2016 Annual Conference

What are homeless students' experiences of college? This session presents the findings of a phenomenological study that explored that question. The findings will be connected to learning and motivation theory and the presenter and attendees will engage in dialogue about the implications of this study for students, colleges, and society.

This session reports upon a research study that focused on the experiences of homeless college students. Therefore, anyone interested in the experiences of marginalized college students and their needs should attend this session. Also, conference attendees who are interested in social justice, income inequality and its manifestation within the college system, and barriers to learning will find this study of interest. Finally, those who conduct or are learning about qualitative research, specifically phenomenology, may enjoy discussing the method of this study.

Can students learn and find fulfillment when they are homeless? This session explores those questions by reporting on a phenomenological study, the purpose of which was to describe the experience of homeless students in college. Little research has been conducted on/with homeless college students, and this study sheds light on what it is like to be one of these students. This session will share the structure and findings of the study, connect those findings to learning and motivation theory, and engage attendees in dialogue around the implications of these findings for homeless college students and the colleges that serve them. Study findings indicated that the participants lived in a world of homelessness that they could never fully ignore. All participants saw college as a way to escape homelessness in the short- and long-term. However, study findings suggest that homeless college students experience physical, emotional, and interpersonal challenges that hinder their ability to perform in school even though they are motivated to attain a college degree that they think will enable them to escape homelessness and find a job that will provide stability and security.

Student retention is one of the most challenging issues facing higher education. This presentation suggests that an instructor who intentionally approaches class design with a coaching mindset will be well equipped to help incoming students develop grit and tenacity that may, in turn, promote retention, persistence, and academic success.

Faculty teaching traditional and non-traditional students in higher education settings
Adult educators interested in exploring the application of coaching techniques in educational settings

Professional or life coaching relationships have emerged as powerful and helpful mechanisms for individuals who wish to move forward in some way. The coach’s toolbox contains skills such as powerful questioning, intentional reflection, and direct communication that can be used in a college classroom, for traditional-aged and non-traditional students alike.
Many student retention theories highlight the student’s interaction with and connection to the institution as a critical factor in the decision to stay in college (Renn & Reason, 2013); the college classroom can become a key setting for helping students understand and navigate the new environment they encounter when they arrive on campus (e.g., Einfalt & Turley, 2013). Faculty can incorporate a coaching mindset that takes a broader view, moving beyond merely presenting content. The coaching approach uses content as a springboard for perspective and gaining awareness of self and others.
Coaching-minded instructional design challenges the instructor to help students understand goals, develop action plans, and take responsibility for their own development. The coaching-minded instructor stays alert, listens with intent, questions with purpose, and responds with authenticity and insight. This session will discuss core competencies related to coaching and explore how these skills can maximize results in course design.

Many companies enhance their workplace with the collection of art. This artwork may prove to be the perfect educational tool to bring creative learning opportunities to the workforce. This session will share a research study that assessed and evaluated the viability of using workplace art as an effective learning opportunity.

The target audience for this session is educators in the art education field who would like to explore some of the educational needs of a workforce surrounded by art and the non-formal art educational opportunities that could be utilized. Those in workforce development may be able to benefit from the suggestions for innovative art approaches to facilitate employee engagement. Findings from the research may be of interest to anyone that has worked in or visited companies and organizations where art collections may serve as an educational tool.

Corporations and smaller companies have been using art to enhance the workplace for many years. Historically, business organizations claim that one of the reasons for involvement in the arts is to stimulate the workforce and add a creative element to the work environment. But is that how the employees really feel? This graduate qualitative research study explored the motivations behind the acquisition of art collections and how they truly affect those in the workforce. The presenter will share details and interesting outcomes of the research project with attention to the educational values of the artwork and art educational options for the employees. Art in the workplace exhibits a valuable opportunity for a transformative learning experience that may not be fully acknowledged and appreciated. The session will explore the potential learning opportunities that may be integrated into the workplace bringing observational and creative learning transfer to a new learner population.

Arts-based learning offers opportunities for students to develop creative avenues for processing difficult subjects like social justice education. This session will explore how instructors and adult learners might further developing critical thinking skills by utilizing arts-based learning within social change education and other adult classrooms.

Adult educators involved in non-formal and formal education. Areas with application could be higher education, museum education, and community development as well as any adult educators seeking to encourage critical or creative thinking in adult learners.

In an age rife with racial and cultural tensions, arts-based learning for social justice education can help identify social and culturally responsive processes for adult learning. While the academy claims to prize creativity and critical thinking, the majority of students experience structured classroom pedagogy, which intentionally or unintentionally supports the hegemonic systems currently in place. There is a need to break outside the norms of classroom experience to create innovative opportunities for critical thinking and creative processes which arts-based learning can help meet. Arts-based learning offers methods to enhance both student and instructor understanding of creative processes, and critical thinking as well as its application for social justice education. Using arts-based learning can impact the classroom by integrating creative processes designed to engage adults in considering current and historical issues. Adult educators may have an interest in using arts-based learning, but may not feel they have the understanding necessary to fully utilize the methodology with students who have learned to be uncomfortable with the creative process. This session intends to better equip instructors to overcome student resistance towards arts-based learning and create inclusive classrooms engaged in critical thinking and creative processes.

Adult learning encompasses the full range of people's individual and collective curiosity and creativity. The session analyses the rise and
fall of inclusive life-wide and lifelong learning in England; its successes in securing participation by under-represented groups, and the tensions
in public policy between economic imperatives and social inclusion.

This session is for adult educators, who themselves are interested in securing adult learning services that engage people from across the social
spectrum, and curious about what might be similar and what different about policy and practice in England.

On arrival, participants will be invited to jot down two things they expect to learn from the session, and then to work with a neighbor to
offer a definition of life-wide learning, and its difference from lifelong learning. Pairs will then combine into 4s to combine their conclusions (5
to 10 minutes).
The presentation (with slides) begins with the speaker's understanding of life-wide learning, drawing on the thinking of British politicians from
Winston Churchill to Alan Johnson; identifies highlights in the development of a broad based curriculum of structured adult learning, its focus on
engaging under-represented groups, and its use of public campaigns to motivate adults to participate, and reasons for the more recent focus in
policy and practice on a narrowly utilitarian offer. (25 mins).
Participants will then be invited to explore similarities and differences with US policy and practice (10-15 minutes);
The session will end with a brief evaluation exercise. (5 mins).

Presenters analyzed cross-cultural and intrapersonal learning in a short-term international study tour and its impact on graduate adult education students’ understandings about knowledge, reflection, and adult education practice. Participants will be encouraged to share reflections of personal experiences with field studies at the graduate level.

Target audience will include instructors, adult education graduate program coordinators, higher education administration, and graduate students interested in the impact of reflecting on short-term international field study experiences. Those interested in participating or facilitating a similar field study can benefit from learning about designing for international cross-cultural learning and instruction, as well as reflection on self, knowledge, and international experiences necessary for adult education practice and instructional leadership in the current era.

Short-term international study opportunities have become the most common type of study abroad experience for graduate students, yet research regarding such experience is scarce (Donneley-Smith, 2009). The literature suggests adult educators and students must reflect deeply on their experiences and consider how international, cross-cultural adult education and exposure to a different culture can impact their future practice as adult educators and lifelong learners (Coryell, 2013, 2014).
We conducted a literature review regarding reflection on international field study experiences and then analyzed our personal learning and experiences and that of our classmates who enrolled in a study tour to the University of Padova, Italy. Two doctoral students, two master’s students and the accompanying professor will share the findings of their research on this 10-day field study program. Data were collected through students’ blogs before, during, and after the trip. The analysis of the blogs allowed for examination of students’ reflective processes and the impact the program had in how they intend to apply what they learned to future adult education practice. The discussion will offer learning activities, the research methodology and findings, and then an invitation to session participants to reflect on their own experiences and aspirations.

Many studies on distance education point to the importance of training for online instructors. Few studies go into specifics about exactly what that training should look like. The purpose of this discussion is to examine best practices in professional development for instructors learning to teach online.

Distance education instructors, Educational program administrators

Research shows most teachers teach as they were taught. However, distance educators lack a model or benchmark for online teaching because many of them have not taken online courses as students. Indeed, many studies on teaching online point to the importance of training for online instructors. Few studies go into specifics about exactly what that training should look like. The purpose of this presentation is to examine best practices in professional development for instructors learning to teach online.
Content included in this round table was garnered from two empirical studies the authors conducted on how instructors learn to teach online, and on the development of faculty learning communities of practice focusing on online teaching. Research shows most teachers teach as they were taught. However, distance educators lack a model or benchmark for online teaching because many of them have not taken online courses as students. Indeed, many studies on teaching online point to the importance of training for online instructors. Few studies go into specifics about exactly what that training should look like. This session is important and timely because it does address those specifics.

How can we prepare ourselves and other adult educators to play a key role in building individual, organizational, and societal capabilities required to address complex challenges we currently face? After reviewing adult development current research and practices. we will dialog on ideas and concepts to apply to practice and/or research.

Conference attendees who would like to participate in a dialogue regarding intentional adult development and its application to: college courses, the workplace, workforce development training, leadership development, faculty development, learner development, or self-development.

February 2016’s Special Issue on Adult Development of Adult Learning highlighted theory, practice, and research to increase understanding of adult development and to promote thoughts, discussions, and actions to support and encourage it. This roundtable extends and expands that dialogue. It features theories and practices explored by issue authors Boydell and Treffe and Earnest and also those by Budris; Cook-Greuter; Drago-Severson, Blum-Destefan, and Asghar; and Kegan, Leahy, Fleming, and Miller, presenting brief synopsis of theories and descriptions of related practices to foster development.
Gaining a grasp of such research and practice is imperative for adult educators for us to assume leadership roles in integrating thoughtful theory and tested practices to create environments that encourage intentional adult development. While creating the special issue, we ascertained that while practices fostering intentional or deliberate adult development in universities and workplaces exist, they appear disparate, dispersed and often implicit. Yet what’s needed is a concerted, explicit effort to help adults develop—to bring forth the individual, organizational, and societal capabilities required to address complex, compelling challenges driven by rapidly changing technology, burgeoning environmental threats, and increasing globalization, to name a few. By sharing knowledge and ideas we can move towards that end.

A qualitative research, inspired by Rowe’s (1973) theory of microinequities, is in progress to explore the phenomenon of microinequities and to gain insight into whether a learner’s perception of bias communication creates a learning environment that discourages the sharing of ideas, promotes marginalization, and/or diminishes engagement in the classroom.

This presentation will be suitable for all attendees who wish to broaden their knowledge of microinequities and bias communication in the classroom. This presentation will provide practical information to help combat microinequities within formal and non-formal educational settings.

Do bias communication create an environment that affects active engagement and participation in the classroom? In 1973, Mary Rowe conducted a research study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology that suggested that microinequities devalue, discourage, and impair performance in the workplace. Rowe (2008) defines microinequities as “apparently small events, which are often ephemeral and hard-to-prove, events which are covert, often unintentional, frequently unrecognized by the perpetrator, which occur wherever people are perceived to be different” (p. 45).
Microinequities are “micro” in the sense of miniature but not at all in the sense of trivial. Rowe’s theory inspired the presenter to conduct a qualitative research study to explore the phenomenon of microinequities in the classroom and address the aforementioned question. The goal of the research is to gain insight into whether a learner’s perception of bias communication creates a learning environment that hinders an adult learner’s ability to actively engage in the classroom and perhaps to what extent. The purpose of this roundtable session is to discuss the research methodology, review collected data, and provide possible implications of the research findings.

Technology increasingly influences adult learning’s rich landscape, including new tools for teaching, training, and learning. Whether interested or compelled, adult educators face challenging questions about which tools and how to use them. This session shares technology tools and implementation strategies to enhance teaching, training, and learning.

This session will benefit adult educators facing the opportunity and challenge of evaluating and implementing technology tools to enhance learning. For example, faculty will learn tools and strategies for engaging adult learners in an online environment. Practitioners will engage new options for teaching and training in the workplace. Students will explore tools to enhance their learning. Participants will leave the session with specific tools and implementation strategies.

This conference celebrates the rich landscape of adult learning, a landscape increasingly influenced by technology. Within the context of teaching, training, and learning, new technology tools, including mobile applications, offer a dizzying array of options for adult education.

Some adult educators find themselves interested in harnessing the power of technology while others feel compelled. Despite the motivation, adult educators face several challenging questions related to technology tools for teaching, training, and learning:
• What technology tools are available and most effective?
• How do technology tools complement the instructional design process?
• How do technology tools support lower- and higher-order thinking?
• How do I use and implement technology tools?

Within a Technology for Teaching and Training course, adult learners used an instructional design model and Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework to explore technology tools. This interactive AAACE session shares and examines the resulting technology tools and implementation strategies to enhance teaching, training, and learning.

Exploring adult education approaches and mindset, as States align their unified/combined plans to revitalize the workforce system, per the workforce investment mandates. From a national, state and adult learner perspective, explication of emerging adult learner profile, revealed through statistical research and concepts/practices important to US global sustainability.

The workforce Investment Act requires States to develop a single plan for core programs that include the strategic vision and goals of the State and operational elements that support their 4-year strategy. Target audience is wide and is of interest to all who deals with the adult learner. All Superintendents, Directors and Administrators at State and Local levels. Adult education program administrators, service providers, adult educators, academic institutions, employers. Vocational Rehabilitation, Department of Human Services, Human Resources, training and development specialists, workforce development professionals, prison ministries, and the entire adult education community are invited to participate in the discussion.

The current literacy rate is no better today than it was 10 years ago. Over 37 Million adults are without a high school credentials. 12 Million Adults do not speak English well. In addition, 14 percent of the US population cannot read, 21 percent of adults read below a 5th grade level, and 19 percent of high school graduates have poor diction. Congress amended the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) in response to the challenge aimed at strengthening workforce development through innovation, alignment and improvement of employment, training, and education programs. WIOA calls States to action to align academic standards, and establish literacy and numeracy programs that take an integrated approach. They are required to coordinate core programs and submit a unified plan to develop the US workforce and the adult learner in a sustainable way.
The session is a review and evaluation of the initiative and the ability of educators and organizations to respond to the call under the scope of the theories and principles of adult education. This topic is acute to the sustainability of the US, its ability to create, innovate and maintain its global competitiveness edge.

How can religious leaders develop better strategies for social advocacy in Black communities? An exploration of the educational experiences of religious leaders could further the understanding of how commitments are selected. This interactive presentation will discuss informal education strategies for communities experiencing social injustice.

Anyone attending the conference who works in adult education; individuals involved or interested in religious and community education and programming; individuals interested in applying theory and research to practice.

Historically, Black churches in the United States acquired respect as institutions that cultivated spiritual maturity and advocated for social equality in Black communities. Religious leaders represent the voice of reason for communities facing complex social problems, then and today. In the summer of 2014, riots and public rallies protesting the death of an unarmed man in Ferguson, Missouri (US) generated intense media coverage. In response to the mobilization of groups, many in the community demanded religious leaders provide answers, action, and leadership in Black communities, experiencing social injustice. This session will explore ways in which educational attainment has the potential to influence individual and collective social advocacy locally, nationally, and globally. An exploration of the educational experiences of religious leaders could further the understanding of their social advocacy strategies in Black communities. The spiritual experiences and educational attainment of religious leaders engaged with advancing social change in Black communities, positions them as modern agents for social change in the twenty-first century and beyond.

Adult Education professors will present examples of student resistance and social justice struggles from their on-line classes. In addition, the professors will discuss strategies for coping with these dilemmas that were developed during their 15 years of teaching in an on-line master's program.

The session will be of interest to: on-line instructors, program administrators, and curriculum designers.

Information on creating an effective and successful on-line classroom and on-line program environment is essential to our changing academic landscape given the growth of on-line undergraduate and graduate programs.

In an increasingly networked world, the notion of a digital divide is critically important to Black men in America. This session explores the role adult educators can play in assisting Black men to overcome the challenges faced in accessing and using digital technology and acquiring appropriate skills.

This session should be of interest to adult educators, administrators, instructors, community-based organizations and others interested to asses Black men to close the digital divide that exists between Black men and other demographic groups in the U.S.

In this session, we use available national and international survey data, investigatory studies, and other literature to address four questions:
1) What motivates Black men to access and use digital technology? Because digital technology is ubiquitous, people can be motivated to engage it or to avoid and distance themselves from its effects.
2) How does physical and material access to digital technology differ for Black men? For economically challenged Black men, the costs of affording the Internet could place the ownership of an Internet-connected computer out of reach (Beckles, 1997).
3) What is the level and extent of digital technology usage of Black men? The concepts of “level” and “extent” of digital technology usage are defined by several parameters, e.g., the usage time and frequency of applications; number and diversity of usage applications; and others (van Dijk, 2012).
4) What are the digital skills of Black men? Information and strategic digital skill sets refer to the capacity to work with hardware and software to search, select, and process information in computer network services (van Dijk, 2012).
Using different interventions, adult education can play an important role in helping low-income Black men succeed in their workplaces, communities, and personal lives.

Pecha Kucha is a presentation format that shows 20 images, each for 20 seconds. The images advance automatically while the presenter narrates. These short, concise presentations can be used for classroom presentations, public social presentations, or for business meetings.

This session is suitable for anyone who makes presentations or requires learners or others to do so. This format of presentation is suitable for many contexts including higher education, business and industry, conferences, and social events. It is suitable for presenters across a wide range of ages from young people to older adults.

Many of us have experienced Death by Powerpoint – droning presentations that ramble on and on while the presenter reads slides to the audience. Pecha Kucha is a simple presentation format that shows 20 images, each for 20 seconds, so each presentation is “self-timed.” The images advance automatically while the presenter narrates. Since the first Pecha Kucha Night held in Tokyo in 2003, this presentation form has spread around the globe to more than 900 cities. Aside from these public platforms that may be held in restaurants, bars, studio, private homes, or churches, Pecha Kucha presentations are being made in universities and businesses. Developing and delivering a Pecha Kucha for the first time may seem intimidating, so this session invites participants learn among friends. We will work collaboratively in small groups to select images for the template which will be provided, to create a storyline, and to deliver the Pecha Kucha to other participants who are attending this session. Participants will be active learners who will gain confidence in their ability to produce future Pecha Kucha presentations and to teach others to use this presentation style.

The increase and sophistication of sex trafficking has generated international debate about how to stem this human rights atrocity. While not considered the epicenter of sex trafficking, networks operate within the United States. This study examines the perceptions of adult educators regarding the prevalence of sex trafficking within the country.

This session is appropriate for anyone interested in joining the discussion regarding the human rights travesty that sex trafficking presents. Adult and community educators as well as international educators would benefit from the discussion that focuses on the challenges that sex trafficking poses within the U.S. and what can be learned from communities that have developed strategies to promote awareness regarding this issue.

Sex trafficking is an international human rights issue. While Europe, Asia, and Middle Eastern countries are at the epicenter of sexual slavery, the United States is also challenged by these illegal networks. This session shares the results of a study that investigates adult educators' awareness regarding the prevalence and practices of sex trafficking in the U.S. Because sex trafficking is often associated with foreign countries, there is limited community education within the U. S. regarding this threat to human rights for men and women. Aside from discussing the study that explored participants’ perceptions regarding the prevalence and processes of sex trafficking within the U.S. The session also explores community education initiatives to promote awareness of this issue and the role of adult educators as social activists.

This session describes how researchers created a smartphone app to collect longitudinal data to evaluate a nonformal experiential farming program for veterans. We describe the app’s functions and explain its integration in a single-case design. Threats to internal validity, design controls, and visual and statistical analysis of data are reviewed.

This session is intended for adult education researchers and practitioners seeking innovative ways to overcome hurdles when evaluating nonformal learning experiences. It may be especially valuable to those educators and researchers working with learners in remote settings where frequent contact with learners is impractical, as well as those working with learners from vulnerable populations for whom random program assignment is ethically questionable. Additionally, this session may be of interest to researchers concerned with minimizing recall bias when investigating nonformal learning.

This session describes how researchers created a smartphone app to collect longitudinal data to evaluate a nonformal experiential farming program for veterans. The program and its learners are described, as well as the app’s development, functions, and integration within a single-case design. A brief overview of single-case designs is then provided. Threats to internal validity, design controls, and visual and statistical analysis of data are reviewed. This innovative approach arose as a response to situational hurdles that researchers faced when trying to quantitatively demonstrate the effects of nonformal experiential learning on veterans’ well-being and social isolation. Preliminary data are shared to demonstrate the immediate value this approach may have for educators and researchers seeking to communicate the effectiveness of nonformal learning programs. This approach may be particularly valuable to those seeking to augment qualitative data to address the increasing demands of funding agencies for quantitative evidence.

This qualitative study explores the experiences of veterans utilizing higher education as a tool for transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce. Emphasis is placed on factors such as veterans as adult learners, motivation, perceived barriers, supports systems and institutions of higher learning as a transitioning tool.

The target audience for this informative session are: veterans, adult learners, adult educators, graduate students, faculty and staff in institutions of higher education.

The transitioning of veterans (post 911) from the military to the civilian workforce is a crucial topic which has prompted much attention from the perspective of the military, the civilian workforce and institutions of higher education. Much research and resources have been allocated to assist with the transitioning of veterans from the military. However, research is limited with regards to how veterans perceive higher education as a tool for transitioning to the civilian workforce specifically motivational factors, perceived barriers, support systems and veterans in particular as adult learners. This qualitative study, utilizing focus groups, explored the experiences of veterans in higher education with the view of addressing this gap in the literature. This study is also intended to not only highlight the experiences of veterans in higher education but to provide additional insight how enrollment into institutions of higher education can contribute to a more successful transition from the military to the civilian workforce.

The PIAAC National Supplement sampled an increased number of unemployed adults, young adults (ages 16 – 34), and added older adults (ages 66 – 74). This presentation will compare numeracy, literacy, and problem solving skills for the unemployed by age group and self-rated health.

The target audience for this presentation includes those interested in PIAAC data and those interested in better understanding the skills of the unemployed, such as how skills vary by age group, and the relationship between skills and health status. Many adult students, including unemployed adults, return to the classroom to upgrade their skills; gaining a better understanding of skill deficiencies could help educators design more effective educational programs. Conference participants involved in Adult and Continuing Education and Workforce Development could especially benefit from attendance.

The PIAAC National Supplement was released in mid-2016. New data allows a more focused analysis of skills of the unemployed in the U.S. While unemployment rates have declined substantially from their peaks following the Great Recession, unemployment durations, especially for older age groups, remain above pre-recession levels. Some who experience extended periods of unemployment withdraw from the labor force, increasing their risk of poverty. This is one reason for declines in labor force participation rates for some age groups, including those ages 45 to 54. This session will describe potential implications of long-term unemployment and early withdrawal from the labor market.
For all age groups, the unemployed have lower average literacy, numeracy, and problem solving skills as compared to the employed. Identification of strategies through Workforce Development and Adult and Continuing Education programs to improve these skills could improve employment outcomes and reduce the risk of economic insecurity.

This session will introduce COABE and the COABE Journal. It will discuss COABE’s approach to advocacy as well as the possible ways to publish work in the journal.

Anyone interested in or working in the areas of literacy, basic education or high school equivalency.

This session will introduce the work of COABE; describe its advocacy role; and focus on its journal and the ways individuals can publish in it. The purpose of the session is to continue the collaboration between the two associations and to make the work of the journal available to the AAACE audience. After a brief presentation on both aspects, the discussion will broaden to discuss advocacy for the adult basic education and literacy populations and programs and the ways that the journal can best serve this population.

With academic institutions increasing online education offerings, faculty may often be encouraged to create online courses that parallel, or replace, traditionally-delivered face-to-face courses. Where and how can faculty find instructional support in these situations, and what questions are the most useful as we design courses for a different delivery method?

The audience for this roundtable discussion will include teachers, trainers, and learning facilitators who have, are presently engaged in, or will be required to deliver online courses that have traditionally been delivered face-to-face. In addition, instructional staff who work with learning facilitators to accomplish such a conversion should attend to exchange ideas and expertise with others in attendance. In the presenter’s experience, those staff members are part of an office of Instructional Consulting, graduate students who work closely with faculty to design and deliver effective online instruction.

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) began delivering Adult Education master’s courses online in 1998. The Master’s of Adult Education was a program in the School of Continuing Studies, which closed in 2012; the Adult Education program was moved from Indianapolis to the Bloomington campus. Across the entire history of the Adult Education program at Indiana University, one course (Participation Training) has continued to be delivered in a face-to-face format. IU’s Office of Online Learning reports that “26.5% of IU students opt for online classes. The university now offers 104 academic certificates and degrees online. These enrollments account for 10.3 percent of the total IU credit hours taken” (http://online.iu.edu/about/news/160210-articles/spr2016_enrollments.php). As full-time faculty in an online program, it is my expectation that my institution will request I convert the only remaining in-person course to an online format. To be proactive, it is my intention to work with the Office of Instructional Consulting this summer, to restructure Participation Training using best practices, and utilize the skills of those consultants to accomplish this task. The purpose of this session is to construct, through discussion, experiences and shared knowledge that learning professionals have had with converting face-to-face courses to an online delivery format.

This session will focus on behaviors of post-traditional learners today as well as the characteristics of generation Z, who will make up the next generation of post-traditional learners. Attendees of this session will have a better understanding of these students think and how to better attract, recruit, and support students.

The target audience will be those that serve the non-traditional student, and the changing demographics of this population.

This sessions is intended to help institutions better understand the changing demographics in higher education today, and the best way to attract, engage, and recruit these students. Attendees of this session will engage in an interactive activity of Likert scale questions to help us calibrate our understanding of the student market today.

Policy oriented research and policy analysis are pivotal to contemporary adult, higher, continuing, and professional education. Practitioners now are required to effectively design and implement policy research and analysis. This presentation will address how anti-bullying policy research can effectively be developed and implemented in adult, higher, continuing, and professional education.

This session focuses on policy oriented research related to anti-bullism in adult, higher, continuing, and professional education. So, the primary target audience for this session should be educators, researchers, adult learners, graduate students, and administrators in higher education and in community settings, counselors, social activists, human resource professionals, and others who are pursuing social justice and equality in their field. In addition, this session would benefit policy makers and scholars in policy studies by helping them gain a better understanding of how constructionist positionalogical policy oriented research can be implemented effectively and appropriately in their field.

Policy oriented research and policy analysis are an important part in adult, higher, continuing, and professional education. Faculty, staff, and administrators use various policies daily; however, it is often unclear that how they actually develop, implement, and evaluate their policies. Besides that, there has not yet been a study that deals constructionist positionalogical policy research and its effectiveness for anti-bullying policy in adult, higher, continuing, and professional education. Considering all of those factors, this presentation will provide participants with a relatively new concept of policy oriented research and policy analysis by looking at anti-bullying research.

