Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching Commons^™

Institutional Conditions To Improve The Educational Outcomes Of Part-Time Community College Students, Rhonda M. Gabovitch

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Community college graduation rates are low for the entering cohort of degree or certificate-seeking students who have always attended full-time. After six years, four out of 10 students fail to earn a credential or continue to be enrolled. Graduation rates are even lower for students who enroll consistently on a part-time basis. Approximately three out of four of these students fail to earn a credential within six years. Much of the blame for failure of part-time students is attributed to their demographic characteristics, their lack of motivation, and poor educational preparation for college. Some of these characteristics result in their …

Application Of Problem Based Learning And Mastery Learning To Multimedia Education, Gabriel J. Grant, Dominick E. Fazarro, Luke Steinke

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

The current state of education and the workforce demands a special kind of learner capable of creativity, communicating effectively, analytical skill application, critical thinking, and problem solving. Whereas these skills are important, it is also a necessity for learners to be masters of the knowledge and skills that they have acquired. Traditional educational methods have proven to be somewhat ineffective in producing these results. Problem based learning has proven worthy in handling some of the load, however, mastery learning has been abandoned long ago for reasons in spite of its effectiveness. Through given examples and careful design, the educator will …

Using Online Education To Transition Teaching Assistants To Teacher Certification: Examining The Differences Among Teacher Education Programs, Billie Jean Tingle

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to compare The University of Southern Mississippi elementary education teacher candidates that completed the online or traditional route to determine if there was a significant difference in professional knowledge and skills using Praxis II test scores. The participants included 60 Teacher Assistant Program (TAP) online teacher candidates and 564 traditional face-to-face teacher candidates. This study also compared the two groups’ perceptions of self-efficacy. The instrument used in this part of the research study was the Teacher Education Preparation Program Exit Survey (Appendix A). A selection of the participants that completed their teacher internship during …

Not Designed With Us In Mind: Exploring The Experiences And Needs Of Adult Learners At A Public Research University, Stephanie N. Meyer

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Adult learners are a rapidly expanding student population, constituting more than 40 percent of college students today (Stokes, 2006). Research on adult learners has historically focused on their experiences within adult-centered institutions where they make up the majority student population. Although older students challenge the status quo of higher education, traditional institutions continue to dismiss their needs in the development of policies and practices. The structure of higher education is historically designed to serve youth and assumptions are often made about students that often overlook the needs, availability, and interests of adult learners. For many adult learners who prefer the …

Lyceum Guild: A Ministry On A Mission, E. Paulette Isaac

The Journal of Traditions & Beliefs

Traditionally, formal adult education was reserved for the privileged. Thus, those without the financial means or, as in the case of the United States prior to 1865, individuals who were enslaved, were unable to capitalize on the educational benefits of the upper class. Hence, other means were used to obtain knowledge. For African Americans, community voluntary organizations and the Church served as informal learning institutions. Education and religion have long been paired in the Church. The AAC engaged African Americans in informal learning through forums, newsletters, fairs, workshops and seminars. Through its ministries, the Church has enabled African American adults …

Nefdc Conference Program, Spring 2014, New England Faculty Development Consortium

New England Faculty Development Consortium Conference Programs

New England Faculty Development Consortium Moving from STEM to STEAM: What Really Works

Conference Program

June 6, 2014

Roger Williams University

Bristol, Rhode Island, United States

Keynote address, Tom Pilecki

Persistence Factors For Adult Women Learners At A Northeast Community College, Andrea Hemmerich

Higher Education Student Work

Community colleges have been the long-standing institution type for students seeking a post-secondary education because of their relatively low cost and open access philosophies. Particularly, adult or non-traditional women learners have chosen the community college route over the past few decades (Cohen & Brawer, 2008). Motivations to enroll, persist and graduate, vary, depending on factors internal and external to the college and are often dissimilar to their traditional aged counterparts. Given this difference and increasing enrollment numbers, understanding the lived experiences of adult women learners is critical for individual institutions and the larger higher education community. This exploratory study sought …

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley, University College, Western Kentucky University

