanish words with dense rather than sparse neighborhoods. These results suggest that a similar mechanism may be used to learn new words in a native and a foreign language. PMID:23950692

  7. The Social-Interaction Learning Styles of Irish Adult Learners: Some Empirical Findings.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O Fathaigh, Mairtin

    An action research project was conducted to understand the learning style profile of Irish adult learners better and to integrate the findings into development seminars for adult education teachers and tutors. The Grasha-Riechmann Student Learning Styles Scale (GRSLSS) was chosen as the research instrument to explore Irish adults' learning styles…

  8. Integrated Strategic Planning in a Learning-Centered Community College

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kelley, Susan; Kaufman, Roger

    2007-01-01

    In learning-centered community colleges, planning, like all processes, must measurably improve learning and learner performance. This article shares Valencia Community College's approach to revising its strategic planning process based on the Organizational Elements Model to: 1) focus strategic planning on learning results that add value for…

  9. Reflections on Adult Learning in Cultural Institutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parrish, Marilyn McKinley

    2010-01-01

    Cultural institutions are rich locations for adult learning. Despite apparent differences in mission, they are similar in many ways. Similarities include social and historical development, educational philosophy and objectives, epistemological tensions and contestations, and challenges associated when attracting and educating adult visitors. In an…

  10. Adult Graduate Student Voices: Good and Bad Learning Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reiff, Marianne; Ballin, Amy

    2016-01-01

    During their master's degree work, cohorts of adult graduate students participated in a common learning task in which they listed their factors of good and bad learning experiences. The lead author collected these factors from students over the course of 3 years. The purpose of our inquiry was to examine and document what adult graduate students…

  11. Adult learning and social inequalities: Processes of equalisation or cumulative disadvantage?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kilpi-Jakonen, Elina; Vono de Vilhena, Daniela; Blossfeld, Hans-Peter

    2015-08-01

    Adult learning is an increasingly important form of education in globalised and aging societies. While current policy recommendations tend to focus on increasing participation rates, the authors of this article argue that higher participation rates do not necessarily lead to lower social/educational inequalities in participation. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between social inequalities and adult learning by exploring cross-national patterns of participation in different adult learning activities and the consequences of participation on individual labour market trajectories. The empirical basis of the paper is an analysis of 13 country studies (as well as two cross-national analyses) brought together by the international comparative research project "Education as a lifelong process - comparing educational trajectories in modern societies" ( eduLIFE). Despite wide variations in participation rates across countries, mechanisms of social/educational inequality in engagement in job-related adult learning tend to be relatively similar across countries, in particular with regard to non-formal learning. Effects tend most frequently to be a presence of cumulative advantage, though in some countries a certain degree of equalisation is noticeable with regard to formal adult education. The authors conclude that it is relatively clear that currently almost no country is truly able to reduce social inequalities through adult learning. Their recommendation is that public policy makers should place greater emphasis on making adult learning more accessible (in terms of entry requirements, affordability as well as motivation) to underrepresented groups, in particular those who are educationally disadvantaged.

  12. Alternative Learning Centers: Another Option for Discipline Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pare, John A.

    1983-01-01

    Describes the operation and effectiveness of the Alternative Learning Center program administered by James Madison Memorial High School in Madison (Wisconsin). The center permits the school to remove students committing breaches of school discipline from their classes without removing them from the educational environment altogether. (PGD)

  13. How Do Adults Learn to Read? A Communities of Practice Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Negassa, Tolera; Rogers, Alan; Warkineh, Turuwark Zalalam

    2016-01-01

    This article explores whether looking at adult literacy teaching through the lens of Lave and Wenger's "community of practice" approach to learning provides useful additional insights into adults learning to read, especially the role of the adult literacy facilitator. Using some case studies of facilitators from the Ethiopian Integrated…

  14. Pediatric heart transplantation at adult-specialty centers in the US: a multicenter registry analysis.

    PubMed

    Duong, Son Q; Yabes, Johnathan G; Teuteberg, Jeffery J; Shellmer, Diana A; Feingold, Brian

    2018-05-14

    Recent OPTN bylaw revisions mandate US transplant programs have an "approved pediatric component" in order to perform heart transplantation (HT) in patients <18 years old. The impact of this change on adolescents, a group known to be at high-risk for graft loss and nonadherence, is unknown. We studied all US pediatric (age <18 years) HT from 2000-2015 to compare graft survival between centers organized primarily for adult versus pediatric care. Centers were designated as pediatric- or adult-specialty care according to the ratio of pediatric:adult HT performed and minimum age of HT (pediatric-specialty defined as ratio>0.7; adult-specialty ratio<0.05 and minimum age >8 years). In propensity score-matched cohorts we observed no difference in graft loss by center type (median survival: adult 12.4 vs. pediatric 9.2 years, p=0.174). Compared to the matched pediatric cohort, adult-specialty center recipients lived closer to their transplant center (31 vs. 45 miles, p=0.012), and trended toward fewer out-of-state transplants (15 vs. 25%, p=0.082). Our data suggest that select adolescents can achieve similar mid-term graft survival at centers organized primary for adult HT care. Regardless of post-HT setting, the development of care models that demonstrably improve adherence, may be of greatest benefit to improving survival of this high-risk population. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  15. Plan of Work 2010: Towards True Student-Centered Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    European Students' Union (NJ1), 2010

    2010-01-01

    The European Students' Union's (ESU's) vision regarding the Student Centered Learning concept stems from the fundamental belief that the learning process should have at its core learning objectives as they are prioritized by each individual students, also that each (potential) student should be empowered to define those objectives and progress…

  16. Implicit Learning Deficits among Adults with Developmental Dyslexia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kahta, Shani; Schiff, Rachel

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate implicit learning processes among adults with developmental dyslexia (DD) using a visual linguistic artificial grammar learning (AGL) task. Specifically, it was designed to explore whether the intact learning reported in previous studies would also occur under conditions including minimal training…

  17. Adult learning principles for effective teaching in radiology programmes: a review of the literature.

    PubMed

    Arogundade, R A

    2011-01-01

    Adult learning processes of acquisition of new knowledge, behaviours, skills, values or preferences generally occur as part of personal professional development. There is need for radiology residency trainers to understand the basic adult learning principles for effective teaching processes. To review the different adult learning styles, learning theories and educational practice as a guide for radiology residency trainers. Literature materials from journals, web articles and reputable textbooks in the last 20 years on adult learning principles in general and radiology in particular were reviewed. Most medical educators, including radiologists, lack appropriate formal training background in educational practice. The adult residency trainee brings to the learning environment high quantity and quality of experiences and some amount of control. Connection of this rich adult experience base to the learning process requires facilitation and motivation by the radiology educator, who must be familiar with the use of appropriate learning theories and educational practices. there is a general agreement about the content of good practice in adult education but a definite comprehensive list does not seem to exist in the literature. Nonetheless, understanding of the basic adult learning principles would aid the concept of guided training, where the adult residency trainee shoulders the bulk of the training responsibilities of acquisition of knowledge.

  18. A Learning Curriculum: Toward Student-Driven Pedagogy in the Context of Adult English for Academic Purposes, English for Specific Purposes, and Workplace English Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ananyeva, Maria

    2014-01-01

    This article introduces the concept of a learning curriculum that places adult English as a second language (ESL) students' needs in the center and encourages the engagement of ESL learners in curriculum design. The study is based on contemporary research in the field of adult ESL program planning. It summarizes key components of a learning…

  19. A Comparison of Learning Outcomes for Adult Students in On-Site and Online Service-Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schwehm, Jeremy S.; Lasker-Scott, Tennille; Elufiede, Oluwakemi

    2017-01-01

    As noted by Kolb's (1984) experiential learning theory, adults learn best through experiences. Typically delivered in a traditional, face-to-face classroom setting, service-learning integrates the knowledge learned in the classroom with real-world experience and community service. E-service-learning, service-learning delivered in part or entirely…

  20. 10 Years of "Adult Learning": Content Analysis of an Academic Journal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cherrstrom, Catherine A.; Robbins, Stacey E.; Bixby, John

    2017-01-01

    Academic publications provide insights into a discipline's history, knowledge base, and research norms, and thus analyzing publication activity provides learning about the field of study. To learn more about the field of adult and continuing education, this study used content analysis to examine 10 years of "Adult Learning" from 2006…

  1. The Entrepreneurial Training Center (ETC): A School-to-Work Transition Model Adapted for Out-of-School Adult Learners. ETC Methods and Materials Resource Book.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sherow, Sheila M.; Scrimshaw, Roberta

    This resource book provides materials and methods for a model Entrepreneurship Training Center (ETC) school-to-work program for rural out-of-school adults. Introductory materials include learning goals within ETC's four curriculum areas, instructional methods, and introduction to key concepts. The remainder of the book is divided into four…

  2. Creating an Effective Educational Environment for Adult Learners: A Qualitative, Multi-Case Study of Off-Campus Center Administrator's Use of Invitational Leadership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKnight, Carolyn P.; Martin, Barbara N.

    2015-01-01

    This study was designed to examine off-campus centers and their administrators in creating an effective learning environment for adult learners using a new innovative leadership theory, invitational, which is a holistic approach that nurtures the belief everyone is intrinsically motivated and it is the leaders' responsibility to unleash their true…

  3. Learning at Every Age? Life Cycle Dynamics of Adult Education in Europe

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beblavy, Miroslav; Thum, Anna-Elisabeth; Potjagailo, Galina

    2014-01-01

    Adult learning is seen as a key factor for enhancing employment, innovation and growth. The aim of this paper is to understand the points in the life cycle at which adult learning takes place and whether it leads to reaching a medium or high level of educational attainment. We perform a synthetic panel analysis of adult learning for cohorts aged…

  4. Retaining the Learning Disabled Adult. A Handbook for Adult Basic Education Instructors.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawkins, Diane, Comp.

    This handbook is designed to address teachers' most common concerns about learning disabilities (LDs) and teaching adults with LDs. Section 1 defines LDs by describing traits that adults with LDs share. Section 2 focuses on identification of students with LDs. LD characteristics are divided into eight categories: academics, speech/language, motor…

  5. Alternate Learning Center. Abstracts of Inservice Training Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rhode Island State Dept. of Education, Providence. Div. of Development and Operations.

    This booklet is a collection of abstracts describing the 18 programs offered at the Alternate Learning Center of the Rhode Island Teacher Center which has as its Primary function school based inservice training for local teachers and administrators. Each project is described in detail, including course goals, specific objectives, training…

  6. Developing the Adult Learning Sector: Lot 3: Opening Higher Education to Adults. Contract EAC 2012-0074. English Summary

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dollhausen, Karin; Lattke, Susanne; Scheliga, Felicia; Wolters, Andrä; Spexard, Anna; Geffers, Johannes; Banscherus, Ulf

    2013-01-01

    Widening adult participation in higher education as part of the development of lifelong learning strategies has been promoted by the European Union since the 1990s. Only recently, the 2011 Council resolution on a renewed European agenda for adult learning underlined the need to encourage higher education institutions to embrace adult learners. The…

  7. A connectome of a learning and memory center in the adult Drosophila brain

    PubMed Central

    Takemura, Shin-ya; Aso, Yoshinori; Hige, Toshihide; Wong, Allan; Lu, Zhiyuan; Xu, C Shan; Rivlin, Patricia K; Hess, Harald; Zhao, Ting; Parag, Toufiq; Berg, Stuart; Huang, Gary; Katz, William; Olbris, Donald J; Plaza, Stephen; Umayam, Lowell; Aniceto, Roxanne; Chang, Lei-Ann; Lauchie, Shirley; Ogundeyi, Omotara; Ordish, Christopher; Shinomiya, Aya; Sigmund, Christopher; Takemura, Satoko; Tran, Julie; Turner, Glenn C; Rubin, Gerald M; Scheffer, Louis K

    2017-01-01

    Understanding memory formation, storage and retrieval requires knowledge of the underlying neuronal circuits. In Drosophila, the mushroom body (MB) is the major site of associative learning. We reconstructed the morphologies and synaptic connections of all 983 neurons within the three functional units, or compartments, that compose the adult MB’s α lobe, using a dataset of isotropic 8 nm voxels collected by focused ion-beam milling scanning electron microscopy. We found that Kenyon cells (KCs), whose sparse activity encodes sensory information, each make multiple en passant synapses to MB output neurons (MBONs) in each compartment. Some MBONs have inputs from all KCs, while others differentially sample sensory modalities. Only 6% of KC>MBON synapses receive a direct synapse from a dopaminergic neuron (DAN). We identified two unanticipated classes of synapses, KC>DAN and DAN>MBON. DAN activation produces a slow depolarization of the MBON in these DAN>MBON synapses and can weaken memory recall. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.26975.001 PMID:28718765

  8. Usability Evaluation of the Student Centered e-Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Junus, Inas Sofiyah; Santoso, Harry Budi; Isal, R. Yugo K.; Utomo, Andika Yudha

    2015-01-01

    Student Centered e-Learning Environment (SCeLE) has substantial roles to support learning activities at Faculty of Computer Science, Universitas Indonesia (Fasilkom UI). Although it has been utilized for about 10 years, the usability aspect of SCeLE as an e-Learning system has not been evaluated. Therefore, the usability aspects of SCeLE Fasilkom…

  9. Artificial Grammar Learning in Dyslexic and Nondyslexic Adults: Implications for Orthographic Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Samara, Anna; Caravolas, Markéta

    2017-01-01

    Potential implicit orthographic learning deficits were investigated in adults with dyslexia. An artificial grammar learning paradigm served to assess dyslexic and typical readers' ability to exploit information about chunk frequency, letter-position patterns, and specific string similarity, all of which have analogous constructs in real…

  10. Adult Play-Learning: Observing Informal Family Education at a Science Museum

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kanhadilok, Peeranut; Watts, Mike

    2014-01-01

    This paper discusses some of the issues surrounding the nature of adult play. More specifically, we explore "family play-learning", where play activities result in forms of added knowledge or insight for the adults involved. Adult play itself is an under-researched area, and play-learning even more so. We discuss related research and, in…

  11. Statistical learning of novel graphotactic constraints in children and adults.

    PubMed

    Samara, Anna; Caravolas, Markéta

    2014-05-01

    The current study explored statistical learning processes in the acquisition of orthographic knowledge in school-aged children and skilled adults. Learning of novel graphotactic constraints on the position and context of letter distributions was induced by means of a two-phase learning task adapted from Onishi, Chambers, and Fisher (Cognition, 83 (2002) B13-B23). Following incidental exposure to pattern-embedding stimuli in Phase 1, participants' learning generalization was tested in Phase 2 with legality judgments about novel conforming/nonconforming word-like strings. Test phase performance was above chance, suggesting that both types of constraints were reliably learned even after relatively brief exposure. As hypothesized, signal detection theory d' analyses confirmed that learning permissible letter positions (d'=0.97) was easier than permissible neighboring letter contexts (d'=0.19). Adults were more accurate than children in all but a strict analysis of the contextual constraints condition. Consistent with the statistical learning perspective in literacy, our results suggest that statistical learning mechanisms contribute to children's and adults' acquisition of knowledge about graphotactic constraints similar to those existing in their orthography. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Overcoming Exclusion through Adult Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nash, Ian; Walshe, John

    Strategies for overcoming exclusion through adult learning were identified through case studies of 19 initiatives in the following countries: Belgium; Mexico; the Netherlands; Norway; Portugal; and the United Kingdom. The study programs involved a diverse array of formal, nonformal, and informal public sector, community, and enterprise-based…

  13. Assessing the reading comprehension of adults with learning disabilities.

    PubMed

    Jones, F W; Long, K; Finlay, W M L

    2006-06-01

    This study's aim was to begin the process of measuring the reading comprehension of adults with mild and borderline learning disabilities, in order to generate information to help clinicians and other professionals to make written material for adults with learning disabilities more comprehensible. The Test for the Reception of Grammar (TROG), with items presented visually rather than orally, and the Reading Comprehension sub-test of the Wechsler Objective Reading Dimensions (WORD) battery were given to 24 service-users of a metropolitan community learning disability team who had an estimated IQ in the range 50-79. These tests were demonstrated to have satisfactory split-half reliability and convergent validity with this population, supporting both their use in this study and in clinical work. Data are presented concerning the distribution across the sample of reading-ages and the comprehension of written grammatical constructions. These data should be useful to those who are preparing written material for adults with learning disabilities.

  14. Chaos in the Classroom: Center Learning in a 1st Grade Setting

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lanaux, Courtney F.; Vice, Kristen E.; Fashing-Varner, Kenneth J.

    2014-01-01

    How can centers be utilized in a classroom so students have full control of what they are learning and when? Can centers be used effectively post-kindergarten? During student teaching in a first grade classroom in southeast Louisiana, two student teachers, their classroom mentor teacher, and the 1st grade students experienced center learning that…

  15. From Hamburg to Belem: The Limits of Technocratic Thinking in Adult Learning Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Torres, Carlos Alberto

    2015-01-01

    This article discusses some of the generalized analyses of adult learning education, mostly informed by technocratic thinking, highlighting perceived trends in adult learning education between CONFINTEA V and CONFITEA VI. Those trends could be understood as challenges. Employing a political sociology of adult learning education as a critique of…

  16. Space Operations Learning Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lui, Ben; Milner, Barbara; Binebrink, Dan; Kuok, Heng

    2012-01-01

    The Space Operations Learning Center (SOLC) is a tool that provides an online learning environment where students can learn science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through a series of training modules. SOLC is also an effective media for NASA to showcase its contributions to the general public. SOLC is a Web-based environment with a learning platform for students to understand STEM through interactive modules in various engineering topics. SOLC is unique in its approach to develop learning materials to teach schoolaged students the basic concepts of space operations. SOLC utilizes the latest Web and software technologies to present this educational content in a fun and engaging way for all grade levels. SOLC uses animations, streaming video, cartoon characters, audio narration, interactive games and more to deliver educational concepts. The Web portal organizes all of these training modules in an easily accessible way for visitors worldwide. SOLC provides multiple training modules on various topics. At the time of this reporting, seven modules have been developed: Space Communication, Flight Dynamics, Information Processing, Mission Operations, Kids Zone 1, Kids Zone 2, and Save The Forest. For the first four modules, each contains three components: Flight Training, Flight License, and Fly It! Kids Zone 1 and 2 include a number of educational videos and games designed specifically for grades K-6. Save The Forest is a space operations mission with four simulations and activities to complete, optimized for new touch screen technology. The Kids Zone 1 module has recently been ported to Facebook to attract wider audience.

  17. Adult Learning and Learners. PREL Briefing Paper.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Timarong, Alvina; Temaungil, Marianne; Sukrad, Wilma

    A survey of literature on adult learning and learners conducted for Palau Community College (PCC), Koror, Palau, found a lack of literature specific to the United States-affiliated Pacific region. Background information was compiled on development of formal education in Palau. A survey was administered in fall 2001 to adult learners working toward…

  18. Distance Learning With NASA Lewis Research Center's Learning Technologies Project

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Petersen, Ruth

    1998-01-01

    The NASA Lewis Research Center's Learning Technologies Project (LTP) has responded to requests from local school district technology coordinators to provide content for videoconferencing workshops. Over the past year we have offered three teacher professional development workshops that showcase NASA Lewis-developed educational products and NASA educational Internet sites. In order to determine the direction of our involvement with distance learning, the LTP staff conducted a survey of 500 U.S. schools. We received responses from 72 schools that either currently use distance learning or will be using distance learning in 98-99 school year. The results of the survey are summarized in the article. In addition, the article provides information on distance learners, distance learning technologies, and the NASA Lewis LTP videoconferencing workshops. The LTP staff will continue to offer teacher development workshops through videoconferencing during the 98-99 school year. We hope to add workshops on new educational products as they are developed at NASA Lewis.

  19. A Theoretical Basis for Adult Learning Facilitation: Review of Selected Articles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Muneja, Mussa S.

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to synthesize a theoretical basis for adult learning facilitation in order to provide a valuable systematic resource in the field of adult education. The paper has reviewed 6 journal articles with topics ranging from theory of andragogy; the effect of globalization on adult learning; the contribution of Malcolm Knowles;…

  20. Name and face learning in older adults: effects of level of processing, self-generation, and intention to learn.

    PubMed

    Troyer, Angela K; Häfliger, Andrea; Cadieux, Mélanie J; Craik, Fergus I M

    2006-03-01

    Many older adults are interested in strategies to help them learn new names. We examined the learning conditions that provide maximal benefit to name and face learning. In Experiment 1, consistent with levels-of-processing theory, name recall and recognition by 20 younger and 20 older adults was poorest with physical processing, intermediate with phonemic processing, and best with semantic processing. In Experiment 2, name and face learning in 20 younger and 20 older adults was maximized with semantic processing of names and physical processing of faces. Experiment 3 showed a benefit of self-generation and of intentional learning of name-face pairs in 24 older adults. Findings suggest that memory interventions should emphasize processing names semantically, processing faces physically, self-generating this information, and keeping in mind that memory for the names will be needed in the future.

  1. Social incentives improve deliberative but not procedural learning in older adults.

    PubMed

    Gorlick, Marissa A; Maddox, W Todd

    2015-01-01

    Age-related deficits are seen across tasks where learning depends on asocial feedback processing, however plasticity has been observed in some of the same tasks in social contexts suggesting a novel way to attenuate deficits. Socioemotional selectivity theory suggests this plasticity is due to a deliberative motivational shift toward achieving well-being with age (positivity effect) that reverses when executive processes are limited (negativity effect). The present study examined the interaction of feedback valence (positive, negative) and social salience (emotional face feedback - happy; angry, asocial point feedback - gain; loss) on learning in a deliberative task that challenges executive processes and a procedural task that does not. We predict that angry face feedback will improve learning in a deliberative task when executive function is challenged. We tested two competing hypotheses regarding the interactive effects of deliberative emotional biases on automatic feedback processing: (1) If deliberative emotion regulation and automatic feedback are interactive we expect happy face feedback to improve learning and angry face feedback to impair learning in older adults because cognitive control is available. (2) If deliberative emotion regulation and automatic feedback are not interactive we predict that emotional face feedback will not improve procedural learning regardless of valence. Results demonstrate that older adults show persistent deficits relative to younger adults during procedural category learning suggesting that deliberative emotional biases do not interact with automatic feedback processing. Interestingly, a subgroup of older adults identified as potentially using deliberative strategies tended to learn as well as younger adults with angry relative to happy feedback, matching the pattern observed in the deliberative task. Results suggest that deliberative emotional biases can improve deliberative learning, but have no effect on procedural learning.

  2. E-Learning Teams and Their Adult Learning Efforts in Corporate Settings: A Cross Analysis of Four Case Studies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stewart, Barbara; Waight, Consuelo

    2008-01-01

    Four cases relating to the efforts of e-learning teams in valuing adult learners in their e-learning solutions were examined to better understand how e-learning teams value their adult learners within corporate settings. Two questions guided the analysis of the cases, they are: (1) What is the nature of the e-learning solutions in these cases? (2)…

  3. Exploring the Self-concept of Adults with Mild Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pestana, Claudio

    2015-01-01

    This qualitative study aimed to add to the research on the self-concept of adults with mild learning disabilities and to generate a deeper understanding of their self-perceptions rather than draw generalised quantitative conclusions. Eight adults diagnosed with mild learning disabilities receiving support from a supported living project were…

  4. Online Education and Adult Learning: New Frontiers for Teaching Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kidd, Terry T., Ed.