Traditional teaching hasn’t created leaners who know how to learn/work with others. WIOA redirects us to build workers/learners, demanding rethinking how to help all participants succeed. New participatory methodologies build social capital/social emotional skills with academic competencies. Learn the skills employers desire and how to shift classrooms into learning communities.

This session is directed towards individuals in the fields of Adult Basic Education and Literacy, Correction Education, Developmental Education, University Faculty and Department Administrators

Social Capital Skills have been in the literature for over 100 years. Also being referred to as social emotional skills, noncogntive skills, and soft skills, these skills are not being taught in families, clubs (boy and girl scouts, etc.) or in academic classrooms. Yet, these are skills essential for success in postsecondary education and on the job. This session will quickly overview the research on social capital skills, what employers are demanding, and which of these skills are critical for college success. Participants will be engaged using two of the four Participatory Learning Methodologies to see how useful and simple these methods can be to build academic skills simultaneously with academic skills. Specific situations will be described along with testimonials from adult educators as to how using these methodologies has shifted their classroom to a learning community, increased persistence and learning gains.

The presentation argues that internationalizing the landscape of adult learning must be inclusive of indigenous rubrics from outside the dominant linear rubric that hitherto represents the alpha and omega of adult learning.

The session is a must for those interested in non-Western perspectives and comparative ideas in adult learning. It borrows ideas mostly from indigenous African epistemology and some from Native American seismologist to demonstrate the applicability of non-Western perspectives in enriching the diversity and cultural responsiveness of the theoretical framework of adult learning.

This session invites those who subscribe to the belief that “lifelong learning contributes to human fulfillment and positive social change” and the benefits of many voices to take a critical look at existing rubrics within the landscape of adult learning. Although the length and breadth AAACE many of its sister associations may represent diverse populations; there is little evidence to show that the theoretical framework for the adult learning has gone beyond the way “it has always been.” The composition of the center of adult learning – the adult learner – has become complex and requires equally diverse rubrics beyond the established linear ones. Circular rubrics – including those of Native Americans and traditional African – are sources of enriching the landscape of adult learning. The session challenges the theoretical framework of the field and offers ideas from indigenous perspectives to address some of the issues.

Candidacy examinations have historically been gate keepers for doctoral students moving from coursework to dissertation. While administration processes vary across academic institutions, candidacy examinations typically focus on course content. This session proposes a multi-dimensional process that taps the reflections of adult education practitioners regarding program content, utility, and impact.

This session is appropriate for those interested in exploring how one doctoral program redesigned its candidacy examination process to one that better reflects adult learning principles and models the program’s philosophical orientation. The session is especially useful for faculty and program coordinators who design, administer, and evaluate candidacy examinations. However, graduate students and academic administrators who are interested in diverse methods for assessing student learning and program evaluation could benefit.

As competition among graduate programs increases and higher education is asked to certify its relevance to the community at large, some academic programs may need to develop innovative ways to meet this challenge and demonstrate how they are meeting desired student learning outcomes. While assessment of student learning and program evaluation are critical processes, they are often conducted separately and rarely integrated as a means to determine if program goals are being met.
This session offers an alternative model that one program used to incorporate data collection to assess student learning and to inform program evaluation. While presenters in this session illustrate a multi-faceted data collection approach that was conducted during candidacy examinations, the model’s adaptability to collect formative and summative data will be discussed. In addition, the presenters will describe how data were analyzed and reported back to students who participated in the process.

This session explores a method based on Hashweh’s (2005) TPC model to document the pedagogical construct elements within SoTL literature or one’s own teaching practice. The method includes a template designed to facilitate analyzing and transcribing the TPC elements and to create a shareable artifact for study and reflection.

This presentation is for those interested in fostering the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning through self-initiated or group professional development activities. Faculty development professionals and those with faculty development responsibilities or duties will also find this session of interest.

Hashweh’s (2005) refinement of his ideas about pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) with the inclusion of teacher pedagogical constructs (TPC) as the building blocks of teacher pedagogical knowledge (TPK) is a theoretical lens for viewing the elements that make up the actions of instruction. Teachers create contextual and subject-matter-driven TPC from the scripting and narrative memory process of their individual experiences. Thus, TPCs are an integral feature of the rich landscape of adult teaching and learning practices. Hashweh (2005) observed that because of the personal and private nature of PCK knowledge, it is documented by observation of individual practice and subsequent interview, which includes auto-ethnographies, case studies, and similar methods. Sharing this documentation makes TPC available for public study and reflection. I believe that an additional method for documenting and celebrating these elements of our rich and varied disciplinary landscape is available through analyzing and transcribing the TPC elements presented in SoTL literature. In that regard, I have adopted and adapted Hashweh’s (2005) TPC model as a method to document the pedagogical construct elements related to teaching a subject and created a template for analyzing and transcribing the TPC elements within the literature or one’s own practice.

This session is a follow-on to the 2015 AAACE Conference presentation entitled When Andragogy Runs Amuck: Techniques to Address Undesirable Student Behavior in the Online Classroom. This year, we focus on continuing the dialog, sharing techniques, and collaborating on ideas to maintain the peace and decorum in our online classrooms.

Current and future online instructors represent the target audience that will benefit most from this session.

As the number of online classes increase, instructors face new and different challenges. In traditional classrooms, students are face-to-face with instructors and peers. They are, therefore, less likely to engage in disruptive behaviors. In recent years, researchers identified a number of undesirable behaviors or disruptive situations in online classrooms that are less prevalent in brick-and-mortar institutions. Findings were that some learners in online classrooms are more daring, bolder in their discussions, challenging towards others, and exhibit higher levels of disrespect and bullying. At times these behaviors are aimed, not only at peers, but instructors as well. The impact can be long-lasting and damaging to one's self-esteem. Moreover, an institution’s reputation may suffer. The aforementioned speaks to the gravity and relevance of this topic. This session is timely, as it furthers the conversation on disruptive behavior in the online classroom, and allows for collaborating on methods by which to address them.

The proliferation of electronic technology has provided a new forum for bullies to extend the amount of damage they cause and the number of victims they create. The purpose of the pilot study was to examine cyberbullying in higher education to reveal its characteristics, prevalence, and impact via survey research.

This session focuses on cyberbullying among undergraduate and graduate students in higher education. So, the primary target audience for this session should be educators, researchers, adult learners, graduate students, and administrators in higher education, human resource professionals, and others who are pursuing social justice and equality in their field. In addition, this session would benefit policy makers, scholars in policy studies, online and distance educators, and scholars in cyber security by helping them gain a better understanding of characteristics of cyberbullying in higher education.

Cyberbullying is a growing problem. Much of the current research on cyberbullying focuses primarily on K-12 schools (Olweus 2003; Wang, Iannotti, & Lux, 2012; Wang et al., 2009) while research on cyberbullying in higher education is more limited (MacDonald & Roberts-Pittman, 2010; Walker et al, 2011). This proposed presentation would contribute to the knowledge base and to the practice of higher education and ultimately benefit the community and society at large. Since cyberbullying has been addressed most of the time in K-12 schools, cyberbullying in higher education is still relatively unexplored and this void in research on cyberbullying in higher education would be partially filled by an empirical investigation of the characteristics, prevalence, and impact of cyberbullying in higher education.
In addition to the contribution to the literature on cyberbullying, the data from this proposed research would inform higher education administrators and public safety officials regarding the characteristics, prevalence, and impact of cyberbullying so that they can develop policies and procedures that may deter cyberbullying in higher education.

Our goal is to reach adult learners and over the years we have tried different methods - from correspondence courses to night classes to online delivery. Are you looking for something different? In this idea-generating session, we will talk about successes, failures, and opportunities for the future.

This round table discussion is geared toward academic administrators and faculty who develop, implement, and manage degree programs for adult learners at colleges and universities. Participants will have experience or interest in marketing and developing academic programs to adult learners.

In an attempt to reach the non-traditional learning population (using Brookfield's work as a guide), our programs for adult learners are beginning to look the same. It can be challenging to develop messages to potential students about how the academic programs at our institutions are different from those offered elsewhere. We are, in essence, doing the same thing and if we are not, we are starting to. In our attempt to reach the students we are expected to offer classes at night, like other schools, in accelerated formats, like other schools, on-line, like other schools or a combination of several models. As effective educators, we know the content needs to drive the delivery and, yet sometimes, other factors influence our programmatic decisions. This roundtable offers participants an opportunity to hear what professional colleagues are doing at other institutions and to develop some new ideas to take back to their own. Discussion will encourage us to look at our benchmarks differently and begin to develop an instructional delivery model that suits our students, our content, and our institutions.

Distance education degrees for adults are increasing. However, despite new state laws, diploma mills are multiplying. Attendees will identify universities with legitimate accreditation, those legally allowed to confer degrees, and diploma mills. Savvy adults may then enhance their educational or teaching prospects through reputable providers of anytime anyplace learning.

Those seeking online teaching positions, future online students, graduate students, professors and higher education or student services professionals/managers who counsel adult learners in civilian and military settings will all benefit from this highly interactive session. Attendees will also receive a flash drive with the slide deck, free informational handouts and url website links to additional national and international resources, along with tips for locating legitimate online degree programs or teaching positions.

Recently, many state laws have changed to enhance the inspection and/or application/review requirements that colleges and universities must meet in order to legally confer degrees. In many instances, degree providers must now hold legitimate accreditation from an accreditor that is approved by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Still other states require state-approved institutions to be a candidate for accreditation with a legitimate institutional accreditor then become accredited within a specified number of years or else cease operations. Since the use of diploma mill degrees is now illegal in more states than ever before, it is vital for prospective online professors, students and support providers alike to be able to identify the typical characteristics of substandard degree providers.

This session will review the phenomenon of selected study circles on six continents. Historically, study circles have been around for hundreds of years--from Japan to Sweden, from the US to Saudi Arabia. The session will also provide resources on how to start and run study group and future research recommendations.

Individuals and institutional representatives interested in historical aspects of study circles/clubs or those individuals who would like resources on how to start and run study group.

This session intends to expose the audience to study circles which can be considered nonformal learning efforts in a variety of selected countries worldwide. Nonformal education efforts have typically not been extensively discussed at AAACE conferences. This session will review the history of some selected group activities in such diverse cultures as Japan, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Peru, South Africa, and the U.S. History of the selected study groups are important to the field of adult education since they are a major continuing contribution to adult learning efforts. Because of societal demands and new technology, adults may want to learn different information without going to formal classes or without being totally self-directed. These individuals may choose to participate in study circles/clubs. Not only is the concept of these study circles/clubs important to the field of adult education, but also some of the resources that will be presented during the session may provide guidelines for individuals wanting to create their own study groups. Resources on how to start and run study circles will be provided. In addition, future research recommendations will be presented.

Teaching cultural diversity in an area in which students do not have much exposure to multiculturalism can be a challenge. This session will present the experiences of two instructors while developing and teaching cultural diversity course. The participants are invited to brainstorm teaching strategies that empower learners and address multiculturalism.

This session is suitable for any educator or learner who is engaged in the learning process, and who is open to multiculturalism and critical reflection.

Understanding cultural diversity in education is paramount. A multicultural curriculum empowers both educators and learners, as it promotes a safe classroom environment in which teaching and learning occur, and students' backgrounds and perspectives are respected. For an educator, teaching cultural diversity can be challenging if learners do not have previous exposure to diversity and are not very open to multiculturalism. The course content and structure need to be well thought-out, and particular attention should be paid to course discussions and guest speaker sessions. In order to facilitate students' transformational learning, it is important to emphasize critical reflection and expose learners to diverse perspectives.
This session will stress the importance of addressing diversity in education, empowering students, and facilitating their learning while creating a safe classroom setting. Choosing effective teaching strategies and techniques is not an easy task, thus brainstorming ideas in an academic community is critical. The importance of this topic goes beyond teaching only diversity courses, as it applies to any higher education courses promoting equity and embracing diversity in all its forms.

If anyone can become a teacher, who does? Many leisure/hobby communities do not certify teachers, so there is neither a barrier to entry nor a stepping stone for new teachers. This roundtable will explore emerging themes from a study of quiltmaking teachers and discuss the implications for practice.

Individuals teach in lifelong learning settings; individuals who manage lifelong learning programs; individuals who administer teaching certification programs; individuals who participate in hobby communities.

The session will explore the emerging themes from a study of quiltmaking teachers. In this leisure/hobby community, there is no overarching certification for teachers. Therefore, there is neither a barrier to entry nor a stepping stone for emerging teachers. In theory, anyone can become a quiltmaking teacher. However, is this really the case? This session will examine how individuals in this particular community have developed as teachers in order to examine how accessible teaching in a nonformal environment is to interested individuals and explore ways of expanding the teaching pool.

The Allegory of Mount Everest embraces extended metaphor in the form of roleplay. Extended metaphor, represented by Mount Everest, is both familiar and symbolic to cultures, communities, and individuals. Active learning, critical reflection, and roleplay, form the core of this innovative activity that dramatizes Mezirow’s Ten Phases of Adult Learning.

The target audience will be: Human Resource Development (HRD) personnel (practitioners, administrators, trainers); adult educators; adult learners; emerging adults;

The Allegory of Mount Everest is an innovative activity that embraces extended metaphor in the form of roleplay. Extended metaphor, represented by Mount Everest, is both familiar and symbolic to cultures, communities, and individuals. Active learning, critical reflection, and roleplay form the core of this timely activity that dramatizes Mezirow’s Ten Phases of Adult Learning. Participants in this session will learn through dramatic roleplay, how to navigate the landscape of challenge, ability, and resolve, in order to ascend to the summit of their learner-experiences.

Presenters will share remedial reform initiatives that have been adopted by Morton College, which have been adopted to support adult and developmental education students. Attendees will evaluate the merits of a variety of currently popular remedial initiatives through taking part in a game like activity, concluding with a group discussion.

Administrators as well as faculty and staff members who are interested in finding ways to help students in adult and developmental education programs transition to college will be interested in this session.

This session will focus on presenting a range of ideas for helping underprepared students transition to credit programs and complete degrees and certificates, and helping participants evaluate strategies that might be applied to their own programs and colleges. To accomplish this, presenters will begin by presenting several ongoing initiatives at Morton College (i.e. Bridge Programs, Illinois Career and Academic Preparation, Accelerated Developmental Education courses, Intensive Orientation) as examples. Then, participants will take part in a game-like activity that will ask small groups to evaluate the relative merits of a variety of remedial reform initiatives and apply these reforms to improve success at a fictional community college. The session will conclude with a debriefing of the game that will lead participants to discuss promising practices for strengthening transition and completion efforts at their own institutions.

This roundtable reports the findings of a study which explored the influence of prior holding environments on two diverse adult learners’ navigation of a critical learning event. Biographical factors, along with the quality or absence of being "well-held," variably influenced meaning making orientations and capacities in the transformative experience.

The session will have relevance for those with interest in adult learning and development, transformative learning and change, meaning making, diversity, and holding spaces in work with adults. It will be of particular interest to researchers in adult and transformative learning.

The concept of the holding space in adult learning and development is prominent in the work of Kegan (1982) and Daloz (1999) and derives from Winnicott’s (1965) construct of the holding environment. In constructive-developmental theory and the facilitating mentoring environment, learning and development occur through experiences of confirmation (acceptance and validation), continuity (ongoing support), and contradiction (experiences of challenge).
One way of understanding adults is through their stories. Adults’ stories, whether socially shared or privately held, often reveal experiences of affirmation and challenge. Adult learning and growth often occurs when self-representation—who adults “know” or believe themselves to be—is contradicted by the external environment.
This study explores the influence of prior holding environments on the ways in which two diverse adult learners navigate a critical learning event. Findings suggest biographical factors, in combination with the quality of previous holding environments, variably influence meaning making orientations and capacities in the transformative experience.
In attempting to make visible the interactive personal and social contexts that shaped participants’ negotiation of an identified critical event, this study addressed Taylor’s (2000) call for inquiries that attend to the contextualized influences and cultural impacts on adult learners in the transformative process.

The Adult Education and Safety Science (AESS) Department and the Center for eLearning and Connected Environments (CeCE) at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) have combined to create an Adult Education Video project, to be used by all in Adult Education courses.

Adult Educators and Students.

The Adult Education Video project at UCO was inspired by the use of TED talks and other similar videos in online and distance education courses. It was noticed that there are not many videos available on the topic of Adult Education. So the project was formed. The idea of the project is to record the current thoughts of Adult Educators throughout the nation, and archive them so they can be use in Adult Education courses now and in the future.
The project started in the fall of 2015 with experts in Adult Education being interviewed during the Research to Practice (R2P) Conference. It was then expanded to the Self-Directed Learning Conference in the spring of 2016. The project will continue through the 2016 R2P conference.
Once a video is recorded and edited it is place on a UCO server and website. Adult Educators are then welcome to access the videos and use them in their course to share the knowledge of our disciple with others first hand.
UCO welcomes your thought on how we can move forward with the project with the two-fold purpose of recording our history and sharing it with the generations of Adult Educators in the future.

Student persistence was examined in this SoTL study situated in a student success course. Andragogy informs the philosophical grounding and classroom practice in this study. A welcoming and supportive classroom climate may impact a learner’s ability to persist. Data from this research will be shared in this session.

This session will inform college and university professionals, faculty, staff, and administrators as to the best practices in the freshman classroom toward the end result of greater persistence. The climate in the freshman classroom –through the use of andragogical processes and assumptions situates the college freshman at the center of the freshman seminar/student success course. It both inspires and invites the learner to be responsible for their learning. College and university personnel continue their efforts to increase persistence and move learners through institutions to full matriculation. Andragogy may inform classroom/ learning environment practices that lead to greater persistence.

College and university freshman are leaving institutions of higher education in large numbers prior to their sophomore year. Considering the current problems of persistence at colleges and universities--this session will provide data from research in one freshman classroom from the perspective of the learners themselves. Data sets will be shared demonstrating what the learners report they value about the classroom experience that keeps them persisting. The learner’s point of view was central to this study. The andragogically sound method of understanding persistence was to engage the learners themselves in the SoTL study. The process elements of andragogy are front and center in this discussion.

Interactive discussion exploring informal adult learning from mechanics societies, the American Philosophical Association, lyceums and Chautauqua movement of the 18th- early 20th Centuries to the late 20th-21st Centuries learning opportunities such as TED Talks, South by Southwest Festival, and the Aspen Ideas Festival that create reusable digital learning objects.

The target audience includes anyone interested in exploring informal adult learning in the context of the types of knowledge-based associations and events in America across 400 years. This might include teachers from ABE/GED through graduate faculty, directors of adult learning programs, trainers, and consultants interested in exploring the similarities and differences of the audiences, types of content and methods of delivery of these programs.

Interactive discussion exploring adult learning from mechanics societies, lyceums and Chautauqua movement of the 18th- early 20th Centuries to the late 20th and 21st Centuries learning opportunities such as TED Talks, South by Southwest Festival, One Day University events, and the Aspen Ideas Festival that incorporate reusable digital learning media.

Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) are positive, voluntary behaviors that contribute to the success of an organization or team. In many organizational settings, these behaviors are seen as a desired facet of employee performance. This session will explore whether or not that is true for faculty in higher education.

This session is for all ranks of professors in higher education as well as administrators and others interested in issues of faculty performance.

The construct of OCBs is an established field of inquiry, taking root with Dennis Organ’s (1988) work, Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The Good Soldier Syndrome. Since then, researchers have begun to expand the body of knowledge around OCBs and a great deal of empirical research has been devoted to examining the antecedents and predictors of OCBs (Konovsky & Organ, 1996; Moorman, 1991; Organ, 1997; Podsakoff & MacKenzie, 1997; Smith, Organ, & Near, 1983).
Though the majority of research examining OCBs has focused on employees in the private sector, a handful of studies have given attention to OCBs in the educational context, particularly among secondary teachers and students (see for example, Allison, Voss, & Dryer, 2001; DiPaola & Hoy, 2005; Jimmieson, Hannam, & Yeo, 2010). However, little research has been conducted regarding OCBs in the higher education context. Even though some studies have included samples from higher education employees, these studies have been undertaken to understand the linkages between OCBs and other constructs rather than understanding OCBs in the work context of higher education.
This session conceptually explores the issue of OCB and faculty performance of work. In other words, we address the issue of whether OCB are a positive set of behaviors for faculty given the role we play and duties we carry out.

This session will provide insight into why some online adult education courses develop healthy learning communities while other distance courses result in student attrition and apathy. The ideas shared are particularly relevant to educators who are facilitating courses at the beginning of an online adult education program.

Adult educators who facilitate online learning or who plan to. Graduate students planning to teach online someday. Students who have avoided or have difficulty learning at a distance.

This session will provide insight into why some online adult education courses develop healthy learning communities while other distance courses result in student attrition and apathy. The presenter has distilled down her six years of experience in teaching online core adult education courses and filtered it through the current research in online pedagogy to provide tips on building successful online communities. The ideas shared in this workshop are particularly relevant to adult educators who are facilitating courses at the beginning of an online adult education program. Learning styles and the need to shift learners’ expectations of when, where, and how learning takes place are discussed with best practices shared and participant interaction encouraged. Incorporating student autobiographical narratives is highlighted.

This presentation provides an updated review on progress and barriers of developing learning cities in China illustrating Chinese governmental vision building a learning society towards Chinese Dream. Holford and Jarvis’ four models of learning society is applied to examine current policies, research, and practices for future improvement.

Adult educators, research scholars, adult education practitioners, and graduate students in the field of adult and continuing education, and those who are interested in international adult education, lifelong learning, learning society, and learning city will benefit from attending this session. It will also help inform community development advocates, adult learning program planners and coordinators, educational administrators, and policymakers with updated information to understand new trends and strategies of working with diverse adult learners.

This paper, through the lens of Chinese governmental vision of building a learning society towards Chinese dream in the global context, provides an updated examination on progress and barriers of developing learning cities for global citizenship and sustainable development in China. The fast socio-economic and technological development in China during the past two decades brings noticeable achievements to the nation, yet, unbalanced developments among regions, between urban and rural, and in varied arenas cause issues of varies kinds that create and increase learning needs especially for adult learners. Thus advocating lifelong learning and building a learning community, cities, and then a learning society via adult education and adult learning are at the center of discussion in the National Strategic Plan for educational reform and the mid-long term development. Policies and research at different administrative levels have been conducted for practices during the past two decades. This session first examines progress and barriers that have been made on national policies and research, and then looks at several cities’ current practices as cases for critical reflection and discourse. Holford and Jarvis’ four models of learning society (2000) will be applied to the study for future direction and improvement.

Our team of students and their mentor showcase a competency-based, situational approach to learning. Empowerment by means of education among students, community residents, and DePaul University-School for New Learning builds and maintains relationships for social action/civic engagement while facilitating competence in academic knowledge and skills.

This session focuses on the experiences of students, instructors, mentors, and course designers in a competency-based graduate program. Through the action-reflection cycle, the participants and presenters in this session extract practices in teaching, learning, and assessing that are useful for program designers, instructors, students, assessors, and evaluators in CBE-inspired programs in colleges and universities. Those interested in applied program designs and relevant adult education processes may find the varying perspectives and practices useful for consideration in their own teaching and learning settings. Those interested in expanded service-learning and community engagement may be inspired for enhancing community outreach and relations.

CBE has been a hot buzz word these days in college and university faculty meetings. The DoE dedicates attention to it while not addressing the difficulties with matching CBE to traditional, credit-hour based formats. This session will address both the administrative and instructional aspects of designing and implementing CBE with a social change and civic engagement agenda. The CBE concept is not necessarily "innovative" nowadays; however, the approach we will present is adapted to today's multi-generational learning groups in academia, and it offers a means for university-community relationship building. Given the issues in urban and suburban as much as rural environments, civic, political, and social engagement by all community stakeholders offers mutual support and learning toward personal and community development. CBE within asset-based, problem-posing approaches, recognizes the value of anyone's skills and knowledge to engage students and community residents in development by means of education. Our team has worked in under-resourced Chicago communities and provides a snap shot (in this session) about the pro's and con's of how universities and colleges can engage in teaching timely and relevant skills while maximizing the very resources students in higher education constitute when working with and for community members. Handouts enhance this session.

This qualitative analysis of college developmental math instructors’ perceptions of success is a rich and contextually significant description of student success. Instructors interviewed made little reference to course completion in terms of success. They experience success, know what success is, and routinely promote success of students according to their perceptions.

Educational practitioners and researchers interested in the success of developmental math students are the primary audience. Developmental math instructors will also find value in the research’s implications for practice and for their own professional development and growth. Additionally, psychologists interested in student self-efficacy’s influence on subject performance are an appropriate audience.

The session will start with an introduction to the research’s topic, problem, purpose, and questions through a power point and supporting handouts. Developmental math courses are considered “gatekeeper” courses to higher education, and can highly prolong students’ timeline to college graduation. Success of students in these courses impact college career paths and overall college experiences of students. The research presented here, acknowledges a different concept of student success, as described by instructors, that is not previously recognized as significant within the context of college math courses. Developmental math courses in community colleges are currently receiving attention and experiencing program changes to promote students’ success, and this information is crucial to guiding those changes. Next thee will be an open facilitated discussion on success in developmental math contexts. The session will conclude with further discussion of why faculty views success differently, and in what contexts those views could or should potentially change.

This session explores understandings of knowledge as contextualized and emergent. Examples from Kenya, Haiti, Mesoamerica, and complexity science will demonstrate principles of knowledge as relational, situated, partial, and emergent. Participants will explore implications for this approach to knowledge for understanding their adult learners and for shaping their pedagogies and institutions.

This session is intended for adult educators working in a range of settings. The understanding of knowledge as contextualized is useful to all educators. Those working in community and non-formal education settings may already be educating in ways that build on local knowledges. Those teaching in more formal settings such as higher education, military, adult basic education, or workplace education may benefit from the opportunity to examine their own educational practice and the ways the principles presented in the session can help their institutions educate learners from all cultures more effectively.

Culture is what allows human systems to evolve. If we think of culture as shared meaning schemes, shared conceptual understandings, which are grounded in shared lived experience, then it is these shared elements that make up local or indigenous knowledges. Our knowledge bases are in constant evolution and it is through these processes that we ‘grow’ as humans. New ideas take form, existing ones transform. Complexity offers us insight into the recursive and dynamic nature of things taking and changing form, including knowledge. All ‘culture’ is a rich landscape of learning, and adult learning environments are ones in which many cultures come together. This session will focus on ways in which we as adult educators can grow our own capacity to draw on diverse knowledge bases, to bring them into relationship with each other, in order to facilitate new and co-emergent bodies of knowledge. We will examine ways our pedagogies and organizations can be more responsive, more generative and in greater alignment with the way ‘the world works’ through the refinement and evolution of our collective knowledge.