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

A Phenomenological Study Of Online Learning For Deaf Students In Postsecondary Education: A Deaf Perspective, Patricia Wooten

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative phenomenological study investigated the effects of online learning for deaf college students as opposed to the mainstream classroom setting. This study specifically analyzed the writing and reading skills of deaf students in general and the development of English literacy of prelingually deaf students and those from non-English speaking countries. The use of online teaching tools had significantly improved postsecondary education for deaf students in the United States, particularly in these three categories. A phenomenological study was conducted to express the perspectives of deaf college students regarding the topic. Participants of this research were sixteen deaf online college students …

2014 Ijbe Front Matter, Tamra Connor

International Journal for Business Education

1. Editorial Board
2. President's Letter
3. SIEC-ISBE International

The Story As A Cultural Transmitter: Applications For Business Education, Carol Blaszczynski, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

Stories assist in transmitting cultural wisdom, including wisdom about the business community. The role of stories in various contexts such as education (including international management), management, and marketing, as well as the job search is explained. The article concludes by presenting instructional activities for business education that develop cultural competence through stories.

Active Development Of Tacit Knowledge: Adtk In A World Without Farmers, Roger E. Garrett Jr.

Capstone Collection

Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) and extensions such as Transformative Learning Theory offer significant potential for skill development later in life – reskilling. Despite wide acceptance and deployment, practitioners are still obliged to design their own methods and activities in order to implement these theories. This paper introduces a novel curricular model, Active Development of Tacit Knowledge (ADTK). Educators can use ADTK to effectively implement and scale ELT. Agricultural Education, specifically the training of new farmers, is used as a sample context to demonstrate ADTK. In new-farmer education, it is necessary to compress the educational cycles of dozens of years of …

Reflective Blogging As Part Of Ict Professional Development To Support Pedagogical Change, Sarah J. Prestridge

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

Reflection is considered an inherent part of teacher practice. However, when used within professional development activity, it is fraught with issues associated with teacher confidence and skill in reflective action. Coupled with anxiety generally associated with technological competency and understanding the nature of blogging, constructive reflection is difficult for teachers. This paper focuses on the reflective quality of teachers’ blogs. It describes teachers’ perceptions and engagement in reflective activity as part of an ICT professional development program. Reflective entries are drawn from a series of blogs that are analysed qualitatively using Hatton’s and Smith’s (1995) three levels of reflection-on-action. The …

Arizona Clinical Research Workforce Survey, Cris E. Wells, Julie A. Robbins, Gaye Luna

Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development

Objective: We characterize the current clinical research workforce in Arizona with the goal of identifying possible educational training gaps for the future workforce. Background: The science community, government entities, educational institutions, and community programs continue to advocate for additional funding and resources to educate the bioscience workforce, of which clinical research is a part. However, there is little evidence that additional training and/or education is needed within the clinical research profession. Method: We utilized an electronic survey tool that was designed to solicit workforce data from clinical research professionals actively working or seeking employment in the field of clinical research …

Ua41 University College Connection, Dennis K. George, Dean, Wendi Kelley, University College, Western Kentucky University

UC Publications

No abstract provided.

Loving The Academy: Helping Educators Understand Characteristics Of Black College Students’ Romantic Relationships, Miriam Chitiga

Faculty Working Papers from the School of Education

The paper presents the results of a survey on the characteristics of black college students’ romantic relationships, including types of relationships, the reasons for beginning and ending relationships and the elements of successful relationships. The anonymous electronic survey was voluntarily completed and included questions that allowed for both qualitative and quantitative assessment. The findings of the study reveal that students, who may be involved in stable and committed relationships, begin relationships for emotional needs and romance but acknowledge that compatible personality traits are the key to successful relationships. They cite cheating, partner abuse, and control as major causes of break-ups. …

Currere, Unexpected Journeys, And Unplanned Destinations In Academia, Susan R. Adams

Scholarship and Professional Work – Education

A sudden change of teaching placements forced my return to graduate school at the age of 40. Transformative graduate school learning resulted in the completion of a Ph.D. and earning a tenure track position in teacher education. This essay uses Pinar’s four steps of currere provide a lens to examine the past, look toward the future, take opportunity to look backward to the past while examining the present, and then re-enter the present. Mezirow’s transformative adult learning theory lends guidance for understanding why older adults may be uniquely poised to navigate successfully the complex maze of academia.