    2010-01-01

    The expanding field of adult learning encompasses the study and practice of utilizing sound instructional design principals, technology, and learning theory as a means to solve educational challenges and human performance issues relating to adults, often occurring online. This book disseminates current issues and trends emerging in the field of…

  5. Learning Cities for All: Directions to a New Adult Education and Learning Movement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Scott, Leodis

    2015-01-01

    This chapter features a conceptual framework that considers the practical characteristics of learning cities, pointing to the field of adult and continuing education to lead a movement for the purposes of education, learning, and engagement for all.

  6. Wireless Internet and Student-Centered Learning: A Partial Least-Squares Model

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lu, Eric Y.; Ma, Hongyan; Turner, Sandra; Huang, Wayne

    2007-01-01

    Wireless Internet technology is gaining a foothold on more and more campuses, yet few studies have investigated how wireless Internet supports and enhances a student-centered learning environment. This study seeks to fill the gap by developing an instrument to measure how wireless Internet supports student-centered learning. A web survey was…

  7. Characteristics of Successful Learning Center Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lange, Joseph E.; Fundis, Ronald J.

    A study was conducted at Jefferson College, Hillsboro Campus, in Missouri, to determine the relationship between the characteristics of successful Learning Center students and their questionnaire responses on an entry survey and their final course grades. Jefferson College is a two-year, open admissions community college, and the college's…

  8. Curriculum Development--Learning Center. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seltzer, Madeline

    A project at Manor Junior College, Pennsylvania, developed further and implemented the tutoring programs in the Learning Center and integrated them with the Computer Tutorials Program. The objective was to increase retention and graduation rates and academic success of students enrolled in vocational programs. The reading, writing, and peer tutor…

  9. Learning of grammar-like visual sequences by adults with and without language-learning disabilities.

    PubMed

    Aguilar, Jessica M; Plante, Elena

    2014-08-01

    Two studies examined learning of grammar-like visual sequences to determine whether a general deficit in statistical learning characterizes this population. Furthermore, we tested the hypothesis that difficulty in sustaining attention during the learning task might account for differences in statistical learning. In Study 1, adults with normal language (NL) or language-learning disability (LLD) were familiarized with the visual artificial grammar and then tested using items that conformed or deviated from the grammar. In Study 2, a 2nd sample of adults with NL and LLD were presented auditory word pairs with weak semantic associations (e.g., groom + clean) along with the visual learning task. Participants were instructed to attend to visual sequences and to ignore the auditory stimuli. Incidental encoding of these words would indicate reduced attention to the primary task. In Studies 1 and 2, both groups demonstrated learning and generalization of the artificial grammar. In Study 2, neither the NL nor the LLD group appeared to encode the words presented during the learning phase. The results argue against a general deficit in statistical learning for individuals with LLD and demonstrate that both NL and LLD learners can ignore extraneous auditory stimuli during visual learning.

  10. Adult Learning Development in Poland in the 20th Century

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boiarska-Khomenko, Anna

    2017-01-01

    The article presents a retrospective analysis of adult learning development in Poland in the 20th century. Based on the study and analysis of historical and pedagogical literature, normative documents of the official bodies of Polish government, the periodical press of the 20th century, several stages of adult learning development, in the…

  11. Specific Quality Criteria for Research Papers on Adults Learning Mathematics?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wedege, Tine

    2009-01-01

    Since 1997, the identity of the research field of adults learning mathematics has been debated; the research field has grown in quantity and quality; and the research forum Adults Learning Mathematics (ALM) has established an international journal. In practice, the researchers answer the question about identity and quality of research papers in…

  12. Adult Learning and Development. Perspectives from Educational Psychology. The Educational Psychology Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, M. Cecil, Ed.; Pourchot, Thomas, Ed.

    Leading educational psychologists address problems in adult development and learning in this book. "What Does Educational Psychology Know about Adult Learning and Development?" (M. Cecil Smith, Thomas Pourchot) is the introduction. "We Learn, Therefore We Develop" (Nira Granott) tackles the problem of distinguishing between…

  13. Learning-Within-Relationship as Context and Process in Adult Education: Impact on Transformative Learning and Social Change Agency.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barlas, Carole

    The impact of adult learning-within-relationship on transformative learning and social change agency was explored in a descriptive case study of the learning experiences of 20 adults who identified themselves as significantly transformed by their participation in a doctoral program. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify…

  14. How name descriptiveness impacts proper name learning in young and older adults.

    PubMed

    Fogler, Kethera A; James, Lori E; Crandall, Elizabeth A

    2010-09-01

    To elucidate the impact of name descriptiveness and aging on learning new names, 26 young and 26 healthy older participants learned visibly-descriptive (e.g., Lengthy for a giraffe), psychologically-descriptive (e.g., Classy), and non-descriptive (e.g., Sam) proper names for previously-unknown cartoon characters. More visibly-descriptive names were learned than psychologically- or non-descriptive names, which did not differ from each other. There was also a differential benefit for older adults when the name was visibly-descriptive of the referent, such that older adults learned visibly-descriptive names as well as young adults but there were substantial age-related deficits in learning psychologically- and non-descriptive names.

  15. Academic Performance and the Practice of Self-Directed Learning: The Adult Student Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Khiat, Henry

    2017-01-01

    The practice of self-directed learning is important to adult students as it allows them to learn effectively while juggling work, family and other commitments. This study set out to examine the self-directed learning characteristics present in the adult students' study process at the case university. The relationship between the adult students'…

  16. The effects of emotion on younger and older adults' monitoring of learning.

    PubMed

    Tauber, Sarah K; Dunlosky, John; Urry, Heather L; Opitz, Philipp C

    2017-09-01

    Age-related differences in memory monitoring appear when people learn emotional words. Namely, younger adults' judgments of learning (JOLs) are higher for positive than neutral words, whereas older adults' JOLs do not discriminate between positive versus neutral words. In two experiments, we evaluated whether this age-related difference extends to learning positive versus neutral pictures. We also evaluated the contribution of two dimensions of emotion that may impact younger and older adults' JOLs: valence and arousal. Younger and older adults studied pictures that were positive or neutral and either high or low in arousal. Participants made immediate JOLs and completed memory tests. In both experiments, the magnitude of older adults' JOLs was influenced by emotion, and both younger and older adults demonstrated an emotional salience effect on JOLs. As important, the magnitude of participants' JOLs was influenced by valence, and not arousal. Emotional salience effects were also evident on participants' free recall, and older adults recalled as many pictures as did younger adults. Taken together, these data suggest that older adults do not have a monitoring deficit when learning positive (vs. neutral) pictures and that emotional salience effects on younger and older adults' JOLs are produced more by valence than by arousal.

  17. The Adult Learning Open University Determinants (ALOUD) Study: Biological and Psychological Factors Associated with Learning Performance in Adult Distance Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neroni, Joyce; Gijselaers, Hieronymus J. M.; Kirschner, Paul A.; Groot, Renate H. M.

    2015-01-01

    Learning is crucial for everyone. The association between biological (eg, sleep, nutrition) and psychological factors (eg, test anxiety, goal orientation) and learning performance has been well established for children, adolescents and college students in traditional education. Evidence for these associations for adult distance students is lacking…

  18. Learning Resource Center at the Baraboo Campus of the University of Wisconsin Center System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Umhoefer, Aural

    The Learning Resource Center (LRC) at the Baraboo campus of the University of Wisconsin was designed to be an integral part of the teaching program, and to embody the multimedia approach to individual self-paced learning by using the most appropriate medium or combination of media for a given instructional situation. The collection includes books,…

  19. Learning-Centered Leadership: A Conceptual Foundation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murphy, Joseph; Elliott, Stephen N.; Goldring, Ellen; Porter, Andrew C.

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this analysis is to describe the research base that undergirds the emerging concept of learning-centered leadership. We begin with our definition of leadership. Leadership is "the process of influencing others to achieve mutually agreed upon purposes for the organization" (Patterson, 1993, p. 3). Next, we make a number of…

  20. Early Learning Canada: Workshop Leader Guide [and] Participant Resource [and] Trainer Manual. Learning & Reading Partners Adult Learning System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Estey, Nancy; MacIsaac, Maitland; Rendell, Sandra

    Based on the understanding that the capacity to learn is optimized in the early years, Early Learning Canada (ELC) is a community workshop program for parents and adults who work with children from birth to age 6 and their families to facilitate life-long learning. This workshop leader guide explains the ELC principles, examines learning styles…

  1. Vicarious Learning and Reduction of Fear in Children via Adult and Child Models.

    PubMed

    Dunne, Güler; Askew, Chris

    2017-06-01

    Children can learn to fear stimuli vicariously, by observing adults' or peers' responses to them. Given that much of school-age children's time is typically spent with their peers, it is important to establish whether fear learning from peers is as effective or robust as learning from adults, and also whether peers can be successful positive models for reducing fear. During a vicarious fear learning procedure, children (6 to 10 years; N = 60) were shown images of novel animals together with images of adult or peer faces expressing fear. Later they saw their fear-paired animal again together with positive emotional adult or peer faces. Children's fear beliefs and avoidance for the animals increased following vicarious fear learning and decreased following positive vicarious counterconditioning. There was little evidence of differences in learning from adults and peers, demonstrating that for this age group peer models are effective models for both fear acquisition and reduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  2. Impaired fear extinction learning in adult heterozygous BDNF knock-out mice.

    PubMed

    Psotta, Laura; Lessmann, Volkmar; Endres, Thomas

    2013-07-01

    Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a crucial regulator of neuroplasticity, which underlies learning and memory processes in different brain areas. To investigate the role of BDNF in the extinction of amygdala-dependent cued fear memories, we analyzed fear extinction learning in heterozygous BDNF knock-out mice, which possess a reduction of endogenous BDNF protein levels to ~50% of wild-type animals. Since BDNF expression has been shown to decline with aging of animals, we tested the performance in extinction learning of these mice at 2 months (young adults) and 7 months (older adults) of age. The present study shows that older adult heterozygous BDNF knock-out mice, which have a chronic 50% lack of BDNF, also possess a deficit in the acquisition of extinction memory, while extinction learning remains unaffected in young adult heterozygous BDNF knock-out mice. This deficit in extinction learning is accompanied by a reduction of BDNF protein in the hippocampus, amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Neurogenesis enhancer RO 25-6981 facilitates repeated spatial learning in adult rats.

    PubMed

    Soloviova, O A; Proshin, A T; Storozheva, Z I; Sherstnev, V V

    2012-09-01

    The effects of Ro 25-6981 (selective NMDA receptor blocker) in a dose stimulating neurogenesis on repeated learning, reversal learning, and memory reconsolidation were studied in adult rats in Morris water maze. Ro 25-6981 facilitated repeated learning 13 days after injection, but did not influence reversal learning. The blocker injected directly before reminder did not disturb repeated learning and reversal learning in Morris water maze. These effects of Ro 25-6981 on the dynamics of repeated learning seemed to be due to its effects on neurogenesis processes in adult brain.

  4. Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis Modulates Fear Learning through Associative and Nonassociative Mechanisms

    PubMed Central

    Seo, Dong-oh; Carillo, Mary Ann; Chih-Hsiung Lim, Sean; Tanaka, Kenji F.

    2015-01-01

    Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is believed to support hippocampus-dependent learning and emotional regulation. These putative functions of adult neurogenesis have typically been studied in isolation, and little is known about how they interact to produce adaptive behavior. We used trace fear conditioning as a model system to elucidate mechanisms through which adult hippocampal neurogenesis modulates processing of aversive experience. To achieve a specific ablation of neurogenesis, we generated transgenic mice that express herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase specifically in neural progenitors and immature neurons. Intracerebroventricular injection of the prodrug ganciclovir caused a robust suppression of neurogenesis without suppressing gliogenesis. Neurogenesis ablation via this method or targeted x-irradiation caused an increase in context conditioning in trace but not delay fear conditioning. Data suggest that this phenotype represents opposing effects of neurogenesis ablation on associative and nonassociative components of fear learning. Arrest of neurogenesis sensitizes mice to nonassociative effects of fear conditioning, as evidenced by increased anxiety-like behavior in the open field after (but not in the absence of) fear conditioning. In addition, arrest of neurogenesis impairs associative trace conditioning, but this impairment can be masked by nonassociative fear. The results suggest that adult neurogenesis modulates emotional learning via two distinct but opposing mechanisms: it supports associative trace conditioning while also buffering against the generalized fear and anxiety caused by fear conditioning. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The role of adult hippocampal neurogenesis in fear learning is controversial, with some studies suggesting neurogenesis is needed for aspects of fear learning and others suggesting it is dispensable. We generated transgenic mice in which neural progenitors can be selectively and inducibly ablated. Our data suggest that adult

  5. Civil Society, Adult Learning and Action in India.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tandon, Rajesh

    2000-01-01

    Five case studies of individual and collective learning projects in India demonstrate that (1) the impetus for civic action arises from local conditions; (2) transformative action requires sustained adult learning; and (3) civil society is a complex concept reflecting diverse priorities and perspectives. (SK)

  6. Assessment of Tutoring Laboratories in a Learning Assistance Center

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fullmer, Patricia

    2012-01-01

    The Learning Resource Center at Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, provides tutoring laboratories that are required for developmental reading, writing, and math courses. This article reviews the processes used to plan and determine the effectiveness of the tutoring laboratories, including logic models, student learning outcomes, and the results of…

  7. Action Learning: Images and Pathways. Professional Practices in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dilworth, Robert L.; Willis, Verna J.

    This book provides information and strategies on how adult educators can integrate action learning concepts in their teaching practice. The book defines action learning as going beyond the traditional idea of "learn by doing" and applies it to various organizational cultures and educational contexts. Chapter 1 introduces the origins of action…

  8. Educating the adult brain: How the neuroscience of learning can inform educational policy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Knowland, Victoria C. P.; Thomas, Michael S. C.

    2014-05-01

    The acquisition of new skills in adulthood can positively affect an individual's quality of life, including their earning potential. In some cases, such as the learning of literacy in developing countries, it can provide an avenue to escape from poverty. In developed countries, job retraining in adulthood contributes to the flexibility of labour markets. For all adults, learning opportunities increase participation in society and family life. However, the popular view is that adults are less able to learn for an intrinsic reason: their brains are less plastic than in childhood. This article reviews what is currently known from neuroscientific research about how brain plasticity changes with age, with a particular focus on the ability to acquire new skills in adulthood. Anchoring their review in the examples of the adult acquisition of literacy and new motor skills, the authors address five specific questions: (1) Are sensitive periods in brain development relevant to learning complex educational skills like literacy? (2) Can adults become proficient in a new skill? (3) Can everyone learn equally effectively in adulthood? (4) What is the role of the learning environment? (5) Does adult education cost too much? They identify areas where further research is needed and conclude with a summary of principles for enhancing adult learning now established on a neuroscience foundation.

  9. Building Vibrant Learning Communities: Framework and Actions to Strengthen Community Adult Learning Councils and Community Literacy Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alberta Advanced Education and Technology, 2007

    2007-01-01

    Because of the important role played by community learning providers, Premier Ed Stelmach asked Canadian Minister of Advanced Education and Technology to increase support for community education and literacy programs. Community Adult Learning Councils and other community providers of adult literacy and family literacy programming are primarily…

  10. Metacognitive Training at Home: Does It Improve Older Adults' Learning?

    PubMed Central

    Bailey, Heather; Dunlosky, John; Hertzog, Christopher

    2010-01-01

    Background Previous research has described the success of an intervention aimed at improving older adults' ability to regulate their learning. This metacognitive approach involves teaching older adults to allocate their study time more efficiently by testing themselves and restudying items that are less well learned. Objective Although this type of memory intervention has shown promise, training older adults to test themselves in the laboratory can be very time-intensive. Thus, the purpose of the present study is to transport the self-testing training method from the laboratory to home use. Methods A standard intervention design was used that included a pretraining session, multiple training sessions, and a posttraining session. Participants were randomly assigned to either the training group (n = 29) or the waiting list control group (n = 27). Moreover, we screened participants for whether they used the self-testing strategy during their pretraining test session. Results Compared to the performance of the control group, the training group displayed significant gains, which demonstrates that older adults can benefit from training themselves to use these skills at home. Moreover, the results of the present study indicate that this metacognitive approach can effectively improve older adults' learning, even in those who spontaneously self-test prior to training. Conclusions Training metacognitive skills, such as self-testing and efficient study allocation, can improve the ability to learn new information in healthy older adults. More importantly, older adult clients can be supplied with an at-home training manual, which will ease the burden on practitioners. PMID:20016124

  11. Providing Deep Learning through Active Engagement of Adult Learners in Blended Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McDonough, Darlene

    2014-01-01

    Malcolm Knowles (2011) indicates that adult learners are most likely to be actively engaged in learning when they are given some choice and control over the learning process. When the curriculum relates to the adult learner's interests, is individualized, and authentic; the adult learner becomes actively engaged in the process by making a…

  12. Learning Style Patterns among Special Needs Adult Students at King Saud University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alshuaibi, Abdulrahman

    2017-01-01

    Few studies of learning styles among adults with special needs exist worldwide. Even though there are large numbers of adults with special needs, this population in university education has been largely ignored in educational research. Therefore, this study aimed to gather and analyze learning styles of adult special needs students and to provide…

  13. Active Adult Lives for Persons with Learning Disabilities--The Perspectives of Professionals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Witsø, Aud Elisabeth; Kittelsaa, Anna M.

    2018-01-01

    Background: Living active adult lives is both a value and a right, but the right to do so is associated with restrictions among adults with learning disabilities. This research aimed to capture professionals' understanding and perception of active adult living for people with learning disabilities living in clustered housing in a Norwegian…

  14. Adult Development, Learning and Teaching. Newland Papers Number Twelve.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bright, Barry

    Numerous models have been developed to analyze the relationship between adult education, adult learning, and adult development. Squires' contingency model postulates that the how of teaching is determined by the nature and characteristics of the participants (the who), the content (the what), and the setting (the where) in which teaching takes…

  15. Adult Learning in the Digital Age: Perspectives on Online Technologies and Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kidd, Terry T., Ed.; Keengwe, Jared, Ed.

    2010-01-01

    As instructors move further into the incorporation of 21st century technologies in adult education, a new paradigm of digitally-enriched mediated learning has emerged. This book provides a comprehensive framework of trends and issues related to adult learning for the facilitation of authentic learning in the age of digital technology. This…

  16. Exploring Play/Playfulness and Learning in the Adult and Higher Education Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tanis, David J.

    2012-01-01

    Play and playfulness and their role in learning are researched extensively in early childhood education. However, as the child matures into an adult, play and playfulness are given less attention in the teaching and learning process. In adult education, there is very little research about play/playfulness and its significance for learning. Despite…

  17. The Learning Centers Approach to Instruction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    George, Paul S.; And Others

    The learning center is a place for using and storing materials that relate to a special interest or curriculum area. It is a place where the students, after consulting with the teacher, may go to work; where ideas, materials, and activities are presented on a variety of levels of difficulty. Teachers, however, must first decide what the role of…

  18. Center Stage: A Platform for the Discussion of Teaching/Learning Ideas. 1991-1992.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Heron, Paul, Ed.

    1992-01-01

    "Center Stage" is a monthly publication of Broome Community College (Binghamton, New York), sponsored by the Teaching Resources Center as a platform for the discussion of ideas about teaching and learning by Broome College faculty. The second volume (nine issues) of "Center Stage" includes the following articles: "Towards a Learning Community:…

  19. Chronology of Milestones for Libraries and Adult Lifelong Learning and Literacy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCook, Kathleen de la Pena; Barber, Peggy

    This chronology highlights milestones for libraries and adult lifelong learning and literacy from 1924-2001, including the following events: William S. Learned's "The American Public Library and the Diffusion of Knowledge" is published (1924); establishment of the ALA (American Library Association) Adult Education Section (1946); the…

  20. Constructs of Student-Centered Online Learning on Learning Satisfaction of a Diverse Online Student Body: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ke, Fengfeng; Kwak, Dean

    2013-01-01

    The present study investigated the relationships between constructs of web-based student-centered learning and the learning satisfaction of a diverse online student body. Hypotheses on the constructs of student-centered learning were tested using structural equation modeling. The results indicated that five key constructs of student-centered…

  1. Category Learning Strategies in Younger and Older Adults: Rule Abstraction and Memorization

    PubMed Central

    Wahlheim, Christopher N.; McDaniel, Mark A.; Little, Jeri L.

    2016-01-01

    Despite the fundamental role of category learning in cognition, few studies have examined how this ability differs between younger and older adults. The present experiment examined possible age differences in category learning strategies and their effects on learning. Participants were trained on a category determined by a disjunctive rule applied to relational features. The utilization of rule- and exemplar-based strategies was indexed by self-reports and transfer performance. Based on self-reported strategies, both age groups had comparable frequencies of rule- and exemplar-based learners, but older adults had a higher frequency of intermediate learners (i.e., learners not identifying with a reliance on either rule- or exemplar-based strategies). Training performance was higher for younger than older adults regardless of the strategy utilized, showing that older adults were impaired in their ability to learn the correct rule or to remember exemplar-label associations. Transfer performance converged with strategy reports in showing higher fidelity category representations for younger adults. Younger adults with high working memory capacity were more likely to use an exemplar-based strategy, and older adults with high working memory capacity showed better training performance. Age groups did not differ in their self-reported memory beliefs, and these beliefs did not predict training strategies or performance. Overall, the present results contradict earlier findings that older adults prefer rule- to exemplar-based learning strategies, presumably to compensate for memory deficits. PMID:26950225

  2. [Adult Reading-Bilingual Laboratories and Learning Center, Huntsville, Texas.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Texas State Dept. of Corrections, Huntsville. Windham School District.

    This program, included in "Effective Reading Programs...," serves 1,221 inmates of nine prison units of the Texas Department of Corrections. Students in the program are black, Spanish-speaking, or non-Spanish-speaking white adults. Students are released from their assigned industrial jobs for three hours each week to attend the…

  3. Monthly Themes and Learning Centers for Young Children with Visual and Multiple Impairments.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hamilton, Paula J.

    This paper describes the learning center approach of the preschool and kindergarten programs at the Maryland School for the Blind. Units are presented in monthly themes suggested by the local school curriculum, and this thematic approach is incorporated into the specific learning centers. The classroom is divided into six main learning areas: (1)…

  4. Habitual attention in older and young adults.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Yuhong V; Koutstaal, Wilma; Twedell, Emily L

    2016-12-01

    Age-related decline is pervasive in tasks that require explicit learning and memory, but such reduced function is not universally observed in tasks involving incidental learning. It is unknown if habitual attention, involving incidental probabilistic learning, is preserved in older adults. Previous research on habitual attention investigated contextual cuing in young and older adults, yet contextual cuing relies not only on spatial attention but also on context processing. Here we isolated habitual attention from context processing in young and older adults. Using a challenging visual search task in which the probability of finding targets was greater in 1 of 4 visual quadrants in all contexts, we examined the acquisition, persistence, and spatial-reference frame of habitual attention. Although older adults showed slower visual search times and steeper search slopes (more time per additional item in the search display), like young adults they rapidly acquired a strong, persistent search habit toward the high-probability quadrant. In addition, habitual attention was strongly viewer-centered in both young and older adults. The demonstration of preserved viewer-centered habitual attention in older adults suggests that it may be used to counter declines in controlled attention. This, in turn, suggests the importance, for older adults, of maintaining habit-related spatial arrangements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. Wisdom, the Body, and Adult Learning: Insights from Neuroscience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swartz, Ann L.