This session intends to expose the audience to a rarely researched area, hidden bias of college instructors toward Latino-accented English speakers. The presentation will describe a recent study and an innovative tool that measures accent bias. The implication of the results and future research recommendations will also be presented.

The primary audience for this session is current and future educators involved with diverse student population in higher education. The session will provide valuable new information about hidden bias of college instructors toward Latino-accented English speakers. The secondary audience is educational administrators who wants to keep up with new research and to look for new ideas and topics to discuss in diversity training, hiring practices, faculty development, and teaching assistant training.

This session intends to expose the audience to potential bias of college instructors toward Latino-accented English speakers. The literature suggested existing prejudice toward Latinos in different sectors in society. However, the study about hidden bias, especially bias of college instructors, toward Latino-accented students has been rare. The number of Latino students has been dramatically increased in higher education institutions. The instructors’ hidden language bias can negatively affect students’ self-confidence, academic achievement, and social interactions. The presentation will describe a recent study about accent bias of college instructors toward Latinos and an innovative tool, the auditory Implicit Association Test, that was used in the study. The presenter will discuss the implication of the results for faculty and educational administrators. She will also describe the application of the results to faculty training, diversity training, teaching assistant training, and hiring practices. Future research recommendations will also be presented. In addition, any attendee who wants to try the auditory Implicit Association Test can do so toward the end of the session.

Dual enrollment is not a new concept. However, in recent years it has become a relevant topic in educational and political dialogues. This roundtable will acquaint the attendee with the dual enrollment model, its current status, and its future

Community college faculty/administrators; high school administrators, counselors and advisors

The dual enrollment model has, for a number of years, been an underused process for currently enrolled high school students to earn college credits. However, in recent years dual enrollment has been a topic of discussion in educational and political arenas. Forty-seven states now allow, encourage or mandate that public school districts partner with colleges, most often local community colleges, to develop a process that allows students to enroll in college courses, often at reduced or no cost to the students or parents. There are advantages and disadvantages, educationally and economically, but there are also barriers to the successful implementation of an effective and efficient dual enrollment program. Participants will leave the session with an understanding of dual enrollment and how it is gaining prominence as a method to increase high school student participation in college courses, reduce student debt, increase student learning and motivation, and increase graduation potential.

Identify, share, discuss, and apply best practices for adult online learning. Participants will evaluate the Effective Learning for Adults online series: Learning Objectives, Effective Design Methods, and Effective Instructional Activities. Take away best practices in online learning for adults and how you and your colleagues can utilize these online modules.

Target audience includes: educators working with adult learners; those in professional development; instructional designers; those in Cooperative Extension; and subject matter experts who want to learn more about best practices in adult online teaching and learning.

Teaching adults differs greatly from teaching other age groups in terms of the needs, readiness, and experience that adults bring into the learning environment. Knowles (1989) suggests that adult education is based primarily on the learners’ needs and interests, and in an engaging inquiry process.
Based on needs identified throughout the organization, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach created the Effective Learning for Adults series. (The series is comprised of 5 modules, 3 of which are online: Learning Objectives, Effective Design Methods, and Effective Instructional Activities.) The need evolved first, into a series delivered face-to-face and then progressed into a blended learning format.
During the session, participants will brainstorm and discuss research-based best practices for online learning. Linking theory to practice, the group will use those identified best practices to critique the 3 online modules and provide feedback. Since the modules are about effective adult learning and are constructed with those best practices in mind, the evaluation will provide a chance for linking theory to practice both in content and instructional design.
Participants will be actively engaged in the presentation and take away best practices in online learning for adults.

Americans engage in a culture of borrowing and spending, financial educators are tasked with teaching individuals to manage personal finances, save for emergencies, and invest in their future. Yet, conflicting messages to spend and participate in the marketplace are offered simultaneous to women-many of them aimed at women of color.

Historically, low financial literacy has had a significantly greater impact on women than men(Lusardi & Mitchell, 2008).However, a paucity of literature exists that focuses on educational practices of financial literacy programs where studies generally ignore the uniqueness of the population being served(Tisdell, et al. 2012). This session is design for anyone who seeks to better understand how the lack of research regarding pedagogical practices and the unique need of women, especially women of color given income disparities, type of employment, and fewer opportunities to save.

Financial education programs are often based on the presumption that higher education will result in positive financial behavior, such as saving, using credit wisely, avoiding excessive debt and saving for retirement. The problem is little attention is given to understanding how income, wage disparity, race and gender impact women of color and contribute to financial behavior. Personal and economic choices are never made in a vacuum. Organizational, cultural, and economic barriers shape both men and women's financial choices and opportunities. Issues of class, race and gender is particularly significant in that poverty is most likely to be experienced by women of color. Women of color are underpaid compared to other groups, it is usually women of color who are negatively affected by economic downturn due to the type of work performed and financial resources. Women of color are worse off when it comes to saving for retirement, or investments. The United Nations has framed the problem internationally" women face persistent discrimination when they apply for credit for business and are often concentrated in insecure, unsafe and low wage work"(English, 2014). The ultimate goal of financial education is to provide basic financial literacy tools for women of color.

In this session, we will summarize and share applications of formal and informal mentoring strategies in Education, Business, and Healthcare as outlined in a recently released book entitled, Mentoring in Formal and Informal Contexts. Limit: 50 words – ours is 34

This session will be useful for Program Managers, Teachers, Teacher Leaders, Trainers, and others who are involved in skill, professional, and career development.

We will begin by opening a discussion on the value and importance of mentoring for skill, personal, and career development. Participants will be asked to share experiences they have had with mentoring either as a mentor or a protégée. Participants will then have an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of the mentoring experiences they shared. Once participants share their feelings and beliefs about why mentoring is important to them, we will introduce them to some of the strategies that authors outlined in the book. Participants will then, in small groups, be provided with short cases that they will read and discuss with an eye towards deciding on a course of mentoring action and will be encouraged to connect one or more mentoring approaches they feel would be important in their own context.

This study used Bean and Metzner’s (1985) model of nontraditional undergraduate student attrition and social support theory to examine the impact of institutional support mechanisms on veteran student persistence at 17 North Carolina community colleges. Results found that four institutional support variables and one environmental variable significantly impacted veteran’s persistence.

The audience for this presentation could be those inserted in student persistence in general and more specifically those interested in the persistence of veteran students. Additionally the context of the study is the community college which often have less student services than larger four year colleges.

The community college system, long regarded as a gateway to higher education for nontraditional students, is well positioned to meet the needs of veteran students. However, while community colleges have done an exceptional job of ensuring access to education, lately they are paying more attention to the success—or persistence—of their students. Despite the fact that nontraditional students have continued to comprise an increasingly larger percentage of undergraduate enrollments and have a higher rate of attrition than traditional students, little research has been devoted exclusively to the attrition of nontraditional students, and even fewer studies have been dedicated to the attrition of veteran students. There few accurate counts of the number of veterans enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions and there is limited information on their success rates. There is a lack of evidence in the literature on the impact of institutional factors (or support services) on success of veteran students. Findings from this study may inform community college administrators to help them shape institutional policy and program decision-making in order to enhance persistence and completion rates of veteran students as well as institutional effectiveness.

This workshop uses two powerful pronunciation tools to help adult ELL improve their pronunciation of vowel and consonant sounds of English. We will also learn how to integrate these techniques into your lesson Pronunciation is key to retaining adults as they want to say things correctly to use their English.

Administrators of adult ESL programs, their teachers and tutors - be they volunteers or certified will love this workshop.

This workshop uses both The Color Vowel™ Chart and Pronunciation Fun with Pictures to learn techniques for improving pronunciation with adult English language learners. Attendees will practice using the tools, and discover easy ways to integrate these into classroom lessons. Given that English has 14+ vowel sounds as well as numerous consonant sounds, it can be overwhelming to an adult non English speaker. By providing teaching tools that help them to minimize their fear of not being understood, ESL programs can see an increase in retention because adults are accomplishing their most important goal – being understood. In English, vowels sounds must be pronounced in a very specific way. In many cases, these sounds are incremental to the sounds of their native language. It takes listening and body awareness to conquer these challenges. Attendees will leave this workshop with implementable tools and techniques to use immediately.

This session examines the challenges to creating learning environments conducive to social interactions between diverse students in face-to-face, blended and online classes in universities and community colleges. Autoethnographies of presenters reflect upon their experiences teaching in the changing landscape of higher education and highlights thoughtful methods for engaging adult learners.

The target audience for this presentation is professors, instructors, and adjunct faculty members at community colleges, universities and other higher education venues who teach in face-to-face, blended and online formats. Graduate students and others who work with adult learners in various contexts will also find the session helpful to their comprehensions of adult learners in their classrooms. Higher education administrators who attend may also gain understandings of classroom dynamics and interactions between instructors and learners in a variety of contexts.

The emerging use of technology as a teaching format, the ever evolving culture of classroom dynamics, the inclusion of various generational cohorts in one class, the cultural and racial diversity of students and faculty members, the gap that may exist between student and faculty expectations, and finally, the strained relationships between faculty members and administrators points to potential issues in providing rich learning contexts for adult learners in community colleges and universities. This session explores the perspectives and experiences of full time and adjunct faculty members teaching adults in face-to-face, blended and online formats. Time will be allotted at the end of the session for questions and for small and large group discussions focusing on ways to enhance interactions between learners with each other, with instructors, and with course content in a variety of learning contexts.

This study explores the psychological dimension of trauma that is transmissible and demonstrates the ways in which the initial trauma of enslavement reinvents itself.

students, professionals, and scholars of African American literature and those interested in intergenerational transmissions of familial or ethnic history.

This study contributes to an ongoing dialogue about the unconscious transmissions of the original trauma of African American slavery, opening up a multitude of possibilities for further research in representations of transgenerational trauma in other contemporary texts of African American literature.

This session will examine the practical aspects of using conceptual change frameworks to mitigate active and passive learning resistance in workplace training contexts. This interactive presentation will include the introduction of a theoretical foundation and the facilitation of collaborative discussion regarding practical strategies for the physical and virtual training classroom.

This session will be valuable and practical to all those who are responsible for designing or facilitating workplace training programs and/or classes. Additionally, those interested in conceptual change theories and their application to learning resistance mitigation will find this session useful.

Conceptual Change Frameworks have been used to facilitate more effective classroom learning across various disciplinary subjects (Vosniadou, Vamvakoussi, and Slopeliti (2013). This session draws from Conceptual Change theories, and data from a qualitative study involving participants in mandatory workplace training classes. It will examine the practical aspects of using conceptual change frameworks to mitigate active and passive learning resistance in workplace training contexts. This interactive presentation will include the introduction of a theoretical foundation and the facilitation of collaborative discussion regarding practical strategies for the physical and virtual training classroom. While conventional methods for mitigating learning resistance typically involve basic contextual and instructional modifications, a more developed understanding of the role of conceptual change frameworks and how they influence learners in any given learning situation can provide the teacher/trainer with advanced strategies for connecting with individual learners and facilitating meaningful learning. Data from a qualitative study will be used to facilitate the collaborative development of strategies for mitigating resistance and enhancing learning in the workplace.

This session is designed for adult educators that would like to enhance strategic partnerships with corporate and other external constituents to grow program enrollment. The presenters will explore various partnerships and identify strategies utilized to form and leverage those tactical connections at the University of Louisville.

Adult educators, program directors, and those interested in advancing adult friendly campuses are the target audience of this session. The presenters will outline and facilitate a dialogue on accelerated degree opportunities for working adult learners at strategic corporate and external partner organizations. Session participants will leave with a set of action steps that aid in establishing advanced external relations with corporate partners.

The purpose of this innovative session is to explore corporate and external partnerships in order to grow enrollment in adult degree completion programs. The strategic approach to establishing and growing connections that lead to program enrollment growth will be the primary focus of this session. The presenters will examine the current partnerships and dissect the methods by which those arrangements were established. While the primary audience for this program is a four-year university, many of the strategies will apply to Community Colleges.
Students in the B.S. in Organizational Leadership & Learning examine relevant, rigorous, and research based curriculum that connects directly to enhance students' skills in leadership, organizational change, and workplace development and performance. Consequently, this adult degree completion program aligns well with the needs of many career fields from corporate, government, education, and military sectors.
Since Louisville, Kentucky has 96,000 working-age adults with some college and no degree, these partnerships create a deep driver of change to educate the local workforce and directly impact the economic development in local organizations.

This paper presents creativity as a means to establish a foundation for further discussion of how creative growth in adult learners can occur. It uses Amabile’s componential theory of creativity to show how existing curricula and surroundings can be used to build and strengthen a student’s ability for creative insight.

This session is a must for those interested in improving the creative growth of adult learners. It borrows ideas mostly from current literature on creativity to develop a theoretical framework to incorporate creative growth in the learning environment.

This session invites those who subscribe to the belief that adult learners are increasingly required to depart higher education, ready to navigate the ambiguity and complexities they will encounter in the marketplace. Each of Amabile’s four theoretical elements will be discussed from an educator’s perspective to provide a framework to positively impact creative learning outcomes within a given environment. Additional consideration is given to the pressures exerted onto educators due to institutional accountability and how it often simultaneously demands creativity and innovation in learning outcomes, yet discourages it when exploring new methods of content delivery.

Your smartphone could guide a NASA spaceship! What can mobile devices do for you? Grounded within the theory of connectivism and networked learning, this session will motivate you to upgrade your professional development plan with tools like Evernote, ProProfs, social media, and MOOCs to enhance your learning activities.

Adult Educators, Adult Learners, Instructional Designers, Practitioners, Students

It is not enough to just be able to perform one’s job well. Adults must remain motivated to increase their skillset to match the increasing pace of changes in their profession. The major purpose of this presentation is to explore a variety of educational applications adults can use to enhance their professional development activities.

Mobile learning has changed over the past ten years since the adoption of Smartphones. With the improvement of mobile devices and internet in countries like the United States, not only has the speed of access to information at our fingertips grown, but so our ability to create and synthesize new information.

Attendees of this presentation will explore apps that will increase their involvement in any professional development activity regardless of the resources provided by the professional development facilitator.

We will explore apps which can build upon or augment the Adult learner’s experiences.
Apps that will help adults find content relevant to their profession or personal lives will be presented, as well as how to identify good resources within.
As Andragogy principles implies, adults will be involved in learning of new mobile tools and experience the influence of these tools into their professional lives.

ACES has recently been developing new digital formats to improve the quality of the educational material and to reach larger audiences. These new formats include iBooks, ePubs, mobile applications, and online courses. Join us as we discuss the development process of creating educational material for a digital future. 

The selected audience for this session will be any attendees who are wanting to increase their digital education presence. The attendees do not need any previous technology background, just the understanding of their current educational platforms and the goals they want to achieve.

The mission of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) is to educate Alabamians in an effort to improve their quality of life and economic well-being. For decades, ACES has achieved this goal through informative printed publications and in-person workshops.  Over the past two years, ACES has been developing new digital formats to improve the quality of the educational material and reach larger audiences. These new formats include iBooks, ePubs, mobile applications, and online courses. 
Developing these formats from the traditional pedagogy approaches brought unique challenges, but through careful planning and trial and error, we found a solution. This solution includes: developing learning objectives for each platform, designs that enhances the user experience, visual graphics that contribute to the learning process, and support material to aide in the learning process. 
Join us as we discuss the development process of creating educational material for a digital future. 

Building a virtual community can strengthen online learning and increase student engagement. This session combines adult learning theory with online teaching practices to leverage blogs and Twitter in a meaningful way to foster a learning community for adult learners.

Prospective and current educators and administrators of online courses

This session will share strategies for using two popular social media strategies — blogging and microblogging — as reflective tool and a means of building an online community for adult learners. Online learners often experience feelings of isolation from their colleagues, virtual communities can fill this gap, and allow adult learners to form important academic and professional connections that can extend beyond the virtual classroom. The presenters will review current research and theory on creating a community of practice, how to guide adult learners through the effective use of online tools and how to encourage student engagement. The session will provide examples of successful community interactions and gives participants the opportunity to share their own strategies.

This roundtable will share preliminary findings from a critical literature review of studies examining adult ESL learners’ motivation to write. Both the findings presented and the discussion that follows are aimed at examining how ESL instructors might foster more effective strategies for motivating their learners throughout the writing process.

The target audience for this presentation includes faculty, instructors, staff, or administrators associated with degree programs serving adult ESL learners, as well as others interested in the topic of teaching and learning of writing for ESL learners within adult and higher education.

This roundtable will share preliminary findings from a critical literature review of studies examining adult ESL learners’ motivation to write. Writing is a central and often mandatory component of college coursework for English as Foreign Language (ESL) students. Despite this, ESL teacher-researchers note that motivation to write essays and/or academic papers is a consistent and significant challenge. For many second language learners, there seems to be a much higher level of motivation to complete English tasks and projects that may involve speaking and listening, reading or even grammar components of the language when compared with motivation levels for writing. As such, researchers have echoed the need for additional work exploring the element of motivation in writing (Gupta & Woldemariam, 2011; He, 2005; Tran, 2007; Zhao and Dong, 2011). Participants will have an opportunity to discuss the implications of this work for teaching, for faculty development and for creating optimal learning environments for adult ESL learners who are often de-motivated to write in diverse academic programs.

Professional education fosters specialized skills and knowledge and also shapes an identity as the lay person assumes the values, beliefs, and underlying assumptions of the profession during training. This session examines the link between transformative learning and professional identity formation, with particular emphasis on healthcare and the helping professions.

Educators and students in the health and helping professions, including those who educate or are in training as teachers, counselors, doctors, nurses, dentists, occupational therapists, psychologists, allied health professionals, social workers, and other human service professionals.

The session will begin with a short PowerPoint to present a tentative framework that explores the link between transformative learning and professional identity formation through professional education. (10 minutes).

Session attendees will be quickly "sorted" into groups of 2-3 according to professional backgrounds and educational experiences. We have three questions to pose to the group, and intend to allow 8-9 minutes for discussion of each within the small groups. Attendees will record short answers from their discussions into a Google form that is accessible from any mobile device or laptop. (25 minutes).

Questions (provide short 3-4 word answers):
1. What are the particular beliefs, values, and assumptions that you/or society associate with your profession?
2. During your education to become a professional, what were the critical incidents that helped shape your identity during your training?
3. What was the role of critical reflection or self-reflection in the development of your professional identity?

We will involve the whole group in discussion of responses and summarize the themes, returning to the framework of transformative learning and professional identity formation to examine how well personal experiences fit or where they differ.

Facilitating the development of sustainability mindsets in our learners is an emerging task for adult educators in many fields. This session explores the development of learners’ multifaceted concepts about sustainability and their expanding and emerging roles in creating sustainable societies.

This session will be of value to individuals with a focus or interest in sustainability education, environmental education, adult development, perspective transformation and professional development.

One of the key elements in creating a sustainable society is a population of citizens who have a solid understanding of the concept of sustainability and the ability to envision solutions to current and future problems. This session examines research into the changing conceptions of learners with regard to their ideas about sustainability and their role in creating sustainable societies. The learners in the study were participants in an undergraduate research program focused on sustainable energy. The examination will be grounded in the literature of education for sustainability, transformative learning for planetary perspectives, and situated learning, and will focus on highlighting the common threads that support the development of new generations of scientists and engineers with sustainable mindsets. It will explore how learners’ concepts of sustainability were broadened from narrow, discipline specific definitions to an understanding of sustainability as a multidisciplinary field. It will discuss learners’ developing identities from budding scientists and engineers to citizens invested in and capable of creating sustainable societies. Program elements and learning techniques that contributed to these conceptual and perspective changes will be shared.

This session examines instructional facilitation of international Chinese adult learners’ transformation to learner-centered teaching through online courses, from students’ perspectives. Results illuminate particular areas of adult development and suggestions to facilitate international students’ academic success and personal growth.

Because this research looks into the facilitation of international Chinese adult learners’ transformation from teacher-centered teaching to learner-centered teaching through taking online courses, anyone who is interested in transformative learning theories and applications might be interested in this session. Adult educators who desire to understand international student population will find the session appealing. Because this research also deals with the concept of conflicting cultures in the context of globalization, researchers who are interested in culturally responsive teaching will benefit as well.

Transformation has been regarded as an important lens for examining the development of adults (Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007; Mezirow, 1978; Mezirow, 1991). Under globalization, more and more international students pursue study in the US, including Chinese students (Yan & Berliner, 2013). The Chinese student population faces tremendous challenges in switching from teacher-centered to learner-centered education, especially in online settings where learner-centeredness is featured (Edwards, 2013). Although the literature offers research suggesting cultural differences affect student learning (Gay, 2000; Hofstede, 2001), and there is much difference between teacher-centered and learner-centered teaching (Frambach, Driessen, Beh, &Van Der Vleuten, 2014; Piccone, 2013; Smith & Ayers, 2006; Zhang & Flora, 2012), little research exists on international students’ transformative perspective in this respect. Research on the facilitation of students’ transformation from teacher-centered to learner-centered teaching through online courses is even sparser. This research investigates the instructional facilitation of international Chinese adult learners’ transformation to learner-centered teaching in online courses from students’ perspectives. This session first introduces the background, purpose and significance of the study, and research questions. Next, the presenters will discuss the research methodology, results, conclusions, implications and limitations of the study. After the presentation, audience participation will be encouraged with discussion questions.

In this study, Transformative Learning Theory (TL) was used to examine adult learning experience in Eastern context. In-depth interviews were conducted with four school leaders in China. Their TL experiences were examined in the following areas: Education philosophy, self-perception, ways of thinking, and ways of doing.

International adult educators, researchers, and practitioners working with adult learners in Eastern context will find this research intriguing because this research provides one way of understanding the adult learner population they are working with by demonstrating how Eastern educational philosophy and Eastern ways of doing influence Eastern adult learners’ perceptions of meaningful TL experiences. Governmental and non-governmental organizations helping countries from non-Western contexts develop adult education programs will find this research beneficial as well because this research indicates that Eastern ways of thinking and Eastern self-perception are important learning characteristics of adult learners from the East.

Mezirow’s Transformative Learning Theory (TL) has not been widely used in Eastern adult learning context. To help bridge this gap, this study utilizes TL to examine the learning experiences of four Chinese school principals after they finished a professional development program as an adult learner. In-depth interviews were conducted.

Data analysis indicates that the research participants’ TL experiences occurred in the following four areas: educational philosophy, self-perception, ways of thinking, and ways of doing. Within each area, the changes happened in each participant’s meaning perspectives are examined through the lens of TL at the levels of “frame of reference,” “habits of mind,” and “points of view.”

The findings present the following hypothesis for future research study: Adult learners from the East perceive meaningful TL experiences differently than adult learners from the West. The participants of this study experienced higher level of TL changes in the areas of educational philosophy and ways of doing and experienced lower levels of TL changes in the areas of self perception and ways of thinking.

There are almost endless ways that faculty of adult education can invest in their communities. This session will look at some examples of using faculty expertise to help community entities, such as libraries or nonprofit organizations, fulfill their educational missions. Participants will brainstorm ideas for their own involvement.

This session will interest faculty and adult educators
• who want to be involved in shaping the future of communities by helping community organizations fulfill their missions.
• who need a little “know-how” and coaching to share their expertise outside their university environment.

Many faculty are looking for meaningful ways to engage with their communities. Often those aspirations are met with board and committee service--sitting in monthly or quarterly meetings and providing occasional input. This certainly serves a purpose, but could we do more to meet the needs of organizations—especially those groups pursuing missions that resonate with our own passions? Are there ways to offer our gifts, skills, and passion to serve organizations that may greatly benefit from our expertise and experiences? Faculty are in unique positions to do this, with areas of expertise that often go untapped by the organizations who could use them most.

This interactive session will explore ways the presenters have shared their expertise to benefit community organizations (paid and unpaid). Participants will then identify their particular gifts and skills that could be utilized in various community settings (e.g., leadership development or strategic planning), and draft an action plan for connecting their gifts with organizations whose mission aligns with their heart.

As faculty “let their light shine” beyond the ivory tower, they will enrich their community, gain insights that will enhance teaching, open new avenues for relevant research, and create supporters for their institution.

An aspect of literature is each person brings in his or her own life experiences while reading it. This has been the case for Army veterans participating in a unique reading group, Story Swap, at Fort Benning, GA. This same reading concept could be used for most adult people groups.

This presentation has the potential to interest attendees from different aspects of adult education. Those in education, administration, management, community service, and possibly healthcare environments might benefit from a literary group program. The presenter will discuss a reading program she implemented for veterans which could appeal to those working with adults in the community, military, or workplace. There will be an opportunity for participants to better understand how this literary concept could benefit those in a particular adult people group, and the presenter will provide details on how to implement a program similar to the one discussed in the session.

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both." The opening line of Robert Frost’s famous poem, “The Road Not Taken,” seems to simply tell of a time in a person’s life. A wonderful aspect of literature is that each person reading this line brings his or her own life experiences into it. This has been the case for the Army veterans who have participated in a unique reading group for soldiers in transition at Fort Benning, GA.
Literature and the Veteran Experience, affectionately known as Story Swap to the participating veterans, uses classical and contemporary literature to provide these transitioning veterans an outlet to share their memories, thoughts, fears, and dreams.
The presenter will explain the development of this program, the literary works used during the sessions, and the impact of the program on her, as the facilitator/scholar, and the other participants. She will also provide suggestions for providing similar programs for other adult people groups. The presentation will conclude with the “voices” of those who chose this road, the one less traveled by, and truly see how reading literature and sharing their stories has "made all the difference."

The annual conference is one of the most important functions of any professional association. Adult education conferences have been conducted for 90 years. Two AAACE presidents will discuss the recent rich history of conferences and their contributions to the field. Conference programs, brochures, photos, and other memorabilia will be shared.

Everyone, but especially the young at heart, the wise elders, and all adult education history buffs!

This session is being presented for four reasons. First, We have been presenting a concurrent session on the history of adult education in general and AAACE in particular for the past five years. This year we are focusing on recent national conferences, to note their importance and how they provide an historical indicator of adult education directions and actions.
Second, we presented a presentation of past conferences last year. However, the interest and discussion resulted in our presenting conferences up to 1969. We now want to present the conferences from 1970 to the present.
Third, this session is being presented by the History and Philosophy of Adult Education Special Interest Group. We are wanting to make the SIG more active, and this presentation is a example of what this SIG can contribute. We will be briefly discussing the role(s) of this SIG at the end of this session.
And fourth, referring to George Santayana’ famous quote, "those who forget history are doomed to repeat it," a discussion of any association’s history should be periodically conducted in order that the present and future leadership are aware of what has occurred in the past, and what impact the past has on the present and future.