A Professional Development Approach To Improve Practice At An Upstate Community College, Lisa K. Antalek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A federal Call to Action was mandated to reform community colleges across the nation, challenging college officials to enhance instructional methodology on college campuses towards increasing student completion rates. In addressing this mandate, college officials at the upstate NY community college identified a need for professional development that would increase student learning and enhance the instructional methodologies of facilitating faculty through improved alignment. Accordingly, this study investigated the alignment of faculty instructional effectiveness with the institution's core mission. The purpose of this study was to examine faculty perceptions of the instructional methodologies used to facilitate student learning. Informed by Knowles's …

Combining Appreciative Inquiry And Emotional Intelligence To Understand And Improve The Professional Development Of K-12 Teachers, Jamie Elizabeth Dewitt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Creating meaningful and effective professional development (PD) programs for K-12 teachers is an ongoing challenge. The problem is exacerbated when PD models are implemented without fully aligning PD resources and plans with the training needs of teachers and the organization. The guiding question sought to understand the experiences of teachers at an online charter school about the implementation of PD as a means for improving student outcomes. The purpose of the study was to find ways to enhance PD in order to improve student outcomes at the school. The conceptual framework for this study is interwoven through the constructs of …

A Reflective Conversation: Community And Hei Perspectives On Community-Based Research., Niamh O'Reilly, Catherine Bates

Staff Articles and Research Papers

This paper is a reflective correspondence between a community partner and a community-based research coordinator in a higher education institute (HEI). We asked each other questions about our experience of collaborating on two community-based research (CBR) projects, in order to share our learning from our collaboration, and to relate this to the wider context in order to develop recommendations for others – community partners and HEI staff – who would like to initiate CBR projects in the future.

Gauging The Alignment Between School And Work: An Activity Theory Analysis Of Police Report Writing Instruction, Marianna R. Hendricks

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation is based on a fifteen-month study of police report writing instruction at one agency, connecting the curriculum at the training academy, field training, and the needs and expectations of multiple report audiences and users. It draws from Rhetorical Genre Studies (Miller, 1984; Russell, 2009), Activity Theory (Engeström, 2008), and Situated Learning (Lave and Wenger, 1991; Dias, Freedman, Medway, and Paré, 1999) to explore how novices learn a new genre through activity, and how this is complicated by a transition between school and work outside of a university context. Specifically, it focuses on the role of andragogical (rather than …

Impact Of An Online Student Bridge Program For First-Year Nontraditional Students, Lisa Rene Adkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low retention rates for first-year students plague many higher education institutions, and are even lower among online institutions of higher education. At Athena Colleges (a pseudonym), the attrition rate can be as high as 50% in students' first academic year. To address this concern, Athena Colleges has implemented an online bridge program that addresses students' academic needs and persistence. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the bridge program in reducing the first-time student attrition rate and academic performance in their first term. Most of Athena Colleges students are nontraditional students and due to this, the …

Building Local Skills: The Multitrait-Multimethod Matrix In Practice, Anna Clara Gersh

Wayne State University Dissertations

The potential of expanding the evaluative skills of site-based practitioners is examined in a variety of educational enterprises by introducing a procedure to determine evidence for construct validity of measurement tools. The expectations of administrators of educational enterprises, including school day principals, administrators of after school and extended day programs, camps and other instructional settings to effectively collect and manage data is growing. Research skills are an important part of both accountability and improvement efforts which are frequently tied to funding. The multitrait-multimethod matrix (MTMM) (Campbell & Fiske, 1959) combined with the Sawilowsky I test (Sawilowsky, 2002) may provide a …