    2011-01-01

    In adult education, there has recently been a recognition of the body's role in adult learning. Attention to neuroscience is somewhat limited, though is emerging. These two perspectives are not integrated. With this article, the author argues that adult education must look to science to achieve a deeper understanding of the evolving…

  6. Geriatric-specific triage criteria are more sensitive than standard adult criteria in identifying need for trauma center care in injured older adults.

    PubMed

    Ichwan, Brian; Darbha, Subrahmanyam; Shah, Manish N; Thompson, Laura; Evans, David C; Boulger, Creagh T; Caterino, Jeffrey M

    2015-01-01

    We evaluate the sensitivity of Ohio's 2009 emergency medical services (EMS) geriatric trauma triage criteria compared with the previous adult triage criteria in identifying need for trauma center care among older adults. We studied a retrospective cohort of injured patients aged 16 years or older in the 2006 to 2011 Ohio Trauma Registry. Patients aged 70 years or older were considered geriatric. We identified whether each patient met the geriatric and the adult triage criteria. The outcome measure was need for trauma center care, defined by surrogate markers: Injury Severity Score greater than 15, operating room in fewer than 48 hours, any ICU stay, and inhospital mortality. We calculated sensitivity and specificity of both triage criteria for both age groups. We included 101,577 patients; 33,379 (33%) were geriatric. Overall, 57% of patients met adult criteria and 68% met geriatric criteria. Using Injury Severity Score, for older adults geriatric criteria were more sensitive for need for trauma center care (93%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 92% to 93%) than adult criteria (61%; 95% CI 60% to 62%). Geriatric criteria decreased specificity in older adults from 61% (95% CI 61% to 62%) to 49% (95% CI 48% to 49%). Geriatric criteria in older adults (93% sensitivity, 49% specificity) performed similarly to the adult criteria in younger adults (sensitivity 87% and specificity 44%). Similar patterns were observed for other outcomes. Standard adult EMS triage guidelines provide poor sensitivity in older adults. Ohio's geriatric trauma triage guidelines significantly improve sensitivity in identifying Injury Severity Score and other surrogate markers of the need for trauma center care, with modest decreases in specificity for older adults. Copyright © 2014 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Where Now for Adult Learning?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keep, Ewart; Rogers, David; Hunt, Sally; Walden, Christopher; Fryer, Bob; Gorard, Stephen; Williams, Ceri; Jones, Wendy; Hartley, Ralph

    2010-01-01

    With 6 billion British pounds of public spending reductions already on the table, and far deeper cuts inevitable, what are the prospects for adult learning in the new Parliament? Some of the regular contributors of this journal were asked what they expected and what they would like to see. Ewart Keep warns that the coalition parties' commitments…

  8. A Design Case of Scaffolding Hybrid/Online Student-Centered Learning with Multimedia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hsiao, E-Ling; Mikolaj, Peter; Shih, Ya-Ting

    2017-01-01

    Implementing student-centered learning in hybrid/online settings is very challenging due to the physical separation of instructor and students. This article discusses the need for instructors to provide scaffolds and multimedia modules to facilitate knowledge construction in the student-centered learning process. To offer students solid learning…

  9. The Economic Benefits of Adult Learning to Low-Qualified Young Adults: Do Participation and Qualification Decrease the Risk of Unemployment?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Knipprath, Heidi; De Rick, Katleen

    2014-01-01

    Policymakers worldwide consider participation in adult learning beneficial for employability, in particular for specific target groups. However, still little is known about the effect of adult learning pursued by low-qualified young adults on their employment prospects. On the basis of a Flemish longitudinal database, we study the determinants and…

  10. Adult Career Counseling Center. Fifteenth Annual Report, September 1997-June 1998.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goodman, Jane

    The Adult Career Counseling Center (ACCC) at Oakland University provides career exploration and planning opportunities to community adults at no cost; trains faculty, staff, and students in the use of computer-assisted career guidance programs; and supports research efforts for a better understanding of career development resources. Clients…

  11. Inclusive Adult Learning Environments. ERIC Digest No. 162.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Imel, Susan

    Adult educators are recognizing that factors in the learning environment related to psychological, social, and cultural conditions exert a powerful influence on learners' growth and development. Current discussions on learning environments have broadened to include the need to confront issues of sexism and racism, interlocking systems of power and…

  12. Using the NIATx Model to Implement User-Centered Design of Technology for Older Adults.

    PubMed

    Gustafson, David H; Maus, Adam; Judkins, Julianne; Dinauer, Susan; Isham, Andrew; Johnson, Roberta; Landucci, Gina; Atwood, Amy K

    2016-01-14

    What models can effectively guide the creation of eHealth and mHealth technologies? This paper describes the use of the NIATx model as a framework for the user-centered design of a new technology for older adults. The NIATx model is a simple framework of process improvement based on the following principles derived from an analysis of decades of research from various industries about why some projects fail and others succeed: (1) Understand and involve the customer; (2) fix key problems; (3) pick an influential change leader; (4) get ideas from outside the field; (5) use rapid-cycle testing. This paper describes the use of these principles in technology development, the strengths and challenges of using this approach in this context, and lessons learned from the process. Overall, the NIATx model enabled us to produce a user-focused technology that the anecdotal evidence available so far suggests is engaging and useful to older adults. The first and fourth principles were especially important in developing the technology; the fourth proved the most challenging to use.

  13. Using the NIATx Model to Implement User-Centered Design of Technology for Older Adults

    PubMed Central

    Maus, Adam; Judkins, Julianne; Dinauer, Susan; Isham, Andrew; Johnson, Roberta; Landucci, Gina; Atwood, Amy K

    2016-01-01

    What models can effectively guide the creation of eHealth and mHealth technologies? This paper describes the use of the NIATx model as a framework for the user-centered design of a new technology for older adults. The NIATx model is a simple framework of process improvement based on the following principles derived from an analysis of decades of research from various industries about why some projects fail and others succeed: (1) Understand and involve the customer; (2) fix key problems; (3) pick an influential change leader; (4) get ideas from outside the field; (5) use rapid-cycle testing. This paper describes the use of these principles in technology development, the strengths and challenges of using this approach in this context, and lessons learned from the process. Overall, the NIATx model enabled us to produce a user-focused technology that the anecdotal evidence available so far suggests is engaging and useful to older adults. The first and fourth principles were especially important in developing the technology; the fourth proved the most challenging to use. PMID:27025985

  14. Successful model for cooperative student learning centers in physics and astronomy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bieniek, Ronald J.; Johnson, John A.

    2003-04-01

    We have established successful problem-based learning centers for introductory courses in physics [1] and astronomy [2] that fully implement the Seven Principles of Good Practice in Undergraduate Education [3] without increased demand on faculty time. Large percentages of students at our two institutions voluntarily utilize these learning venues. Course instructors guide self-forming groups of students to mastery of technical concepts and skills, building greater student self-confidence through direct interaction and feedback. The approach's immediacy helps students recognize ambiguities in their understanding, thereby increasing impact at teachable moments. Underperforming students are assisted along side students who wish to hone their skills. The format also facilitates racial and gender mixing within learning center camaraderie. Specific pedagogical and operational techniques for running learning centers will be presented. [1] http://www.umr.edu/ physics/plc [2] http://astron.berkeley.edu/talc.html [3] A.W. Chickering & Z.F. Gamson, Am. Assoc. Higher Ed. Bulletin, 1987, 39(7) 3-7.

  15. Older Adults, in Lebanon, Committed to Learning: Contextualizing the Challenges and the Benefits of Their Learning Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hachem, Hany; Vuopala, Essi

    2016-01-01

    The University for the Third Age, a relatively new concept in Lebanon, provides educational and social opportunities for older adults. The goal of later-life educational institutions supposedly covers more than a mere provision of learning. This being said, highlighting the significance of rewards associated with older adult learning--and the…

  16. Reviewing the Evidence on How Adult Students Learn: An Examination of Knowles' Model of Andragogy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGrath, Valerie

    2009-01-01

    While there may be similarities between adults and children in how they learn (such as language, interaction and communication), many writers argue that adult learners are different from child learners in a number of ways. This article aims to review how adults learn through examining one particular theory of adult learning. Two conflicting…

  17. The Application of Carl Rogers' Person-Centered Learning Theory to Web-Based Instruction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Christopher T.

    This paper provides a review of literature that relates research on Carl Rogers' person-centered learning theory to Web-based learning. Based on the review of the literature, a set of criteria is described that can be used to determine how closely a Web-based course matches the different components of Rogers' person-centered learning theory. Using…

  18. The Job Is the Learning Environment: Performance-Centered Learning To Support Knowledge Worker Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dickover, Noel T.

    2002-01-01

    Explains performance-centered learning (PCL), an approach to optimize support for performance on the job by making corporate assets available to knowledge workers so they can solve actual problems. Illustrates PCL with a Web site that provides just-in-time learning, collaboration, and performance support tools to improve performance at the…

  19. Work-Related Learning Guide for Family Literacy and Adult Education Organizations.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jobs for the Future, Boston, MA.

    This guide assists family literacy and adult education organizations considering ways in which work and learning can be integrated in their educational programs. Part I addresses influences motivating the family literacy and adult education fields to incorporate work-related learning into their efforts. Part II provides a framework for designing…

  20. Motivation Management of Project-Based Learning for Business English Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Xiaoqin

    2016-01-01

    The paper finds out poor engagement in business English training program prevents adult learners at College of Continuing Education of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies from improving their communication skills. PBL (Project-Based Learning) is proposed to motivate adult learners to get involved with learning a lot. Based on the perspective…

  1. Adult Learners' Preferred Methods of Learning Preventative Heart Disease Care

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alavi, Nasim

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the preferred method of learning about heart disease by adult learners. This research study also investigated if there was a statistically significant difference between race/ethnicity, age, and gender of adult learners and their preferred method of learning preventative heart disease care. This…

  2. Active-learning versus teacher-centered instruction for learning acids and bases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Acar Sesen, Burcin; Tarhan, Leman

    2011-07-01

    Background and purpose: Active-learning as a student-centered learning process has begun to take more interest in constructing scientific knowledge. For this reason, this study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of active-learning implementation on high-school students' understanding of 'acids and bases'. Sample The sample of this study was 45 high-school students (average age 17 years) from two different classes, which were randomly assigned to the experimental (n = 21) and control groups (n = 25), in a high school in Turkey. Design and methods A pre-test consisting of 25 items was applied to both experimental and control groups before the treatment in order to identify student prerequisite knowledge about their proficiency for learning 'acids and bases'. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the pre-test scores for groups and no significant difference was found between experimental (ME = 40.14) and control groups (MC = 41.92) in terms of mean scores (F 1,43 = 2.66, p > 0.05). The experimental group was taught using an active-learning curriculum developed by the authors and the control group was taught using traditional course content based on teacher-centered instruction. After the implementation, 'Acids and Bases Achievement Test' scores were collected for both groups. Results ANOVA results showed that students' 'Acids and Bases Achievement Test' post-test scores differed significantly in terms of groups (F 1,43 = 102.53; p < 0.05). Additionally, in this study 54 misconceptions, 14 of them not reported in the literature before, were observed in the following terms: 'acid and base theories'; 'metal and non-metal oxides'; 'acid and base strengths'; 'neutralization'; 'pH and pOH'; 'hydrolysis'; 'acid-base equilibrium'; 'buffers'; 'indicators'; and 'titration'. Based on the achievement test and individual interview results, it was found that high-school students in the experimental group had fewer misconceptions and understood the

  3. Adult Learning, Transformative Education, and Indigenous Epistemology

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McEachern, Diane

    2016-01-01

    This chapter describes an innovative program that weaves together adult learning, transformative education, and indigenous epistemology in order to prepare Alaskan rural indigenous social service providers to better serve their communities.

  4. The Fact Book: Report for the Florida School District Adult and Technical Centers, 2014

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Florida Department of Education, 2014

    2014-01-01

    The principal purpose of the report for the "Florida School District Adult and Technical Centers" is to provide timely, accurate, and comparative information about the Florida School District Adult and Technical Centers System. This report is intended for use by people who are interested in data relevant to education in the School…

  5. The Fact Book: Report for the Florida School District Adult and Technical Centers, 2013

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Florida Department of Education, 2013

    2013-01-01

    The principal purpose of the report for the "Florida School District Adult and Technical Centers" is to provide timely, accurate, and comparative information about the Florida School District Adult and Technical Centers System. This report is intended for use by people who are interested in data relevant to education in the School…

  6. The Fact Book: Report for the Florida School District Adult and Technical Centers, 2015

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Florida Department of Education, 2015

    2015-01-01

    The principal purpose of the report for the "Florida School District Adult and Technical Centers" is to provide timely, accurate, and comparative information about the Florida School District Adult and Technical Centers System. This report is intended for use by people who are interested in data relevant to education in the School…

  7. Unequal Chances to Participate in Adult Learning: International Perspectives. Fundamentals of Educational Planning 83

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Desjardins, Richard; Rubenson, Kjell; Milana, Marcella

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this booklet is to document cross-national patterns of adult learning, and in particular the unequal chances to participate in adult learning. In so doing, an effort is made to identify important motivating factors for participating in adult learning. The specific objectives of the booklet are to: (1) make available the…

  8. A Sense of Achievement: Outcomes of Adult Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Foster, Pablo; Howard, Ursula; Reisenberger, Anna

    1997-01-01

    This report, which is an outgrowth of the Further Education Development Agency's (FEDA's) Learning Outcomes study, explores ways of identifying, recording, and valuing adult learners' goals and achievements in learning opportunities that are not designed to lead to qualifications. The following topics are discussed in the report's six chapters:…

  9. Input Variability Facilitates Unguided Subcategory Learning in Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eidsvåg, Sunniva Sørhus; Austad, Margit; Plante, Elena; Asbjørnsen, Arve E.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This experiment investigated whether input variability would affect initial learning of noun gender subcategories in an unfamiliar, natural language (Russian), as it is known to assist learning of other grammatical forms. Method: Forty adults (20 men, 20 women) were familiarized with examples of masculine and feminine Russian words. Half…

  10. Radicalizing Learning: Adult Education for a Just World

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brookfield, Stephen D.; Holst, John D.

    2010-01-01

    This book offers new readings of the theory, politics, policy, and practice of radical adult education and learning where people's lives are understood as complex and interrelated matters. Brookfield and Holst's poetics and deeply human prose sound rebellious; the authors confront some of the main radical trends in the field of adult education…

  11. Mechanisms underlying perceptual learning of contrast detection in adults with anisometropic amblyopia

    PubMed Central

    Huang, Chang-Bing; Lu, Zhong-Lin; Zhou, Yifeng

    2010-01-01

    What underlies contrast sensitivity improvements in adults with anisometropic amblyopia following perceptual learning in grating contrast detection? In this paper, we adopted the external noise approach (Z.-L. Lu & B. A. Dosher, 1998) to identify the mechanisms underlying perceptual learning in adults with anisometropic amblyopia. By measuring contrast thresholds in a range of external noise conditions at two performance levels (79.3% and 70.7%), we found that a mixture of internal additive noise reduction and external noise exclusion underlay training induced contrast sensitivity improvements in adults with anisometropic amblyopia. In comparison, normal adults exhibited only small amount of external noise exclusion under the same training conditions. The results suggest that neural plasticity may be more robust in amblyopia, lending further support of perceptual learning as a potential treatment for adult amblyopia. PMID:20053087

  12. Centering Faith-Based Identities in Collaborative Contexts: Critically Prophetic Action at the Robinson Community Learning Center

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Peter M.; Caponigro, Jay; Tyson, Luther

    2008-01-01

    This paper examines the working philosophy of a university-community collaborative program--the Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC), a multifaceted community service center located in the Northeast Neighborhood of South Bend, Indiana, in the United States. This program's multitude of educational and social services includes individualized…

  13. Reexamining Theories of Adult Learning and Adult Development through the Lenses of Public Pedagogy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sandlin, Jennifer A.; Wright, Robin Redmon; Clark, Carolyn

    2013-01-01

    The authors examine the modernist underpinnings of traditional adult learning and development theories and evaluate elements of those theories through more contemporary lenses. Drawing on recent literature focused on "public pedagogy," the authors argue that much learning takes place outside of formal educational institutions. They look beyond…

  14. Category learning strategies in younger and older adults: Rule abstraction and memorization.

    PubMed

    Wahlheim, Christopher N; McDaniel, Mark A; Little, Jeri L

    2016-06-01

    Despite the fundamental role of category learning in cognition, few studies have examined how this ability differs between younger and older adults. The present experiment examined possible age differences in category learning strategies and their effects on learning. Participants were trained on a category determined by a disjunctive rule applied to relational features. The utilization of rule- and exemplar-based strategies was indexed by self-reports and transfer performance. Based on self-reported strategies, the frequencies of rule- and exemplar-based learners were not significantly different between age groups, but there was a significantly higher frequency of intermediate learners (i.e., learners not identifying with a reliance on either rule- or exemplar-based strategies) in the older than younger adult group. Training performance was higher for younger than older adults regardless of the strategy utilized, showing that older adults were impaired in their ability to learn the correct rule or to remember exemplar-label associations. Transfer performance converged with strategy reports in showing higher fidelity category representations for younger adults. Younger adults with high working memory capacity were more likely to use an exemplar-based strategy, and older adults with high working memory capacity showed better training performance. Age groups did not differ in their self-reported memory beliefs, and these beliefs did not predict training strategies or performance. Overall, the present results contradict earlier findings that older adults prefer rule- to exemplar-based learning strategies, presumably to compensate for memory deficits. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  15. Cocreating Collaborative Leadership Learning Environments: Using Adult Learning Principles and a Coach Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Page, M. Beth; Margolis, Rhonda L.

    2017-01-01

    As educators, we seek to answer the following question: "What magic can happen when you believe that people are whole and resourceful and you hold the space for generative, collective wisdom?" This chapter explores collaborative leadership and learning with adult learners. We focus on creative ways to optimize learning and enhance…

  16. The Relationship between Learning Styles and Learning Outcomes for Adults in an Informal Educational Setting

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Roberts, Larry N.

    2013-01-01

    With more adults seeking unique and meaningful learning experiences in both recreational and professional arenas, informal learning institutions, such as museums, zoos, and botanical gardens are a natural source. Informal learning opportunities are the business of these institutions; moreover, a goal in education mission statements of many of…

  17. Person-Centered Planning with Youth and Adults Who Have Developmental Disabilities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Impact, 1998

    1998-01-01

    This feature issue of "Impact" focuses on person-centered planning with youth and adults who have developmental disabilities. Featured articles include: (1) "Centering on People: A Quiet Revolution" (Judith A. Snow); (2) "Look-and Understand-before You Leap" (Brian Abery and Marijo McBride), which describes the basic principles and values…

  18. [E-learning in ENT: Usage in University Medical Centers in Germany].

    PubMed

    Freiherr von Saß, Peter; Klenzner, Thomas; Scheckenbach, Kathrin; Chaker, Adam

    2017-03-01

    E-learning is an essential part of innovative medical teaching concepts. The challenging anatomy and physiology in ENT is considered particularly suitable for self-assessed and adaptive e-learning. Usage and data on daily experience with e-learning in German ENT-university hospitals are currently unavailable and the degree of implementation of blended learning including feed-back from medical students are currently not known. We investigated the current need and usage of e-learning in academic ENT medical centers in Germany. We surveyed students and chairs for Otorhinolaryngology electronically and paperbased during the summer semester 2015. Our investigation revealed an overall heterogenous picture on quality and quantity of offered e-learning applications. While the overall amount of e-learning in academic ENT in Germany is rather low, at least half of the ENT-hospitals in medical faculties reported that e-learning had improved their own teaching activities. More collaboration among medical faculties and academic ENT-centers may help to explore new potentials, overcome technical difficulties and help to realize more ambitious projects. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  19. Outcomes of Adult Learning: Taking the Debate Forward.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Huw, Ed.; Mace, Jackie, Ed.

    The four papers in this collection are intended to stimulate debate in the adult education sector and to set the agenda for further development work. "Learning Outcomes: Towards a Synthesis of Progress" (Peter Lavender) provides a summary of recent efforts to identify, record, and value learning that does not lead to qualifications.…

  20. Shame and Transformation in the Theory and Practice of Adult Learning and Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, Jude

    2017-01-01

    Shame both stymies and motivates learning; it prevents adults from participating in educational programs yet, with accompanied self-examination, it can be the catalyst for transformation. While fundamental for understanding adult learning, shame is (shamefully) inadequately theorized in the field of adult education: We don't talk enough about…

  1. Adult Age Differences in Learning from Positive and Negative Probabilistic Feedback

    PubMed Central

    Simon, Jessica R.; Howard, James H.; Howard, Darlene V.

    2010-01-01

    Objective Past research has investigated age differences in frontal-based decision making, but few studies have focused on the behavioral effects of striatal-based changes in healthy aging. Feedback learning has been found to vary with dopamine levels; increases in dopamine facilitate learning from positive feedback, whereas decreases facilitate learning from negative feedback. Given previous evidence of striatal dopamine depletion in healthy aging, we investigated behavioral differences between college-aged and healthy old adults using a feedback learning task that is sensitive to both frontal and striatal processes. Method Seventeen college-aged (M = 18.9 years) and 24 healthy, older adults (M = 70.3 years) completed the Probabilistic selection task, in which participants are trained on probabilistic stimulus-outcome information and then tested to determine whether they learned more from positive or negative feedback. Results As a group, the old adults learned equally well from positive and negative feedback, whereas the college-aged group learned more from positive than negative feedback, F(1, 39) = 4.10, p < .05, reffect = .3. However, these group differences were not due to the older individuals being more balanced learners. Most individuals of both ages were balanced learners, but while all of the remaining young learners had a positive bias, the remaining older learners were split between those with positive and negative learning biases (χ2(2) = 6.12, p<.047). Conclusions These behavioral results are consistent with the dopamine theory of striatal aging, and suggest there might be adult age differences in the kinds of information people use when faced with a current choice. PMID:20604627

  2. Screening for Tuberculosis at an Adult Education Center: Results of a Community-Based Participatory Process

    PubMed Central

    Weis, Jennifer A.; Olney, Marilynn W.; Alemán, Marty; Sullivan, Susan; Millington, Kendra; O'Hara, Connie; Nigon, Julie A.; Sia, Irene G.

    2011-01-01

    Objectives. We used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach to plan and implement free TB skin testing at an adult education center to determine the efficacy of CBPR with voluntary tuberculosis (TB) screening and the prevalence of TB infection among immigrant and refugee populations. Methods. We formed a CBPR partnership to address TB screening at an adult education center that serves a large immigrant and refugee population in Rochester, Minnesota. We conducted focus groups involving educators, health providers, and students of the education center, and used this input to implement TB education and TB skin testing among the center's students. Results. A total of 259 adult learners volunteered to be skin-tested in April 2009; 48 (18.5%) had positive TB skin tests. Conclusions. Our results imply that TB skin testing at adult education centers that serve large foreign-born populations may be effective. Our findings also show that a participatory process may enhance the willingness of foreign-born persons to participate in TB skin-testing efforts. PMID:21653249

  3. Adults' Participation in Informal Learning Activities: Key Findings from the Adult Education Participation Survey in Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lai, Horng-Ji; Wu, Ming-Lieh; Li, Ai-Tzu

    2011-01-01

    This study investigated the informal learning experiences expressed by Taiwanese adults (aged from 16 to 97) and examined their involvement related to selected socio-demographic characteristics. Data of the 2008 Adult Education Participation Survey in Taiwan and Fujian Area were used to look at different variables of adults' demographic…

  4. Emotional Intelligence and Collaborative Learning in Adult Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martinez, Luz M.