Educational attainment is a key measurement of student success. This study uses Educational Longitudinal Study (2002/2012) data and investigates the predicted value of social capital, cultural capital and psychological outcomes of degree completion for students in community colleges. This session will present findings and address implications for practice and policy.

This presentation is appropriate for adult education scholars, school and college administrators, policy makers, and higher education faculty who are interested in understanding the impact of a variety of factors that affect degree completion for community college students.

Two-year institutions play an important role for minority and underrepresented students in higher education. However, many students who attend community college never earn an associate’s degree or transfer to a four-year institution. National research indicates that about 40% of two-year college students expect to complete an associate’s degree, and about 36% plan to transfer to a four-year institution (Provasnik & Planty, 2008). However, the degree completion rate at community colleges is only 28% (Snyder & Dillow, 2011). Therefore, to help students succeed in higher education, it is important to determine which factors significantly influence student degree attainment. This study integrates Bean & Metzner’s (1985) student attrition model with social and cultural capital theories. In this quantitative study, we use the National Center for Education Statistics’ Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002/2012, a national representative sample, to investigate the influence of student demographic variables (e.g. gender, race), social capital (e.g. student perceptions of social environment), cultural capital (e.g. student academic performance) and psychological outcomes (e.g. utility, satisfaction) on their degree attainments.

Learning for the Fourth Age (L4A) is a social enterprise matching ‘learning mentors’ with older people wanting to learn who were living in care or domiciliary settings. This independent evaluation highlights the rich experiences of these volunteers, who were unexpected mutual beneficiaries; most of whom were students in higher education.

Researchers and practitioners interested in the impact of volunteering on adults.

I want to touch on volunteers and the nature of volunteering in educational contexts in England. I want to show that they are sometimes recruited out of necessity but not really welcomed. And I want to touch on how they are perceived in social policy terms. I will finish with a review of what it might mean for the education of adults.

Adult learners desire adult friendly learning environments, creating the climate is paramount to the development of these environments. Join us in a discussion of the challenges faced and strategies used by two Andragogues in a pedagogical world, while trying to create a climate for adult learners to thrive.

All facilitators of adult learners will have an interest in this session and walk away with a perspective on not only the challenges, but andragogical strategies used in a pedagogical world to create adult friendly learning environments. Professionals and practitioners from business, education, law enforcement and health care will find the session insightful as well as practical.

The aim of this session is to call attention to the critical need for effective educational models within all adult learning environments. The learners in these environments are adults requiring the use of appropriate strategies to facilitate learning. This session provides a brief overview of andragogical assumptions and process elements focusing primarily on climate—discussing the challenges that session facilitators have experienced as “learner” and facilitator as well as the strategies we have used—focused on success. Regardless of “grade level” both Freshman learners and Masters level learners face the same challenges in the andragogical learning environment—same strategies are utilized to meet the learners where they are —to keep learners progressing in their learning goals. Session facilitators will reflect on both successes and failure. What did we attempt as facilitators that did NOT resonate with our learners? Andragogy as a model of continuous classroom and/or learning environment improvement. What are we doing in our andragogical practice that potentially confuses or confounds our learners? What strategies are we using to transform a learning challenge into a learning success?

This session will present findings from a study on adult immigrants’ barriers to participation in second language education in South Korea. Three major factors of barriers will be described; five groups of non-participants depending on their deterring factors and strategies for recruitments and retention for each group will be discussed.

Administrators and teachers, policy makers, researchers

The presentation will consist of the following components.
1. We will briefly introduce the immigration situation in South Korea, how the circumstances are similar to and different from American immigration situations in order to enhance the utility of the findings from this research.
2. Then, we will present the findings from this quantitative survey research. Specifically, we found three major underlying factors of barriers that make immigrants hard to participate in Korean as Second Language courses in Korea: negative attitude toward learning Korean, social isolation, and competing demands. Detailed meanings of each factor will be discussed.
3. We revealed five groups of people differently deterred by these three factors of barriers: those who a) highly deterred by negative attitude toward learning Korean and competing demands but highly undeterred by social isolation, b) highly deterred by only social isolation, c) much deterred by competing demands but much undeterred by negative attitudes, d) a little deterred by all three factors, and e) highly deterred by social isolation and negative attitudes. The demographic features of each group will be added.
4. Strategies for reducing barriers, thereby increasing recruitments and retention rates based on the research findings will be discussed with session participants.

The purpose of this session will be to discuss the importance of nonverbal communication when teaching adult learners. Discussion will focus on the identification of nonverbal behaviors and the role that immediacy plays in increased teaching effectiveness and student learning. Relevant research, discussion and application will be included.

Educators that work in post-secondary or community college and programs facilitators or trainers.

The purpose of this session will be to discuss the importance of understanding nonverbal communication when teaching adult learners. Discussion will focus on the identification of nonverbal behaviors and the role that immediacy plays in increased teaching effectiveness and student learning. Fifty-five per cent of meaning in interaction is derived from nonverbal cues, 38% from vocal cues and 7% from verbal messages. As adult educators we need to understand how we convey our credibility to others and create an appropriate communication environment through our nonverbal communication. We also need to enhance our ability to decode the nonverbal behaviors of others. This session will focus on the communicative methods most effective for the design and delivery of our message. Research will be presented to support the relationship between nonverbal communication, a receptive learning environment, and achievement of desired student outcomes.

This research-based presentation focuses on a justice-oriented nonprofit organization when they were awarded stimulus funds for public computer centers and digital literacy education in Philadelphia’s poorest neighborhoods. The presentation highlights the reorganization of work and interventions made by educators as they sought to continue oppositional politics while accomplishing grant obligations.

This research is based on a case study in Philadelphia that I conducted with social justice-oriented adult educators who implemented a federal stimulus funded program in community settings. Adult educators who design educational programs for mission-driven, grant funded non-profit organizations and wish to learn
about research methods that investigate gaps between original intentions and program outcomes are the ideal audience for this presentation. Educators who are critical of "skills" and "workforce development" discourse and practices as solutions to poverty may also be interested.

Questions of organization, scale, and resources become inevitable for adult educators who seek to expand social justice oriented work beyond the spontaneous and local, leading to the consideration of funding. In 2005, a local movement-based organization that I cofounded made a contentious decision to incorporate the organization with 501(c)3 legal status. Non-profit designation has assisted (and impelled) the organization to secure financial resources. Drawing on an institutional ethnographic approach to research, this paper explores two forms of accountability that were occurring concurrently, producing distinct experiences, during a period when they secured federal stimulus funds for public computer centers and digital literacy education in Philadelphia’s poorest neighborhoods. This finding explicates how bifurcated consciousness emerged from the disorganization and reorganization of work practices as leaders sought to continue oppositional politics while accomplishing the grant obligations. I argue that a community-led council assisted in mitigating an otherwise fundamental contradiction introduced when they became ‘provider’ of technology and training, by contract with the City, while exposing and challenging municipal austerity measures that continue to threaten Philadelphia’s public sector.

Adult learners are going back to college because of the increasing global market, changing technology skills, or the lack of job training. No matter what the reasons are, they are faced with challenges not addressed by administrators of Institutions of Higher Learning. This is an untapped area that needs attention.

The targeted audience for this presentation should include higher education administrators. They are the decision makers who are in the position to develop and implement procedures and policies specifically for adult learners. In addition, the audience should include academic advisors, counselors, admissions staff, and faculty. These are individuals who provide instructions, advising, counseling, and support services to nontraditional students. Others are recruiters, financial aid advisors, career planners, representatives of local organizations, community agencies, and employers. With all the above individuals and local entities working together, adult learners will overcome the struggles and challenges they encountered as they matriculated through college.

The session description will include a literature review of challenges and barriers adult learners are faced with at different institutions. Thereafter, the presenter will discuss specific challenges and barriers faced by adult learners at her institution (Historically Black Institution) that were initially not being addressed by staff, faculty or administrators. In addition, the presenter will discuss what her institution has put in place (policies, procedures, programs, organizations, etc.) to remove barriers faced by adult learners. Discussions will address how financial aid and career planning services are introduced to this population before or at the onset of enrollment during the Orientation Program. During orientation, students are informed about how to access financial aid or how to arrange for payment plans at the university. Other strategies include academic support clinic (tutoring in the areas of reading, writing, and math), organizations, credit for prior learning, advising during the evening hours as well as on weekends for students, daycare services for children of adult students taking classes, online program classes, online workshops for those students who have never taken an online class, etc. will be discussed. The presenter will discuss the implementation of credit for prior learning and the implementation of the online program.

In this session, we will discuss challenges and strategies for advising graduate adult learners at a distance. The strategies bridge philosophical and pedagogical elements of developmental advising and self-directed practices. We utilize a framework that incorporate these elements, while avoiding a one size fits all model.

Our target audience will include faculty or academic advisors, administrators, program coordinators, and anyone interested in implementing or learning about a self-directed advising model for advising online adult graduate students.

While the continued growth in online learning shows no signs of slowing down, there is a lack of research at the graduate level on advising practices for distance students. Much of the research has been conducted at the undergraduate level and with face to face advising methods. Although this research informs us with foundations about advising practices, we must extend our knowledge and experiences as it relates to distance students.
Knowing that adult learners are not all self-directed but using an outcome of developing learners’ self-efficacy to promote growth and development can become a pivotal part of their academic journey. Although we might incorporate these practices into our courses, we can also incorporate the same practices into the way we advise distance students. As faculty advisors we want to be able to engage with our students at a high level interaction, and often, the logistic segments of academic advising become only transactional. In order to move beyond this type of interaction, we suggest utilizing a lens of advising as teaching and proposing a holistic approach to advising that integrates the logistics, the engagement and the development for our learners on a continuum rather than separated segments of the advising process.

The session focuses on workforce aging and the provision of career learning at later stages of people’s professional lives. It combines quantitative and qualitative findings of a case study of current labor market dynamics and career struggles of aging professionals conducted this year in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area.

The session is designed for researchers, practitioners and policy makers concerned with the provision of education and skills training for workers later in life as a means of promoting both successful generational transitions and sustainable tax bases. It may be especially relevant to those working in the fields of career learning, workforce development and economic development, and to those interested in population aging, work to retirement transitions and career trajectories of older workers. In addition, it may be of interest to gerontologists.

Rapid aging and volatile labor markets have created new concerns. Governments are concerned about extending working lives of older workers as a way of sustaining the tax base of their economies. Employers are confronted by an increased proportion of older workers in workplaces and potential skills gaps due to mass retirements. Older individuals are encountering challenges in adapting to changing landscapes of job opportunities. These significant demographic shifts have cost implications affecting all generations. Paying attention to the employability of older workers is now necessary to tackle rising dependency ratios. Traditional policy approaches rely on instruments such as increasing the age of eligibility for retirement benefits to retain older workers in labor markets. This alone will not sustain the economic productivity of older workers in increasingly volatile labor markets. Such efforts need to be accompanied by supporting older workers in developing in-demand knowledge and skills.
The session will explore challenges surrounding career learning of older workers, including the preparedness of current systems – both of higher education and of on-the-job training – to support career learning of older workers, as well as older workers’ buy-in to the notion of significant skill upgrades at a late stage of one’s professional life.

This roundtable session will review preliminary findings of a qualitative interview study on the career transitions of third age women pediatricians. The research applies Nancy Schlossberg’s theoretical framework for transition, informed by life course and career theories, and with epistemological underpinnings of social constructionism and feminism.

This session is for educators interested in the role of learning in career transitions, career transition theory and strategies, and career trends among older women. The third age has been defined as a period between ages 50-74 with many third age adults looking for what comes next as they anticipate living longer and consider some form of retirement. For some, it is an opportunity for personal growth, self-discovery, creativity, and acquisition of wisdom. Others need or want to continue working and those with an interest in new careers want options that quickly transition them to new opportunities.

Along with the U.S. population, the nation’s supply of physicians is aging. There are concerns about a diminishing physician workforce, including pediatricians. Pediatrics has the third largest number of active physicians and highest percentage of females. Approximately 38% of all women ages 55 and over are employed in the U.S. workforce yet there is little empirical information about employment experiences in this demographic group. Career research has been conducted primarily through quantitative survey methods with very little specific to pediatricians. If the reasons for third age women pediatricians’ decisions to remain or leave the workforce are understood better and supports provided, perhaps steps toward addressing physician shortages could be made. With a deeper understanding of the decisions these women are considering and making about work life plans, the contexts within which choices are made, and their learning needs, they can be aided in making transitions in the third age, finding ways to continue to use their talents and foster development. Such an understanding also holds the possibility of benefitting not only older women pediatricians but their peers in other medical specialties, younger women pediatricians, and other professional women.

This session presents final evaluation findings of a two-year student leadership evaluation, Adult Learner Leadership in Education Services (ALLIES). ALLIES survey, assessment, and observation data were collected in 7 states. Learners received leadership training and ran a project. Learn how it benefited their leadership skills, learning outcomes, and local programs.

The target audience for this session includes adult learners, adult basic education administrators and instructors, educators working with English language learners and workplace programs, researchers, and individuals interested in supporting adult learners as they find their voice in education and contribute actively to the programs where they learn. The session would also be of interest to employers and postsecondary educators who want to set up leadership programs for adult employees or learners.

Adult learner leadership is believed to benefit adult learners and programs of adult basic education, English language learning, and workplace education. This belief has not been tested experimentally until the ALLIES evaluation was commissioned by VALUEUSA, the national organization of adult learners. ALLIES uses a mixed method approach and an experimental design to determine the effects of adult learner leadership. Thirteen participating programs were selected at random, from 21 interested programs across the USA, to receive VALUEUSA's leadership training for their learners and to establish a learner-led project that would benefit the program as well as the learners. This session describes the collected data and the effects of the intervention on participating programs and learners, in contrast with control programs and learners that did not receive the intervention. Measures from the evaluation include observed growth in staff-learner interaction, growth in assessed critical thinking and writing approaches among learners, and growth in leadership characteristics and experiences. Program-level measures will also be presented. The goal of the session is to provide participants with sufficient information on the findings of the evaluation so that they can determine their own next steps in planning for and establishing a leadership program involving adult learners/employees.

The presentation provides an overview of the vast areas of multiculturalism, which include and go beyond race and gender. It also includes an overview and critique of various contemporary race-based theories. It will conclude with defining and developing safe spaces to evolve racial inclusiveness.

The target audience for this presentation is current and future educators, as well as anyone who works in the field of adult education.

The chapter titled, Chasing the American Dream: Race, Adult, and Continuing Education, in the Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education by Kassworm, Rose, and Ross-Gordon, is used as a foundation for this presentation. In the growing population of adult learners it is imperative that educators are informed and equipped in working with a diverse group of students. This can only take place when the educator is thoroughly educated in areas such as multiculturalism, contemporary race-based theories, and racial inclusiveness. In the presentation these areas, as well as instructional recommendations will be discussed. The overview, recommendations, and feedback from the audience will provide an interactive setting to discuss and provide best practices to make the adult learning environment more inclusive of race, religion, gender, age, and applicable societal ideologies, representative of the learners and their surroundings. This type of learning environment can only be developed with the continuous education in focal areas discussed in this presentation which include multiculturalism, which extends beyond race and gender; understanding the various contemporary race-based theories; and developing and implementing safe spaces for the continuous evolution of racial inclusiveness.

In this session, we will share our experience with collaborative, virtual mentoring, between a faculty member and four doctoral students studying Adult and Higher education. What began as a way to support multiple students, became an effective community of practice between the four students in a virtual and face-to-face environment.

This session will be helpful for anyone involved in a mentoring relationship, whether formal or informal, to help them envision an approach that supports their mentees while removing the potential barriers of meeting face to face. Graduate students, faculty mentors, and administrators will find the discussion helpful to their own thinking about the practice of mentoring and the value added learning community that can result.

We will begin by opening a discussion on the value and importance of mentoring graduate students in a collaborative manner, especially in a virtual setting. Participants will be asked to share experiences they have had with mentoring either as a mentor or a protégée. Participants will then have an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of the proposed virtual collaborative mentoring. Participants will then, in small groups, be asked to discuss the value-added outcome of the development of a learning community and will have the opportunity to develop strategies to use within their own organizations.

The purpose of the roundtable will be to identify and discuss student focused capacity building programs that develop leadership skills. The concept of leadership has changed over the past couple of decades to be more focused on process and service-orientations. Plan for discussion of some of the best practices.

Educators that work in post-secondary, community college, or student leadership programs.

The purpose of the roundtable will be to identify and discuss student focused capacity building programs that develop leadership skills. The concept of leadership has changed over the past couple of decades to be more focused on process and service-orientations. Relationships and collaboration matter more than just being a member of an organization. The revived focus in student leadership programs may be due to an interest in cultivating citizenship within our students and encouraging individuals to take on leadership roles. Student leadership programs are found within educational institutions and they will continue to be altered in order to incorporate emerging leadership concepts. This roundtable will discuss the changing leadership variables that are affecting our students.

This session uses findings from a research study that explored workers descriptions of co-constructing a safety culture when continuously subjected to a hazardous work environment stemming from unaddressed and repeated safety violations. Discusses the impact of a worker-developed safety culture contrasted against the employer's safety program.

Adult Educators, Workplace Educators, Human Resource Development Faculty and Practitioners, Leadership Faculty, Business Leaders, Managers, Supervisors, Workplace Safety and Industrial Hygiene Professionals, Safety Trainers, Training Managers, Union Leadership, Union Grievance Personnel, Labor Organizations.

Daily, many workers find themselves performing their daily job responsibilities in a hostile work environment. Workers must address the continued contradictions of working safely in a culture of sustained and unaddressed safety violations. Press releases from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reveal workplace accident investigations that showed the root cause being grounded in employer-related issues. Further, OSHA and MSHA have issued repeated citations to myriad employers for previous cited violations not corrected causing increased risk of worker safety. In spite of several employers being tagged as a repeat offender, OSHA's findings, as disseminated in their news releases, illustrates employers' negligent - sometimes repeated, willful, and serious - safety practices have lead to tragic outcomes.
The study's findings showed where safety programs were by-passed for production. Workers being subjected to such environments learn to perform their daily responsibilities by navigating the hazardous terrain through the creation of a safety culture to return home safe. This is where the workers have co-constructed job-practices and environment survival to increase their chances of leaving work safe and healthy. This replaces the employers' safety program from many workers perceiving the program as just "lip service."

In popular culture, there is a growing trend for plus-sized women to advocate for self-acceptance. The literature refers to fluffy women as those who are plus-sized and also possess a high level of self-confidence. This session examines the identities of fluffy women of color through a lens of intersectionality.

Educators and students who are interested in gaining knowledge about diverse groups of individuals, particularly women of color and women who are not considered to be the "normal" size.

As there is very limited research about fluffy women of color, this session provides an innovative approach by utilizing intersectionality theory to examine the complex identities of plus-sized Hispanic and African American women. Kimberlé Crenshaw introduced the term intersectionality in the early 90's to examine concerns faced by Black women in terms of their race, class and gender. Today, women still have challenges in how they are perceived and treated by others. Two-thirds of the U.S. population is considered to be overweight or obese. The rates are higher for Hispanic and African American women, as compared to White women. By examining the intersectionality of ethnicity, weight and gender, this session will address an emerging trend in research. It is important for educators and others in society to better understand and become more aware of the complex identities of fluffy women of color. This session will define fluffy women of color, present current relevant research and discuss the trend for future research.

Roles, characteristics, and biases are associated with women as mandatory equipment where bureaucratic and political organizations deterministically integrate females into male dominant, high performing teams. This session explores adult learning in promoting individual and team mixed gender human performance optimization (HPO) under conditions of cultural change, chaos and uncertainty.

This session is of interest to organizations, institutions, and trainers conducting research or providing adult continuing education and leadership training to military units and high risk outdoor teams such as wild land fire fighting education teams with focus on HPO, the integration of females into male dominant teams, and team cohesiveness while under prolonged, uncertain, disruptive conditions.

Literature refers to this style of mixed gender management as "women as mandatory equipment" (Kay & Faberge, 2004; Rusch & Yeager, 2014). The session uses outdoor adventure racing and wild land firefighting team scenarios where historically male dominated teams are augmented with at least one female. These teams must then function in disruptive conditions over prolonged periods of days or weeks. In 2016, selected Army female officers undergo gender neutral training and integrate into previously exclusive male infantry, armor, and special operations teams. Female enlisted soldiers begin integration in 2017. The session explores previous research where deterministically mandated mixed gender teams face non-stop, self-sufficient, multi-day, environmentally harsh, mental and physically stressful conditions. Under these conditions, the lack of optimal team cohesiveness and poor HPO lead to mission failure and possibly injury or death. The session draws on qualitative research and literature on gender management, micro-aggressions, efficacies and resilience, cultural change, and biases regarding the roles of women within high performing teams or high reliability organizations (HROs). The session concludes with suggestions for facilitating adult learning to enhance mixed gender teams’ optimization.

Diverse doctoral students struggle adapting to new academic environments, especially international and non-traditional adult learners with schooling gaps and language barriers. Using the conceptual framework of Lorde’s (1984) interdependency, we reveal how differences between culturally dissimilar learners prompted mutual growth as they found ways of being in a new world.

Professors in Adult Education Program:
The discussion will characterize advising relationships as collaborative instead of hierarchical.
Ph.D. and Postdoctoral students:
The discussion will give insights and directions for future research and involvement in academia as well as ideas how to arrange and structure mutually beneficial mentoring relationships.

Doctoral students face challenges as they attempt to join academia. There is an expectation of understanding of traditional hallmarks of academic success such as conference participation, paper publication, teaching in online and face-to-face contexts, although the scaffolding to reach that understanding is often missing. Joining this new community of practice requires extensive mental energy, especially for international and non-traditional students. Additionally, institutional processes may create unnecessary obstacles.
However, we, two doctoral candidates and one faculty member, learned how to work “interdependently,” relating to each other’s needs and viewing our individual limitations as the beginning point for growth fostered by our collaborative efforts.
In retrospect, we recognized the source of unexpected positive outcomes was the environment we created where collaboration, rather than competition, flourished. Our ontological framework from our non-traditional backgrounds led us to discover that there is a perspective that allow us to build greater
resources rather than compete for finite resources.
In this session, we will discuss how to use our experiences as a model to create collaborative relationships to meet academic challenges. Using the years of doctoral study to establish these relationships is valuable for professional success.

This session shares research findings on the current MCLE program evaluation methods utilized by Kansas providers and proposes a model for multiplayer, multilevel assessment to improve practice-impact measurement. Session participants will be asked to brainstorm ideas about the potential benefits and challenges or enablers/barriers to implementing this model.

TThis session is designed for continuing education practitioners and/or faculty members who deal generally with CPE (Continuing Profession Education) issues, programs, and organizations, especially those in CLE (Continuing Legal Education). It may also be of interest to educators in the broader workforce learning arena, specifically those tasked with disseminating new or changing knowledge in a given area of expertise. Finally, it may be of interest to those who are generally interested in the evaluation of learning programs in complex, multiplayer, regulated environments.

This session starts with background information on the Kansas CLE Commission’ Education Initiative research study, including its purpose, methods, and participants. Key findings from the study will then be shared, especially a description of the current program evaluation methods utilized by providers of MCLE within the state of Kansas. Next, a proposed, future-state model for a multiplayer, multilevel evaluation approach to enhance MCLE assessment will be presented. Finally, session participants will be asked to share their thoughts about the potential benefits, expected challenges and relevance of this model in any MCLE jurisdiction or other continuing professional education environments.

This session will present findings on a research paper exploring non-traditional adult learners, ages twenty-five years and older, participation in the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program.

Adult educators and learners who are interested in exploring non-traditional adult learners access participation in The Ronald E. McNair Scholars program.

In the thirty years it has been around, the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement program has been one of the many TRIO program’s offered on campuses across the United States. Many students are able to receive funding for college, along with a personal guide through college. As do all TRIO programs, the Ronald E. McNair Program, aids students in the undergraduate journey. With the world of “Higher Education” ever changing, what changes have TRIO programs undergone to ‘stay ahead” of the trends of Higher Education? The Ronald E. McNair program is targeted to those who are first generation undergraduate students and underrepresented students. Today, there is a vast amount of non-traditional adult learners returning to school for undergraduate degrees. What, if any, modifications are being made to accept and support non-traditional scholars in the Ronald E. McNair Program?

This program highlights a purposeful endeavor– the regional workforce development program -- to close the chasm that now exists between the skills of the labor market and the needs of business and industry which in turn will support community stabilization and individual prosperity.

This session is best suited to adult educators whose population is millennial or young Gen Y's as well as for those who work with non-traditional students who hope to be redeployed in trades such as electronics.

Attendees will be introduced to a state-wide initiative to prepare the workforce of the future (today’s high schoolers) for STEM-heavy careers. In particular, attendees will learn how synergy was created when Higher Ed officials teamed up with K12 officials and partnered with business and industry to create a best practice scenario to introduce teens to higher education programs, map the programs to careers with a variety of real-world jobs and levels of income, develop study and work ethics through mentoring pods, and graduate high school and college certificate programs simultaneously.
Attendees will learn about the UAFS Cyber Systems and the UAFS Robotic Automation programs and why more than 130 teens signed up. Attendees will be encouraged to take the model back to their own institutions for consideration of implementation.

Graduate student collaboration is an under-examined area of research. In this session, the presenters will explore the findings of their study that examined the ways in which collaboration affects the development of graduate students as scholars. Participants will also engage in dialogue surrounding collaboration and share their experiences with collaboration.

Graduate students and those who teach and work with them will be most interested in this session because it reports upon a research study conducted by the presenters about their collaborative experience in a graduate program. The audience will gain insight into the collaboration literature, explore the findings of this particular research project, and develop their own ideas about how collaboration may benefit them. Finally, distance educators may also find the research interesting because the studied collaboration occurred at a distance.

One element of the broad landscape of adult learning is peer collaboration in an effort to learn and grow. Collaboration, as a field of research, covers a wide-ranging area of inquiry. However, little research has been conducted addressing graduate student collaboration. The foci of this study were on female graduate students’ collaboration and the ways in which that collaboration affected their development as scholars. In an interpretive and reflective qualitative study, the researchers examined their own collaboration during a graduate program. This session will share the findings of that study, engage in the discourse surrounding collaboration, and explore attendees’ experiences with collaboration. Study findings include the utility of collaborative work in minimizing feelings of being an imposter while increasing a sense of identity and belonging as an academic. Findings also indicate graduate collaborative work enhances productivity and flourishes in a group that inspires trust, maintains positive group dynamics, and encourages humor.

The purpose of this session is to have participants receive strategies and practice how to respond to journal manuscript reviewers' comments. Participants will view manuscript reviewer forms, discuss the resubmission process, analyze "best practices" for responding to reviewers' comments, view real examples of authors' responses and practice responding to comments.