Preoperative Education Needs In Ear, Nose, & Throat Clinic: A Patient Perspective, Jonathan Edmun Ramos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A medical center specializing in ear, nose, and throat (ENT) services noted an increase in the number of postoperative ENT complications compared to the national average. The purpose of this mixed-methods project study was to examine ENT patients' preoperative patient education (PPE) needs regarding postoperative care. Grounded in Knowles's model of learning, core adult learning principles were applied as guidelines in facilitating patients' PPE learning. Data were collected from 58 ENT patients who were selected using a convenience sampling method and who responded to a PPE survey using a 5-point Likert scale and open-ended questions. Quantitative data were analyzed using …

Church-Based Hiv/Aids Prevention For Adults, Hattie Acheampong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) disproportionately affect African Americans in the South; given that population's high rate of church attendance, churches have been one potential avenue for HIV/AIDS education. Research has shown the importance of HIV/AIDS education in reducing risk behavior and infection, although church-based HIV/AIDS prevention programs for adults have received little scholarly attention, including the impact of such programs on attitudes, behavioral control, and intention to engage in safe sexual practices. Using Ajzens' theory of planned behavior as a foundation, the purpose of this quantitative study was to explore whether there is a statistically …

Nontraditional Hispanic College Students' Perceptions Of Their Sense Of Belonging At A 2-Year College In Southwest Texas, Ronald Eugene Zawacki-Maldonado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to understand how a sense of belonging contributes to graduation persistence among nontraditional Hispanic college students. The collectivist culture among these adult learners often results in family and work obligations that curtail their pursuit of higher education. The voices of these students are mostly absent in the current literature and warrant the current research study. Sense of belonging and retention theory formed the conceptual framework for this phenomenological study. A purposeful sample of 16 nontraditional Hispanic students enrolled in a 2-year community college in Southwest Texas participated in interviews. Data analysis focused on themes …

Corporate Social Responsibility Enrichment Exchange Program, Deborah Waggoner

Capstone Collection

In this globalized age, international companies and organizations are working in more countries than ever before, and consumers and concerned citizens now have the opportunity and, perhaps even the responsibility, to better understand the environmental and social impacts of the companies and organizations with which they do business.

The concept that businesses and organizations need to be responsible to society for their direct and indirect impacts on people and the environment has become known as corporate social responsibility (CSR). As CSR continues to be a growing practice, companies seem to be approaching it from very different angles, depending upon their …

Examining The Efficacy Of Adult Learning Of Government-Mandated Content Using Andragogical Delivery Methods Versus Traditional Pedagogical Delivery Methods, Richard Keith Sealana

Doctoral Dissertations

To protect society from incompetent, unskilled, or out-of-date practitioners; to keep abreast of advances in knowledge and technology; and to respond to public demands for accountability and consumer protection; continuing education (CE) and mandatory continuing education (MCE) programs have significantly increased in the past 20 years. Individuals and organizations invest significant time and financial resources to comply with mandatory education and training requirements. Although the mandates and demand for CE and MCE continues to increase, there is minimal research on the efficacy of various delivery methods. The purpose of this study was to examine and document the efficacy of andragogical …

The Perceived Importance And Impact Of Instructor Actions In Online Graduate, Education Students' Satisfaction, Rochelle Franklin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examined the impact of online instructor actions on student satisfaction in online, graduate education courses. Students at an online institution that offers graduate degrees in Educational Leadership, Curriculum and Instruction, and Educational Technology completed the Priority Survey of Online Learners, which included questions about various aspects of their online learning experience, specifically focusing on timeliness, responsiveness and frequency of online instructor actions. This causal-comparative, quantitative research study employed survey strategy of inquiry. The sample consisted of 256 graduate, education students at an online, private institution. Paired t-tests were employed in data analysis. The results of this study revealed …

Adult Learning And Development Theories And Principles Represented In Theater, Jeffrey Miele

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate how adult learning and development theories and principles are represented in theater. The study also investigated if there was significant evidence to support the idea of using dramatic works as an example to illustrate adult learning and development theories and principles as an educational tool. Ten plays were analyzed along with an accompanying rubric that the evaluator completed while reading the plays. The rubric searched for information if adults and/or educators were present in the text, how andragogy and barriers were presented, along with other theories and principles. The findings suggested that …