    2011-01-01

    The changing social and economic reality of our world continues to shape how learning is conducted and acquired in the adult classroom and beyond. Given the pivotal importance for an adult to develop a variety of cognitive and emotional skills and given the need to work in collaboration with others, within educational environments and the…

  5. Left Brain/Right Brain Learning for Adult Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garvin, Barbara

    1986-01-01

    Contrasts and compares the theory and practice of adult education as it relates to the issue of right brain/left brain learning. The author stresses the need for a whole-brain approach to teaching and suggests that adult educators, given their philosophical directions, are the perfect potential users of this integrated system. (Editor/CT)

  6. Thematic Review on Adult Learning: Spain. Background Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fernandez, Florentino Sanz; Prudenciano, Julio Lancho

    This report on adult learning in Spain first establishes a series of socioeconomic, historical, and conceptual coordinates. Chapter 1 has three parts dedicated to the context. Part 1 has a conceptual map showing the different terms and categories used in adult education and training (AET). Part 2 shows the present socioeconomic context in which…

  7. The Learning Needs of Older Adults.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Purdie, Nola; Boulton-Lewis, Gillian

    2003-01-01

    Interviews with 17 older adults about learning needs and barriers resulted in a questionnaire completed by 160 elders. Most important needs were associated with transportation, health, and safety. Physical disabilities were the chief barrier. They felt most confident addressing health, safety, leisure, and transportation needs but not…

  8. Online Learning from Input versus Offline Memory Evolution in Adult Word Learning: Effects of Neighborhood Density and Phonologically Related Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Storkel, Holly L.; Bontempo, Daniel E.; Pak, Natalie S.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: In this study, the authors investigated adult word learning to determine how neighborhood density and practice across phonologically related training sets influence online learning from input during training versus offline memory evolution during no-training gaps. Method: Sixty-one adults were randomly assigned to learn low- or…

  9. Adult Learning and Change: An Autobiographical Portrait of a Chinese Woman in Canada

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Liu, Chun Ge

    2007-01-01

    The themes of adult learning, cross-cultural learning, and transformative learning are common to many continuing educators working at universities across Canada. In this essay, I narrate my experiences as a mature, adult learner returning to university. Following a literature review and discussion of methodology, I begin this autobiographical…

  10. Learning and altering behaviours by reinforcement: neurocognitive differences between children and adults.

    PubMed

    Shephard, E; Jackson, G M; Groom, M J

    2014-01-01

    This study examined neurocognitive differences between children and adults in the ability to learn and adapt simple stimulus-response associations through feedback. Fourteen typically developing children (mean age=10.2) and 15 healthy adults (mean age=25.5) completed a simple task in which they learned to associate visually presented stimuli with manual responses based on performance feedback (acquisition phase), and then reversed and re-learned those associations following an unexpected change in reinforcement contingencies (reversal phase). Electrophysiological activity was recorded throughout task performance. We found no group differences in learning-related changes in performance (reaction time, accuracy) or in the amplitude of event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with stimulus processing (P3 ERP) or feedback processing (feedback-related negativity; FRN) during the acquisition phase. However, children's performance was significantly more disrupted by the reversal than adults and FRN amplitudes were significantly modulated by the reversal phase in children but not adults. These findings indicate that children have specific difficulties with reinforcement learning when acquired behaviours must be altered. This may be caused by the added demands on immature executive functioning, specifically response monitoring, created by the requirement to reverse the associations, or a developmental difference in the way in which children and adults approach reinforcement learning. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  11. Adult Undergraduate Students: Patterns of Learning Involvement. Final Research Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kasworm, Carol E.; Blowers, Sally S.

    A research study examined the complex roles of adult life in relation to the student role, the nature of adult undergraduate engagement in learning, and adult perceptions of involvement. Adult students were interviewed in three types of institutions: 38 at two liberal arts colleges, 29 at two community colleges, and 23 at two public universities.…

  12. Expanding federal funding to community health centers slows decline in access for low-income adults.

    PubMed

    McMorrow, Stacey; Zuckerman, Stephen

    2014-06-01

    To identify the impact of the Health Center Growth Initiative on access to care for low-income adults. Data on federal funding for health centers are from the Bureau of Primary Health Care's Uniform Data System (2000-2007), and individual-level measures of access and use are derived from the National Health Interview Survey (2001-2008). We estimate person-level models of access and use as a function of individual- and market-level characteristics. By using market-level fixed effects, we identify the effects of health center funding on access using changes within markets over time. We explore effects on low-income adults and further examine how those effects vary by insurance coverage. We calculate health center funding per poor person in a health care market and attach this information to individual observations on the National Health Interview Survey. Health care markets are defined as hospital referral regions. Low-income adults in markets with larger funding increases were more likely to have an office visit and to have a general doctor visit. These results were stronger for uninsured and publicly insured adults. Expansions in federal health center funding had some mitigating effects on the access declines that were generally experienced by low-income adults over this time period. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  13. Learning to Read from a Social Practice View: Ethnography, Schooling and Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Street, Brian

    2016-01-01

    This paper looks at some issues around "learning to read" from the viewpoint of a social practice concept of literacy for both child and adult literacy. This calls for an ethnographic approach that, although increasingly common in the field of adult literacy, is less common in the policy and practice of schooling; there, a more…

  14. Adult Learning Methods: A Guide for Effective Instruction. Second Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Galbraith, Michael W., Ed.

    This book contains 21 papers devoted to understanding and facilitating adult learning. After "Foreword to the Second Edition" (Malcolm S. Knowles) and other introductory materials, the papers are: "Becoming an Effective Teacher of Adults" (Michael W. Galbraith); "Understanding Adult Learners" (Huey B. Long); "Identifying Your Philosophical…

  15. Applying Adult Learning Theory through a Character Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baskas, Richard S.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to analyze the behavior of a character, Celie, in a movie, 'The Color Purple," through the lens of two adult learning theorists to determine the relationships the character has with each theory. The development and portrayal of characters in movies can be explained and understood by the analysis of adult learning…

  16. Relationship between the Self-Efficacy and Self-Directed Learning of Adults in Undergraduate Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Langshaw, Shelly J.

    2017-01-01

    In the current adult education environment, self-directed learning (SDL) is becoming a necessary learning characteristic and an academic process of learning to allow adult learners to complete programs and further enhance lifelong learning. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between self-efficacy and SDL in…

  17. Inquiry based learning: a student centered learning to develop mathematical habits of mind

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Handayani, A. D.; Herman, T.; Fatimah, S.; Setyowidodo, I.; Katminingsih, Y.

    2018-05-01

    Inquiry based learning is learning that based on understanding constructivist mathematics learning. Learning based on constructivism is the Student centered learning. In constructivism, students are trained and guided to be able to construct their own knowledge on the basis of the initial knowledge that they have before. This paper explained that inquiry based learning can be used to developing student’s Mathematical habits of mind. There are sixteen criteria Mathematical Habits of mind, among which are diligent, able to manage time well, have metacognition ability, meticulous, etc. This research method is qualitative descriptive. The result of this research is that the instruments that have been developed to measure mathematical habits of mind are validated by the expert. The conclusion is the instrument of mathematical habits of mind are valid and it can be used to measure student’s mathematical habits of mind.

  18. Culture War in the Collaborative Learning Center

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    James, Robert

    2013-01-01

    The transformation of the first floor of Joyner Library into the Collaborative Learning Center produced significant changes to collection and user spaces. Collaboration, in this context, refers to students engaged in teamwork with technology and support services. A Culture War emerged when some faculty, displeased with the loss of the traditional…

  19. The Waikiki Lifelong Learning Center. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ching, Noelani; Mahuka, Ruth

    The Waikiki Lifelong Learning Center (WLLC) project was undertaken to establish a literacy consortium of visitor industry businesses and the University of Hawaii at Manoa and to develop/implement an instructional program that included bilingual/English-as-a-second language (ESL) and General Educational Development (GED)/pre-GED components. After…

  20. Improving Responses to Individual and Family Crises. Learning Guide 10. Project Connect. Linking Self-Family-Work.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, Inc., Hartford, CT.

    This learning guide on improving responses to individual and family crises is part of a series of learning guides developed for competency-based adult consumer and homemaking education programs in community colleges, adult education centers, community centers, and the workplace. Focus is on the connections among personal, family, and job…

  1. Verbal learning changes in older adults across 18 months.

    PubMed

    Zimprich, Daniel; Rast, Philippe

    2009-07-01

    The major aim of this study was to investigate individual changes in verbal learning across a period of 18 months. Individual differences in verbal learning have largely been neglected in the last years and, even more so, individual differences in change in verbal learning. The sample for this study comes from the Zurich Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging (ZULU; Zimprich et al., 2008a) and comprised 336 older adults in the age range of 65-80 years at first measurement occasion. In order to address change in verbal learning we used a latent change model of structured latent growth curves to account for the non-linearity of the verbal learning data. The individual learning trajectories were captured by a hyperbolic function which yielded three psychologically distinct parameters: initial performance, learning rate, and asymptotic performance. We found that average performance increased with respect to initial performance, but not in learning rate or in asymptotic performance. Further, variances and covariances remained stable across both measurement occasions, indicating that the amount of individual differences in the three parameters remained stable, as did the relationships among them. Moreover, older adults differed reliably in their amount of change in initial performance and asymptotic performance. Eventually, changes in asymptotic performance and learning rate were strongly negatively correlated. It thus appears as if change in verbal learning in old age is a constrained process: an increase in total learning capacity implies that it takes longer to learn. Together, these results point to the significance of individual differences in change of verbal learning in the elderly.

  2. Effective Teaching in Accelerated Learning Programs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boyd, Drick

    2004-01-01

    According to Wlodkowski (2003), "accelerated learning programs are one of the fastest growing transformations in higher education" (p. 5). The Center for the Study of Accelerated Learning at Regis University has documented at least 250 colleges or universities that offer accelerated learning programs for working adults. By definition, accelerated…

  3. Re:Centering Adult Education Research: Whose World Is First?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hall, Budd L.

    1993-01-01

    The discourse of adult education research needs to be reframed to place at the center the issues and concerns of the majority of the world's people who live in poverty, ill health, and insecurity and at the margins the concerns of the rich and powerful. (SK)

  4. Cigarette Smoking, Desire to Quit, and Tobacco-Related Counseling Among Patients at Adult Health Centers

    PubMed Central

    Lebrun-Harris, Lydie A.; Fiore, Michael C.; Tomoyasu, Naomi; Ngo-Metzger, Quyen

    2015-01-01

    Objectives. We determined cigarette smoking prevalence, desire to quit, and tobacco-related counseling among a national sample of patients at health centers. Methods. Data came from the 2009 Health Center Patient Survey and the 2009 National Health Interview Survey. The analytic sample included 3949 adult patients at health centers and 27 731 US adults. Results. Thirty-one percent of health center patients were current smokers, compared with 21% of US adults in general. Among currently smoking health center patients, 83% desired to quit and 68% received tobacco counseling. In multivariable models, patients had higher adjusted odds of wanting to quit if they had indications of severe mental illness (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.19, 8.97) and lower odds if they had health insurance (AOR = 0.43; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.86). Patients had higher odds of receiving counseling if they had 2 or more chronic conditions (AOR = 2.05; 95% CI = 1.11, 3.78) and lower odds if they were Hispanic (AOR = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.34, 0.96). Conclusions. Cigarette smoking prevalence is substantially higher among patients at health centers than US adults in general. However, most smokers at health centers desire to quit. Continued efforts are warranted to reduce tobacco use in this vulnerable group. PMID:24625147

  5. Cigarette Smoking, Desire to Quit, and Tobacco-Related Counseling Among Patients at Adult Health Centers.

    PubMed

    Lebrun-Harris, Lydie A; Fiore, Michael C; Tomoyasu, Naomi; Ngo-Metzger, Quyen

    2015-01-01

    Objectives. We determined cigarette smoking prevalence, desire to quit, and tobacco-related counseling among a national sample of patients at health centers. Methods. Data came from the 2009 Health Center Patient Survey and the 2009 National Health Interview Survey. The analytic sample included 3949 adult patients at health centers and 27 731 US adults. Results. Thirty-one percent of health center patients were current smokers, compared with 21% of US adults in general. Among currently smoking health center patients, 83% desired to quit and 68% received tobacco counseling. In multivariable models, patients had higher adjusted odds of wanting to quit if they had indications of severe mental illness (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.19, 8.97) and lower odds if they had health insurance (AOR = 0.43; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.86). Patients had higher odds of receiving counseling if they had 2 or more chronic conditions (AOR = 2.05; 95% CI = 1.11, 3.78) and lower odds if they were Hispanic (AOR = 0.57; 95% CI = 0.34, 0.96). Conclusions. Cigarette smoking prevalence is substantially higher among patients at health centers than US adults in general. However, most smokers at health centers desire to quit. Continued efforts are warranted to reduce tobacco use in this vulnerable group.

  6. Effective literacy instruction for adults with specific learning disabilities: implications for adult educators.

    PubMed

    Hock, Michael F

    2012-01-01

    Adults with learning disabilities (LD) attending adult basic education, GED programs, or community colleges are among the lowest performers on measures of literacy. For example, on multiple measures of reading comprehension, adults with LD had a mean reading score at the third grade level, whereas adults without LD read at the fifth grade level. In addition, large numbers of adults perform at the lowest skill levels on quantitative tasks. Clearly, significant instructional challenges exist for adults who struggle with literacy issues, and those challenges can be greater for adults with LD. In this article, the literature on adults with LD is reviewed, and evidenced-based instructional practices that significantly narrow the literacy achievement gap for this population are identified. Primary attention is given to instructional factors that have been shown to affect literacy outcomes for adults with LD. These factors include the use of explicit instruction, instructional technology, and intensive tutoring in skills and strategies embedded in authentic contexts.

  7. Learning Centers: A Report of the 1977 NEH Institute at Ohio State University.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, Edward D.

    1978-01-01

    A description of the twenty learning center units for advanced classes developed by the French and Spanish teacher-participants. Learning centers permit students to work independently at well-defined tasks. The units deal with housing, shopping, cooking, transportation, sports, fiestas, literature, history, architecture, painting, and music.…

  8. Role of Suzanne Mubarak Science Exploration Center in Motivating Physics Learning (abstract)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mohsen, Mona

    2009-04-01

    The role of Science Exploration centers to promote learning ``beyond school walls'' is demonstrated. The Suzane Mubarak Science Exploration Center (www.smsec.com) at Hadaek El Kobba, Cairo, was inaugurated in 1998 with the assistance of Zusane Mubarak, the first lady of Egypt and the minister of education. It was the first interactive science and technology center in Egypt. After 10 years, the number of centers has increased to 33 nationwide. Since its inauguration the center has received over 3 million visitors. Through different facilities, such as the internet, science cities, multimedia, and virtual reality programs, basic principles of science are simplified and their technological applications in our daily lives are explored. These facilities are fully equipped with new media such as video conferencing, videotapes, overhead projectors, data shows, and libraries, as well as demonstration tools for basic science. The main objectives of the science exploration centers are discussed such as: (1) curricula development for on-line learning; (2) integration of e-learning programs into basic science (physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology) and (3) workshops and organizations for students, teachers, and communities dealing with basic science programs.

  9. A Learning Center on the Lever for Young Children.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keislar, Evan R.; Luckenbill, Maryann

    This document describes a project designed to explore the possibilities of children's learning in mechanics. The principle of the lever, one example of a simple machine, was used in the form of a balance toy. The apparatus was set up as a game in a specially devised learning center. The children made non-verbal predictions as to which way the bar…

  10. Adult Learning, Education, and the Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clover, Darlene E.; Hill, Robert

    2013-01-01

    The environment is now a common theme in adult education. However, conversations that swirled around the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in June 2012 suggested major environmental challenges persist, demanding that education, learning, advocacy and activism be augmented to ensure the survival of the planet. In adult…

  11. Evidence-Based, Student-Centered Instructional Practices. CAELA Network Brief

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peyton, Joy Kreeft; Moore, Sarah Catherine K.; Young, Sarah

    2010-01-01

    The field of adult education has a longstanding tradition of student-centered approaches to learning. More recently, there has been an increased emphasis in K-12 and adult education on using evidence-based instructional practices. While there has been some tendency to dichotomize these two approaches, instruction of any kind is more effective when…

  12. The CABES (Clare Adult Basic Education Service) Framework as a Tool for Teaching and Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greene, Moira

    2015-01-01

    This article describes a Framework that can be used to help bridge the gap between theory and practice in adult learning. The Framework promotes practice informed by three strands important to adult literacy work: social theories of literacy, social-constructivist learning theory and principles of adult learning. The Framework shows how five key…

  13. Processing prosodic structure by adults with language-based learning disability.

    PubMed

    Bahl, Megha; Plante, Elena; Gerken, LouAnn

    2009-01-01

    Two experiments investigated the ability of adults with a history of language-based learning disability (hLLD) and their normal language (NL) peers to learn prosodic patterns of a novel language. Participants were exposed to stimuli from an artificial language and tested on items that required generalization of the stress patterns and the hierarchical principles of stress assignment that could be inferred from the input. In Study 1, the NL group successfully generalized the patterns of stress heard during familiarization, but failed to show generalization of the hierarchical principles. The hLLD group performed at chance for both types of generalization items. In Study 2, the intensity of stress elements was increased. The performance of the NL group improved whereas the hLLD groups' performance decreased on both types of generalization items. The results indicate that NL adults are able to successfully abstract the complex hierarchical rules of stress if the prosodic cues are made sufficiently salient, but this same task is difficult for adults with hLLD. The reader will be able to understand: (1) the difference in the ability of hLLD and NL adults to process stress assignment in an implicit learning context and (2) that typical adults can abstract complex hierarchical rules of stress assignment when provided with strong cues.

  14. The Three-Part Harmony of Adult Learning, Critical Thinking, and Decision-Making

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Kyle

    2010-01-01

    Adult learning, critical thinking, and decision-making are fields that receive attention individually, although they are interspersed with elements of each other's theories and philosophies. In addressing adult learning precepts, it is essential to include critical thinking and decision-making. One without the other creates weakness; all must be…

  15. "An Elusive Bird": Perceptions of Music Learning among Canadian and American Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kruse, Nathan B.

    2009-01-01

    Discovering the perceptions that non-professional adult musicians hold regarding their participation in community ensembles may help improve instruction as well as the ability to more fully understand the implications of lifelong music making. Andragogy, or the teaching and learning strategies associated with adult learning, provided the impetus…

  16. Dichoptic training enables the adult amblyopic brain to learn.

    PubMed

    Li, Jinrong; Thompson, Benjamin; Deng, Daming; Chan, Lily Y L; Yu, Minbin; Hess, Robert F

    2013-04-22

    Adults with amblyopia, a common visual cortex disorder caused primarily by binocular disruption during an early critical period, do not respond to conventional therapy involving occlusion of one eye. But it is now clear that the adult human visual cortex has a significant degree of plasticity, suggesting that something must be actively preventing the adult brain from learning to see through the amblyopic eye. One possibility is an inhibitory signal from the contralateral eye that suppresses cortical inputs from the amblyopic eye. Such a gating mechanism could explain the apparent lack of plasticity within the adult amblyopic visual cortex. Here we provide direct evidence that alleviating suppression of the amblyopic eye through dichoptic stimulus presentation induces greater levels of plasticity than forced use of the amblyopic eye alone. This indicates that suppression is a key gating mechanism that prevents the amblyopic brain from learning to see. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Expanding Federal Funding to Community Health Centers Slows Decline in Access for Low-Income Adults

    PubMed Central

    McMorrow, Stacey; Zuckerman, Stephen

    2014-01-01

    Objective To identify the impact of the Health Center Growth Initiative on access to care for low-income adults. Data Sources Data on federal funding for health centers are from the Bureau of Primary Health Care's Uniform Data System (2000–2007), and individual-level measures of access and use are derived from the National Health Interview Survey (2001–2008). Study Design We estimate person-level models of access and use as a function of individual- and market-level characteristics. By using market-level fixed effects, we identify the effects of health center funding on access using changes within markets over time. We explore effects on low-income adults and further examine how those effects vary by insurance coverage. Data Collection We calculate health center funding per poor person in a health care market and attach this information to individual observations on the National Health Interview Survey. Health care markets are defined as hospital referral regions. Principal Findings Low-income adults in markets with larger funding increases were more likely to have an office visit and to have a general doctor visit. These results were stronger for uninsured and publicly insured adults. Conclusions Expansions in federal health center funding had some mitigating effects on the access declines that were generally experienced by low-income adults over this time period. PMID:24344818

  18. Adult Learning and the New Austerity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adults Learning, 2010

    2010-01-01

    The spending review brought a promise to protect adult and community learning as well as swingeing cuts to further and higher education and local government. In this article, some of the key players--Lynne Sedgmore, Christopher Brooks, Graham Hoyle, Maggie Galliers, Louise Hazel, Richard Bolsin, Maggi Dawson, Ruth Bond, Stuart Etherington, Brendan…

  19. Child-Adult Differences in Implicit and Explicit Second Language Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lichtman, Karen Melissa

    2012-01-01

    Mainstream linguistics has long held that there is a fundamental difference between adult and child language learning (Bley-Vroman, 1990; Johnson & Newport, 1989; DeKeyser, 2000; Paradis, 2004). This difference is often framed as a change from implicit language learning in childhood to explicit language learning in adulthood, which is…

  20. Characteristics of Adults That Facilitate and/or Interfere with Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norris, Robert G.

    Teachers of adults, if they are to be really effective, must be sensitive to the particular characteristics and needs of adult learners. Adults have many physiological, psychological, and social characteristics that are the result of normal aging. In determining which characteristics interfere with learning, it is found that all have an impact on…

  1. The cost of selective attention in category learning: Developmental differences between adults and infants

    PubMed Central

    Best, Catherine A.; Yim, Hyungwook; Sloutsky, Vladimir M.