The target audience includes new professors, graduate students and other participants interested in how to appropriately respond to journal manuscript reviewer comments to increase their chances of being published. This session complements the sessions held by the editors of Adult Learning, Adult Education Quarterly, and the Journal of Transformative Education who discuss publication issues in general. Those who want to engage in experiential learning are also welcome as participants will be able to engage in Kolb's (1984) process of experiential learning.

A strong publication record is necessary for tenure in many academic institutions. A strong publication record is not only necessary for tenure. In addition, graduate students publications may soon be tied to university funding (Dirani, personal communication, April 15, 2016). Given these increasingly high stakes tied to publication records, it is important to understand how best to respond to reviewer comments in order to increase the chance of publication. Authors' failure to revise and resubmit after peer review is a major reason why articles are not published (Pierson, 2004). Some editors suggest that revision and resubmission increases the chances of acceptance from to 80% (Romero, 2002, paragraph 12). Knowing how to respond to reviewer comments is integral to getting published.
This session will be innovative because learning will be experiential and involves Kolb's (1984) steps including reflecting on a concrete experience and putting ideas into practice. I will disperse a sheet with tips on responding to reviewers. Participants will see real manuscript reviewer forms, letters received from journal editors, and letters addressing reviewers' concerns. They will also be able to practice responding to reviewer comments. This session is timely because publishing is important to the field.

All around the world people are living longer and staying mentally and physically active well into retirement. The “Third Age Learner” is a large part of this demographic. Join us in an interactive session and “get to know” the Third Age Learner.

All facilitators of adult learners will have an interest in this session. Professionals and practitioners from business, education, law enforcement, and health care may also find the session beneficial as it can inform their practice.

This purpose of this session is to examine the “who, what, and why” of the “Third Age Learner”. Discussion will focus on how the adult learner of the “Third Age” is impacting the field of Adult Education and how we can best meet the needs of this demographic by understanding who they are, what they are interesting in learning, and perceived barriers to continuing their education. The “Third Age” is a relatively new term roughly defined as the age between 50 and 75 when responsibilities of family and career usually lessen and can be a stage in life of significant renewal and transformation for an individual. Third Age learners typically focus on having a deeper understanding of the world and exploring one’s place in it. Raising the question as facilitators, how do we promote their desired transformation? We will explore the implications of this demographic shift and brainstorm what we as adult educators can do to engage and appeal to this specific group of learners.

Promoting healthy personal lifestyle choices made in a social context can have a powerful influence over one’s health status. Health promotion using digital signage are advantageous to the public and community. The content displayed in digital signage to promote self-care for health promotion can be adapted to real life context.

This presentation will share the efforts to implement an AU Outreach funded project, Auburn University: Taking “It” to the People Southern Style (AU:TIPSS). The project applies to all adults concerned with maintaining their health. The health promotion self-care messages is a culturally relevant manner using translational research strategies to persons frequenting six selected sites in five counties in the South East, However, it can be translated to all willing to engaged in self-management of their health. The ultimate goal is to increase awareness of a state of the science/evidenced-based practices and empower citizens to become more engaged in their self-care.

This presentation will share the efforts to implement an AU Outreach funded project, Auburn University: Taking “It” to the People Southern Style (AU:TIPSS). The project provides state of the science health promotion self-care messages in a culturally relevant manner using translational research strategies to persons frequenting six selected sites in five counties (Lee, Chambers, Bullock, Russell and Macon). AU TIPSS provides tailored health messages to be streamed continuously so that persons frequenting the selected site might have the opportunity to gain information about keeping themselves and their family healthy. Audiences who are exposed to the health promotion messages have the advantage of viewing and reading the information over and over again.
Monthly, a variety of nonintervention messages are covered including illnesses, health promotions, and wellness was included to complete the content stream. Health information such as, the flu, AIDS, stroke, and heart attack are looped every 60 seconds. Other health and wellness subjects such as healthy eating, safe driving, hand washing, and poison prevention are presented.

This presentation discusses challenges of increasing access to post-secondary education and workforce development and how a collaborative partnership between Northwestern State University and the Louisiana Technical Community College System is leveraging e-learning to meet these challenges by creating engaging online experiences through “master” community college courses that are distributed statewide.

This session is designed for adult educators, instructional designers, e-learning developers, online teachers, workforce developers, and post-secondary faculty from across the globe who are engaged in or about to grapple with the task of creating or reinventing e-Learning experiences to create a scalable model of consistently engaging and effective online courses.

This session discusses the partnership between Northwestern State University and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System and presents strategies for statewide reinvention of online instruction through creation of “master” courses for community college programs. These “master” courses ensure statewide, high-quality coursework distributed to, and available for use by all Louisiana community college campuses. The goal was to create educational experiences as compelling as the consumer experience; meet a variety of traditional and non-traditional student and career needs; increase student motivation, engagement, and retention and maintain a model providing a scalable consistency of quality across a statewide community college system. The session addresses:
• Can we create scalable student experiences meeting a variety of traditional and non-traditional student and career needs?
• How do we leverage the capabilities of technology to create better outcomes with experiences not practical in a traditional classroom?
• How do we foster collaboration and individualized learning in the online environment on a large scale?
• Can we ensure consistently effective online instructional practices and teacher roles across the organization?
• What are elements every high-quality online course should contain to promote self-awareness, reflection, and student choice, that are also constructive, collaborative, and research and practice-based?

This presentation addresses adult learners’ resistance in the national lifelong education system of the Republic of Korea. The study critically examined how a national institution’s top-down, bureaucratic pedagogical system for distance adult learners collided with their individual expectations and needs.

scholars, researchers, and students who are interested in critical adult education

Despite an extensive interest in critical pedagogy in the context of adult education institutions and programs over the last several decades, the emancipatory value of adult learners’ resistance has been under-theorized concept in adult education research. Drawing upon critical ethnography, this research illuminated that the students critically reflected upon their social position and the societal value of their learning as a ramification of their resistance. To provoke a critical discourse on the politics of adult education, this study documented how adult learners experienced resistance through their participation in a national lifelong education system and consequently underwent the reproduction of alienation as a result of their learning.

This session describes two online courses in an adult education masters program. One received high student evaluations and the other low. It will provide insight on strategies that seem to boost student satisfaction, engagement, and learning based on comparative analysis of activities, assignments, formats and instructor behaviors.

Online instructors and course designers

The research on online learning is rapidly expanding. In general, it focuses on engagement and learning in specific content areas and disciplines and the relationships between various student populations and instructional strategies and tools. This work is conducted either through study of one particular course or course activity or through comparisons of synchronous to asynchronous and face to face, blended, and online learning opportunities or different approaches to typical instructional activities (e.g., discussion). Although best practices are emerging, this comparative case study aims to enrich our understanding of effectiveness by contrasting two courses in the same online adult education masters program which students took during the same semester, one that was very well evaluated by students, the other was evaluated poorly. This research context provides a unique opportunity to compare and contrast course activities and assignments, instructional formats, and instructor engagement. They will be analyzed to develop descriptive cases and derive lessons learned about effective online instructional practice. By comparing and contrasting successful and unsuccessful examples of online teaching, we can enrich our understandings of effective strategies to increase student engagement, satisfaction, and learning.

Adult education faculty members face unique challenges such as time management, pressure to publish, and teaching and service commitments. In addition, they also deal with uncomprehending colleagues and administrators. We propose to discuss the varying ways that these dynamics affect work-life balance and the achievement of tenure and promotion.

This session would be of interest to tenure-track, tenured professors, administrators, and anyone thinking of becoming a faculty member.

In a time when the professoriate is being challenged due to budget constraints and new regulations, life as a faculty member has become more difficult. The challenge is exacerbated in marginalized fields such as adult education. The emphasis on metrics has placed greater demands on faculty members for publishing in indexed journals with high impact factors. In this session, we will propose ways for faculty members to make their way through the tenure and promotion process while maintaining life-work balance. We will draw both from the research in the field and our own experiences navigating through the tenure and promotion process.

This session presents findings from research exploring how a Community of Practice (CoP) has emerged among officials who direct national-level sporting events. Their experiences represent formal, nonformal, and informal education and illustrate how various theories including social, experiential learning and situated learning intersect to improve practice and encourage lifelong learning.

This session will be of interest to those involved with community and nonformal education and to those interested in promoting the concept of learning throughout the lifespan. Additionally, practitioners who develop curriculum and conduct program planning for community organizations where learning occurs both formally and informally may find this session insightful.

Research in education is generally focused on formal education, and it is only in studies focused on adults that we see reference to the learning that occurs outside of formal institutions and environments. Arguably, education of the most profound nature is situated in daily life, in our involvement in endeavors outside of the classroom and through interaction with others. Nonformal and incidental education have the power to be transformative and to enhance an individual’s quality of life and overall wellness.
USA Cycling is a national organization that governs cycling events across the United States. Individuals who officiate these events must participate in formal training provided by the organization, but significant learning occurs on the job, and is experiential and context based. This study explored elements of a Community of Practice (CoP) that have emerged as a result of personal interaction among officials as they seek to improve practice and to address issues related to their job. Results reveal that participants engage in social learning, and use the skills learned in this environment in other areas of their personal and professional lives. In addition, their experience in the CoP motivates them to participate in other forms of community education.

This qualitative study used structured interviews to collect information from full-time, adjunct faculty and faculty with administrator status at an HBCU in the Southeast region. Seven interviewees/participants reflected on their experiences of teaching and observing adult undergraduates in terms of preparing learners, cultivating learning climate, needs assessments, and evaluation.

1) College and university faculty who are seeking to implement new ways of teaching and delivering educational programs to improve the learning experience of full-time non-traditional undergraduate students, especially those of color.
2) College and university administrators who are considering revising existing programs to meet the needs of non-traditional undergraduate students or creating such programs through learning from peers.
3) Adult education/learning theorists who are attempting to build models and frameworks for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching full-time non-traditional undergraduate students, especially those of color.

The number of full-time adult undergraduates has kept increasing since the early 1980s (Ross-Gordon, 2011). In 2009, 28 percent of enrolled full-time undergraduate students were 25 years and older. In addition, the number of Black undergraduate enrollment increased dramatically between 1980 and 2010 (NCES, 2012). However, only a handful literature researched this phenomenon. And, existing adult learning theories can no longer guide teaching and learning practices in this field. This study will add to the body of literature on adult learning by analyzing the learning and teaching exchange from the perspective of instructors who are charged with the task of teaching very (academically and professionally) diverse groups of students. The study will also help to identify trends in teaching techniques that tend to foster student learning, student self-efficacy, and retention.

Creating community is essential for student success, especially in the distance space. This can be achieved through student interaction, ownership, and collaboration. The facilitator will share data on the importance of creating a learning community in online education and initiate a discussion on how to achieve this in online learning.

This roundtable will be beneficial for individuals who teach adults in the distance/online format or for instructional designers creating distance/online experiences for adults. Educators who facilitate learning in the distance/online environment and value social learning or who are interested in learning the importance students place on their peers and the creation of a learning community in the distance space will benefit from this research and subsequent discussion. The intention of the gathering will be to share some guidelines to assist in effective distance/online learning space communities and elicit additional best practices from other distance/online adult educators.

Developing a successful online classroom experience that incorporates an engaging environment and dynamic community setting conducive to learning is essential in maintaining distance-student enrollment and expanding online education. The expanse of distance education, particularly for adult learners, and progression of technology has supported instructors in developing classrooms that emphasize students and community; and incorporates online interactive spaces. Both teachers and students contribute to this distance classroom which is utilized primarily as a space where learners engage. Research involving students and faculty in an adult distance graduate program thoroughly depicts the distance classroom and assists in better understanding the role of students in the online learning space, and the importance of community for adult distance learners. Following presentation of the research and its application in adult distance education the facilitator will lead a discussion on establishing adult learning communities in the distance learning space.

Deaf adults and post-Soviet marriage immigrants have something in common. Adult learning as a transition tool provides access and opportunity.
The presentation will highlight expressions of agency, discovering social networks, the need for a return to adult life task training and the expectations in adult learning these adults share.

The target audience includes anyone seeking to develop or enhance an understanding of cultural perspectives pertaining to deaf adults and post-Soviet marriage immigrants. We welcome adult educators including graduate students, those seeking tenure-track or adjunct teaching positions, current instructors or professors seeking tenure, independent scholars, continuing education or professional development practitioners, program managers, consultants and others.

This session highlights recent findings from two Adult Education doctoral studies and shares findings leading to different approaches to adult learning and challenges the expectations of adult educators. Ballenger's doctoral study was unique in the fact that it relied solely on the voices of deaf adults to produce empirical data. An important finding in her study were the ratings of deaf experts on the importance of adult life tasks that are necessary in transitioning to adult life. Pavluscenco’s doctoral study shed light on the unique group of post-Soviet marriage immigrant women in the United States. The women’s personal stories of learning and adaptation in the new culture, who came to America from different post-Soviet territories through the help of international matchmaking agencies, were at the core of her research.
Hearing the voices of marginalized populations is impactful and calls for new expectations in postsecondary settings.
The common needs of both groups will be the main focus of the presentation, such as: adult educators as advocates, access to adult learning, and cultural perceptions. Achievements and issues of these groups will be shared with examples of capability, cultural similarities, and the importance of social networks and support in adult learning settings.

Explore Dee Fink's Integrated Course Design from his best-selling book, _Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing Courses_ (2013, 2003). This systematic, course-design strategy can make important differences in both student learning and teacher satisfaction. Leave with materials to design your own course effectively.

Valuable for anyone teaching courses/classes in colleges/universities, continuing ed., professional development, in-service training, etc.

Q: What is a "Significant Learning" experience"? A: Engagement in learning that lasts and that adds value to the student's life, both now--and it is hoped--in the future. By focusing on Significant Learning (as opposed to trivialities, which unfortunately sometimes happens in some courses), students engage in learning that lasts and that adds value. Integrated Course Design begins with instructors paying attention to "situational factors" (e.g., number of students in the class, prior knowledge, expectation of stakeholders). Then they proceed to the 3-part "backward design" model (Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2011, 1998) which Fink has improved upon for use in any discipline. This model consists of 1) learning goals/outcomes (using Fink's Taxonomy), 2) feedback and assessment, and 3) teaching-and-learning activities. Fink's Taxonomy of Significant Learning is valuable in formulating learning goals/outcomes (and assessments): learning how to learn, foundational knowledge, application, integration, human dimension, caring. Using Integrated Course Design, the instructor then creates a sequence of course activities and assessments that leads students to the construction of their own Significant Learning, guided by their instructor. This is the process of Integrated Course Design leading to Significant Learning.

This hands-on session explores game-based learning through both discussion and live participation in a game. Designed for both practitioners and program administrators, it will explore how to use evidence-based and highly engaging learning games to improve learning outcomes, delight users, increase program results and and reach more learners cost-effectively.

The session is designed for both practitioners and program administrators whose students seek foundation skills, including English language and literacy skills, whether in formal or informal educational settings. For practitioners, the session will explore how to use an evidence-based and highly engaging learning game to enhance instruction and create time on task, both in and outside of the classroom. For program administrators, the session will explore how a learning game can be a cost-effective tool for increasing retention and completion by current students, reaching more learners with the same budget, and meeting WIOA and similar reporting requirements.

It has been estimated that there are 36 million “low skilled” adults yet only 4.1 million receive services annually. Even those fortunate enough to get into a program are not assured of success. Retention is a critical issue, with over 37% dropping out. For those who do persist, only 42% of them advance to the next skill level. Research reveals that adults enrolled in adult basic education classes are not sufficiently exposed to mobile technology. Not only can these technologies be used to improve adult education programs, they also represent an emerging technological literacy that is increasingly determining in future success.
This session will introduce an evidence-based and engaging mobile game platform, developed by an MIT-led R&D center, that delivers educational content and delights learners. This session will provide an overview of the features of the program and discuss the underlying principles of the approach. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in an online ESL game and discuss the advantages and shortcomings of this instructional model.
The session will also explore how mobile technology is a cost-effective means for increasing retention, improving outcomes and reaching more learners within constrained budgets.

Successful distance education in the 21st century requires that adult educators use technologies and autonomous learning strategies. The psychological and communication spaces in an online environment are never the same between any two adult learners and instructors. This transaction distance is what deeply impacts learning and teaching.

The target audience for this session includes adult educators that teach or mentor adult learners in an online environment. These adult educators encapsulate the importance of technologies, such as online conferencing tools, to enhance learning and teaching in an online environment. The target audience will include adult educators that are interested in learning how to use two online conferencing tools, Zoom and Skype, so they can improve learning and teaching.

This session derives from the theory of transactional distance to enhance distance education and adult learning and teaching by increasing communication and autonomy in an online learning environment. The online conferencing tools, Zoom and Skype, shared in this session provide the ability to enrich the learner and teacher experience. Some online conferencing strategies that adult educators can use to improve communication and autonomy include one-on-one meetings, coaching, mentoring or tutoring, small group meetings, and oral presentations. This session will showcase the theory of transactional distance via two online conferencing tools, Zoom and Skype, and provide a variety of online conferencing strategies for adult educators. The session will also include information about Zoom and Skype, instructions on how to use these online conferencing tools, a demonstration on how easy it is to use these valuable online conferencing tools, and a small group activity.

Employment opportunities for people with developmental disabilities are limited. As a result, a new form of employment for this population is emerging. Small businesses and micro-enterprises focused on employing these individuals are being developed across the nation. The needs of the adult learners creating this type employment are unique because available resources focus on supporting a neurotypical workforce.

Faculty and students from academic institutions, workforce professionals, agency specialists that support employment of people with disabilities, K-12 teachers, and curriculum developers are the target audience for this session.

Individuals with developmental disabilities are unemployed at an alarming rate. To combat “graduating to the couch” as a transition outcome, many parents are developing micro-enterprises and small businesses to employ their adult children. These new business owners have limited experience or education in developing business plans, supervising employees with disabilities, or in personnel management. As this employment may be the only opportunity for these individuals to have meaningful daily activities and inclusion in the community, providing educational support to these entrepreneurs is significant. There is currently no infrastructure to support parents as entrepreneurs as they create employment opportunities. Results of an IRB-approved needs assessment was conducted to begin the process of gathering information to be used to create programming and resources for the community which will be presented and implications suggested.

This session will share results from a large-scale study that explored the professional learning habits of middle and secondary mathematics teachers in the southeast. Trends in teacher learning will be shared as well as policy and programmatic issues facing the field of teacher education.

The primary audience for this session are primary and secondary education faculty, teachers, school administrators, professional development trainers, and continuing education professionals. This session will provide attendees with useful information regarding the various activities teachers engage in to improve their knowledge and skills as educators. It will emphasize how teachers prefer to learn and provide suggestions for policy and programmatic planning. A secondary audience for this presentation could be corporate curriculum developers and trainers. Although the research was based on school district professional development, some learning outcomes could also be applied to the human resource development field.

Although there is a significant amount of research on the topic of professional development, few individuals have sought to quantify the amount of formal and informal professional development teachers undertake to improve their practices as educators. Much of the existing qualitative research has focused on the informal learning activities of teachers. Most of the qualitative studies have analyzed national survey data (NAEP & SASS) to report trends in formal professional development. This is problematic as these surveys are designed to collect a wide variety of information and only a small portion is designated to collect information about professional learning. This session will share research findings from a large-scale study that sought to fill these gaps by examining the professional learning habits of middle and high school mathematics teachers in the southeast. The types and frequency of participation will be shared as well as information on the life cycle of professional development throughout a teacher's career. Discussions regarding the current state of professional development will be explored as well as suggestions for how policy and programmatic changes can be implemented to better address the various learning needs of teachers.

The purpose is 1) to examine the significance of a patient’s active or passive role in terms of health management; 2) to determine if a relationship exists between active and passive scores and his/her self-directed learning readiness, and 3) to identify self-directed learning characteristics.

Adult educators and learners are the target audience of this presentation. The information is geared towards adults with chronic illness or interested in health management. Individuals interested in health management, health literacy, and management strategies are encouraged to participate.

The purpose of this study was 1) to examine the significance of a patient’s active or passive role in terms of his/her health management; 2) to determine if a relationship exists between his/her active and passive scores and his/her self-directed learning readiness, and 3) to identify if his/her view of one’s self as a patient (when diagnosed with a chronic disease) impacts his/her own personal health management. By using management strategies we will find solutions to the challenges that we face when it comes to our quality of life, health management, and chronic illness.

Statistics show that more people have a phone but not their own toilet. This statistic is unfortunate, yet opening doors when it comes to social justice. The purpose of this session is to examine the resources available on smartphones and how they can be used to promote education for all.

Educators who are looking for ways to start integrating technology in the classroom can find that using phones are an easy way to begin, since most students have one. Anyone who works with diversity and inclusion programs may find that the effective use of cellular devices are a way for students to feel connected to their university and other academic resources.

According to CNN, there is an estimated 7 billion people in the world, and around 6 billion of them have access to cellular devices. However, only 4.5 billion have access to a toilet. This is unfortunate, yet fascinating because smartphones are a window to powerful educational opportunities and advancement. Session attendees will learn how to effectively use and integrate these devices to meet students where they are at, while promoting educational opportunities for all.

This session will present the effects of and efforts taken to assist individuals in low income communities suffering from a lack of computer knowledge, function, and computer and internet access.

Adult educators and learners who are interested in making themselves a presence in the communities in which they seek to educate.

In today's technology advanced world access to the internet or home computer may seem commonplace to most of us with an estimated eighty five percent of American adults using the internet (Araque, 2013), however the lack of internet access and a computer is still a hardship for many Americans. Low-income communities have struggled with gaining access to computers and Internet technology due to a lack of resources and opportunities (Araque, 2013). This lag between income groups has been labeled the digital divide, which describes the perceived disadvantages affecting those unable or unwilling to make use of technology in their daily life (Araque,2013). But being disconnected isn't just a function of being poor, these days, it is also a reason some people stay poor (Smith,2012). As the Internet has become an essential platform for job-hunting and furthering education, those without access are finding the basic tools for escaping poverty increasingly out of reach (Smith,2012).

This paper reviews the adult learning theories-in-practice that have influenced the way adult learning is supported today in the U.S. military. In particular, it reviews the military’s adult learning voluntary education programs from 1943 through present day and discusses how the adult learning theories-in-practice have influenced the programs.

The target audience for this roundtable is adult educators, human resource development professionals, adult education policy analysts, and adult learning center program managers.

In today’s austere environment of budget cuts in adult learning/human resource development (HRD) programs, educators, program managers, and policy maker must study those adult education programs that are effective, efficient, innovative, and have survived the test of time –like the Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) voluntary adult education program—sometimes referred to as continuing education. Voluntary education programs for military personnel are defined as continuing, adult [basic educational skills], or postsecondary educational programs of study that military personnel elect to participate in during their off-duty [non-working] time. With a workforce of approximately 3.2 million people, performing over 800 types of occupations, the DoD is the largest employer in the world. In order to attract and retain top quality personnel for its workforce, the DoD operates one of the largest continuing education programs in the world, supported by 204 education centers located globally. Consequently, the DoD voluntary education program offers rich opportunities for the adult education and HRD communities to study and adopt adult education “best practices” and “bench marks.”

As Self-Directed Learning expands into different disciplines, we need to assess where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. This panel discussion will include a conversation about SDL history by experts in the field, an analysis of recent research, and a discussion of future directions.

Self-directed learning researchers and practitioners will be most interested in this session as they will gain new insights into the recent research in the field as well as contribute to the discussion. Graduate students, especially those in adult education, and adult educators in general will also find the panel discussion enlightening.

As the field of self-directed learning expands into different disciplines and we reflect on our rich tapestry of adult learning, there is a need to assess where we have been, where we are, and where we are going in relation to SDL and the Adult Education field more broadly. Furthermore, we need to reflect upon adult educators’ contributions to the field and plan how we will continue to be an integral part of that conversation. The importance of this panel discussion is best supported by Brockett’s (2009) statement that, “Although we have made important inroads toward understanding the phenomenon of SDL, many important questions remain. Thus, instead of abandoning this line of research, I believe there is much to be gained from revitalizing and expanding scholarship on self-directed learning” (p. 38). Therefore, this panel discussion will begin with a conversation about SDL history by experts in the field. Next, there will be an analysis of recent research and the trends emerging in the literature and practice. Finally, the panel and attendees will discuss future directions of SDL research and the exciting new horizons yet to be explored.

Compassion is a human quality that is often overlooked in today’s competitive environment. An interactive conversation on its usefulness to adult education follows a review of the recent scientific research.

Adult educators interested in the newly emerging practices and research on compassion and altruism in psychology and neuroscience and their application in adult education will be interested in attending this session.

We educate in an era dominated by an ethos of competition and self-interest. The fallout of this is experienced as increased stress in the workplace, increased violence in communities and the workplace, and a narrative of competition linked to accountability requirements in education. Social science and scientific research and education practice have overwhelmingly focused on humans, like animals, in competition for survival. However, recently research findings have begun to accumulate that support the opposite view, that humans have a natural capacity for compassion for others. This session will summarize major research findings in the growing field compassion studies and look at how professionals in a variety of fields are applying these findings to their practice. Participants will engage in an activity for developing compassion. We will look at ways to incorporate compassion and altruism into our own practice as adult educators.

During the early implementation stages of WIOA, explain to adult education instructors will need to understand contextualization and career pathways instruction in the classroom. This session begins that conversation, exploring how contextualization and a shift in focus away from high school equivalency examinations will shape the future of adult education.

The target audience for this session is ABE and ESL instructors, program management, and administration

This instructor-facing interactive presentation will cover WIOA implementation in the
classroom, explore strategies for building contextualized lesson plans, and
outline professional development approaches under WIOA. Instructors will
exit the course fully aware of the changes under WIOA and fully prepared to
integrated new approaches necessitated by WIOA in the classroom.

This phenomenological pilot study through the medium of unstructured interviews explore what factors contributed to three education doctoral students thriving in doctoral education? Findings indicates, growth and development, supportive learning environment, faculty and family support, time investment, motivation, and self-discipline were contributing influences found in individual experience of thriving.

Over the years one of the major crisis that continues to threaten doctoral education is the high rate of attrition. Attrition persist in all phase of doctoral education. This presentation is targeted to doctoral students and graduate education stake holders aimed at preparing doctoral students in a broader sense to successfully complete their studies.

This presentation will commence by looking at some of the challenges in doctoral education i.e non-completion and departure from studies and how it impacts on adult learners and the society in general. The response in time past and the current state of affairs. The highlight of the presentation will be a suggested conceptual framework to successfully navigate doctoral education in a broader sense.

The number of returning veteran students is increasing rapidly. However, limited research has been done focusing on veteran students’ academic stress and their coping strategies. Therefore, the present study investigated the academic stress and coping strategies of this particular student group.