    2013-01-01

    Selective attention plays an important role in category learning. However, immaturities of top-down attentional control during infancy coupled with successful category learning suggest that early category learning is achieved without attending selectively. Research presented here examines this possibility by focusing on category learning in infants (6–8 months old) and adults. Participants were trained on a novel visual category. Halfway through the experiment, unbeknownst to participants, the to-be-learned category switched to another category, where previously relevant features became irrelevant and previously irrelevant features became relevant. If participants attend selectively to the relevant features of the first category, they should incur a cost of selective attention immediately after the unknown category switch. Results revealed that adults demonstrated a cost, as evidenced by a decrease in accuracy and response time on test trials as well as a decrease in visual attention to newly relevant features. In contrast, infants did not demonstrate a similar cost of selective attention as adults despite evidence of learning both to-be-learned categories. Findings are discussed as supporting multiple systems of category learning and as suggesting that learning mechanisms engaged by adults may be different from those engaged by infants. PMID:23773914

  2. Weekend Study Buddies: Using Portable Learning Centers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stephens, Harristina; Jairrels, Veda

    2003-01-01

    This article discusses how one teacher uses a weekend study buddy as a portable learning center for students (ages 5-9) with mild disabilities. The study buddy is a colorful cloth or paper bag that the students take home over the weekend. It can also be individualized to target particular needs. (Contains 8 references.) (CR)

  3. Teaching adults-best practices that leverage the emerging understanding of the neurobiology of learning.

    PubMed

    Mahan, John D; Stein, David S

    2014-07-01

    It is important in teaching adults to recognize the essential characteristics of adult learners and how these characteristics define their learning priorities and activities. The seven key premises and practices for teaching adults provide a good guide for those interested in helping adults learn. The emerging science of the neurobiology of learning provides powerful new insights into how learning occurs in the complex integrated neural network that characterizes the adult. Differentiation of the two types of thinking: System 1 (fast, intuitive, and, often, emotional) and System 2 (slower, deliberate, and logical). System 1 thinking helps explain the basis for quick decisions and reliance of humans on heuristics (or rules of thumb) that leads to the type of convenient thinking associated with errors of thinking and judgment. We now know that the learning experience has an objective location-in the temporal and parietal lobes-as persistent dynamic networks of neurons and neuronal connections. Learning is initially stored in transient working memory (relatively limited capacity and time frame) and then moved under the right conditions to more long-lasting/stable memory (with larger capacity) that is stored for future access and development. It is clear that memories are not static and are not destined, once developed, to forever remain as stable constructs; rather, memories are dynamic, always available for modulation and alteration, and heavily invested with context, emotion, and other operant factors. The framework for such neural networks involves new neuronal connections, enhanced neuronal synaptic transmission, and neuron generation. Ten key teaching and learning concepts derived from recent neurobiology studies on learning and memory are presented. As the neurobiology of learning is better defined, the basis for how adults best learn, and even the preferences they display, can be employed as the physiological foundation for our best methods to effectively teach

  4. Autobiography and Selfhood in the Practice of Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Michelson, Elana

    2011-01-01

    This article problematizes the role of autobiographical narratives in adult learning and suggests that the life histories produced by adult learners in our classrooms are, in important senses, fictions. Rather than being the free expressions of experience and selfhood, students' narratives are multiply overdetermined, both by the cultural frames…

  5. Adult Learners Understanding in Learning Islam Using the Andragogy Approach in Singapore

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kadir, Mohd Amin Bin

    2016-01-01

    This study describes adult learners understanding in learning Islam using the andragogy approach in Singapore comprising multicultural and multi-religious society. Singapore is a secular state where freedom of religion is encrypted in the constitution and Malay/Muslim comprises 13.3% of the population. Adults learn Islam to deepen their…

  6. Use a Building Learning Center Enrichment Program to Meet Needs of Gifted/Talented.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schurr, Sandra

    The paper describes the Learning Center Enrichment Program for elementary school gifted and talented children. The nomenclature associated with the program model (learning center, enrichment, and management system) is defined; and it is explained that the program is organized according to the enrichment triad model advocated by J. Renzulli because…

  7. Honoring 15 Years of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program: A Polity-Centered Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Phillips, Sarah Fierberg

    2010-01-01

    Emphasizing the intersection of policy and politics, this paper uses Theda Skocpol's polity-centered approach (1992) to analyze two key moments in the history of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program: (1) 1998, when the program's budget grew from $40 million to $200 million; and (2) 2003, when President Bush attempted to cut…

  8. Systemic Family Therapy Using the Reflecting Team: The Experiences of Adults with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anslow, Katharine

    2014-01-01

    This research aimed to illuminate the experiences of adults with learning disabilities of the reflecting team, in the context of their systemic family therapy. Five adults with learning disabilities were recruited from one community learning disability team. A qualitative design using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was appropriate…

  9. The response of the anterior striatum during adult human vocal learning

    PubMed Central

    Leech, Robert; Iverson, Paul; Wise, Richard J. S.

    2014-01-01

    Research on mammals predicts that the anterior striatum is a central component of human motor learning. However, because vocalizations in most mammals are innate, much of the neurobiology of human vocal learning has been inferred from studies on songbirds. Essential for song learning is a pathway, the homolog of mammalian cortical-basal ganglia “loops,” which includes the avian striatum. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigated adult human vocal learning, a skill that persists throughout life, albeit imperfectly given that late-acquired languages are spoken with an accent. Monolingual adult participants were scanned while repeating novel non-native words. After training on the pronunciation of half the words for 1 wk, participants underwent a second scan. During scanning there was no external feedback on performance. Activity declined sharply in left and right anterior striatum, both within and between scanning sessions, and this change was independent of training and performance. This indicates that adult speakers rapidly adapt to the novel articulatory movements, possibly by using motor sequences from their native speech to approximate those required for the novel speech sounds. Improved accuracy correlated only with activity in motor-sensory perisylvian cortex. We propose that future studies on vocal learning, using different behavioral and pharmacological manipulations, will provide insights into adult striatal plasticity and its potential for modification in both educational and clinical contexts. PMID:24805076

  10. Learning through teaching: empowering students and culturally diverse patients at a community-based nursing care center.

    PubMed

    Sensenig, Julia A

    2007-08-01

    This article addresses the effect of a nursing care center on student learning. Associate degree nursing students spend clinical days at a nursing care center that was created in collaboration with an inner-city clinic serving individuals who are uninsured and underinsured. The nursing students learn cultural sensitivity, teaching strategies, and interdisciplinary skills. The service-learning experience benefits the nursing students, the nursing department of the college, the patients who visit the nursing care center, the clinic, and the community. This article describes the development of the nursing care center, examples of teaching-learning opportunities, and evidence of student learning. This successful collaboration between a community college and an inner-city clinic can be Associareplicated by other nursing programs.

  11. Supporting Adults to Address Their Literacy Needs Using E-Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fletcher, Jo; Nicholas, Karen; Davis, Niki

    2011-01-01

    Many adults need help with literacy learning. This is extremely challenging for the tertiary education sector and workplace-situated learning organisations. E-learning may be an effective and efficient way to improve the delivery of teaching of basic skills to learners. Our research study included five embedded case studies within one tertiary…

  12. Lifelong Learning. A Guide to Adult Education in the Church.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grothe, Rebecca, Ed.

    This book contains eight papers about lifelong learning in the Christian church. The preface and foreword are written by Rebecca Groth and H. George Anderson, respectively. (1) "The Gospel Calls Us" (Margaret A. Krych) examines five theological themes of lifelong learning. Adult development and learning styles are considered in (2) "What Teachers…

  13. Reviewing and Critiquing Computer Learning and Usage among Older Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kim, Young Sek

    2008-01-01

    By searching the keywords of "older adult" and "computer" in ERIC, Academic Search Premier, and PsycINFO, this study reviewed 70 studies published after 1990 that address older adults' computer learning and usage. This study revealed 5 prominent themes among reviewed literature: (a) motivations and barriers of older adults' usage of computers, (b)…

  14. Adult Learning and Qualifications in Britain

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jenkins, Andrew

    2017-01-01

    The importance of people gaining new, and high-level, qualifications in adulthood has been much emphasised in policy rhetoric. It is widely assumed that adults should engage in learning throughout their working life in order to adapt to changing conditions in the labour market and to ensure that national economies remain competitive in a global…

  15. Enhanced visual statistical learning in adults with autism

    PubMed Central

    Roser, Matthew E.; Aslin, Richard N.; McKenzie, Rebecca; Zahra, Daniel; Fiser, József

    2014-01-01

    Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are often characterized as having social engagement and language deficiencies, but a sparing of visuo-spatial processing and short-term memory, with some evidence of supra-normal levels of performance in these domains. The present study expanded on this evidence by investigating the observational learning of visuospatial concepts from patterns of covariation across multiple exemplars. Child and adult participants with ASD, and age-matched control participants, viewed multi-shape arrays composed from a random combination of pairs of shapes that were each positioned in a fixed spatial arrangement. After this passive exposure phase, a post-test revealed that all participant groups could discriminate pairs of shapes with high covariation from randomly paired shapes with low covariation. Moreover, learning these shape-pairs with high covariation was superior in adults with ASD than in age-matched controls, while performance in children with ASD was no different than controls. These results extend previous observations of visuospatial enhancement in ASD into the domain of learning, and suggest that enhanced visual statistical learning may have arisen from a sustained bias to attend to local details in complex arrays of visual features. PMID:25151115

  16. Results of Innovative and Supportive Learning Programs for Homeless Children and Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sinatra, Richard; Eschenauer, Robert

    2012-01-01

    Four-week summer academy programs served homeless children and adults in two contiguous innovative learning programs. The programs may be the first of their kind in the homeless literature in which both adults and children were exposed to career, academic, and leadership opportunities in the supportive learning environment of a university campus,…

  17. Fathers of Adults Who Have a Learning Disability: Roles, Needs and Concerns

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davys, Deborah; Mitchell, Duncan; Martin, Rachel

    2017-01-01

    Background: There is little research that specifically relates to fathers of adults with a learning disability despite the social expectation that fathers will provide a supportive role over the lifespan. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were carried out with seven fathers of adults with a learning disability to explore their roles, needs and…

  18. The "Double-Edged Sword" of the Adult Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murray, Sara; Mitchell, Jane

    2013-01-01

    The vocational education and training sector plays a critical role in the provision of educational opportunities for young adults who have left school prior to completing a qualification. Some research has found that a major factor that supports student re-engagement in formal education is the "adult learning environment" that…

  19. Lessons Learned in Starting and Running a Neighborhood Networks Center.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC.

    This guide shares information about setting up and operating Neighborhood Networks centers. (These centers operate in Department of Housing and Urban Development-assisted or -insured housing nationwide to help low-income people boost their basic skills and find good jobs, learn to use computers and the Internet, run businesses, improve their…

  20. 21st Century Community Learning Centers: Providing Afterschool and Summer Learning Support to Communities Nationwide

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Afterschool Alliance, 2014

    2014-01-01

    The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) initiative is the only federal funding source dedicated exclusively to before-school, afterschool, and summer learning programs. Each state education agency receives funds based on its share of Title I funding for low-income students at high-poverty, low performing schools. Funds are also…

  1. A New Approach for Laboratory Exercise of Pathophysiology in China Based on Student-Centered Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chen, Jian; Zhou, Junhai; Sun, Li; Wu, Qiuhui; Lu, Huiling; Tian, Jing

    2015-01-01

    Student-centered learning is generally defined as any instructional method that purportedly engages students in active learning and critical thinking. The student-centered method of teaching moves the focus from teaching to learning, from the teachers' conveying course concepts via lecture to the understanding of concepts by students. The…

  2. Preserving the Voices of Adult Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bogner, Len A.; King, Brett P.

    2017-01-01

    The Adult Education Interview Series (AEIS) started at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) and was inspired by the use of TED talks and other similar videos in online and distance education courses. It is a collaboration between the Adult Education and Safety Science Department and the Center for eLearning and Connected Environments at UCO.…

  3. Gender Differences in Formal, Non-Formal and Informal Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boeren, Ellen

    2011-01-01

    At first sight, participation rates in adult learning do not differ strongly between men and women. Further exploration, however, makes clear that differences exist at the level of the type of learning. Men participate more in work-related learning and experience more job-related motives to participate. Women take on the main responsibilities in…

  4. Student Feedback in Elementary Online Learning: A Phenomenological Study Using Person-Centered Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smistad, Kirsten E.

    2013-01-01

    Online learning is becoming increasingly attractive as an option for learning at the K-12 level. However, most research in online learning is done with adults or university participants-a population with a different developmental level and different reasons for learning than those still in compulsory schooling. This study examined the phenomenon…

  5. Comparing Core-Image-Based Basic Verb Learning in an EFL Junior High School: Learner-Centered and Teacher-Centered Approaches

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yamagata, Satoshi

    2018-01-01

    The present study investigated the effects of two types of core-image-based basic verb learning approaches: the learner-centered and the teacher-centered approaches. The learner-centered approach was an activity in which participants found semantic relationships among several definitions of each basic target verb through a picture-elucidated card…

  6. Chemotherapy disrupts learning, neurogenesis and theta activity in the adult brain.

    PubMed

    Nokia, Miriam S; Anderson, Megan L; Shors, Tracey J

    2012-12-01

    Chemotherapy, especially if prolonged, disrupts attention, working memory and speed of processing in humans. Most cancer drugs that cross the blood-brain barrier also decrease adult neurogenesis. Because new neurons are generated in the hippocampus, this decrease may contribute to the deficits in working memory and related thought processes. The neurophysiological mechanisms that underlie these deficits are generally unknown. A possible mediator is hippocampal oscillatory activity within the theta range (3-12 Hz). Theta activity predicts and promotes efficient learning in healthy animals and humans. Here, we hypothesised that chemotherapy disrupts learning via decreases in hippocampal adult neurogenesis and theta activity. Temozolomide was administered to adult male Sprague-Dawley rats in a cyclic manner for several weeks. Treatment was followed by training with different types of eyeblink classical conditioning, a form of associative learning. Chemotherapy reduced both neurogenesis and endogenous theta activity, as well as disrupted learning and related theta-band responses to the conditioned stimulus. The detrimental effects of temozolomide only occurred after several weeks of treatment, and only on a task that requires the association of events across a temporal gap and not during training with temporally overlapping stimuli. Chemotherapy did not disrupt the memory for previously learned associations, a memory independent of (new neurons in) the hippocampus. In conclusion, prolonged systemic chemotherapy is associated with a decrease in hippocampal adult neurogenesis and theta activity that may explain the selective deficits in processes of learning that describe the 'chemobrain'. © 2012 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  7. Adult Health Learning and Transformation: A Case Study of a Canadian Community-Based Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coady, Maureen

    2013-01-01

    This article describes a case study of adult learning in a Canadian multisite Community Cardiovascular Hearts in Motion program. The researcher highlights the informal learning of 40 adult participants in this 12-week community-based cardiac rehabilitation/education program in five rural Nova Scotia communities. The effects of this learning and…

  8. Assessing the Academic Medical Center as a Supportive Learning Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gannon, Sam C.

    2011-01-01

    Academic medical centers are well-known for their emphasis on teaching, research and public service; however, like most large, bureaucratic organizations, they oftentimes suffer from an inability to learn as an organization. The role of the research administrator in the academic medical center has grown over time as the profession itself has…

  9. List Memory in Young Adults with Language Learning Disability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sheng, Li; Byrd, Courtney T.; McGregor, Karla K.; Zimmerman, Hannah; Bludau, Kadee

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to characterize the verbal memory limitations of young adults with language learning disability (LLD). Method: Sixteen young adults with LLD and 34 age- and education-matched controls with typical language participated in a Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM; Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995) list…

  10. Meeting Older Adults Learning Needs When Using Information Technologies.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cameron, Don

    As in other countries, older adults in Australia could benefit from acquiring information technology (IT) skills in many ways, including improved access to information on health issues and development of the skills needed for employment in high-demand IT-related occupations. The research on adult learning and the problems faced by many older…

  11. Reinforcement Learning in Young Adults with Developmental Language Impairment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Joanna C.; Tomblin, J. Bruce

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the study was to examine reinforcement learning (RL) in young adults with developmental language impairment (DLI) within the context of a neurocomputational model of the basal ganglia-dopamine system (Frank, Seeberger, & O'Reilly, 2004). Two groups of young adults, one with DLI and the other without, were recruited. A probabilistic…

  12. The cost of selective attention in category learning: developmental differences between adults and infants.

    PubMed

    Best, Catherine A; Yim, Hyungwook; Sloutsky, Vladimir M

    2013-10-01

    Selective attention plays an important role in category learning. However, immaturities of top-down attentional control during infancy coupled with successful category learning suggest that early category learning is achieved without attending selectively. Research presented here examines this possibility by focusing on category learning in infants (6-8months old) and adults. Participants were trained on a novel visual category. Halfway through the experiment, unbeknownst to participants, the to-be-learned category switched to another category, where previously relevant features became irrelevant and previously irrelevant features became relevant. If participants attend selectively to the relevant features of the first category, they should incur a cost of selective attention immediately after the unknown category switch. Results revealed that adults demonstrated a cost, as evidenced by a decrease in accuracy and response time on test trials as well as a decrease in visual attention to newly relevant features. In contrast, infants did not demonstrate a similar cost of selective attention as adults despite evidence of learning both to-be-learned categories. Findings are discussed as supporting multiple systems of category learning and as suggesting that learning mechanisms engaged by adults may be different from those engaged by infants. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Context or Key? Language in Four Adult Learning Programmes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robinson, Clinton

    2007-01-01

    Context is a key factor in designing and delivering adult learning programmes, and in multilingual environments the choice of language plays a decisive role. Four programmes, two in Asia (Bhutan Myanmar) and two in Africa (Ghana and Uganda), which focus on learning for development, integrate language considerations in different ways, related both…

  14. Adult Learning in a Computer-Based ESL Acquisition Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sanchez, Karen Renee

    2013-01-01

    This study explores the self-efficacy of students learning English as a Second Language on the computer-based Rosetta Stone program. The research uses a qualitative approach to explore how a readily available computer-based learning program, Rosetta Stone, can help adult immigrant students gain some English competence and so acquire a greater…

  15. Simulation Methodology in Nursing Education and Adult Learning Theory

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rutherford-Hemming, Tonya

    2012-01-01

    Simulation is often used in nursing education as a teaching methodology. Simulation is rooted in adult learning theory. Three learning theories, cognitive, social, and constructivist, explain how learners gain knowledge with simulation experiences. This article takes an in-depth look at each of these three theories as each relates to simulation.…

  16. Lessons Learned from an LGBTQ Senior Center: A Bronx Tale.

    PubMed

    McGovern, Justine; Brown, Dwayne; Gasparro, Vita

    This article describes an interdisciplinary pilot study exploring the impact of LGBTQ senior centers on the lives of center members. Many LGBTQ adults face the future having experienced stigma and bias, restricted rights, and rejection from family of origin, and are now growing older without the support of a partner and adult children. As a result, older LGBTQ adults experience higher rates of depression, loneliness and isolation, and shortened life expectancy as compared to non-LGBTQ peers. Findings from focus group and key informant interviews highlight features of LGBTQ senior center experiences that can significantly improve members' quality of life. These include providing family, acceptance and a home, which can have an impact on outlook and outcomes. Moreover, findings suggest the need for re-thinking hetero-normative definitions of "community" in the context of LGBTQ aging. Beyond sharing findings from the study, suggesting a conceptual framework for deepening understanding about LGBTQ aging, and identifying lines of future inquiry, the article articulates implications for social work research, practice and education. Ultimately, the article argues that social work is well positioned to improve quality of life for this under-served population when it adopts a cultural humility stance in research, practice and education.

  17. Journal Writing as an Adult Learning Tool. Practice Application Brief No. 22.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kerka, Sandra

    Journals can be valuable tools for fostering adult learning and experience. Research has supported the following assumptions about learning from journals: (1) articulating connections between new and existing knowledge improves learning; (2) writing about learning is a way of demonstrating what has been learned; (3) journal writing accentuates…

  18. Adults Learning Languages: A CILT Guide to Good Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harnisch, Henriette, Ed.; Swanton, Pauline, Ed.

    2004-01-01

    "Adults Learning Languages" is aimed at those responsible for teaching languages across AE, FE and HE. In the much-changed world of post-19 languages, new funding and inspection regimes with revised needs for quality assurance are challenging practitioners to adapt and review approaches. This book offers teachers of languages to adults tools to…

  19. Using MOOCs at Learning Centers in Northern Sweden

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Norberg, Anders; Händel, Åsa; Ödling, Per

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes the use of globally accessible Massive Open Online Courses, MOOCs, for addressing the needs of learners at community learning centers in Northern Sweden. The Scandinavian "study circle" concept is used to facilitate the studying of MOOCs, thereby forming "blended" or "glonacal" courses. Although…

  20. Fundamentals of Adult Education: Issues and Practices for Lifelong Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Poonwassie, Deo H., Ed.; Poonwassie, Anne, Ed.

    This document contains 20 papers on the fundamentals of adult education and foundations, practices, and issues for lifelong learning. The following papers are included: "The Metamorphoses of Andragogy" (James A. Draper); "Stages in the Development of Canadian Adult Education" (Gordon Selman); "Philosophical…

  1. Outcome differences in adolescent blunt severe polytrauma patients managed at pediatric versus adult trauma centers.

    PubMed

    Rogers, Amelia T; Gross, Brian W; Cook, Alan D; Rinehart, Cole D; Lynch, Caitlin A; Bradburn, Eric H; Heinle, Colin C; Jammula, Shreya; Rogers, Frederick B

    2017-12-01

    Previous research suggests adolescent trauma patients can be managed equally effectively at pediatric and adult trauma centers. We sought to determine whether this association would be upheld for adolescent severe polytrauma patients. We hypothesized that no difference in adjusted outcomes would be observed between pediatric trauma centers (PTCs) and adult trauma centers (ATCs) for this population. All severely injured adolescent (aged 12-17 years) polytrauma patients were extracted from the Pennsylvania Trauma Outcomes Study database from 2003 to 2015. Polytrauma was defined as an Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) score ≥3 for two or more AIS-defined body regions. Dead on arrival, transfer, and penetrating trauma patients were excluded from analysis. ATC were defined as adult-only centers, whereas standalone pediatric hospitals and adult centers with pediatric affiliation were considered PTC. Multilevel mixed-effects logistic regression models assessed the adjusted impact of center type on mortality and total complications while controlling for age, shock index, Injury Severity Score, Glasgow Coma Scale motor score, trauma center level, case volume, and injury year. A generalized linear mixed model characterized functional status at discharge (FSD) while controlling for the same variables. A total of 1,606 patients met inclusion criteria (PTC: 868 [54.1%]; ATC: 738 [45.9%]), 139 (8.66%) of which died in-hospital. No significant difference in mortality (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.10, 95% CI 0.54-2.24; p = 0.794; area under the receiver operating characteristic: 0.89) was observed between designations in adjusted analysis; however, FSD (AOR: 0.38, 95% CI 0.15-0.97; p = 0.043) was found to be lower and total complication trends higher (AOR: 1.78, 95% CI 0.98-3.32; p = 0.058) at PTC for adolescent polytrauma patients. Contrary to existing literature on adolescent trauma patients, our results suggest patients aged 12-17 presenting with polytrauma may experience

  2. The Readiness of Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder for Self-Directed Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wright, Melissa Sue

    2011-01-01

    This study investigated the readiness for self-directed learning of adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), as well as their overall educational experiences. Using Guglielmino's Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale for Adults (SDLRS-A), the researcher investigated whether the following factors were significantly related to…

  3. Learning about Computer-Based Education in Adult Basic Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fahy, Patrick J.

    In 1979 the adult basic education department at the Alberta Vocational Centre (AVC), Edmonton, began to use the Control Data PLATO system. Results of the first PLATO project showed students using PLATO learned at least as much as students in regular classes. Students learned faster and reported great satisfaction with PLATO experiences. Staff and…

  4. Haptic-Based Perception-Empathy Biofeedback Enhances Postural Motor Learning During High-Cognitive Load Task in Healthy Older Adults

    PubMed Central

    Yasuda, Kazuhiro; Saichi, Kenta; Iwata, Hiroyasu

    2018-01-01

    Falls and fall-induced injuries are major global public health problems, and sensory input impairment in older adults results in significant limitations in feedback-type postural control. A haptic-based biofeedback (BF) system can be used for augmenting somatosensory input in older adults, and the application of this BF system can increase the objectivity of the feedback and encourage comparison with that provided by a trainer. Nevertheless, an optimal BF system that focuses on interpersonal feedback for balance training in older adults has not been proposed. Thus, we proposed a haptic-based perception-empathy BF system that provides information regarding the older adult's center-of-foot pressure pattern to the trainee and trainer for refining the motor learning effect. The first objective of this study was to examine the effect of this balance training regimen in healthy older adults performing a postural learning task. Second, this study aimed to determine whether BF training required high cognitive load to clarify its practicability in real-life settings. Twenty older adults were assigned to two groups: BF and control groups. Participants in both groups tried balance training in the single-leg stance while performing a cognitive task (i.e., serial subtraction task). Retention was tested 24 h later. Testing comprised balance performance measures (i.e., 95% confidence ellipse area and mean velocity of sway) and dual-task performance (number of responses and correct answers). Measurements of postural control using a force plate revealed that the stability of the single-leg stance was significantly lower in the BF group than in the control group during the balance task. The BF group retained the improvement in the 95% confidence ellipse area 24 h after the retention test. Results of dual-task performance during the balance task were not different between the two groups. These results confirmed the potential benefit of the proposed balance training regimen in

  5. Haptic-Based Perception-Empathy Biofeedback Enhances Postural Motor Learning During High-Cognitive Load Task in Healthy Older Adults.

    PubMed

    Yasuda, Kazuhiro; Saichi, Kenta; Iwata, Hiroyasu

    2018-01-01

    Falls and fall-induced injuries are major global public health problems, and sensory input impairment in older adults results in significant limitations in feedback-type postural control. A haptic-based biofeedback (BF) system can be used for augmenting somatosensory input in older adults, and the application of this BF system can increase the objectivity of the feedback and encourage comparison with that provided by a trainer. Nevertheless, an optimal BF system that focuses on interpersonal feedback for balance training in older adults has not been proposed. Thus, we proposed a haptic-based perception-empathy BF system that provides information regarding the older adult's center-of-foot pressure pattern to the trainee and trainer for refining the motor learning effect. The first objective of this study was to examine the effect of this balance training regimen in healthy older adults performing a postural learning task. Second, this study aimed to determine whether BF training required high cognitive load to clarify its practicability in real-life settings. Twenty older adults were assigned to two groups: BF and control groups. Participants in both groups tried balance training in the single-leg stance while performing a cognitive task (i.e., serial subtraction task). Retention was tested 24 h later. Testing comprised balance performance measures (i.e., 95% confidence ellipse area and mean velocity of sway) and dual-task performance (number of responses and correct answers). Measurements of postural control using a force plate revealed that the stability of the single-leg stance was significantly lower in the BF group than in the control group during the balance task. The BF group retained the improvement in the 95% confidence ellipse area 24 h after the retention test. Results of dual-task performance during the balance task were not different between the two groups. These results confirmed the potential benefit of the proposed balance training regimen in

  6. Increasing Retention of Adult Learners in Telecourses through the Incorporation of Learning-Centered Instructional Strategies and the Use of Multiple Modalities for Content Delivery and Interaction.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nelson, Lin M.

    A project was undertaken to increase retention in a health education telecourse by incorporating a competency-based orientation to distance learning and learner-centered instructional strategies into the telecourse, and by using multiple media for content delivery and interaction. A general orientation to distance learning was developed that…

  7. Learner Centered Teaching: Putting the Research on Learning into Practice

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doyle, Terry

    2011-01-01

    This book presents the research-based case that Learner Centered Teaching (LCT) offers the best means to optimize student learning in college, and offers examples and ideas for putting it into practice, as well the underlying rationale. It also starts from the premise that many faculty are much closer to being learner centered teachers than they…

  8. Global Organizations and E-Learning: Leveraging Adult Learning in Different Cultures

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nathan, Edward P.

    2008-01-01

    This article examines a number of issues regarding the leveraged use of global training within multinational organizations. Given a common purpose and using technology that may minimize cultural differences, is it possible for these organizations to overcome some of the cultural barriers to adult learning? In examining this concept, this article…

  9. Discourses on Empowerment in Adult Learning: A View on Renewed Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Daniele, Luisa

    2017-01-01

    The paper examines critically the dimension of empowerment in the European discourse, starting from some operational definitions used in official documents. The author analyses the shift in the European documents from 2000 to recent years, from a lifelong learning vision to an adult education approach, basically labour market-oriented, thus…

  10. Ego Is a Hurdle in Second Language Learning: A Contrastive Study between Adults and Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abdullah, Shumaila; Akhter, Javed

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this research paper is to find out by comparing and contrasting between the adults and children in second language learning process how language ego of adult learners affects them to learn second language, and how it becomes a barrier for them in second language learning process. Nowadays learning English as foreign and second language…

  11. The Development of a Learning Dashboard for Lecturers: A Case Study on a Student-Centered E-Learning Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Santoso, Harry B.; Batuparan, Alivia Khaira; Isal, R. Yugo K.; Goodridge, Wade H.

    2018-01-01

    Student Centered e-Learning Environment (SCELE) is a Moodle-based learning management system (LMS) that has been modified to enhance learning within a computer science department curriculum offered by the Faculty of Computer Science of large public university in Indonesia. This Moodle provided a mechanism to record students' activities when…

  12. Transforming pedagogy in nursing education: a caring learning environment for adult students.

    PubMed

    Bankert, Esther G; Kozel, Victoria V

    2005-01-01

    This article is an account of a project involving nursing faculty and adult learners. Their purpose was to generate interactive and collaborative pedagogies. Reflection and dialogue were used to explore how the educational experience can be transformed into an engaging and caring learning environment for adult students. Principles derived from humanistic nursing and caring, reflection, and teaching and learning guided this project.

  13. Scaffolding Learner-Centered Curricular Coherence Using Learning Maps and Diagnostic Assessments Designed around Mathematics Learning Trajectories

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Confrey, Jere; Gianopulos, Garron; McGowan, William; Shah, Meetal; Belcher, Michael

    2017-01-01

    The paper describes how designers used the construct of learning trajectories to create a tool, Math-Mapper 6-8, to help scaffold curricula toward increased learner-centered coherence. It defines "learner-centered curricular coherence" as "an organizational means to promote a high likelihood that each learner traverses one of many…

  14. [Adult learning, professional autonomy and individual commitment].

    PubMed

    Pardell-Alentá, H

    The concept of 'andragogy' is the basis of the adult education which is different from pedagogy in several aspects, particularly in the autonomy of the adult learner in choosing the educational programmes and the methodologies and sites in where learning occurs. This happens very often in the worksite. The professionals have to learn permanently during their active lives in order to maintain their competence updated. In this sense, continuing education correlates with continuing professional development, which is an attempt to enlarge the traditional domains of continuing education. Continuing education must be clearly differentiated from formal education, which is a requirement for granting professional degrees or titles. Very often it arises from the changing health needs and for this reason is necessary to avoid the institutionalization of continuing education programmes. Professional associations should be actively involved in providing and accrediting continuing education-continuing professional development programmes, because this involvement is an essential component of the professionals' self-regulation in the context of the current medical professionalism ideology.

  15. Transformation for Adults in an Internet-Based Learning Environment--Is It Necessary to Be Self-Directed?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chu, Regina Juchun; Chu, Anita Zichun; Weng, Cathy; Tsai, Chin-Chung; Lin, Chia-chun

    2012-01-01

    This research explores the relationships between self-directed learning readiness and transformative learning theory (TLT) reflected by the Constructivist Internet-based Learning Environment Scale (CILES). A questionnaire survey about adult learner's perceptions of Internet-based learning was administered to adults enrolled in classes in community…

  16. An adult learner's learning style should inform but not limit educational choices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barry, Margot; Egan, Arlene

    2017-12-01

    Adult learners are attracted to learning opportunities (e.g. course offers) which seem promising in terms of allowing them to match their choices to their own perceived predispositions. To find out more about their personal learning style, some adult learners may fill in a questionnaire designed by researchers who aim (and claim) to enable both course providers and learners to optimise learning outcomes. The evaluation of these questionnaires measures learning styles using indicators developed for this purpose, but the results are not conclusive and their utility is therefore questionable. This narrative review critically examines some of the research which explores the usefulness of considering students' learning styles in adult education. The authors present a discussion - which remains hypothetical - on why the use of learning styles measures continues to be popular despite the absence of rigorous research findings to support this practice. Factors discussed by the authors include confirmation bias (making choices which confirm our prejudices) and user qualification (limiting availability to trained users, e.g. psychologists) as well as limited resources and skills in evaluating research, paired with educators' quest to implement evidence-focused techniques. The authors conclude that while learning styles assessments can be useful for the purpose of reflection on strengths and weaknesses, they should play a limited role in educational choices.

  17. An adult learner's learning style should inform but not limit educational choices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barry, Margot; Egan, Arlene

    2018-02-01

    Adult learners are attracted to learning opportunities (e.g. course offers) which seem promising in terms of allowing them to match their choices to their own perceived predispositions. To find out more about their personal learning style, some adult learners may fill in a questionnaire designed by researchers who aim (and claim) to enable both course providers and learners to optimise learning outcomes. The evaluation of these questionnaires measures learning styles using indicators developed for this purpose, but the results are not conclusive and their utility is therefore questionable. This narrative review critically examines some of the research which explores the usefulness of considering students' learning styles in adult education. The authors present a discussion - which remains hypothetical - on why the use of learning styles measures continues to be popular despite the absence of rigorous research findings to support this practice. Factors discussed by the authors include confirmation bias (making choices which confirm our prejudices) and user qualification (limiting availability to trained users, e.g. psychologists) as well as limited resources and skills in evaluating research, paired with educators' quest to implement evidence-focused techniques. The authors conclude that while learning styles assessments can be useful for the purpose of reflection on strengths and weaknesses, they should play a limited role in educational choices.

  18. Comparison of Survival at Adult versus Pediatric Treatment Centers for Rare Pediatric Tumors in an Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Population in the State of Georgia

    PubMed Central

    Cash, Thomas; Qayed, Muna; Ward, Kevin C.; Mertens, Ann C.; Rapkin, Louis

    2014-01-01

    Background The type of treatment center where 15-21-year-old adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with rare pediatric tumors achieve their best clinical outcome is unknown. Procedure We performed a retrospective analysis using the Georgia Cancer Registry (GCR) of 15-21-year-old patients with a malignant, rare pediatric tumor diagnosed during the period from 2000-2009. Patients were identified as being treated at one of five Georgia pediatric cancer centers or at an adult center. Data were analyzed for 10-year overall survival, patient characteristics associated with death, and patient characteristics present at diagnosis associated with choice of treatment center. Results There was a total of 479 patients in our final study population, of which 379 (79.1%) were treated at an adult center and 100 (20.9%) were treated at a pediatric center. Patients treated at an adult center had a 10-year overall survival of 86% compared to 85% for patients treated at a pediatric center (p= 0.31). Race and poverty were not significantly associated with death. Patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (OR=7.38; 95% CI=2.30 – 23.75) and ‘other carcinomas’ (OR=2.64; 95% CI=1.25 – 5.60) were more likely to be treated at a pediatric center. Patients with higher-stage disease (OR=4.24; 95% CI=1.71 – 10.52) and higher poverty (OR=2.32; 95% CI=1.23 – 4.37) were also more likely to be treated at a pediatric center. Conclusion Our data suggest that there is no difference in survival for 15-21-year-old patients with rare pediatric tumors when treated at an adult or pediatric center. PMID:25393593

  19. Lifelong Learning, Lifelong Education and Adult Education in Higher Institutions of Learning in Eastern Africa: The Case of Makerere University Institute of Adult and Continuing Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Openjuru, George L.

    2011-01-01

    This paper advocates for policy recognition of lifelong learning by institutions of higher learning and governments in Eastern Africa. Lifelong learning and lifelong education are two concepts that aim at widening access to and the participation of adult learners in the acquisition of new knowledge, skills, values and attitudes. There are many…

  20. Experimenting with Theory of Change for Interculturality and Mutual Learning in Adult Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Raymer, Annalisa L.

    2016-01-01

    With a goal of creating conditions wherein college students of adult learning paired with international adult learners form mutual partnerships for educational mentoring, where to begin? How to take into account the contextual factors and priorities of multiple stakeholders in creating academic courses and learning-focused partnerships while…

  1. Understanding the Impact of New Technology on Life and Work. Learning Guide 12. Project Connect. Linking Self-Family-Work.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, Inc., Hartford, CT.

    This learning guide on understanding the impact of new technology on life and work is part of a series of learning guides developed for competency-based adult consumer and homemaking education programs in community colleges, adult education centers, community centers, and the workplace. Focus is on the connections among personal, family, and job…

  2. Museums and Adults Learning: Perspectives from Europe.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chadwick, Alan, Ed.; Stannett, Annette, Ed.

    This book contains 28 papers presenting perspectives from Europe on museums and adult learning. The papers, each of which is devoted to a specific country, examine topics such as the following: further education and inservice training; programs for unemployed individuals; lectures and open days; elderly visitors; immigrants; refugees; disabled…

  3. Student Problems. Adult Literacy Independent Learning Packet.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Koefer, Ann M.

    This independent learning packet, which is designed for administrators, teachers, counselors, and tutors in Pennsylvania's Region 7 Tri-Valley Literacy Staff Development area as well as for their adult students, examines the following seven problems encountered by students: the job market, child care, single parenting/parenting skills, divorce,…

  4. Use of Learner-Centered Instructional Strategies in Higher Education: Doctoral Student Assessments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Browne-Ferrigno, Tricia; Muth, Rodney

    2012-01-01

    Based on multiple sources, this article concludes that, when learner-centered instructional strategies are used with doctoral students, these adult learners take charge of their individual and collective learning, become accountable for both, and enhance their ability to transfer learning to practice. The students studied skills of developed teams…

  5. Leapfrogging Over the Status Quo: E-Learning and the Challenge of Adult Literacy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McCain, Mary

    E-learning's potential for responding to the challenges of adult literacy was explored through a review of research and input from program managers, developers, and funders. The study identified adult literacy e-learning products, programs, and resources that are available or in development. Challenges to greater use of technology in adult…

  6. When Enrollments Bulge but Budgets Don't, Consider "Satellite Learning Centers."

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reecer, Marcia

    1988-01-01

    Describes Dade County (Florida) schools' answer to crowded classrooms and burgeoning primary enrollments: satellite learning centers built and maintained by local companies as employee childcare benefits. Each center is attached to a nearby "host" school that disburses funds, keeps student records, and supplies support services. (MLH)

  7. Impact of Learning Assistance Center Utilization on Success

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wurtz, Keith A.

    2015-01-01

    A large number of community college students are developmental students. One of the most important challenges for community colleges today is to create programs that effectively educate community college developmental students. This study examines the effect of learning assistance centers on the success and persistence of students at a Southern…

  8. Annual Review of Adult Learning and Literacy. Volume 1. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Comings, John, Ed.; Garner, Barbara, Ed.; Smith, Cristine, Ed.

    This book contains eight papers on adult learning and literacy. "The Year 1998 in Review" (Fran Tracy-Mumford) examines educational legislation and policy and developments in adult education program development, program accountability, strategic alliances and partnerships, and instructional methodologies and technologies. "Lessons…

  9. Probabilistic Reinforcement Learning in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

    PubMed Central

    Solomon, Marjorie; Smith, Anne C.; Frank, Michael J.; Ly, Stanford; Carter, Cameron S.

    2017-01-01

    Background Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) can be conceptualized as disorders of learning, however there have been few experimental studies taking this perspective. Methods We examined the probabilistic reinforcement learning performance of 28 adults with ASDs and 30 typically developing adults on a task requiring learning relationships between three stimulus pairs consisting of Japanese characters with feedback that was valid with different probabilities (80%, 70%, and 60%). Both univariate and Bayesian state–space data analytic methods were employed. Hypotheses were based on the extant literature as well as on neurobiological and computational models of reinforcement learning. Results Both groups learned the task after training. However, there were group differences in early learning in the first task block where individuals with ASDs acquired the most frequently accurately reinforced stimulus pair (80%) comparably to typically developing individuals; exhibited poorer acquisition of the less frequently reinforced 70% pair as assessed by state–space learning curves; and outperformed typically developing individuals on the near chance (60%) pair. Individuals with ASDs also demonstrated deficits in using positive feedback to exploit rewarded choices. Conclusions Results support the contention that individuals with ASDs are slower learners. Based on neurobiology and on the results of computational modeling, one interpretation of this pattern of findings is that impairments are related to deficits in flexible updating of reinforcement history as mediated by the orbito-frontal cortex, with spared functioning of the basal ganglia. This hypothesis about the pathophysiology of learning in ASDs can be tested using functional magnetic resonance imaging. PMID:21425243

  10. Knowledge of Results after Good Trials Enhances Learning in Older Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chiviacowsky, Suzete; Wulf, Gabriele; Wally, Raquel; Borges, Thiago

    2009-01-01

    In recent years, some researchers have examined motor learning in older adults. Some of these studies have specifically looked at the effectiveness of different manipulations of extrinsic feedback, or knowledge of results (KR). Given that many motor tasks may already be more challenging for older adults compared to younger adults, making KR more…

  11. Characteristics and Consequences of Adult Learning Methods and Strategies. Practical Evaluation Reports, Volume 2, Number 1

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Trivette, Carol M.; Dunst, Carl J.; Hamby, Deborah W.; O'Herin, Chainey E.

    2009-01-01

    The effectiveness of four adult learning methods (accelerated learning, coaching, guided design, and just-in-time training) constituted the focus of this research synthesis. Findings reported in "How People Learn" (Bransford et al., 2000) were used to operationally define six adult learning method characteristics, and to code and analyze…

  12. Adolescent Learning and the Internet: Implications for School Leadership and Student Engagement in Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Strom, Paris; Strom, Robert; Wing, Charlotte; Beckert, Troy

    2010-01-01

    Many teenagers are more skilled in using tools of technology for learning than the adults who guide their education. The Center for a Digital Future at the University of Southern California administers annual surveys to track the impact of online technology. Jeffrey Cole, center director, reports that adolescents consider the Internet to be their…

  13. Evaluating the Impacts of Professional Development: A Mixed Method Study of Adult Education Learning Communities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dilworth, Jessica S.

    2010-01-01

    Adult education programs providing classes to students preparing for high school equivalency and learning English that demonstrate characteristics of learning organizations may be better able to thrive when confronted with less-than-ideal circumstances. Many of these programs organize adult educators into learning communities as the context for…

  14. Lincoln Career Education Project. Final Report. Book 2. Elementary Learning Centers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lincoln Public Schools, NE.

    Curriculum materials from the Lincoln Career Education Project, Nebraska, are presented for career education learning activities at the elementary level. The guide contains complete materials for 12 learning center units infusing career education as well as personal/social growth and cultural awareness in some. Units are organized under the…

  15. Non-consensual sterilization of the adult with learning disabilities.

    PubMed

    Knifton, C

    Community nurses may be asked for advice on sterilization operations for adults with learning disabilities by worried parents/carers. This article sets out the legal position advocated by the English courts. Sterilization for adults with learning disabilities is generally non-consensual. The courts cannot consent on behalf of the adult but can rule on the lawfulness of the operation. Cases need not be brought before the court when the operation is to be carried out to treat a specific menstrual malady and where sterilization is an incidental result. However, the Law Commission (1995) has set guidelines which recommend that such operations require a certificate from an independent medical practitioner. In operations where the sole purpose is contraception the courts will always need to be involved. Their decision on the lawfulness of the operation will be based on what is in the person's best interests which in turn will be determined by reference to standards set by a responsible body of medical practitioners.

  16. Workjobs: Activity-Centered Learning for Early Childhood Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lorton, Mary Baratta

    Based on the idea that through active involvement with the materials the child would draw out the generalizations within the material, a teacher's method of activity-centered learning for early childhood education is presented. The first section of the book deals with the development of language through workjobs, emphasizing perception, matching,…

  17. Neuronal mechanisms of motor learning and motor memory consolidation in healthy old adults.

    PubMed

    Berghuis, K M M; Veldman, M P; Solnik, S; Koch, G; Zijdewind, I; Hortobágyi, T

    2015-06-01

    It is controversial whether or not old adults are capable of learning new motor skills and consolidate the performance gains into motor memory in the offline period. The underlying neuronal mechanisms are equally unclear. We determined the magnitude of motor learning and motor memory consolidation in healthy old adults and examined if specific metrics of neuronal excitability measured by magnetic brain stimulation mediate the practice and retention effects. Eleven healthy old adults practiced a wrist extension-flexion visuomotor skill for 20 min (MP, 71.3 years), while a second group only watched the templates without movements (attentional control, AC, n = 11, 70.5 years). There was 40 % motor learning in MP but none in AC (interaction, p < 0.001) with the skill retained 24 h later in MP and a 16 % improvement in AC. Corticospinal excitability at rest and during task did not change, but when measured during contraction at 20 % of maximal force, it strongly increased in MP and decreased in AC (interaction, p = 0.002). Intracortical inhibition at rest and during the task decreased and facilitation at rest increased in MP, but these metrics changed in the opposite direction in AC. These neuronal changes were especially profound at retention. Healthy old adults can learn a new motor skill and consolidate the learned skill into motor memory, processes that are most likely mediated by disinhibitory mechanisms. These results are relevant for the increasing number of old adults who need to learn and relearn movements during motor rehabilitation.

  18. The Characteristics of Resiliency Development and Adult Learning: Examining Teacher Perspective through Narrative Inquiry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Painter, Rachel L.

    2013-01-01

    Originating from the literature on resiliency, adult learning, and professional development, this qualitative study investigated how the relationship between resiliency and adult learning influenced professional development in one suburban-rural school district in Litchfield County, Connecticut. Data represent findings on the perceptions of…

  19. The Cispus Experience: A Curriculum Guide for the Cispus Learning Center.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Association of Washington School Principals, Olympia.

    This curriculum guide presents lesson plans for outdoor and environmental education at the Cispus Learning Center, a camp in Randle, Washington. Objectives for the Cispus experience cover student learning of content, socialization as a team member, development of aesthetic awareness of nature and art, and increased physical wellness. Lesson plans…

  20. Adult Learning in Nonformal Settings: Cultural Festivals as Spaces for Socially Situated Cognition

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ambrosino, Audrey M.