The targeted audience of this session included students, administrators and staff, faculty, researchers, and anyone involved in or interested in understanding and helping with returning veteran students in higher education.

The number of veterans attending higher education institutions is increasing. Most of the previous studies aimed attention to the adjustment and transition issues from combat to college life, especially mental health of veteran students. However, limited research explored the academic stress and coping strategies of this particular student group. As a result, this session examines five academic stresses (i.e., frustration, conflict, pressure, change, self-imposed) and five coping strategies (i.e., self-help, approach, accommodation, avoidance, self-punishment) of this population based on different gender, seeking degrees, years away from schools, ranks and service status, and levels of former education. It is expected that this session will help higher education professionals better understand veteran students, as well as helping them improve their learning and achieve their academic goals.

What is adult development? What relevance do adult development theories and models have to the practice of adult basic education? Our philosophy of adult development informs our teaching. For example, if we believe that people mature by passively absorbing knowledge and reacting to their environments, our instruction differs from others.

The target audience for this sessions hopefully will be teachers and other professionals who have direct contact with adult learners in their college or university. Since research show that the aging population is enter college at about 73 percent; it is important that practitioners are prepared to address this population different from that of the average student 18 to 22 years of age. Adult learners learn different from the traditional student. Therefore, it is important that this audience is targeted. Adult learners learn different the traditional student, there the teaching method should be tailored to meet their needs.

This session will highlight the four lenses through which adult development will be seen. These four lenses are: behavioral/mechanistic, cognitive/psychological, contextual/socio-cultural, and integrative. The presenter intent to discuss each of these lenses and show how they impact the lives of adult learners and their development. This presentation will show that programmed learning is one method of instruction used by teachers who champion the behavior/mechanistic approach of development. The second/psychological/cognitive approach to development asserts that people reach more complex, integrated levels of development through active participation with their environment. The contextual/socio-cultural perspective on development works from the point of view that adult development cannot be understood apart from the socio-historical context in which it occurs (Miller, 1993). The integrated approach to adult development takes a holistic view of adult development. This perspective is focused on how the intersections of mind, body, and socio-cultural influences affect development (Clark & Caffarella, 1999). Teachers who espouse the integrated approach to adult development believe in the interconnection between mind, body, spirit, and socio-cultural factors. They are interested in promoting students' growth intellectually, physically, emotionally, aesthetically, and spiritually (Miller, 1993). Therefor, those believing in the integrative approach recognize the intersection between mind, body, spirit, and socio-cultural factors.

Rollins College is committed to multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusion and the Center for Health Innovation's commitment to these goals will be described, including our forging community partnerships with organizations representing ethnic minorities, immigrant populations, and the working poor to identify and address barriers to education.

The target audience for this poster exhibit includes college and university administrators and faculty involved with promoting diversity and inclusion efforts at their institution.

This poster exhibit focuses on the Hamilton Holt School’s recruitment and retention initiatives for minority students. We have increased the number of ethnic minorities at the Holt School from 31.4% in 2011 to 39.0% in 2015 through recruitment efforts, administrative practices, and educational programs. Holt School has developed strong community partnerships with the intention of enhancing educational opportunities for local underserved populations. In 2014, the Rollins Evening Emerging Leaders (REEL) Scholarship was created to provide educational support to underserved urban youth participating in the Elevate Orlando program and Hispanic youth through a partnership with the Hispanic Heritage Scholarship Fund. To help ensure student success, REEL student scholars participate in leadership development workshops and coaching on self-awareness, behavioral assessment, and communication effectiveness. There is a tremendous lack of diversity in the healthcare workforce as although 30% of the US population is in a minority group, only 9% of health professionals who provide their care represent a minority. Rollins College is seeking to make an impact on diversity in the healthcare workforce by recruiting minority students to pursue Rollins health degrees and become leaders in healthcare management.

Align & Redesign is an innovative, transformational, strategic multi-year effort to transform how adult education and literacy deliver services to improve student outcomes. This three-year initiative redesigned adult education and literacy services by aligning services with research and evidence-based best practices. This session will discuss outcomes and evaluation of innovations.

Adult Basic Education, Correction Education, Professional Development, Evaluation, Innovation, Aligning research and evidence-based best practices with service delivery, integrated learning, career pathways, WIOA

This poster session focuses on the Wyoming’s initiative to transform service delivery igniting a powerful impact on teaching and learning. What instructional practices make a difference? What model of innovation was selected and why? How was such a long initiative evaluating the impact of a comprehensive professional development? With limited resources, what investments are going to move the needle on student achievement? The latest technologies, initiatives, and resources alone are not the answer. It comes down to investing in adult educators and providing support and professional development that will move them to best practices.

The presenter discusses findings from a campus-wide learning assessment survey of full- and part-time faculty.

The target audience for this session is individuals interested in assessment and learning outcomes in a higher education context.

As assessment becomes increasingly important with accrediting agencies and higher education institutions in general, it is imperative that adult educators understand the role of it.

More and more adults re-enter universities to obtain their Bachelor's degree, yet with different motivations and expectations. This session presents a qualitative study of 20 African American adult undergraduates, which was designed to help improve retention of those students through providing the supports needed.

The participants of this session can be:
1) Adult education program recruiters who are looking for fits into their programs
2) Instructors who teach adult undergraduates
3) Advisors who provide academic supports to adult learners
4) Program Administrators who are searching for strategies that can improve the retention rate of adult education programs

As a result of societal, political and economic shifts in the U.S., including job loss, promotion aspirations, dissatisfaction with status in life, an increasing number of adults, age 25 and above, have chosen to return to colleges and universities to obtain a bachelor’s degree (Choy, 2002; Moffatt, 2011). According to National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2010), adults represent 59% of part-time, 27% of full-time, or 39% of total enrollment in undergraduate colleges and universities nationwide. Furthermore, among the adult undergraduates, the number of African American enrollment grows faster than the other ethnicity groups (Kasworm, 2003; 2011). Although much research has studied the emerging phenomenon of adults’ reentry to the undergraduate degree program, only limited research effort has been made to understand the motivations, expectations and aspirations of this particular group of students and help them succeed (Ross-Gordon & Brown-Haywood, 2000; Ross-Gordon, 2005). This study is a timely addition to adult and continuing education by providing insights into what African American adult undergraduates need, want, expect and aspire, which is the key to the success of the individual adult learners, the adult completion programs and the higher education institutions, therefore, improving the retention rate.

This article turns to an embodied way of knowing (martial arts) offering a perspective on how a typology of teaching and learning, Peters and Armstrong (1998), might potentially be blended into one approach. This perspective views the body as an other way of knowing that challenges dominant Western perspectives.

The target audience would be any educators interested in Peters and Armstrong's (1998) typology of teaching and learning. Also anyone who believes that there are other ways of knowing that are often excluded from academic conversations. And anyone who has experienced an other way of knowing.

The importance of this session derives from the need for a greater understanding of other ways of knowing, especially those that challenge the dominant Western perspective. This session will illustrate how an embodied approach to knowing and understanding can speak to a Western typology of teaching and learning. The innovation that this session will deliver is the use and focus on the body through group demonstration and participation. This session will have a lecture component to familiarize the audience with Peters and Armstrong's (1998) typology of teaching and learning, but will rely on somatic practices to illustrate an other way of knowing. The impact is a potential broadening of horizons for the participants to explore other practices that they may not have considered as being traditionally academic. The timeliness comes from the decreasing distances between people in a global context and a need to understand how teaching and learning are viewed across the globe.

Unconscious bias, we all have them. Not recognizing these biases comes with consequences on students. This presentation is expected to help higher education Institutions (HEIs) comprehend unconscious bias, and find how to lessen its effect, with specific reference to local and international students in colleges and universities in United States.

There has been expanding enthusiasm for the idea of unconscious bias and an expanding comprehension of the effect that it can have on students.Professors and facilitators have to recognize that everyone has a bias and acknowledging this fact will help reduce/curb the effects that these biases have on students (Herbert 2013). The targeted audience are professors and facilitators who serve adult learners in colleges or universities, and community colleges.

Acknowledgment of unconscious bias must not supplant an affirmation that unconscious bias and discrimination exist and keeps on being an issue in college and university environment. While the strategies for measuring and predicting unconscious biases may not be impeccable, there is little uncertainty that it does exist and furthermore can possibly influence our activities and classroom teaching and learning. Universities and colleges not just have an ethical obligation regarding their unconscious biases, however an ethical obligation; college and university professors should be productive and viable, and choices and actions should be made in view of confirmation and certainty, instead of generalizations and hunches.

Understanding the needs of the Non-traditional student is vital if we want to make the learning transaction truly successful. Do you want to become more active in the learning process? This can be done by building meaningful student relationships through trust.

Any adult educator, academic advisor, or other student personnel.

By sharing my personal experience, the learner will be able to see the fruits of building meaningful student relationships. I simply wanted my bachelor's degree. Now I am half-way through my Master's and finalizing plans for doctoral studies.

The purpose of this paper is to study how to conduct service learning by collaborating with the community partners, through which the author aims to identify the strategies of how to conduct service learning in the community and the challenges in conducting service learning.

Researchers, graduate students, and practitioners who are interested in the topic on how to organize adult learning activities in the community context by partnering with community organizations.

In this paper, the author described a practical case of a service learning course conducted in the fall of 2015. In this course, 12 graduate students worked with community partners to market and organize reading workshops for the local citizens. Students used different organizational/management theories to identify and analyze the organizations which could support reading workshops in the local community, designed, marketed and organized reading workshops in the local community, and developed relevant budget plans for their service learning projects.

Students were evaluated based on the overall quality of their projects. The evaluation was based on assessment of the plans they made which reflected the theories they learned in this course; the results of the actions they took to implement the plans; their sharing and commenting on each other’s work; and the quality of their group collaboration. Students conducted very rich workshops and achieved the required learning goals. However, some students were not satisfied with this service learning course due to the large amount of time they invested in the course, the difficulties they encountered in finding partners, and the plans they had to adjust due to the changed situations.

What’s in a name, why is this community center or library named after this person? Investigate the history behind this individual. Sources like Ancestry, library archives, and oral histories can help you gain knowledge that may encourage youth to reenact this person’s life. Let’s celebrate adult learning through immersive learning.

Adult learners; community leaders, youth, non-traditional students, instructors,

The use of immersive learning to foster discussion, discover family histories, and promote community involvement. It provides a structured and critical review, reflection, and analysis of individual, collective, and organizational cultural identities, race as a social construction, historical inequalities, the history and impact of structural racism, the implications for race relations, and strategies for promoting inclusion and civic engagement through family and history research, presentations, oral storytelling, and/or the development of traveling exhibits.
The use of immersive learning centrally implies a shift from considering and designing learning tasks to choreographing learning experiences as a whole, mediated by structured and semi-structured social interactions, according to De Freitas, Rebolledo-Mendez, Liarokapis, Magoulas, & Poulovassillis (2010).
De Freitas, S., Rebolledo‐Mendez, G., Liarokapis, F., Magoulas, G., & Poulovassilis, A. (2010). Learning as immersive experiences: Using the four‐dimensional framework for designing and evaluating immersive learning experiences in a virtual world. British Journal of Educational Technology,41(1), 69-85.

This study compares data between the national OLLI profile and the Florida profile. A survey was conducted to compare demographic factors as well as preferences regarding course content, and usage of technology and social networks. Results indicated significant difference between OLLI profiles. Implications for OLLI directors are discussed.

The target audience for this presentation includes:
* Adult Education faculty
* Lifelong Learning Institute administrators, instructors, and members
* Others who are interested in lifelong learning and gerontology

The purpose of this research was to identify and compare the profiles of OLLI members in non-Florida and Florida institutes. The issues compared included relocation after retirement, usage of technology, and social networking usage related to current and future OLLI courses, as well as areas of interest for courses and course delivery methods.
This research contributes to the field of adult education by providing a broader understanding of OLLI members. It gives current information about how lifelong learners seek their learning experiences and the kind of benefits they are looking for after they retire. This research may help administrators in marketing courses and recruiting new OLLI members and may also help instructors in planning their methods of course design and delivery. This study could positively influence the program experience of Florida OLLI members and administrators.

To expand opportunities for adult growth and development, the connection of faith and spiritual development in the later years is explored using gerotranscendence theory and contemplative practices. This presentation looks to demonstrate how contemplative practices fits into the realm of adult education.

The target audience for this session are professionals, professors of adult education, family life educators, adult learners and anyone interested in spirituality and aging in education.

To expand opportunities for adult growth and development, the connection of faith and spiritual development in the later years is explored using gerotranscendence theory and contemplative practices. Gerotranscendence theory posits there is a gradual and stable increase of spiritual development from middle age and beyond that identifies a change from materialistic, role-oriented beliefs to a spiritual perspective in the later years (Atchley, 2008). Specifically, characteristics of this theory attend to transcending from the past to the present and understanding the role changes that take place. Contemplative practice is a prevailing trend that includes, but not limited to, deep listening, storytelling, mindfulness, establishing a sacred personal space, and contemplative reading and writing. This presentation looks to demonstrate how contemplative practices fits into the realm of adult education. Specifically, with the belief that lifelong learning contributes to human fulfillment and positive social change, ways educators can support the spiritual influences of adult learners on their educational journeys as they gain and contribute knowledge, skills, attitudes or values and form greater connections is explored.

Adult English language educators regularly incorporate learners’ cultures into their classrooms through an approach known as culturally responsive teaching. This poster session will present the findings of a nationwide study of these practices and implications for professional development in the fields of second language acquisition and adult literacy education.

This poster session is directed at adult education practitioners and researchers interested in culturally responsive teaching practices.

Adult English language classrooms are rich in ethnic and linguistic diversity. However, there is limited knowledge of the practices adult educators use to incorporate their learners’ diverse cultural identities into the curriculum. This poster session will present the findings of a nationwide study of the culturally responsive teaching practices of ESOL and EAP educators and implications for professional development in the fields of second language acquisition and adult education.
Using the four elements of Ginsberg and Wlodkowski’s Motivational Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching, the Culturally Responsive Teaching Survey (CRTS), an online survey of 17 teaching practices, was developed, piloted, validated, and administered to ESOL and EAP educators throughout the US. In the CRTS, participants are asked to report how frequently they use each practice and how important each practice is to their teaching on a five-point frequency scale. Findings yield overall patterns of use for each item. To date, most items have demonstrated moderate to high patterns of use with no significant differences among demographic groups. These findings add to the limited understanding of culturally responsive teaching in adult English language classrooms and present implications for future research and professional development.

Why a Diagram is (Sometimes) Worth Ten Thousand Words (Larkin and Simon,1987) is a seminal article in cognitive science. This presentation describes the history, background, and development of a novel abstract diagram elicitation protocol (draw aloud protocol) based on diagram research in adult learning at Virginia Tech (ALHRD Program).

This presentation is applicable for anyone interested in the design, application, and outcomes related to abstract diagram use and the elicitation of prior knowledge in the classroom.

Cognitive science and the learning sciences are quickly converging to make visible the underlying unconscious cognitive processes that illuminate how humans learn to search for information, recognize patterns, and make inferences about experiences in the real world. This session describes a novel elicitation protocol designed to accelerate the ability of students and teachers to engage prior knowledge in the classroom and quickly develop scaffolding strategies for building core conceptual foundations upon which new learning can take place.

An in-depth look at trends for enrollment over a significant amount of time for a two-year technical college located in Alabama Correctional Institutions. This study will also attempt to identify the possible causes of the increases and decreases of these trends.

The target audience for this study would be instructors, administrators, registrars, and all personnel that work in Adult and Continuing Education within a correctional institution or a two-year institution that serves the incarcerated.

An in-depth look at enrollment trends over a significant amount of time for a two-year technical college located in Alabama Correctional Institutions. This study will also attempt to identify the possible causes of the increases and decreases of these trends. The importance of this study is due to the very high level of recidivism and if providing a trade education can help combat that level of recidivism.

This presentation shares the results of a study on International Human Resource Managers and how they make meaning of expatriate adjustment, followed by various ways the managers eventually intervene and advise their employees.

human resource practitioners, researchers, professors, adult education / HRD students, narrative analysis, critical incident technique

This session is significant in that it directly addresses an issue faced by many HR managers: intervention. Although this study focused on international HR managers, it can be applied to general HR practice. How do HR managers arrive at their decisions?

This qualitative study explores the experiences, perceptions and coping mechanism of adult Indian international students during graduate program in American universities. Results will help other adult international students and increase university personnel’s intercultural awareness to create feasible academic support, become more attractive to potential future students and improve retention.

In the 2015- 2016 year, India’s international students’ growth increased to a high of 132,888 which is the highest growth of 29.4 % (Institute of International Education, 2015). As the adult international student enrollments increases, it is important for educators and administrators to have a greater understanding of their different life and academic experiences. Perspectives from this study would increase the intercultural awareness of the faculty and university personnel who can infuse the knowledge in their institutional and teaching discourse. Findings can be beneficial to other adult students in similar situations.

The number of international students in U.S. universities had the highest rate of growth in 35 years. India’s growth outplaced China’s in the 2015/16 year, this being the highest growth rate for Indian students (Open Door Report, International Educational Exchange, 2015). The report also found that the international graduate students increased more than undergraduate students, because most of the Indian students were studying at the graduate level. They include the traditional and non-traditional students who have migrated to the United States for work or are spouses of expatriates. This has significant economic and academic impacts contributing more than $30 million to the U. S. economy in 2014, as per the U.S. Department of Commerce. International students also provide domestic students with multicultural interaction, a valuable experience in today’s globalized world. There are very few studies on Indian international students with no demarcation of the Indian international student as traditional or non-traditional. But, there is a difference between the young international Indian student who has migrated exclusively for the purpose of higher education and the adult Indian international student who has to balance multiple roles in their life, and is expatriates or their spouses.

This session will report the findings of a national study of faculty senate leaders and their perspectives on leadership needs in higher education and their levels of hope as a trait. These findings are also correlated to perspectives on senate effectiveness and impact on institutional decision making.

The session is primarily targeted to college administrators and leaders who work with collaborative decision making, although the session will be of interest to researchers and scholars interested in Hope as a trait. Practitioners will also find the literature and discussion of collaborative decision making meaningful in both improving practice and conducting future research.

Shared governance in higher education is at a critical point in history. Although there are surges in the collective activity of faculty members, their actions have continued to have little meaningful impact on the college campus. Events such as faculty protests of the new presidential appointment at Iowa, for example, yielded little change in trustee behavior.
Three perspectives as to why faculty are not able to gain the respect include: (1) the ideal of shared governance has never actually been in full practice in the academy, and that depictions of it truly working have been exaggerated; (2) the professionalism and technological advances inherent in the contemporary university restrict and limit what faculty and truly contribute to institutional operations, and (3) that professional administrators fail to see the value of professorial ranks contributing to difficult decisions on campus.
Individual characteristics are a key component in determining the effectiveness of an organization’s potential, and shared governance bodies have a history of relating to human resource theory. Understanding how faculty-led shared governance bodies successfully operate is critical to their survival; the study was designed to explore the motivation and perspectives of faculty governance leaders, including the trait of hope among faculty senate leaders.

Many education marketers target “adults” using off-the-shelf marketing plans with broadly defined demographics and geographies. There is a better way. Employing first-, second- and third-party data you can create a customized, strategic media plan with audience-specific data, tiered geo-strategies and marketing intelligence leading to highly efficient and effective campaigns

Marketing and enrollment professionals within education.

Many education marketers target “adults” using generic, off-the-shelf marketing plans with broadly defined demographics and geographies. There is a better way. Through use of first-party school data, second-party industry data and third-party audience data, you can define your target audience of prospective students with the greatest propensity to enroll and graduate from your programs. But that’s not all. Data can also provide marketing intelligence to identify your best-performing media channels, estimated cost of media and expected conversion rates. All of this data helps you develop a customized, strategic media plan that leads to campaign efficiency and marketing effectiveness.

Explore the success of the Finish What You Started Program at the University of Rhode Island. Conceptualized in 2012 as a pathway for non-traditional students to return to the classroom, the program provides mentors for adult learners from admission to matriculation to graduation. Hear our success stories and strategies.

Any college professional that interacts with adult learners will benefit from learning how the FWYS Program supports adult learners with a hands-on approach geared toward fostering a positive mindset leading to degree completion.

The FWYS Program supports adult learners with a hands-on approach geared toward fostering a positive mindset leading to degree completion. Returning adult learners bring a unique set of needs to the admission/re-enrollment process. Re-enrolling/enrolling this population takes a great deal of time and effort. By providing a hands-on supportive approach, we are able to walk students through the application process from initial contact to enrolling in classes. Many of our students have been out of school for some time and are facing situational, institutional and dispositional barriers. It is estimated that it takes 7-10 hours of work to register a returning adult learner from initial contact to enrolling in their first class. FWYS’s strength is its aggressive hands-on approach to counseling and mentoring students. Not only do we keep continuous contact with students while they are in the application process, we maintain continuous contact throughout their entire career at URI. This allows us to connect students with the services they need, counsel them back if they need to take a semester off and, best of all, celebrate their successes.

Though several studies have revealed an increase in student performance in the flipped learning environment, there is limited empirical research on the phenomenon in higher education; especially within the discipline of nursing (Roach, 2014). In addition, empirical research is limited on the learning experiences of students and teaching experiences of faculty in the flipped learning environment. This study added to the existing empirical research on the instructional approach by obtaining data on the lived experiences of students and faculty in the flipped learning environment; primarily focusing on the instructional approach in higher education in the discipline of nursing. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the lived experiences of faculty and students in the flipped learning environment. A multiple case study approach was used because the study took place at two separate institutions in the southeastern United States. Data were collected through the use of a questionnaire, focus-group interviews, semi-structured interviews, and observation. The major themes that emerged from the study was that the flipped learning environment is a student-centered learning environment that is convenient, interactive, overwhelming, difficult to adjust, and provided opportunities for students to better prepare for class. The experiences shared from this study are valuable additions to the growing body of research for faculty implementing flipped instruction. The findings suggest that the need for further research is necessary to examine the learning experiences of students with prior exposure to the instructional approach and to examine the learning experiences of students with previous education backgrounds to determine if the level of knowledge has an effect on student adjustment in the flipped classroom.

Faculty in higher education settings

The session will provide attendees with findings related to the innovative instructional approach in two separate learning environments.

We will explore attitudes of health care professionals as they encounter self-directed programs of study for mandatory continuing education.

Practitioners, instructors, and students who are interested in adult learning and health education.

An understanding of how attitude towards self-directed learning and mandatory continuing education can impact health care professionals.

Good teaching that produces effective outcomes requires the teacher to have knowledge of the subject matter and the ability to use tools and methods to engage all of the students. To be effective, that material must be presented using methods that acknowledge and respect all learning styles and levels of attention.

This workshop has direct application to anyone who in involved with the educational process or is a supervisor of educators. All of us who provide instruction want tools information about current theory and practice and look for tools to improve understanding. The goal of my presentation is to give examples, activities and tricks to catch attention, create better connections and make learning enjoyable. In the process of doing this, I will relate this information to experiential learning theory.

I am an advocate for using experiential teaching methods because It entails using all the senses in the delivery. There are people who are visual learners, auditory learners and tactical. If the instruction is slated in only one of these directions, the other groups are missed. When we use an experiential approach, all learning styles are respected, and greater understanding is achieved. In the experiential approach, the important information is presented and followed by an activity that relates to the information in the lesson. During the activity, the instructor acts as more of a facilitator ensuring safety and encouraging as they work to solve the problem or accomplish the task. In any of these activities or tasks failure is an option as much is learned in whatever the outcome. The real teaching comes after the activity as the instructor will process the results. Three main questions are asked. They are:
1. What: What did we just do?
2. So What: How does this relate to the topic of the information presented
3, Now What: Now that we know this how can we use it?

Lastly, the learning is applied back to the presented information.

When industry experts and university instructional designers establish cooperative partnerships, industrial training benefits greatly. This presentation uses an international training course developed collaboratively between an industry expert and an instructional design graduate student to highlight key lessons for those interested in industrial training.

This session is intended for:
• Industry experts who develop and deliver technical training and desire increased learning and expertise in the area of industrial course design, as well as in acquiring strategies to form partnerships with university instructional design students and faculty.
• Students of university level instructional design programs who are interested in gaining experience in authentic instructional design projects.
• Experienced members of university instructional design programs wanting to offer their services to help industry professionals develop effective training.

This session topic is important as it relates to cost effectiveness of industrial training course development as well as the instructional effectiveness of the training itself. This session focuses on both actual and opportunity costs of industrial training. These hidden costs may include not meeting course objectives due to poor design, excessive industry expert time spent developing training materials, and the associated opportunity cost of the industry expert devoting less time to core business. The positive impacts of improved collaboration between university instructional designers and industry experts include lower training development costs, an increased chance of meeting training objectives, improved student enjoyment of the training, and more job satisfaction by both instructional designers and industry experts as they focus on what they do best. While the concept of collaboration is not new, it is the personal experience of one of the presenters, an annuitant of a major international corporation, that industry-university collaboration could be more effectively leveraged. With ever increasing pressures on training budgets, the need to train newcomers in a wide range of topics, and newcomers’ expectations of up-to-date training methods, innovative solutions that universities offer combined with industry’s needs is a timely topic.

In addition to the many stereotypes that portray Millennials, those who are unemployed are having to deal with additional financial, psychological, and physical stress. This session will look at the impact that unemployment can have on young adults’ self-esteem and also some potential solutions for this issue.

The target audience for this presentation will include ages 18-65. This age range covers the typical range of ages that individuals will be employed throughout their lifetime. Also, employers, high-school teachers and counselors, college teachers, college advisors, and Millennials themselves will be the target audience for this speech. These are the individuals who will most likely interact with Millennials on a professional level to prepare them for employment or to employ them. Also, some individuals, such as the counselors, are in positions to help Millennials deal with the stress factors that will be discussed during this presentation.

Millennials are often stigmatized as being less capable of fulfilling their roles in the workforce due to their sense of entitlement and their obsession with technology and social media. However, many of the stereotypes surrounding Millenials are unfounded and are counterproductive to their progress in an economy that unfortunately did not work out in their favor when it was time for them to transition into adulthood, making their mark in the workforce. Instead, the Great recession has left its mark on many Millennials who are striving to overcome the financial, psychological, and physiological damage that has been caused by their unemployment status. In spite of the challenges that Millennials have faced in this economy, they can be encouraged by the fact that they do indeed possess invaluable skills that business need, and hopefully more resources to become available to Millennials and any other generation of people who are faced with unemployment that will allow them to exercise their skills in a way that builds their confidence and ability to transition into the workforce with ease.