    2009-01-01

    Recent years have witnessed a renewed interest in the role of museums and cultural festivals in adult learning. Once considered the keepers of physical and cultural history, there was only limited concern for if and how adults learned from these settings. The conventional view held that museums provided knowledge, and it was an individual's…

  1. Learning curve for intracranial angioplasty and stenting in single center.

    PubMed

    Cai, Qiankun; Li, Yongkun; Xu, Gelin; Sun, Wen; Xiong, Yunyun; Sun, Wenshan; Bao, Yuanfei; Huang, Xianjun; Zhang, Yao; Zhou, Lulu; Zhu, Wusheng; Liu, Xinfeng

    2014-01-01

    To identify the specific caseload to overcome learning curve effect based on data from consecutive patients treated with Intracranial Angioplasty and Stenting (IAS) in our center. The Stenting and Aggressive Medical Management for Preventing Recurrent Stroke and Intracranial Stenosis trial was prematurely terminated owing to the high rate of periprocedural complications in the endovascular arm. To date, there are no data available for determining the essential caseload sufficient to overcome the learning effect and perform IAS with an acceptable level of complications. Between March 2004 and May 2012, 188 consecutive patients with 194 lesions who underwent IAS were analyzed retrospectively. The outcome variables used to assess the learning curve were periprocedural complications (included transient ischemic attack, ischemic stroke, vessel rupture, cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome, and vessel perforation). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to illustrate the existence of learning curve effect on IAS. A risk-adjusted cumulative sum chart was performed to identify the specific caseload to overcome learning curve effect. The overall rate of 30-days periprocedural complications was 12.4% (24/194). After adjusting for case-mix, multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that operator experience was an independent predictor for periprocedural complications. The learning curve of IAS to overcome complications in a risk-adjusted manner was 21 cases. Operator's level of experience significantly affected the outcome of IAS. Moreover, we observed that the amount of experience sufficient for performing IAS in our center was 21 cases. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Educating Low-Literacy Adults: To Teach or Not to Teach?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morgan, Anne M.

    2004-01-01

    According to statistics compiled by the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), more than 40% of working-age adults in the United States lack the requisite skills and education to succeed in life (Merrifield, 1998). In the field of adult education, however, there is much debate about how programs can best serve…

  3. Learning for the Future: Neighborhood Renewal through Adult and Community Learning. A Guide for Local Authorities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Merton, Bryan; Turner, Cheryl; Ward, Jane; White, Lenford

    This guide is intended to assist managers within England's local authority adult and community education services in supporting neighborhood renewal through adult and community learning (ACL). The guide's overall aim is to promote the skills, knowledge, and understanding that underpin the following items: (1) identification and development of…

  4. Person-Centered Memory and Communication Strategies for Adults with Dementia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lanzi, Alyssa; Burshnic, Vanessa; Bourgeois, Michelle S.

    2017-01-01

    The increasing incidence of aging adults with cognitive-communication impairments and demand for services that enhance the quality of life of this population necessitates examination of the evidence-based srategies that hold the mos promise in producing desired quality-of-life outcomes. The adoption of person-centered care approaches in health…

  5. The Mathematics and Computer Science Learning Center (MLC).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Abraham, Solomon T.

    The Mathematics and Computer Science Learning Center (MLC) was established in the Department of Mathematics at North Carolina Central University during the fall semester of the 1982-83 academic year. The initial operations of the MLC were supported by grants to the University from the Burroughs-Wellcome Company and the Kenan Charitable Trust Fund.…

  6. Voice from Lawrence, Kansas: Diverse Adult Learners in a University Community

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Angela; Herrod, Norma

    2007-01-01

    This article focuses on the Lawrence Adult Learning Center, the only program in Kansas offering Adult Basic Education. The LALC has been a program on wheels, always moving to another location. Its mission is to enable adult students to: acquire appropriate skills and knowledge necessary to become informed decision makers and effective…

  7. The Social Outcomes of Older Adult Learning in Taiwan: Evaluation Framework and Indicators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lin, Li-Hui

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to explore the social outcomes of older adult learning in Taiwan. In light of our society's aging population structure, the task of establishing evaluation framework and indicators for the social outcomes of learning (SOL) as applied to older adults is urgent. In order to construct evaluation indicators for older adult…

  8. Determining a Difference in Self-Directed Learning Readiness Using the Survey of Adult Learning Traits

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ezell, Diana

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to measure the self-directed learning of educators and explore the differences between and among the variables of age, level of education, position, school district ratings, levels of poverty and affluence, and gender. The Survey of Adult Learning Traits (SALT) authored by Hogg was used as the instrument to measure…

  9. Using Adult Learning Principles as a Framework for Learning ICT Skills Needed for Research Projects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eyitayo, Oduronke Temitope

    2013-01-01

    Students in higher institutions need to carry out research projects. The focus of this paper explores a model to help students learn ICT skills needed for research projects. Generally students go through the "long and hard route" to learn and use ICT resources because they do not know how to do it. The paper explores the Adult Learning…

  10. Adult Learners' Understanding in Learning Islam Using Andragogy Approach: A Study in Kampung Siglap Mosque and Al-Zuhri Higher Learning Institute

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bin Kadir, Mohd Amin; Arifin, Syamsul; Latipun; Fuad, Ahmad Nur

    2016-01-01

    This study describes adult learners' understanding in learning Islam using andragogy approach in which the study was conducted in Kampung Siglap Mosque and Al-Zuhri Higher Learning Institute. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) educate his companions of who are adults from the shackles of "jahiliyyah," spiritual and intellectual…

  11. The Multicultural Café: Enhancing Authentic Interaction for Adult English Language Learners through Service Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Riley, Tracy; Douglas, Scott Roy

    2016-01-01

    While service learning platforms hold great potential for adult learners of English as an additional language (EAL), there has been little research to date related to the impact of these programs on adult newcomers' linguistic and social development. The Multicultural Café was a food service learning platform for adult EAL learners operated over a…

  12. The Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery and the WAIS-R in Assessment of Adults with Specific Learning Disabilities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Katz, Lynda; Goldstein, Gerald

    1993-01-01

    Compared intellectual (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale for Adults-Revised) and neuropsychological (Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery) assessment as valid methods of identifying learning disabilities in adults. Findings from 155 subjects revealed that both instruments were able to distinguish adults with and without learning disabilities.…

  13. Psychological, social, and environmental factors associated with utilization of senior centers among older adults in Korea.

    PubMed

    Kim, Hyun-Shik; Miyashita, Masashi; Harada, Kazuhiro; Park, Jong-Hwan; So, Jae-Moo; Nakamura, Yoshio

    2012-07-01

    The purpose of the study was to examine the relationships among the psychological, social, and environmental factors influencing the utilization of senior centers among older adults in Korea. A questionnaire survey was administered to two types of older adults who lived in Seoul, Korea: 262 older adults who used senior centers (3 places) and 156 older adults who did not use senior centers. Our results showed clearly that the utilization of the senior centers in Korea is affected by higher self-efficacy (odds ratio [OR], 6.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.31 to 12.32), higher perceived benefits (OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.16 to 4.36), lower perceived barriers (OR, 6.43; 95% CI, 3.07 to 11.45), higher family support (OR, 4.21; 95% CI, 2.02 to 8.77), and higher support from friends (OR, 4.08; 95% CI, 2.38 to 7.81). The results also showed that participants whose total travel time was 15 to 29 minutes (OR, 2.84; 95% CI, 1.21 to 3.64) or less than 14 minutes (OR, 4.68; 95% CI, 3.41 to 8.41) were more likely to use a senior center than those who had to travel more than 30 minutes. This study showed that the utilization of senior centers in Korea is affected by psychological, social, and environmental factors, specifically by self-efficacy, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, social support, convenience of transportation, and total travel time to the senior centers. The effects of longer-term utilization of the senior centers by non-users on health-related outcomes in a large population warrant attention.

  14. Contemporary Perspectives in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning -- Andragogical Model of Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blaszczak, Iwona

    2013-01-01

    Nowadays, adult education and lifelong learning constitutes one of the most significant factors influencing economic growth and social development. Definitions such as "knowledge society" and "knowledge-based economy" exist in a great number of the Polish and European Union papers and documents and they are not only the…

  15. A Design Framework for Enhancing Engagement in Student-Centered Learning: Own It, Learn It, and Share It

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Eunbae; Hannafin, Michael J.

    2016-01-01

    Student-centered learning (SCL) identifies students as the owners of their learning. While SCL is increasingly discussed in K-12 and higher education, researchers and practitioners lack current and comprehensive framework to design, develop, and implement SCL. We examine the implications of theory and research-based evidence to inform those who…

  16. The Chinese family-centered care survey for adult intensive care unit: A psychometric study.

    PubMed

    Wang, Wen-Ling; Feng, Jui-Ying; Wang, Chi-Jen; Chen, Jing-Huei

    2016-02-01

    This study aimed to develop a family-centered care survey for Chinese adult intensive care units and to establish the survey's psychometric properties. Family-centered care (FCC) is widely recognized as an ideal model of care. Few studies have explored FCC perceptions among family members of adult critical care patients in Asian countries, and no Chinese FCC measurement has been developed. An English version of the 3-factor family-centered care survey for adult intensive care units (FCCS-AICU) was translated into Chinese using a modified back translation procedure. Based on the literature review, two additional concepts, information and empowerment, were added to the Chinese FCCS-AICU. The psychometric properties of the Chinese FCCS-AICU were determined with 249 family members from a medical center in Taiwan and were tested for construct and convergent validity, and internal consistency. Both the monolingual and bilingual equivalence tests of the English and Chinese versions of the 3-factor FCCS-AICU were supported. Exploratory factor analysis supported the 5-factor structure of the Chinese FCCS-AICU with a total explained variance of 58.34%. The Chinese FCCS-AICU was correlated with the Chinese Critical Care Family Needs Inventory. Internal consistency, determined by Cronbach's α, for the overall scale was .94. The Chinese FCCS-AICU is a valid and reliable tool for measuring perceptions of FCC by family members of adult intensive care patients within Chinese-speaking communities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. 21st Century Community Learning Centers Descriptive Study of Program Practices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Penuel, William R.; McGhee, Raymond, Jr.

    2010-01-01

    In 2004, the U.S. Department of Education's Policy and Program Studies Service contracted with SRI International and its partner, Policy Studies Associates, to undertake an evaluation of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. The following evaluation questions informed this study: (1) What is the nature of activities in centers that are…

  18. Identifying the Needs of Adult Women in Distance Learning Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Furst-Bowe, Julie

    A study examined reasons that adult female students are motivated to enroll in distance learning programs, described their perceptions of the courses, and identified barriers these women face as they attempt to progress through their degree programs. Results of focus groups with 40 returning adult women were analyzed. Their needs were grouped into…

  19. Numeracy Activities within VOX: The Norwegian Institute for Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kvalo, Svein

    2008-01-01

    In this article, the author introduces Vox, Norwegian Institute for Adult Learning, an agency of the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research that focuses mainly on improving basic skills in the adult population in the areas of literacy, numeracy and the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT). Vox is responsible for curriculum…

  20. General and Domain-Specific Self-Concepts of Adults with Learning Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nelson, Jason M.

    2012-01-01

    The empirical literature investigating general and domain-specific self-concepts of adults with learning disabilities was examined using meta-analytic techniques. Eight inclusion criteria were developed to evaluate this literature and led to the inclusion of 22 studies. Results indicated that adults with learning disabilities reported lower…

  1. The Effects of Phonotactic Probability and Neighborhood Density on Adults' Word Learning in Noisy Conditions

    PubMed Central

    Storkel, Holly L.; Lee, Jaehoon; Cox, Casey

    2016-01-01

    Purpose Noisy conditions make auditory processing difficult. This study explores whether noisy conditions influence the effects of phonotactic probability (the likelihood of occurrence of a sound sequence) and neighborhood density (phonological similarity among words) on adults' word learning. Method Fifty-eight adults learned nonwords varying in phonotactic probability and neighborhood density in either an unfavorable (0-dB signal-to-noise ratio [SNR]) or a favorable (+8-dB SNR) listening condition. Word learning was assessed using a picture naming task by scoring the proportion of phonemes named correctly. Results The unfavorable 0-dB SNR condition showed a significant interaction between phonotactic probability and neighborhood density in the absence of main effects. In particular, adults learned more words when phonotactic probability and neighborhood density were both low or both high. The +8-dB SNR condition did not show this interaction. These results are inconsistent with those from a prior adult word learning study conducted under quiet listening conditions that showed main effects of word characteristics. Conclusions As the listening condition worsens, adult word learning benefits from a convergence of phonotactic probability and neighborhood density. Clinical implications are discussed for potential populations who experience difficulty with auditory perception or processing, making them more vulnerable to noise. PMID:27788276

  2. The Effects of Phonotactic Probability and Neighborhood Density on Adults' Word Learning in Noisy Conditions.

    PubMed

    Han, Min Kyung; Storkel, Holly L; Lee, Jaehoon; Cox, Casey

    2016-11-01

    Noisy conditions make auditory processing difficult. This study explores whether noisy conditions influence the effects of phonotactic probability (the likelihood of occurrence of a sound sequence) and neighborhood density (phonological similarity among words) on adults' word learning. Fifty-eight adults learned nonwords varying in phonotactic probability and neighborhood density in either an unfavorable (0-dB signal-to-noise ratio [SNR]) or a favorable (+8-dB SNR) listening condition. Word learning was assessed using a picture naming task by scoring the proportion of phonemes named correctly. The unfavorable 0-dB SNR condition showed a significant interaction between phonotactic probability and neighborhood density in the absence of main effects. In particular, adults learned more words when phonotactic probability and neighborhood density were both low or both high. The +8-dB SNR condition did not show this interaction. These results are inconsistent with those from a prior adult word learning study conducted under quiet listening conditions that showed main effects of word characteristics. As the listening condition worsens, adult word learning benefits from a convergence of phonotactic probability and neighborhood density. Clinical implications are discussed for potential populations who experience difficulty with auditory perception or processing, making them more vulnerable to noise.

  3. White matter structure changes as adults learn a second language.

    PubMed

    Schlegel, Alexander A; Rudelson, Justin J; Tse, Peter U

    2012-08-01

    Traditional models hold that the plastic reorganization of brain structures occurs mainly during childhood and adolescence, leaving adults with limited means to learn new knowledge and skills. Research within the last decade has begun to overturn this belief, documenting changes in the brain's gray and white matter as healthy adults learn simple motor and cognitive skills [Lövdén, M., Bodammer, N. C., Kühn, S., Kaufmann, J., Schütze, H., Tempelmann, C., et al. Experience-dependent plasticity of white-matter microstructure extends into old age. Neuropsychologia, 48, 3878-3883, 2010; Taubert, M., Draganski, B., Anwander, A., Müller, K., Horstmann, A., Villringer, A., et al. Dynamic properties of human brain structure: Learning-related changes in cortical areas and associated fiber connections. The Journal of Neuroscience, 30, 11670-11677, 2010; Scholz, J., Klein, M. C., Behrens, T. E. J., & Johansen-Berg, H. Training induces changes in white-matter architecture. Nature Neuroscience, 12, 1370-1371, 2009; Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V., Schuirer, G., Bogdahn, U., & May, A. Changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature, 427, 311-312, 2004]. Although the significance of these changes is not fully understood, they reveal a brain that remains plastic well beyond early developmental periods. Here we investigate the role of adult structural plasticity in the complex, long-term learning process of foreign language acquisition. We collected monthly diffusion tensor imaging scans of 11 English speakers who took a 9-month intensive course in written and spoken Modern Standard Chinese as well as from 16 control participants who did not study a language. We show that white matter reorganizes progressively across multiple sites as adults study a new language. Language learners exhibited progressive changes in white matter tracts associated with traditional left hemisphere language areas and their right hemisphere analogs. Surprisingly, the most significant changes

  4. The Learning Industry. Education for Adult Workers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eurich, Nell P.

    This study focuses on the connection between education and the world of work and the urgency of the endeavor to educate the work force. Part I considers the resources for adult learning in the United States, with a focus on the major providers outside the traditional education system. Technological resources that can extend educational…

  5. Springfield: Education for Adults with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Logan, Ellis

    2002-01-01

    The present paper gives an overview of some of the modular day courses offered and, in some cases, developed by tutors at a former hospital school providing education to adults with severe learning disabilities. The aims of the courses were cognitive and personal development, as well as aesthetic and spiritual enrichment. Art history was offered…

  6. Implicit learning in children and adults with Williams syndrome.

    PubMed

    Don, Audrey J; Schellenberg, E Glenn; Reber, Arthur S; DiGirolamo, Kristen M; Wang, Paul P

    2003-01-01

    In comparison to explicit learning, implicit learning is hypothesized to be a phylogenetically older form of learning that is important in early developmental processes (e.g., natural language acquisition, socialization)and relatively impervious to individual differences in age and IQ. We examined implicit learning in a group of children and adults (9.49 years of age)with Williams syndrome (WS)and in a comparison group of typically developing individuals matched for chronological age. Participants were tested in an artificial-grammar learning paradigm and in a rotor-pursuit task. For both groups, implicit learning was largely independent of age. Both groups showed evidence of implicit learning but the comparison group outperformed the WS group on both tasks. Performance advantages for the comparison group were no longer significant when group differences in working memory or nonverbal intelligence were held constant.

  7. National College Learning Center Association 2014 Survey Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Toms, Marcia

    2016-01-01

    The material in this article is a compilation of the results of an National College Learning Center Association (NCLCA) study conducted by Dr. Marcia Toms under the auspices of NC State University which came from 211 unique institutions during the Spring of 2014. Invitations to complete the survey were sent to all past and present NCLCA members as…

  8. Administering and Implementing the Singapore Mathematics Curriculum at a Learning Center

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reaume, Hannah Colette

    2013-01-01

    A learning center in the southeastern part of the United States used the Singapore mathematics curriculum (SMC) to support student learning of a wide range of mathematics skills. However, a study had yet to be conducted to gain an understanding about the administration and implementation of the program. This case study was conceptually based on…

  9. The Educational Kanban: promoting effective self-directed adult learning in medical education.

    PubMed

    Goldman, Stuart

    2009-07-01

    The author reviews the many forces that have driven contemporary medical education approaches to evaluation and places them in an adult learning theory context. After noting their strengths and limitations, the author looks to lessons learned from manufacturing on both efficacy and efficiency and explores how these can be applied to the process of trainee assessment in medical education.Building on this, the author describes the rationale for and development of the Educational Kanban (EK) at Children's Hospital Boston--specifically, how it was designed to integrate adult learning theory, Japanese manufacturing models, and educator observations into a unique form of teacher-student collaboration that allows for continuous improvement. It is a formative tool, built on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's six core competencies, that guides educational efforts to optimize teaching and learning, promotes adult learner responsibility and efficacy, and takes advantage of the labor-intensive clinical educational setting. The author discusses how this model, which will be implemented in July 2009, will lead to training that is highly individualized, optimizes faculty and student educational efforts, and ultimately conserves faculty resources. A model EK is provided for general reference.The EK represents a novel approach to adult learning that will enhance educational effectiveness and efficiency and complement existing evaluative models. Described here in a specific graduate medical setting, it can readily be adapted and integrated into a wide range of undergraduate and graduate clinical educational environments.

  10. "We Had a Blast!": An Empirical Affirmation of Blended Learning as the Preferred Learning Mode for Adult Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Asunka, Stephen

    2017-01-01

    As many important issues pertaining to blended learning within the Sub-Saharan African context remain unexplored, this study implemented a blended learning approach in a graduate level course at a private university in Ghana, with the objective of exploring adult learners' attitudes, experiences and behaviors towards this learning approach, as…

  11. Collection Development Policies for the RWC Learning Resources Center.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Lucy, Comp.

    This manual begins by providing background on the program, collection, and acquisition processes of the Raymond Walters College (RWC) Learning Resources Center. The next section describes collection development policies for: (1) the academic departments (Animal Health; Behavioral Sciences; Biology; Business and Economics; Chemistry; Dental…

  12. Factors Related to Learning Occurring in an Adult Education Program.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Okoro, Daniel; Miller, Larry E.

    A study examined the factors related to learning occurring in an adult education program. A purposeful sample of Ohio counties and 151 participants in a specific 1993-1993 adult education program who self-selected to participate in the study was used. A descriptive ex post facto study design was used. Pretests-posttests were administered to…

  13. Infants are superior in implicit crossmodal learning and use other learning mechanisms than adults

    PubMed Central

    von Frieling, Marco; Röder, Brigitte

    2017-01-01

    During development internal models of the sensory world must be acquired which have to be continuously adapted later. We used event-related potentials (ERP) to test the hypothesis that infants extract crossmodal statistics implicitly while adults learn them when task relevant. Participants were passively exposed to frequent standard audio-visual combinations (A1V1, A2V2, p=0.35 each), rare recombinations of these standard stimuli (A1V2, A2V1, p=0.10 each), and a rare audio-visual deviant with infrequent auditory and visual elements (A3V3, p=0.10). While both six-month-old infants and adults differentiated between rare deviants and standards involving early neural processing stages only infants were sensitive to crossmodal statistics as indicated by a late ERP difference between standard and recombined stimuli. A second experiment revealed that adults differentiated recombined and standard combinations when crossmodal combinations were task relevant. These results demonstrate a heightened sensitivity for crossmodal statistics in infants and a change in learning mode from infancy to adulthood. PMID:28949291

  14. Prolonged Perceptual Learning of Positional Acuity in Adult Amblyopia

    PubMed Central

    Li, Roger W; Klein, Stanley A; Levi, Dennis M

    2009-01-01

    Amblyopia is a developmental abnormality that results in physiological alterations in the visual cortex and impairs form vision. It is often successfully treated by patching the sound eye in infants and young children, but is generally considered to be untreatable in adults. However, a number of recent studies suggest that repetitive practice of a visual task using the amblyopic eye results in improved performance in both children and adults with amblyopia. These perceptual learning studies have used relatively brief periods of practice; however, clinical studies have shown that the time-constant for successful patching is long. The time-constant for perceptual learning in amblyopia is still unknown. Here we show that the time-constant for perceptual learning depends on the degree of amblyopia. Severe amblyopia requires more than 50 hours (≈35,000 trials) to reach plateau, yielding as much as a five-fold improvement in performance at a rate of ≈1.5% per hour. There is significant transfer of learning from the amblyopic to the dominant eye, suggesting that the learning reflects alterations in higher decision stages of processing. Using a reverse correlation technique, we document, for the first time, a dynamic retuning of the amblyopic perceptual decision template and a substantial reduction in internal spatial distortion. These results show that the mature amblyopic brain is surprisingly malleable, and point to more intensive treatment methods for amblyopia. PMID:19109504

  15. Localism: The Changing Picture for Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lamb, Penny

    2012-01-01

    The rapidly changing picture on localism and the government's focus on local economic growth have significant implications for adult learning and skills providers in England. Government now sees a sense of place as key to economic growth and recognises the need for a renewed debate on how business and state interact with localities. There is a…

  16. Using Whole Language Materials in the Adult ESOL Classroom.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schiffer, Edward W.

    A practicum explored the use of instructional materials based on the whole language approach to second language learning in adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. The approach was implemented in a beginning ESL classroom at an adult education center that had previously used publisher textbooks, which were not thought to provide…

  17. Digital Distinction: Badges Add a New Dimension to Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ady, Kellie; Kinsella, Keli; Paynter, Amber

    2015-01-01

    As a part of a professional learning team, educators are constantly looking for new approaches and designs that promote deeper adult learning. This article describes how educators at Cherry Creek School District in Colorado developed a digital badge system that recognizes the work teachers are doing, supports a culture and climate of celebration,…

  18. Motor Learning Versus StandardWalking Exercise in Older Adults with Subclinical Gait Dysfunction: A Randomized Clinical Trial

    PubMed Central

    Brach, Jennifer S.; Van Swearingen, Jessie M.; Perera, Subashan; Wert, David M.; Studenski, Stephanie

    2013-01-01

    Background Current exercise recommendationsfocus on endurance and strength, but rarely incorporate principles of motor learning. Motor learning exerciseis designed to address neurological aspects of movement. Motor learning exercise has not been evaluated in older adults with subclinical gait dysfunction. Objectives Tocompare motor learning versus standard exercise on measures of mobility and perceived function and disability. Design Single-blind randomized trial. Setting University research center. Participants Olderadults (n=40), mean age 77.1±6.0 years), who had normal walking speed (≥1.0 m/s) and impaired motor skill (Figure of 8 walk time > 8 s). Interventions The motor learning program (ML) incorporated goal-oriented stepping and walking to promote timing and coordination within the phases of the gait cycle. The standard program (S) employed endurance training by treadmill walking.Both included strength training and were offered twice weekly for one hour for 12 weeks. Measurements Primary outcomes included mobility performance (gait efficiency, motor skill in walking, gait speed, and walking endurance)and secondary outcomes included perceived function and disability (Late Life Function and Disability Instrument). Results 38 of 40 participants completed the trial (ML, n=18; S, n=20). ML improved more than Sin gait speed (0.13 vs. 0.05 m/s, p=0.008) and motor skill (−2.2 vs. −0.89 s, p<0.0001). Both groups improved in walking endurance (28.3 and 22.9m, but did not differ significantly p=0.14). Changes in gait efficiency and perceived function and disability were not different between the groups (p>0.10). Conclusion In older adults with subclinical gait dysfunction, motor learning exercise improved some parameters of mobility performance more than standard exercise. PMID:24219189

  19. Older Adults' Training Courses: Considerations for Course Design and the Development of Learning Materials

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    du Plessis, Karin; Anstey, Kaarin J.; Schlumpp, Arianne

    2011-01-01

    Demographic trends indicate that older adults live longer and maintain active lifestyles. The majority are educated and many enjoy the stimulation that ongoing learning opportunities present. In order for these older adults to benefit from learning opportunities, circumstances specific to these individuals (e.g. age-related decline) need to be…

  20. Transforming a High School Media Center into a Library Learning Commons

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chiara, Nancy A.

    2014-01-01

    This study outlines a planned action based research project focused on studying the transformation of an urban high school media center to a learning commons model. This study includes a descriptive account as well as the impact of steps taken to match the media center to the needs of the 21st century learner. The research focuses on shifting…

  1. Individual differences in adult foreign language learning: the mediating effect of metalinguistic awareness.

    PubMed

    Brooks, Patricia J; Kempe, Vera

    2013-02-01

    In this study, we sought to identify cognitive predictors of individual differences in adult foreign-language learning and to test whether metalinguistic awareness mediated the observed relationships. Using a miniature language-learning paradigm, adults (N = 77) learned Russian vocabulary and grammar (gender agreement and case marking) over six 1-h sessions, completing tasks that encouraged attention to phrases without explicitly teaching grammatical rules. The participants' ability to describe the Russian gender and case-marking patterns mediated the effects of nonverbal intelligence and auditory sequence learning on grammar learning and generalization. Hence, even under implicit-learning conditions, individual differences stemmed from explicit metalinguistic awareness of the underlying grammar, which, in turn, was linked to nonverbal intelligence and auditory sequence learning. Prior knowledge of languages with grammatical gender (predominantly Spanish) predicted learning of gender agreement. Transfer of knowledge of gender from other languages to Russian was not mediated by awareness, which suggests that transfer operates through an implicit process akin to structural priming.

  2. Helping Learning Disabled Adults through Special Tutorial Techniques. Final Report. 1992-1993.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reading Area Community Coll., PA.

    A project offered special training to instructors and volunteer tutors for adult basic education classes in recognizing and helping adults who are enrolled in adult education programs with learning disabilities. These instructors and tutors were taught the necessary skills through a series of three 3-hour inservice sessions. The regular…

  3. Instructional Technology and Learning Resource Center-Based Community Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, James W.

    A survey of nonformal community education activities was conducted to determine specific use of media for identified educational and informational purposes. The results presented in this report are intended to provide resource information to professionals and paraprofessionals who ultimately may be employed in Learning Resource Center-Based…

  4. Exploring the Icebergs of Adult Learning: Findings of the First Canadian Survey of Informal Learning Practices.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Livingstone, D. W.

    The extent and distribution of self-reported learning activities in the current Canadian adult population was estimated on the basis of data collected during a 1998 telephone survey of a sample of 1,562 Canadian adults. Random digital dialing was used to give all provinces, households, and individuals within households an equal chance of…

  5. Project DyAdd: Implicit Learning in Adult Dyslexia and ADHD

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Laasonen, Marja; Väre, Jenni; Oksanen-Hennah, Henna; Leppämäki, Sami; Tani, Pekka; Harno, Hanna; Hokkanen, Laura; Pothos, Emmanuel; Cleeremans, Axel

    2014-01-01

    In this study of the project DyAdd, implicit learning was investigated through two paradigms in adults (18-55 years) with dyslexia (n?=?36) or with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, n?=?22) and in controls (n?=?35). In the serial reaction time (SRT) task, there were no group differences in learning. However, those with ADHD exhibited…

  6. Assessment of Prior Learning in Adult Vocational Education and Training

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aarkrog, Vibe; Wahlgren, Bjarne

    2015-01-01

    The article deals about the results of a study of school-based Assessment of Prior Learning of adults who have enrolled as students in a VET college in order to qualify for occupations as skilled workers. Based on examples of VET teachers' methods for assessing the students' prior learning in the programs for gastronomes, respectively child care…

  7. NASA Langley/CNU Distance Learning Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Caton, Randall; Pinelli, Thomas E.

    NASA Langley Research Center and Christopher Newport University (CNU) provide, free to the public, distance learning programs that focus on math, science, and/or technology over a spectrum of education levels from K-adult. The effort started in 1997, and currently there are a suite of five distance-learning programs. This paper presents the major…

  8. Worker-Centered Learning: A Union Guide to Workplace Literacy.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sarmiento, Anthony R.; Kay, Ann

    This guide examines organized labor's views on adult literacy. It also describes several union-sponsored workplace education programs and suggests how a union can plan and operate a worker-centered literacy program. The book is organized in three parts. The first part examines workplace literacy in four chapters that cover the following: the…

  9. The Use of ICT by Adults with Learning Disabilities in Day and Residential Services

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Parsons, Sarah; Daniels, Harry; Porter, Jill; Robertson, Christopher

    2006-01-01

    The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by adults with learning disabilities has been positively promoted over the past decade. More recently, policy statements and guidance from the UK government have underlined the importance of ICT for adults with learning disabilities specifically, as well as for the population in general,…

  10. Engaging Micro-Businesses: A Guide for Learning Providers Delivering Skills Provision for Unemployed Adults

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, 2012

    2012-01-01

    This guide is primarily aimed at skills providers for unemployed adults, but will also be of interest to learning providers that wish to engage micro-businesses for the purpose of delivering other forms of provision such as apprenticeships and work-based learning through full cost recovery. The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education…

  11. Fostering the development of effective person-centered healthcare communication skills: an interprofessional shared learning model.

    PubMed

    Cavanaugh, James T; Konrad, Shelley Cohen

    2012-01-01

    To describe the implementation of an interprofessional shared learning model designed to promote the development of person-centered healthcare communication skills. Master of social work (MSW) and doctor of physical therapy (DPT) degree students. The model used evidence-based principles of effective healthcare communication and shared learning methods; it was aligned with student learning outcomes contained in MSW and DPT curricula. Students engaged in 3 learning sessions over 2 days. Sessions involved interactive reflective learning, simulated role-modeling with peer assessment, and context-specific practice of communication skills. The perspective of patients/clients was included in each learning activity. Activities were evaluated through narrative feedback. Students valued opportunities to learn directly from each other and from healthcare consumers. Important insights and directions for future interprofessional learning experiences were gleaned from model implementation. The interprofessional shared learning model shows promise as an effective method for developing person-centered communication skills.

  12. An Investigation of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Its Possible Influence on Beginning Teacher Retention: A Companion Dissertation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shook, Anna Lorraine Braverman

    2015-01-01

    An Investigation of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching and its Influence on Beginning Teacher Retention: A Companion Dissertation. Shook, Anna, 2015. Dissertation, Gardner-Webb University, Adult Learning Theory/Adult Developmental Theory/Professional Development/Beginning Teacher/North Carolina Center for the Advancement of…

  13. Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers: supporting the workforce for national health security.

    PubMed

    Richmond, Alyson L; Sobelson, Robyn K; Cioffi, Joan P

    2014-01-01

    The importance of a competent and prepared national public health workforce, ready to respond to threats to the public's health, has been acknowledged in numerous publications since the 1980s. The Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers (PERLCs) were funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2010 to continue to build upon a decade of focused activities in public health workforce preparedness development initiated under the Centers for Public Health Preparedness program (http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/cphp/). All 14 PERLCs were located within Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accredited schools of public health. These centers aimed to improve workforce readiness and competence through the development, delivery, and evaluation of targeted learning programs designed to meet specific requirements of state, local, and tribal partners. The PERLCs supported organizational and community readiness locally, regionally, or nationally through the provision of technical consultation and dissemination of specific, practical tools aligned with national preparedness competency frameworks and public health preparedness capabilities. Public health agencies strive to address growing public needs and a continuous stream of current and emerging public health threats. The PERLC network represented a flexible, scalable, and experienced national learning system linking academia with practice. This system improved national health security by enhancing individual, organizational, and community performance through the application of public health science and learning technologies to frontline practice.

  14. Learning for Life: White Paper on Adult Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Department of Education and Science, Dublin (Ireland).

    Previously ignored, lifelong learning became a governing principle of Irish educational policy in 2000. Participation trends in education were assessed including early school leaving by males, poor educational levels of older adults, low literacy levels throughout the population, and educational barriers experienced by women. Resulting government…

  15. Vocationalism Varies (A Lot): A 12-Country Multivariate Analysis of Participation in Formal Adult Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boeren, Ellen; Holford, John

    2016-01-01

    To encourage adult participation in education and training, contemporary policy makers typically encourage education and training provision to have a strongly vocational (employment-related) character, while also stressing individuals' responsibility for developing their own learning. Adults' motivation to learn is not, however, purely…

  16. Factors That Influence Faculty Adoption of Learning-Centered Approaches

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Blumberg, Phyllis

    2016-01-01

    This article proposes a recommended course of action for faculty development based upon Rogers' theory of Diffusion of Innovations and data collected in a study looking at the prevalence of use of learning-centered teaching practices. Specific faculty development strategies are aligned with Rogers' factors influencing decisions to adopt…

  17. Learning Research and Development Center Publications List Update, 1995.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pittsburgh Univ., PA. Learning Research and Development Center.

    This document presents an annotated listing of articles, conference papers, book chapters, papers, and books published in 1995 as a result of investigations carried on at the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC). The publications are organized alphabetically by author and chronologically within each author's…

  18. Through the Looking Glass: Adult Education through the Lens of the Australian Journal of Adult Learning over Fifty Years

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harris, Roger; Morrison, Anne

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we review fifty years of articles published in Australian Journal of Adult Learning in its various iterations. We examine the different roles of the journal: to illuminate the history and trends of adult education authors; to be the flagship of the adult education profession in Australia; to reflect on significant national events;…

  19. A Look at Person- and Family-Centered Care Among Older Adults: Results from a National Survey [corrected].

    PubMed

    Wolff, Jennifer L; Boyd, Cynthia M

    2015-10-01

    Person-centered and family-centered care represents the pinnacle of health care quality, but delivering it is challenging, as is assessing whether it has occurred. Prior studies portray older adults as passive in health decisions and burdened by care-but emphasize age-based differences or focus on vulnerable subgroups. We aimed to examine domains of person-centered and family-centered care among older adults and whether the social context in which older adults manage their health relates to preferences for participating in health decisions and experiences with care. This was an observational study of a nationally representative survey of adults aged 65+ years, conducted in concert with the 2012 National Health and Aging Trends Study (n = 2040). Approach to managing health (self-manage, co-manage, delegate); preferences for making health care decisions with: (1) doctors, (2) family/close friends; and experiences with care pertaining to treatment burden were measured. Approximately two-thirds of older adults self-manage (69.4 %) and one-third co-manage (19.6 %) or delegate (11.0 %) health care activities. The majority prefer an independent or shared role when making health decisions with doctors (84.7 %) and family/close friends (95.9 %). Nearly four in ten older adults (37.9 %) experience treatment burden-that managing health care activities are sometimes or often hard for either them or their family/close friends, that health care activities get delayed or don't get done, or that they are cumulatively too much to do. Relative to older adults who self-manage, those who delegate health care activities are more likely to prefer to share or leave health decisions to doctors (aOR = 1.79 (95 % CI, 1.37-2.33) and family/close friends (aOR = 3.12 (95 % CI, 2.23-4.36), and are more likely to experience treatment burden (aOR = 2.37 (95 % CI, 1.61-3.47). Attaining person-centered and family-centered care will require strategies that respect diverse decision

  20. Faculty Perception and Use of Learning-Centered Strategies to Assess Student Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Matthew Lynn

    2013-01-01

    In this study, the researcher explored collegiate faculty use and perception of learning- centered strategies to assess student performance on various learning tasks. Through this study, the researcher identified the assessment strategies that faculty participants most frequently used, as well as the strategies that they perceived to be most…

  1. An Adult Learner's Learning Style Should Inform but Not Limit Educational Choices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barry, Margot; Egan, Arlene

    2018-01-01

    Adult learners are attracted to learning opportunities (e.g. course offers) which seem promising in terms of allowing them to match their choices to their own perceived predispositions. To find out more about their personal learning style, some adult learners may fill in a questionnaire designed by researchers who aim (and claim) to enable both…

  2. Teach Your Children: Learning Differences. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fisher, Allison L.; Willard, Penny

    A three-part series of evening workshops was designed to help adult basic education (ABE) parents identify learning styles and develop communication and advocacy skills, assertiveness, and self-esteem. At the workshops, instructors from the center presented an adaptation of curriculum on self-esteem for parenting developed by the Center for…

  3. Screening for Diabetic Retinopathy in Adults with Learning Disability: Current Uptake and Adjustments to Facilitate Equality of Access

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pilling, Rachel F.

    2015-01-01

    Equality of access to health care for adults with learning disability has been in the spotlight in the UK in recent years due to publication of several reports. Adults with learning disability are thought to account for a significant proportion of the diabetic population in the UK. A list of adults known to the learning disability health…

  4. An Intentional Laboratory: The San Carlos Charter Learning Center.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Darwish, Elise

    2000-01-01

    Describes the San Carlos Charter Learning Center, a K-8 school chartered by the San Carlos, California, school district to be a research and development site. It has successfully shared practices in multi-age groupings, interdisciplinary instruction, parents as teachers, and staff evaluation. The article expands on the school's challenges and…

  5. Long-Term Learning, Achievement Tests, and Learner Centered Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salinas, Moises F.; Kane-Johnson, Sarah E.; Vasil-Miller, Melissa A.

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of achievement tests to measure long-term learning at the higher education level in traditional verses learner-centered classrooms. Volunteer instructors who use comprehensive achievement tests as an important component of their grading system were asked to complete an instrument that…

  6. Adventures in Assessment: Learner-Centered Approaches to Assessment and Evaluation in Adult Literacy, 2002.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cora, Marie, Ed.

    2002-01-01

    This journal presents the following articles: "Introduction: Volume 14--Examining Performance" (Marie Cora) "Fair Assessment Practices: Giving Students Equitable Opportunities to Demonstrate Learning" (Linda Suskie); "Assessing Oral Communication at the Community Learning Center Development of the OPT (Oral Proficiency Test)" (JoAnne Hartel and…

  7. The Development of a Robot-Based Learning Companion: A User-Centered Design Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hsieh, Yi-Zeng; Su, Mu-Chun; Chen, Sherry Y.; Chen, Gow-Dong

    2015-01-01

    A computer-vision-based method is widely employed to support the development of a variety of applications. In this vein, this study uses a computer-vision-based method to develop a playful learning system, which is a robot-based learning companion named RobotTell. Unlike existing playful learning systems, a user-centered design (UCD) approach is…

  8. Adult Learning Strategies in an Onsite Training Program in Tunisia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ayachi, Zeineb

    2015-01-01

    The new market place has dictated on adults the use of English as it is the first international language used in business. However, learning a foreign language becomes more and more complicated as the learner gets older, is in a mature command of L1 and L2, and does not have enough time to learn due to professional responsibilities. Contrary to…

  9. Learning for Economic Self-Sufficiency: Constructing Pedagogies of Hope among Low-Income, Low-Literate Adults. Adult Education Special Topics: Theory, Research and Practice in LifeLong Learning

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alfred, Mary V., Ed.

    2010-01-01

    In a most timely volume addressing many of the connections among current fiscal and employment crises to adult education, Learning for Economic Self-Sufficiency highlights the problems and challenges that low-literate adults encounter in various environments. Moreover, this book presents strategies for addressing the chronic illiteracy among…

  10. Sabemos y Podemos: Learning for Social Action. Adult Education Curriculum. English Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Rachel

    This adult education curriculum, part of the Aprender Es Poder (To Learn Is Power) program, explores the themes of school success for Latino children, expands the work options and improves the working conditions of Latino adults, and identifies community issues. It is meant to be a resource for English as a Second Language Literacy and adult basic…

  11. Adult Learning in the Caribbean at the Beginning of a New Century.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ramsay, Angela

    2001-01-01

    To encourage male participation in adult learning, especially education aimed at antiviolence, parenting skills, and attitudes toward women, adult educators should use creative marketing strategies. Knowledge of marketing principles should be applied to both program design and promotion. (SK)

  12. A Vision of E-Learning for America's Workforce: Report of the Commission on Technology and Adult Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Society for Training and Development, Alexandria, VA.

    In 2000, the American Society for Training and Development and the National Governors Association convened the Commission on Technology and Adult Learning. The 31-member commission included representatives of the business, government, and education sectors. They formulated a vision for the future of e-learning in the United States and identified…

  13. The Contribution of Adult Learning to Health and Social Capital. Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feinstein, Leon; Hammond, Cathie; Woods, Laura; Preston, John; Bynner, John

    Researchers investigated effects of adult learning (AL) on a range of measures of health and social capital and cohesion. Data from the National Child Development Study relating to almost 10,000 adults born in Britain in 1958 were used, with focus on changes in their lives between age 33 in 1991 and 42 in 2000. Findings indicated AL played an…

  14. Cartographical Imaginations: Spatiality, Adult Education and Lifelong Learning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edwards, Richard; Cervero, Ron; Clarke, Julia; Morgan-Klein, Brenda; Usher, Robin; Wilson, Arthur

    Recent empirical and theoretical literature in cultural geography, feminist and postcolonial philosophy, cultural studies, and political economy, was explored in an examination of the significance of spatiality to the changes taking place in the policy, practice, and study of adult education and lifelong learning. The following were among the key…

  15. The Center for Informal Learning and Schools' Informal Learning Certificate (ILC) Program: Professional Development and Community for Informal Science Educators Working with Schools. An Evaluation Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Anita; Helms, Jenifer V.; St. John, Mark

    2007-01-01

    Inverness Research Associates served as external evaluators for the Center for Informal Learning and Schools (CILS) from its inception in 2002 as a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Center for Learning and Teaching. One of the programs that CILS developed was the Informal Learning Certificate (ILC) for informal science educators (mostly…

  16. Integrating Adaptive Games in Student-Centered Virtual Learning Environments

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    del Blanco, Angel; Torrente, Javier; Moreno-Ger, Pablo; Fernandez-Manjon, Baltasar

    2010-01-01

    The increasing adoption of e-Learning technology is facing new challenges, such as how to produce student-centered systems that can be adapted to each student's needs. In this context, educational video games are proposed as an ideal medium to facilitate adaptation and tracking of students' performance for assessment purposes, but integrating the…

  17. Writing Our Way: Giving Voice to Adult Learning. Adult Higher Education Alliance Annual Conference Proceedings (41st, Orlando, Florida, March 9-10, 2017)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elufiede, Kemi, Ed.; Flynn, Bonnie, Ed.; Olson, Joann S., Ed.

    2017-01-01

    The 41st annual conference of the Adult and Higher Education Alliance (AHEA) was held at the University of Central Florida in March 2017 and explored the theme, "Writing Our Way: Giving Voice to Adult Learning." Papers in these proceedings include: (1) Transformative Learning Following Job Loss-A Dissertation Renewal (Robert Benway); (2)…

  18. Fostering a New Model of Multigenerational Learning: Older Adult Perspectives, Community Partners, and Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dauenhauer, Jason; Steitz, David W.; Cochran, Lynda J.

    2016-01-01

    Intergenerational service-learning initiatives are an increasingly common educational practice designed to engage college students and older adults with one another. The growth of the baby boomer population and a growing interest in lifelong learning opportunities among older adults have the potential to create new models of multigenerational…

  19. Exposure to swainsonine impairs adult neurogenesis and spatial learning and memory.

    PubMed

    Wang, Jiutao; Song, Lingzhen; Zhang, Qi; Zhang, Wei; An, Lei; Zhang, Yamei; Tong, Dewen; Zhao, Baoyu; Chen, Shulin; Zhao, Shanting

    2015-01-05

    Swainsonine (SW) is an indolizidine triol plant alkaloid isolated from the species Astragalus, colloquially termed locoweed. Ingestion induces severe neurological symptoms of livestock and wildlife, including ataxia, trembling, exaggerated fright reactions. Toxicity to the central and peripheral nervous system is caused by inhibition of lysosomal a-mannosidase (AMA) and accumulation of intracellular oligosaccharide. However, the effects of SW on adult neurogenesis and cognition have remained unclear. Therefore, the present study was conducted to examine the effects of SW on adult neurogenesis and learning as well as memory performance in adult mice. SW (10μg/mL in drinking water) was administered orally to mice for 4 weeks. Our results showed that SW reduced proliferation and survival of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in culture, and in the hippocampus of adult mice. In addition, exposure to SW led to down-regulation of doublecortin (DCX) and synaptophysin (SYP) in the hippocampus. However, caspase 3 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) levels were significantly increased in SW-treated mice. Finally, SW-treated mice exhibited deficits in hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and memory. Our findings suggest that SW affects adult neurogenesis and cognitive function. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Gaze-contingent reinforcement learning reveals incentive value of social signals in young children and adults

    PubMed Central

    Smith, Tim J.; Senju, Atsushi

    2017-01-01

    While numerous studies have demonstrated that infants and adults preferentially orient to social stimuli, it remains unclear as to what drives such preferential orienting. It has been suggested that the learned association between social cues and subsequent reward delivery might shape such social orienting. Using a novel, spontaneous indication of reinforcement learning (with the use of a gaze contingent reward-learning task), we investigated whether children and adults' orienting towards social and non-social visual cues can be elicited by the association between participants' visual attention and a rewarding outcome. Critically, we assessed whether the engaging nature of the social cues influences the process of reinforcement learning. Both children and adults learned to orient more often to the visual cues associated with reward delivery, demonstrating that cue–reward association reinforced visual orienting. More importantly, when the reward-predictive cue was social and engaging, both children and adults learned the cue–reward association faster and more efficiently than when the reward-predictive cue was social but non-engaging. These new findings indicate that social engaging cues have a positive incentive value. This could possibly be because they usually coincide with positive outcomes in real life, which could partly drive the development of social orienting. PMID:28250186