Qualitative study exploring how class and race membership affect the beliefs of socioeconomically disadvantaged African American adults towards educational participation through the examination of their narratives.

Adult educators, graduate students, professors and qualitative researchers

The overall focus of educating socioeconomically disadvantaged African-Americans is placed on K-12. However, studies show the increase of adult students from marginalized groups entering higher education. It is important that we, as adult educators, do not further marginalize these adult learners by not actively engaging in ways to better understand and include their experiences in the classroom. Fostering mentor relationships that fit their needs is a key part of this engagement.

Online education is continuously growing for higher education in all majors fields. There is a growing number of graduate students who decide on online learning because of the flexibility and the self-direction. For many adult learners, online programs meet the needs for a working adults with various responsibilities. A phenomenological research approach will serve to explore the meaning adult education graduate students construct about the concept of self-directed learning in an online learning environment and its relationship to their development of critical thinking skills.

The target audience of this session includes adult education practitioners, faculty, students, program planners, administrators, and faculty development specialists. In addition to, specific interest in forming, improving, and participating in online education. This research will provide perspectives that will specifically have benefit for graduate programs in adult education.

Online education is continuously growing for higher education in all majors fields. There is a growing number of graduate students who decide on online learning because of the flexibility and the self-direction. For many adult learners, online programs meet the needs for a working adults with various responsibilities. A phenomenological research approach will serve to explore the meaning adult education graduate students construct about the concept of self-directed learning in an online learning environment and its relationship to their development of critical thinking skills.

This session presents findings of a qualitative, multiple-case study. Both curricular and co-curricular best practices are described with regards to the development of global leadership competencies addressed in seven selected adult education graduate programs located in the United States and Western Europe.

The target audience includes professors and instructors in adult education graduate programs, practitioners in the field of leadership, global studies, and curriculum development; and graduate students who want to gain insight into self-directed techniques for developing their own global leadership competencies while completing their graduate school program.

Researchers in the field of global leadership have reported a growing need for leaders able to perform from a global perspective, as well as the lack of qualified leadership candidates to fulfill these responsibilities. Adult education graduate programs represent a unique pool of aspirants to help fill this gap. Specific findings from this study sought to explore the connection between the phenomenon of global leadership competencies, identified by Bird’s (2013) framework of nested global leadership competencies. Fourteen professors from seven selected adult education graduate programs in four countries were interviewed for this qualitative, multiple-case study.
One of the questions that guided this study explored which curricular and co-curricular practices were identified in the development of these competencies in the selected adult education graduate programs. Findings indicated multiple curricular and co-curricular themes emerged as best practices to facilitate development of the global leadership competencies, although they were primarily associated with good instructional practices discussed within the context of globalizing the curriculum. There was less discussion about the competencies within a unifying construct of leadership development. Implications of the findings were directed towards the Commission of Professors of Adult Education (CPAE), university administration, adult education faculty, and adult education graduate students.

This action research project sought to describe experiences with three types of teaching and learning.The instructor-researcher hoped to better understand her pedagogy and contribute to related literature.Students were interviewed to describe their experiences, and what stood out for students included increased interactions, attention to process, and transferability of knowledge.

Instructors at higher education institutions would be the target audience because this project was conducted at a university and relates to teaching and learning at that level. Anyone interested in discussing pedagogical strategies for teaching and learning would also benefit.

This action research project sought to describe the experiences of students and instructor with three types of teaching and learning in a redesigned computer applications course. The instructor-researcher hoped to gain a better understanding of her pedagogy and to contribute to related literature. Peters and Armstrong’s (1998) typology of teaching and learning served as the framework for introduction of two additional types of pedagogies (discussion groups and collaborative learning) into a course traditionally taught utilizing predominately by only one type (lecture). Students were interviewed immediately after the course ended and asked to describe their experiences in the course. Results show that what stood out for students were the increased interactions among
students and between students and the instructor, attention to process, and the transferability of knowledge developed during class. Results led to changes in future course design and delivery as well as plans for publication. The process of and outcomes from this study should be of interest to practitioners who want to study and/or revise their own pedagogical strategies for teaching and learning.

e-Learning is becoming an essential instructional component across a broad spectrum of higher education institutions. This poster discusses the key issues and concerns for institutions of higher education related to e-Learning. The poster proposes how educational leaders may better utilize the enormous potential of e-Learning through enhanced development of e-Leadership.

The targeted audience includes graduate students, administrators and staff, faculty, researchers, and anyone involved in or interested in understanding, supporting and leading e-Learning instruction and delivery in higher education.

Technology and delivery formats for instruction are constantly changing in the world of higher education and learning. The need to better understand e-Learning models and educational technologies are at the forefront of the higher education landscape. Since the first universities were developed, the structure and teaching methodologies have rarely changed. However, the traditional model of higher education is rapidly being replaced and educational norms are being altered by e-Learning. The popularity of e-Learning and its often rapid implementation are generating some unique issues for higher education. e-Leadership, a collective term for all levels of those involved in development and evaluation of e-Learning programs, is not well understood, and deserves thought, reflection, and management apart from simply a methodological enhancement of face-to-face delivery. This poster looks at the issues and challenges of e-Learning and proposes a way ahead for institutions and enhanced development of e-Leadership.

Based upon our research, we will describe teachers' beliefs regarding dyslexia and dyscalculia. We will also report how learning disabilities have affected the lives of adults with them. Finally, we will make recommendations regarding how to teach others about dyslexia and dyscalculia to prevent bias in school and work settings.

The target audience will include adult educators who want to better serve their students with learning disabilities such dyslexia and dyscalculia. It will also include adults with learning disabilities themselves who want to know about the experiences of others with learning disabilities as well as how to better advocate for themselves.

Because of personal experiences, both presenters have a deep interest in how dyslexia and other learning disabilities affect teaching and learning. Unfortunately, research shows that many adult educators do not understand how to help students with learning disabilities reach their full potentials. Therefore, it is critically important that these adult educators be helped to better understand their students and ways to help them learn.
The presenters conducted research in which they investigated educators' beliefs regarding dyslexia (reading disability) and dyscalculia (math disability). Results indicate that the majority of educators have significant misconceptions which affect their teaching. The presenters also investigated how adults with learning disabilities perceive that their learning disabilities and others' beliefs have affected their lives. Findings show that learning disabilities are significantly correlated with effects upon adults’ daily routines, occupational choices and psychological health/emotions. Finally, the presenters explored ways that adult educators could be enlightened to better help students with learning disabilities. Comments of the subjects provide interesting insights, and discussion will be encouraged by the presenters. The impact of this presentation is expected to be far-reaching as adult educators and adults with learning disabilities will be encouraged to continue to collaborate after the conference ends.

As distance education instructors face increasingly diverse students with disabilities, language barriers, and significant skill deficiencies, traditional behavioristic methods, such as multiple choice assessments, do not effectively capitalize on their differences. Universal Design for Learning provides a way of reimagining the teaching/learning process to increase success for all students.

The target audience is distance education practitioners, instructional designers, doctoral and post-doctoral students, and educators with concerns about increasing accessibility. Practitioners with diverse learners who are interested in developing ways to meet the specific needs of all students within one educational setting will develop an understanding of a meta-instructional approach. Instructional designers revising or creating online courses will find a foundational approach for incorporating an array of methods to include varied learning styles. Doctoral students, post-doctoral students, and educators focused on inclusivity will gain insight into an inclusive approach to instruction for future teaching and research.

While students have become increasingly diverse in terms of race, gender, class, sexual orientation, age, and disability, the type of education delivered has not significantly changed. Individual accommodations have been applied, but the structure and culture of higher education, and the nature of what constitutes knowledge, its acquisition, and its expression in practice, have not responded to the increased diversity. By emphasizing human variability, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), effectively offers multiple means of representation that give learners various ways of acquiring information and knowledge, multiple means of engagement that tap into learners' interests, challenging and motivating them, and multiple means of expression that provide learners with alternatives for demonstrating what they know (CAST, 2015). Race, gender, class, sexual orientation, age, and disability should not be viewed from a deficit orientation that provides accommodations to meet socially constructed norms or that imposes a one-size-fits-all methodology; we need to reimagine how knowledge is defined, obtained and expressed in a way that embraces difference (Meyer, Rose, & Gordon, 2014), and we need to recognize that we are alike in that we all have limitations (Shakespeare & Watson, 2002). Content, interface, and interaction can be varied to meet all learners’ needs.

This session describes research regarding the perceptions of community college transfer students at a North Carolina university and what they believe university administrators can do to improve their experiences. This study was intended to understand the transfer student experience; however, the sample revealed the students were—overwhelmingly—adult learners.

Staff, faculty, and mid-to-upper level administrators who work with community college transfer students and are interested in improving the experiences of these students when they arrive to the four-year campus.

As community colleges become increasingly popular among higher education seekers, it is imperative that university officials have a grasp on who these students are and what they need to be successful at the four year institution. Ultimately, this need will vary from campus to campus; however, it is necessary to fully explore the transfer student population on a given campus and determine what the university, community college, and relevant stakeholders should implement to assist this population in successful matriculation. In this study, it was discovered that the transfer student sample was, primarily, adult learners who did not benefit from the methods utilized for traditional students. This insight has the potential to heavily influence—if not completely alter—the way this particular university assists their transfer student population.

Students (n=99) at a junior college studied a unit of religion online using an independent learning objected and a narrated PowerPoint presentation. Those who interacted with the learning object scored an average of seven points higher than those who listed to the PowerPoint.

Educators involved in distance learning and curriculum development would be interested in this presentation.

In the field of distance education, learning has been confined to PowerPoints and videos, along with screeds of text. Ideal learning objects incorporate a multi-media approach to a subject, engaging students through tactile, verbal and auditory types of learning, increasing cognition that is superior to current distance learning.

Diaspora, migration, and globalization are changing the demographic landscape, with increasing ethnic and economic diversity among adult learners. This presentation calls for expanding the discourse of adult education to incorporate critical studies of diaspora, making visible the inequality and imbalance of power inherent in the process of migration and resettlement.

With the current refugee crisis in Europe and the ongoing voluntary and involuntary migration the world over, there is growing concern among scholars and practitioners for meeting the needs of the increasing foreign-born adult learner population. This session's audience includes those involved with educating adults within a multitude of contexts to include colleges and universities, adult basic education, community education, ESOL, counseling and adult learner services, workplace education, health education and services, among others. Everyone who educates or provides services to adults should be aware of how diaspora, migration, and globalization impact the lives and identities of individuals and groups.

A review of the adult education literature reveals the glaring neglect of issues that impact the rapidly increasing number of foreign-born adults who take up residence in other countries, either through voluntary or forced migration. Noting that adult and higher education programs are often a new comer’s first stop in accessing learning opportunities to aid in their transition and acculturation, these institutions are often out of touch with the realities of the global world as evidenced by their absence of the discourses on such issues (Alfred & Guo, 2012; Nesbit, 2005; Suarez-Orozxo, 2007). According to Suarez-Orozxo, migration is the human side of globalization, and if that is ignored, we are, ignoring the impact of globalization on individuals, groups, and communities of the diaspora. A major impact of globalization, according to Robertson and White (2007) is its contribution to inequality and imbalance of power. With social justice as the hallmark of adult education philosophy and practice, it is fitting that we engage in discourses that make visible the realities of individuals from diaspora communities. This presentation explores how notions of diaspora, migration, and globalization intersect to inform identities and lives of those who leave their homeland and resettle in other nations.

This discussion-based session examines an innovative professional development (PD) framework synthesizing theory and practice across disciplinary fields. Authors seek to increase PD effectiveness and accountability through a flexible design incorporating collaboration and self-reflection, assessment of both knowledge and proficiency, and employee-created PD plans that are aligned with the organizational mission.

Session is designed as a discussion with those interested in or responsible for design and delivery of ongoing faculty/staff/employee training for non-profit, governmental, and educational organizations (K-12, post-secondary and/or adult literacy practitioners). Session discussion may also be of interest to those who design blended face-to-face and online training, foster the development of open educational resources, or design extended or job-embedded professional development experiences. Administrators and researchers in assessment design and accountability for employee training or professional development are also encouraged to participate.

While companies spent billions annually on employee professional development (PD), the true impact of PD to an organization or employee is often unclear. Drawing on performance excellence concepts, authors propose a more measurable approach to PD design using a Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle of continuous improvement. Authors will present and discuss a PD framework integrating research in effective PD practices as well as aspects of systems theory, design thinking, reflective practice, educational assessment and organizational alignment deliverable via low-cost tools in a flexible online or blended format.
Through the proposed model, organizations foster a lifelong learning environment by developing and supporting employee PD programs which integrate a flipped approach to training in job-related knowledge and skills with peer-supported formative and summative assessment. Ongoing accountability is provided by a PDCA cycle connecting employee-developed PD plans and individualized educational choice to personal career goals, employee performance reviews, and organizational needs. This facilitated training delivery model also encourages employees to develop skills in leadership and innovation by mentoring others; becoming trainers and contributing content to the organization’s PD offerings.

Pedagogy, andragogy, and heutagogy are key terms in the lexicon of educators. Educational theory has advanced to a point that we believe an additional term is now warranted. We propose the term “Chuoagogy” (Chuo – College, from Swahili) for the practice, theory, and research relating specifically to college level instruction.

The audience for this session will include instructors, faculty and educational researchers interested in the developmental transition of the learner that occurs during their time in the college or university learning environment.

Student Transition - Chuoagogy.
It is obvious to even the most casual observer that dynamic change is occurring in higher education instruction. From flipped classrooms through blended learning to fully online courses, new instructional models are being incorporated at an ever accelerating rate. These exciting advances are driving re-evaluation of instructional approaches by colleges and universities. With this re-evaluation comes the opportunity to focus research on theories specifically aimed at college-level student education. In reviewing the literature, we noted that no consistent term exists for the theory base associated with college level teaching. Many experts simply broaden the term “pedagogy” to include higher education. Conversely, some authors place college-level teaching under “andragogy”. We feel that due to the complexities and unique requirements associated with instructional models for teaching at the university level, the time has come to establish a more specialized term. We propose that pedagogy be reserved for studies involving K-12 instruction and that andragogy be used for adults in post-graduate or returning learner settings. For studies and theory focused on college-level students, we propose the new term “chuoagogy". This term provides a convenient way to distinguish learning theory associated with the transition from pedagogy to andragogy.

In 2014, ETS launched the HiSET exam. The exam gives out-of-school youth and adults an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and earn a state-issued high school equivalency credential. The exam features paper- and computer-based formats in English and Spanish, and has been adopted in more than 25 states and jurisdictions.

Any attendee that is involved in the decision making, preparation instruction or administration of a state or jurisdiction’s high school equivalency credential will have something to take away from the ETS High School Equivalency Testing (HiSET®) Program presentation. With a focus on HiSET content, program options and material resources adult educators involved in the preparation of a candidate in taking their high school equivalency exam would be the ideal audience for this presentation.

In 2014, Educational Testing Service broke new ground in adult education with the HiSET® exam — an affordable, more accessible high school equivalency test option. Built on the new college- and career-readiness standards, the HiSET exam gives out-of-school youth and adults an opportunity to demonstrate their skills and earn a state-issued high school equivalency credential. The exam features paper- and computer-based formats, in English and Spanish. Now the fastest-growing exam on the market it has been adopted in more than 25 states and jurisdictions. This session will showcase the progress the HiSET program has made since launch. Express the integrity HiSET has for adult education and the fairness if offers to its test takers. The presenter will advise attendees of the options HiSET has to offer, as well as inform any individuals already using HiSET of any updates with the program.

Advocacy and social change are (in part) contingent upon decolonizing andragogy that connect students with communities. A grassroots approach to education relies on connecting theory to practice and in developing knowledge that invests in the lives of communities we serve.

Audience members should be invested with developing curriculum across communities and understand the function of popular education in creating transformative social change. We must consider the role of educators as community organizers who are willing to empower community members to shape research and curriculum. Administrators and educators invested in developing new models for participatory action research would find this presentation challenging and empowering.

This interactive critically-engaging presentation is in response to our increasingly social justice-minded environment where communities are looking to places of higher learning to aid in their empowerment project. By placing communities at the center of our curriculum and mission (side by side with the mission of the College/University) it will require us to think critically about the history of higher education and it's need to have a paradigm shift in the direction of empowerment and social change.

Adult learners often experience challenges to their success and retention because of unmet non-academic needs. This session will provide an overview of non-academic student needs, as well as strategies for addressing them so that students can not only survive, but thrive, in the educational environment.

This session is designed for educators who work with at-risk adult learners in a variety of settings, from basic education programs to college/university environments. The session will also be informative for researchers, graduate students, and others interested in solutions-based strategies for assisting at-risk adult learners.

At-risk adult learners have the potential for success in educational settings, but are often hampered by unmet non-academic needs which distract them from their goals. However, if provisions for these needs are prioritized by both institutions and communities, many of these students will not only survive, but thrive, in their academic pursuits.
This session will examine definitions/criteria for non-academic needs of at-risk adult learners, address ways in which those unmet needs may inhibit retention and success for those learners, and identify potential sources of assistance/intervention for those needs. Some solutions-based strategies which have proven successful will be explored. Attendees will consider approaches which may be viable options for their own practice settings, then discuss these ideas in small groups.

This basic qualitative study investigates how welfare case managers, who are former welfare recipients, learn to become case managers, discover the boundaries of their discretionary power, and how their experiences as former recipients influences their case load management.

Adult Educators, Program Coordinators, and Trainers.

Since welfare reform was enacted in 1996, scholars have engaged in an active dialogue on the topics of welfare policy, case managers, and welfare recipients. The majority of the literature that addresses the issues surrounding case manager discretion focus mostly on race and racism (Watkins-Hayes, 2009, 2011; Schram, Fording & Soss, 2008; Schram, Soss, & Houser, 2009; Burnham, 2005; Keiser, Mueser, & Choi, 2004). While there is a small body of literature which focuses on case managers, it does not directly focus on how case managers learn the boundaries of worker discretion over implementing policy, or how their personal experiences intersect to influence their discretionary actions when deciding how to manage their caseloads (Pearson, 2007; Watkins-Hayes, 2009). Thus, the purpose of this study is to investigate how case managers’ discretionary power and personal experiences as former welfare recipients’ influence their decisions about caseload management. This study's findings will add to the current literature welfare case management, has implications for training facilitators, program administrators and directors, and case management staff, and have have implications for welfare policy in the design, implementation, research on, and devolution of policy at the local level.

Interprofessional education (IPE) represents students from two or more professions in health and social care working in concert during their professional training with the object of cultivating collaborative practice[1] for providing client- or patient-centered health care. It is imperative that Adult Educators understand how to interface with this discipline effectively.

The session is targeted for professionals and educators working with the health professions, adult education, academic advising, community-based healthcare organizations, healthcare educators who are responsible for program planning and evaluation for IPE. Moreover, this is germane to practicing adult educators who specialize in collaborative learning and participation training.

This session will introduce adult educators to the idea that the two disciplines of IPE and AE can build more flexible health workforces that enable local health needs to be met efficiently and effectively while maximizing resources. Moreover, their is an immediate need to effect a change in (higher) education and in clinical institutions to implement and secure interprofessional collaborative practice.

This session explores the outcomes of a case study that focused on the impact of organizational change on Adult Learning and the pursuit of Professional Development for personnel that remained with the organization. Results of this research support that HR Professionals need to address the impact on Adult Learning.

Human Resources Development, Adult Learning, Workforce Development, Training & Development Professionals would benefit from the relevant and understudied research on Organizational Change in the Context of Adult Learning. The Findings of this case study suggest that in the aftermath of Organizational Change survivors’ or those that remain with the organization, commitment to pursue personal professional development increases and their emotional and psychological attitudes are negatively impacted.

The problem of concern in this case study was the impact of organizational change on Adult Learning in the context of the pursuit of personal professional development. Studies focusing on organizational change in the corporate setting are prevalent, however there is a lack of studies that examine the impact on survivors’ organizational commitment and their pursuit of professional development in the realm of Adult Education. The emergence of the transformation of corporate principles to the field of Adult Education is significant. The focus of this case study was to examine how Adult Learners attribute meaning of the disoriented event of Organizational Change to their commitment, personal professional development and emotional well-being in the aftermath.

Power structures inside the classroom impact adult education and the adult learner. Through a solution based activity participants will analyze social and personal power structures that influence adult educators and the student-teacher dynamic.

Adult educators, program managers and directors’ could benefit from consciously analyzing how their personal and social power, beyond that of lesson planning and curriculum selection, impacts their interactions in the classroom. By assessing how personal power can both negatively and positively influence student success, educators and their supervisors can provide improved services to students.

With the advent of new laws for education of adults, the influx of returning citizens from our prisons and the expanding diversity of the US population, adult education will become more diverse. As adult educators, we must be able to understand the shifting dynamics within our lives and the lives of our students so we may best serve our students. By understanding and respecting the differences and influences, we will be better equipped to achieve positive outcomes within our programs.
Assessing power structures and power mapping, though started within the psychological discipline, is used extensively by US grassroots political movements. Using an adapted tool to analyze ourselves and our influences, we will be able to target where and how our teaching is and is not working and what we can do to improve our it through explicit means.

As adult students progress in math courses, they often forget concepts they learned in prior courses. In this session, educators will discuss how to incorporate previously learned concepts and acquired skills into new lessons and assessments so that students are able to retain and apply knowledge in an algebra course

The target audience is adult education teachers and curricula designers whose subject area is math

Academic failure contributes to a 30% dropout rate in US high schools and a 57% dropout rate from adult schools. Students’ math skills are a predictor of the students’ likelihood of dropping out of an adult education program. Because math learning is linear and hierarchical, understanding new concepts is dependent on understanding of previous concepts. Students need to learn and master skills before attempting to learn new skills. To learn and master math, students need context to help them to make sense of their learning. Adult educators of math can utilize course design and employ instructional strategies that incorporate prerequisite skills. The ability to know how and when to use a skill is necessary for learners to apply it and monitor their success in its use. Courses can be designed to reinforce as well as prompt recall of previously acquired skills. By embedding basic skills in the context of later learning, adult educators can help students learn to apply previously gained skills in new contexts.

This session will examine how community recreation centers can and should be utilized to engage adults within a community of learners. This session will also highlight some issues concerning adult leaners in specific communities and provide some examples on how community recreation centers could be used as lifelong learning centers.

This session should particularly benefit participants who are interested in creating programs for non-traditional adult leaners, aging adults, practitioners who provide direct services to communities or faculty and staff at both two and four-year institutions who have an interest in serving adult learners outside of academia.

Community recreation centers (CRC) provide a place where parents can bring their kids to learn a sport or participate in recreational activities. However, does the term recreation only suggest that we pay attention to a specific age group when it comes to recreational learning? Too often do we forget that CRC's were created to provide leisure and recreational activities for children and adults. However today's CRC's cater to children and often overlook adults programs. This session will emphasize need for CRC's to provide more adult programs to assist in lifelong development of adult learners. CRC's could provide a space where adults can learn a new language, learn basic job skills as well as provide a place where older adults can stay active.

Online learning and distance education as continue to grow in popularity and individuals with disabilities continue to be left behind as the technology and course design does not decrease or limit barriers to accessibility. This presentation explores the learning theory associated with universal instructional design for online adult STEM classes.

The target audience for this presentation includes individuals who teach distance education or online education, who have a desire to teach distance or online education, and people who teach STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) courses. Also included in the target audience are instructional designers, online academic support specialists, and learning design and technology specialists. This presentation will be focused for those who work with the adult learning population, online continuing education courses, and non-credit distance learning courses.

The trend in distance education and online education has been that the demographics have shifted from traditional aged students to non-traditional students, or adult and returning adult students. This has been a very important demographic of students for post-secondary institutions and in continuing education. Not only does this increase the diversity of students in online, distance and continuing education courses, but in conducting learner analysis in the design process of can prove to be challenging to meet the needs of a very diverse group of learners; veterans, older adult learners, learners with limited technology skills, full-time professionals, parents, mid-career changes, and many other aspects must be considered when creating fair, accessible, and affordable educational opportunities for adults. Many adults are seeking STEM based courses in online, distance, and continuing education opportunities and as a result, the need for web accessible content is an important factor in adult student retention. STEM courses have proven to be the most difficult to maintain web accessibility and retain adult learners. This presentation discusses the learning theory to support accessible online and distance STEM courses, universal instructional design, andragogy and STEM course design, and redefines the word "disability," removing it from the learner.

This session will focus upon identifying and describing lessons learned about program planning, delivery, and evaluation during the author's six-year term as a member of a state regulatory commission concerned with continuing legal education and how this information can be applied to similar settings for other professions.

This session is designed for adult educators with interests in continuing legal education (CLE) in particular and in continuing education for the professions more broadly. Practical lessons concerning various aspects of program planning, program delivery, and program evaluation strategies for use with groups of adult learners in the professions will be presented

This session is designed to provide information designed to improve practice for adult educators who work with various professional audiences. More and more emphasis today is being placed by professional and legislative bodies on accountability and maintenance of professional competence. This session is designed to improve the adult educator's ability to respond to today's and tomorrow demand to do so.

This session will focus on research that investigates the adult learning component of a student, teacher relationship in public schools. Interviews from both the student and adult perspective will be presented in this session with implications for practice.

Professors of secondary education programs or providers of professional development may be interested in learning from the perspectives of both the students and the adults in the partnership to increase the efficacy of the teaching and learning environment in schools to increase student achievement.

The Student Voice Initiative is aimed at equipping school leaders with a process to engage students as partners in every facet of their school culture and to strengthen their commitment to education and community. Student voice gives students the ability to influence learning to include policies, programs, contexts, and principals. Engaging students as educational decision-makers can lead to invested interest in their own educational outcomes and for the broader school community. Students should be afforded opportunities to actively help shape their education through conversations with teachers and school administrators. The learning process should be a concerted effort. To create a school culture that is concentrated on education, students must be involved and take ownership of their own learning. When students are invested in the process, research shows that authentic change and positive outcomes can be the result. This session will present findings from the one year study of 16 adults and 16 students who participated in the inaugural cohort.

An exploration of the dissertation process and types of faculty and institutional support that can be provided to those involved including graduate students preparing for or engaged in the process; faculty serving as dissertation chairs, committee members and methodologists/statisticians; and administrators with responsibilities for facilitating students’ progression through the process.

This session will be of interest to people interested in learning about the provision of support to dissertation students including graduate students preparing for the dissertation, students engaged in writing the dissertation; faculty who serve as dissertation chairs, committee members, and methodologist/statisticians; and administrators with responsibilities for ensuring the dissertation students' needs are being met.

Between 30-50% of graduate students who begin a doctoral program complete their programs. Doctoral programs that have a support process in place can better serve their students and help students successfully transition to a position in higher education. Conceição and Swaminathan (2011) describe a continuous process for dissertation support with three progressive roles for the faculty: advising, coaching, and mentoring. These stages may be distinct, but they interweave throughout the graduate program. In the advising role, faculty recommend course work, help students develop a timeline, and complete coursework. It involves assisting students to navigate the system, become self-directed, and start working on their own. In coaching, students have completed coursework and prepare a dissertation proposal. Faculty assist students to make contact with potential committee members, provide information on program politics, procedures and unwritten rules, and academic culture. During this stage, students and faculty work together to facilitate students’ development of critical and creative thinking, reflection on the process, ownership of their own work, and development of a scholarly voice as a scholar. In the role of a mentor, faculty guide students toward research completion through modeling and recommending future career strategies as a scholar.

This presentation is geared towards application/best practices in using video as a tool to enhance instructor presence and student/content/instructor interaction in face-to-face and online instruction. An exemplar course will showcase different uses and techniques of video to maximize presence and interaction.

The target audience for this presentation would be either face-to-face instructors or online instructors who instruct adult learners and are looking for ways to improve their presence and interaction levels within their course.

This session provides an important example of the power of video to greatly enhance instructor presence as well as improved interaction in both face-to-face and online instruction. Creative and innovative use of multiple videos and video tools will be demonstrated within an exemplar online course for use in multiple educational environments including synchronous and asynchronous. Video will be highlighted as a central and timely element that continues to be a valuable tool to maximize education.

Learn more about the features and benefits of e-Portfolios and how you can utilize these digital resources to leverage your personal brand.

The target audience for this session will be graduate students, practitioners and anyone else looking to learn more about e-Portfolios.

With how competitive the job market is for higher education as well as industry professionals, individuals are continuing to look for ways to stand out to prospective employers. Networking, social media as well as traditional resumes have completed the lion share of connecting job seekers to job postings. With the advancement of technology as well as more user-friendly platforms, e-Portfolios have become a new opportunity for working professionals as well as students to establish their personal brand. Also, these online profile spaces allow for individuals to house their digital artifacts to be seen by all. According to recent research, 80% of employers would review an e-Portfolio if it were sent for review. The need for these items is going to increase in visibility and popularity into the future. Come to this session to learn more about the features and benefits of an e-Portfolio as well as how it can help you leverage your personal brand.

This session will explore effective facilitation of adults learning with the description of 4 strategies/competencies of effective leaders/leadership: management of – attention through vision, meaning through communication, trust through positioning, deployment of self through positive self-regard and the Wallenda factor; and, enhanced by experimentation, risk taking, dialogue, and participative decision-making.

This Session will be focused especially on the audiences the author has had experience with in facilitating around the world/globe the development of competence in andragogy: Higher Education Faculty; Policy Makers in Adult and Continuing Education; Corporate Human Resource Development Specialists, Training Department Facilitators and Managers; Engineering Managers; High School Faculty; Financial Management Instructors; Adult Basic Educators; English as a Second Language Teachers; Nurse Educators; Community Developers, Medical Personnel who are Responsible for Instructing other Medical Personnel; Religious Education Instructors; Social Service Agency Learning Specialists; Department Heads Who are Responsible for Helping their Personnel Keep up-to-date in Their Respective Fields.

The lecture is used regularly in educational or workplace settings. It is often used as a 'one-way' communication from speaker to listeners. However, in this session the 'living lecture' will be demonstrated, including added techniques interspersed within the lecture to provide multidirectional communication among speaker and audience participants. The short lecture will focus on linking elements of andragogical learning with elements of organizational learning. Before the lecture the audience participants will be asked to serve as "listening teams" according to the section of the room they are sitting in- one section to listen to the presentation/lecture for points requiring clarification [the clarification team], another for points with which they disagree [the rebuttal team], another for points they wish to have elaborated on [the elaboration team], and a fourth for problems of practical application they wish the speaker to address [the application team]. After the short lecture the teams will be asked to

"buzz" in groups of about five to pool their thinking concerning the points they want raised, following which one member of each group in turn presents one point at a time, which they want addressed and the speaker responds until all items are discussed or time runs out.

This session introduces a two-year student leadership evaluation, ALLIES. In 7 states adult learners received leadership training and ran a project to meet program needs. Hear from VALUEUSA's executive director and a virtual panel of learners how the leadership project challenged them and boosted their leadership skills and learning outcomes.

The target audience for this session includes adult learners, adult basic education administrators and
instructors, educators working with English language learners and workplace programs, researchers,
and individuals interested in supporting adult learners as they find their voice in education and
contribute actively to the programs where they learn. The session would also be of interest to
employers and postsecondary educators who want to set up leadership programs for adult employees
or learners.

Adult learner leadership is believed to benefit adult learners and programs of adult basic education, English language learning, and workplace education. This belief has not been tested experimentally until the ALLIES evaluation was commissioned by VALUEUSA, the national organization of adult learners, from 2014 to 2016. ALLIES evaluated the effects of adult learner leadership. In this session the executive director of VALUEUSA and participating program staff and learners are interviewed on their experiences, successes, and challenges with a locally developed leadership project. The goal of the session is to provide sufficient information on adult learner leadership so that session participants can determine their own next steps in planning for and establishing a leadership program involving adult learners/employees.

Discussion is one of the most popular online facilitation techniques. But, using a variety of tools in online learning has many advantages. In this session specific facilitation tools will be shared to help online educators move “beyond discussion” and meet learning outcomes in new and effective ways.

The content of this session will be useful for adult educators who facilitate and/or design teaching experiences online as well as for online adult learners. Educators and learners who wish to explore tools and techniques to engage and motivate students in online learning settings, beyond using the typical discussion board formats, will benefit from the content presented in this session.

Discussion is a tried and true facilitation technique used in many online learning settings for adults. It allows learners to interact with each other, the course content, and the instructor. It also encourages engagement and critical thinking. As well, it supports several philosophical teaching styles such as constructivism, social cognitivism, and humanism. It is clear why this technique is so popular and widely used. Yet, despite these advantages, many online educators use discussion as their primary (or sometimes only) facilitation tool. In this session the presenters will share specific tools and techniques that online educators can use to move “beyond discussion”. These tools and techniques enable students to meet learning outcomes, but they also allow learners to engage with course content, and each other, in new and unique ways. Including variety in how an online class is facilitated has many potential advantages including (but not limited to) student engagement over the long term, increased learning transfer, motivation, varied interactions with fellow learners, attention to diverse learner needs, and positive disruptions in thinking patterns.

Copyright is pervasive in adult and other education, yet practitioners know relatively little about what it is and how to effectively operate under its limitations. This session provides useful information to empower adult educators to make their own informed decisions regarding the fair and legal use copyrighted material.

The target audience for this session is, quite simply and adult educators of any kind. To elaborate, this session should be of interest to any adult educator, or adult education practitioner, who distributes and shares information produced by others, and who has his or her originally produced material distributed or shared by others. This group of potentially interested audience members might include, but would not be limited to, university instructors and administrators, community college instructors and administrators, GED instructors and administrators, ABE instructors and administrators, professional (e.g., nursing) instructors of all kinds, and community organizers and educators.

Copyright is an issue that most adult educators must deal with routinely in terms of what can be used in classrooms and publications and shared with colleagues and students most freely, while still protecting their own rights and not violating the rights of others. Most adult educators get guidance on copyright questions and issues from administrators (or librarians) within the of their organizations, who, in turn, get copyright guidance from policies generated by their administrative superiors. Such guidelines are often designed with thick (but often unnecessary and inhibiting) buffers to ensure safe dealings through the gamut of foreseeable and unforeseeable copyright questions and situations, in a one-size-fits-all approach. This session is designed to provide information that will allow adult educators to take more control of their own situations regarding copyright. The first part of the session will present copyright background and process information in adult-education-specific terms. The second part will morph into a workshop as audience members are expected to share specific situations to work through. Although the entire session will remain informal (inviting audience questions and input at any time), the first part will be more structured and use PowerPoint slides to facilitate efficient dissemination of information.

Adult educators face challenging priorities, including writing to contribute to theory, practice, and policy and to fund research and projects. In this session, we share a group (two or more) writing process, tool, and research- and practice-based strategies to productively partner with others to efficiently, effectively, and even enjoyably write.

This session will benefit adult educators facing the challenge of writing to contribute to theory, practice, and policy and to fund research and projects. As a solution, group writing is increasing as we choose, or are compelled, to collaborate on research projects, manuscripts, grant proposals, reports, and assignments. Therefore, we encourage academics, practitioners, and students to attend this session, especially those wanting to boost productivity through group writing.

Participants will leave this session with (a) a group writing process, (b) a management tool to maximize the process, and (c) research- and practice-based strategies to efficiently, effectively, and even enjoyably write.

Adult learning offers a rich landscape in research and practice, and many adult educators strive to share their rich research findings and practice experiences. Thus, they face the challenge of writing to contribute to theory, practice, and policy and to fund research and projects. However, competing professional priorities (e.g., teaching/training, administration/leadership, and service) compound the challenge and often lead to faculty struggles to publish or perish and unfulfilled practitioner desires to publish and disseminate.

Fortunately, writing with others can boost productivity through group writing. This session shares
• a group writing process—brainstorm, plan, research, write, and edit
• a group writing management tool to maximize the process
• research- and practice-based strategies
Combined, they support productively partnering with others to efficiently, effectively, and even enjoyably write.

This study examined faculty skills and practices with regard to online instruction best practices at an American university. Using a qualitative case study, 11 participants were interviewed. Six themes emerged. Theses themes formed a policy paper to guide faculty and professional development needs.

Administrators and faculty whose duties include online course responsibilities in addition to faculty related concerns. Faculty and instructors whose teaching responsibilities include online instruction could find this useful. All experienced and new faculty could benefit as this provides a refresher and introduction to online instruction skills and knowledge.

The transition from traditional classroom to online teaching environment produces inherent challenges for instructors on how best to proceed with a different instructional environment. Knowledge of instructional practices and pedagogical ideologies such as curriculum delivery and content require modification. Due to these factors, educators need support and professional development while transitioning from the traditional to the online environment. Moreover they need to identify their current understanding as judged against accepted best practices. This session will explore such an event and be used as the foundation for discussion helping session participants to initiate this discussion in their educational institution.

This session will begin with an interactive presentation regarding the research study and the findings. Participant’s will provided their ideas on online instruction. A flip chart will be used to capture participant’s responses. This will spring board into the presentation of the research study illustrating the six findings that can guide and inform online instruction. Following the presentation, a facilitated open discussion will ensue providing the participant the opportunity to focus on their organizations.

This session reviews paradoxical team functioning in two adult teams enrolled in an online group dynamics course. Despite similar group composition and identical decision-making tasks, stark contrasts in communication, trust, cohesion, and conflict during synchronous experiential learning activities demonstrated how individual-level factors can affect team dynamics and learning.

Adult educators and program administrators who have teamwork embedded in the curriculum, utilize group projects in courses, or are interested in implementing synchronous experiential group learning activities into online courses may enjoy learning how adult students studying group dynamics responded to their own team dynamics and critically reflected on their role in those dynamics. Others with a general interest in learning how adults experience and navigate the complex dynamics that occur when people work together in groups or teams, either in the classroom or in their professional lives, may also benefit.

Adults are constantly required to work in groups and teams in their professional lives. Unfortunately, far too many groups operate inefficiently due to poor group dynamics, which often leads to relationship conflict and long-lasting negative emotions that affect future participation, effectiveness, and satisfaction. Adults and adult educators who understand group dynamics and can implement effective strategies to enhance group functioning will be more capable leaders, educators, and team members.
This session reviews various data, critical reflections, and lessons learned from an 8-week online group dynamics course that utilized synchronous experiential learning to teach group dynamics. Two teams of adult students completed three identical team decision-making tasks via synchronous video conferencing. These sessions were recorded, which allowed students to review and analyze the dynamics operating within their teams, critically reflect on their role in creating those dynamics, and apply the input-process-output model (Hackman, 1987) to their team experience. Despite similar set-up factors (team size, diversity, support) and identical tasks, the two teams displayed markedly different team processes (communication, trust, decision-making, cohesion, and conflict), which influenced team and personal outcomes (perceptions of learning) and satisfaction and highlights the importance of individual inputs (personality, motivation, values) in developing and leading effective teams.

Job Characteristics Model is a framework that guides employers on how to evaluate employees' satisfaction from the task that they do at work. It comprises of five characteristics that are generally needed to evaluate job scope. These five characteristics deals with cognitive, affect, and psycho-motor domain of learning.

This topic is about organizational psychology and communication in the workplace. The Job Characteristics Model is a guideline that can help employers, employees, supervisors, managers, administrators, training and development personnel, and even educators to manage subordinates', employees' and students' intrinsic motivation. These people are the target audience of this presentation. Additionally, this presentation also targets researchers who are researching about motivation, feedback, autonomy, and lifelong learners. Most importantly, this topic is targeted at Career and Technical Educators and PhD students who wants to learn more about task meaningfulness, performance effectiveness, and job responsibility.

The Job Characteristics Model is one of the guidelines/frameworks that can be used to understand job satisfaction from the job itself. One of its importances is that it focuses on the job based on the job description and how an individual will reflect on his or her strength and weaknesses on task assigned to him or her. It also emphasizes more on intrinsic motivation of a person from the task that he or she does for his or her own potential development. This session can create an impact if members of the audience come out with their own understanding of certain concept that will be introduced in this session. The innovation from the Job Characteristics Model is that it can be applied to other settings rather than the workplace, for example educational settings.

We are continually bombarded with stimuli at work and during our leisure time, allowing little opportunity for boredom. Recent research suggests this leads to a lack of creativity and diminishes our problem-solving abilities. This session will discuss this phenomena; participants will be invited to share their challenges and potential solutions.

This session can be applied to conference participants from various environments. As work places face financial challenges, as many have in recent years, we are all given more work to do. In addition, we are often connected to our work places through email, cell phones and social media even when we are not physically at work. This leaves minimal time to relax, reflect and simply let our minds wander.This session will focus on how reducing stimuli can increase our creativity and problem-solving abilities.

This session is of personal significance to me. As an administrator at a public university in Illinois, I have seen how the lack of funding has impacted our work force. As positions have been cut, and the remaining employees have been required to take on additional responsibilities, there has been little opportunity for us to relax and renew ourselves. As this continues, I have seen a lack of creativity and a drop in our problem-solving abilities. This led to my interest in examining the research in the area. Using this knowledge, I attempted to provide opportunities for my colleagues and me to engage in some mindless activities that allowed our minds to slow down. Rather than being what some would consider a waste of time, this led to clearer thinking and increased problem-solving. I know that many work places face the same challenges. Even without a drastic reduction in funding, we are all constantly bombarded with matters that demand our attention.

The focus of this roundtable conversation is a critical reflection on the current and future states of adult and lifelong learning inspired by Malcolm Knowles’ dream of the field of adult education in 2016. Presenters will share current trends and issues presciently described by Knowles in 1991.

This session will appeal to attendees interested in a retrospective look at the study and practice of adult learning over the last twenty-five years as well as futurists with ideas to share on what the next twenty-five years will bring.

Malcolm Knowles wrote the epilogue to Adult Education, a 1991 publication edited by Peters, Jarvis, and Associates and sponsored by AAACE. In it, as he had in The Adult Education Movement in the U.S. in 1962, Knowles shared his dreams for the future of adult education. He visualized an “energy-releasing system” with technology allowing for communication between a global citizenry engaged in lifelong learning. Knowles imagined collaborative spaces staffed with professionals who assist adult learners in creating self-directed learning plans and locating information resources. Universities were integrated into the lifelong learning ecosystem of the community and the physiology of learning was a major research focus in 2016. Although not exactly as Knowles pictured, some of his predictions can be seen in current trends in adult education, particularly in the field of educational technology. Formal and informal virtual learning spaces can support the democratization of teaching and learning and the access to subject matter experts as lifelong learning resources. Knowles even seemed to describe emerging trends such as augmented and virtual reality. During this roundtable discussion, the presenters will facilitate a reflection on Knowles’ predictions for 2016 and elicit thoughts on the next twenty-five years in the field of adult learning.

The online learning environment creates new classroom management challenges. This presentation will explore those challenges and their impact on student success. Participants will engage in brainstorming and create a list of techniques for managing challenging behaviors in the online environment.

The target audience for this presentation includes faculty members and administrators who work with online courses and programs.

Online education provides adult students with unprecedented access to academic programs. The online learning format also creates new classroom management challenges for faculty and staff. It is important for instructors, administrators, and support staff to adapt the traditional techniques used to manage negative or difficult behaviors to accommodate for the context provided in the online environment. The impact of positive classroom and program management can influence the success of individual students, student cohorts, and overall programs. This session will explore methods of managing negative behaviors in the online environment. Participants will create a list of techniques that can immediately be used in their classrooms or programs.

Attention to workflow at all project stages is important for balancing competing obligations and ensuring consistent publication and funding. In this session, we present a conceptual model and strategies to help adult educators apply the model to research projects, program planning, writing for publication, and the pursuit of external funding.

This session is designed for adult educators who would like to improve their productivity by planning multiple projects with more strategy and intentionality. Practitioners and academics will glean valuable ideas and resources to bolster, or establish, productive project management habits for consistent research and publication output, program delivery, and to secure external funding.

Adult educators in all specialties, including practitioners and academics, must plan and execute projects to deliver education programs, satisfy research and publication expectations, and secure project funding. With immediate deadlines (such as those for teaching, service, or administration) competing with longer-term goals (such as those for research or external funding), educators and academics must be intentional and strategic regarding their project planning and management processes.
In this session, presenters will share the pipeline model of project management, intended to help participants strategically plan their output and workflow. Presenters will draw from project management literature as well as proven approaches to academic productivity for those who seek a comprehensive and intentional approach, while incorporating presenters’ personal project management strategies and experiences. The innovation of this session derives from the application of the pipeline model of project management to academic research and publication.

Adult learners change as society itself changes; contemporary practice must flex to accommodate differences. Houle's (1961) conceptualization of goal-directed learners remains largely current, but the scope of goal-directed learning is now broader and deeper, encompassing learners and environments not realized during Houle's time. This session explores impacts on current practice.

This session will benefit those whose practice environment no longer meets the needs of learners, as evidenced by low enrollment or loss to competition, as well as those who would enjoy a fresh perspective on meeting learner needs while remaining grounded in the foundations of adult education.

Routine impedes innovation in any learning environment. Changes in learner characteristics - especially among goal-directed learners, who comprise the majority - requires innovation that acknowledges the differences, yet respects the sustained foundations of key adult educators. Goal-directed learning is both broader and deeper in scope now than when conceptualized by Houle, a critical difference that has repercussions on retention and persistence, which are fundamental issues in contemporary adult education environments.

Adult education professionals make a positive difference in the world every day—would it be possible to serve others even more profoundly? What are the qualities of profundity? What are profound learning experiences and how can we seek them throughout our lives? These are the types of questions we will reflect upon together during this presentation.

Adult Learners of any age and type.

The opportunity to live more profoundly is available to each of us. Too many times we settle for less than the richness we might find in our work, service to others, relationships, or spirituality. Too often we miss the moment, too often life’s misspent. We opt for the superficial and the quick and the mundane, when we might be contemplating and engaging in the world of wonder and mystery that surrounds us. The learning objective for this presentation is to develop insight into how we can live, lead, and learn more profoundly. We will consider what can be done to bring more depth and substance to our professional and personal lives in a world that sometimes seems increasingly shallow, polarized, and outcome driven.

Using student learning outcome assessment data, what impacts adult education graduate students the most on the topic of social issues? In this session, topics will include themes addressed in student portfolios concerning social justice, students’ reactions to social justice education, and their future action plans.

The target audience includes adult educators who address social justice curriculum, social foundations, culture, or cultural competencies and facilitate dialogue around such issues, including: professors in higher education who teach social foundations of adult education; diversity and cross-cultural trainers; practitioners in human resource development; and military educators. This session would also interest persons involved with program learning outcomes and assessment.

Research has demonstrated there is a relationship between beliefs and practices. Educators’ beliefs will impact and influence what they decide is important in practice. Social justice education facilitates the development of culturally responsive educators. Therefore, do graduate students as they progress through an adult education masters degree program grasp social justice theories and make connections between topics concerning social justice, culturally responsive teaching, and social issues affecting adult education programs? Social justice teaching is a difficult journey that involves reflective self-awareness. Prior to graduation, students in this degree program complete reflection papers as a part of a final portfolio addressing their understanding of and impact of social issues within adult education. Over 100 student portfolio reflection papers addressing this outcome were reviewed to reveal students’ knowledge of the topics/theories, reactions to social justice education, and action plans for their future practice.

Transformational leaders are regarded as such because of their ability to impact the trajectory of their followers. When done effectively, followers develop a greater sense of self efficacy. A tried and true method for boosting follower efficacy is to engage them in action learning opportunities.

This session is best suited to faculty who develop and/or teach in leadership programs. It is also suited to faculty who teach team-centered courses. Finally, it is suited to corporate trainers engaged in the development of high potential contributors.

Attendees will revisit the basics of transformational leadership, follower efficacy, and action learning to glean foundation background for the three constructs. Attendees will then be introduced to two case. The first features the Maymester project in which students studied business and historical elements of Peru and then contributed at an archaeological site in Miraflores (Peru). The second case study involved a large US-based corporation and a team of employees engaged in the Emerging Leader program. In this study, employees worked on a real-world issue involved loss of market share for US poultry suppliers in Moscow (Russia).

Baby boomers are retiring faster than their Gen-X and Millennial replacements can be trained. Adult Educators and HRD professionals need tough cases to accelerate expertise to fill this gap since accumulating expertise conventionally takes too long. This session will operationally define tough cases and suggest how to use them.

Human Resources Development (HRD) professionals, executive coaches, and adult educators, and researchers should attend this session. It will fall to HR and Adult Educators to forestall the potentially negative fallout from impending workforce changes resulting from the transition of the baby boomers. Learning theorists (Hoffman 2009; Hoffman et al., 2010; Squires et al., 2011; Fuchs, Carpenter, Carroll, & Hale, 2011) argue "tough cases" can develop expert performance faster than mere experience accumulation. This session will present an operational definition of tough cases and suggest ways they could aid Adult Educators and professionals in accelerating expert development.

Baby boomer retirement and escalating talent wars in intellective professions, such as cybersecurity, are accelerating demand for 21st century skills (O’Neil, Perez, & Baker, 2014). Being discriminant, adaptive, reflective, and able to maintain contextual understanding of a dynamic reality increasingly determines expertise in action (Benner, 1982; Feltovich, Ford & Hoffman, 1997; Assante & Tobey, 2011). Companies are forced to replace retiring workers with recent graduates lacking significant work experience. A recent study by the National Research Council (2013) found the petroleum engineering workforce now averages less than two years of experience, precipitously down from an average of nearly ten years of experience in 2000.

Educators can help learners acquire knowledge, but skill development, the foundation of expert performance, requires deliberate practice (Tobey, 2012; Hoffman et al., 2010; Ericsson, 2006). Tough cases could play a key role in helping educators turn focused practice w ith feedback and scaffolding into expertise (see Klein and Baxter, 2009, for Cognitive Transformation Theory).

The session will provide an overview of the theories of accelerated expertise and the role played by tough cases, provide an operational definition of tough cases, suggest ways to elicit tough cases from experts, and provide an example of a tough case.

Presenters will offer analysis of survey, interviews, marketing, and budgeting research on transitioning a graduate program in adult education to a fully online format. Session participants will be invited to discuss issues, insights, successes, and lessons learned of our and their own programs’ processes of transition to an online format.

The target audience includes adult educators, educational leaders, and graduate students interested in or already involved in offering online programming for adult education graduate programs.

With the trend of online education delivery models permeating higher education degree programming, many graduate degree programs in adult education have been faced with the possibility/requirement of moving to online delivery. Such is the case for a MA program in adult education at a large public university in the Southwest United States. Like many other programs, ours enjoys strong enrollments in the doctoral program, but the master’s program was challenged to maintain sustainable student counts.
Similar to many higher education faculty, we had little experience with online teaching/programming since we spent the majority of our educational experiences in face-to-face classrooms (Brookfield, 2006). As such, we reviewed the literature at the intersection of adult education and online learning, conducted survey and interview research with program coordinators about their formats, marketing, and administrative processes, garnered professional development and resources support from our college and university administration (Wolf, 2006), conducted research on marketing graduate programs through social media, began the work necessary to translate our program to virtual spaces, and actively engaged in reflection on our practices (McQuiggan, 2012; Wolf, 2006). We will share our research and discuss with participants their own processes and insights in their programs.

This qualitative study explores the experiences of veterans, transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce while utilizing higher education as a tool. Emphasis is placed on the difference in the learning environment of the military compared to higher education and how this difference can influence the learning process.

The target audience for this session are: Veterans, Military Personnel, Faculty and Staff in Higher Education, Graduate Students, Adult Educators, Human Resource Development Practitioners.

The transition of veterans from the military to the civilian workforce has prompted much discussion and research within the fields of adult education, workforce education, human resource development, and career development and transition. However, there is limited research that hones in on the learning environment within the military compared to higher education and how this transition can influence the learning process of veterans as adult learners. On this premise, this qualitative study explores the experiences of veterans, who are transitioning from the military to the civilian workforce and utilizing higher education as a tool. Emphasis is placed on the difference in the learning environment of the military, guided by the behaviorism theory and pedagogical approach, compared to the adult learning environment in higher education which is more humanistic and guided by principles of andragogy and how this transition influence the learning process of veterans as adult learners.

This session will explore guidelines for teacher leaders to enhance international undergraduate satisfaction through teachers' beliefs, teachers' feelings, and teachers' behaviors. These qualities are associated with 5 levels of leadership: level 1 (position), level 2 (permission), level 3 (production), level 4 (people development), and level 5 (pinnacle).

This session will be focused especially on the teachers of adults who are teaching international (undergraduate) students in colleges/universities or in community colleges. Target audiences also include Higher Education Faculty; Policy Makers in Adult and Continuing Education; Corporate Human Resource Development Specialists, Training Department Facilitators and Managers; High School Faculty; Financial Management Instructors; Adult Basic Educators; English as a Second Language Teachers; Religious Education Instructors; and, Social Service Agency Learning Specialists who are currently working with diversity of international folks.

The lecture is used regularly in educational or workplace settings. It is often used as a 'one-way' communication from speaker to listeners. However, in this session the 'living lecture' will be demonstrated, including added techniques interspersed within the lecture to provide multi-directional communication among speaker and audience participants. The short lecture will focus on linking elements of teachers' beliefs, teachers' feelings, and teachers' behaviors with the adult educators' leadership practices in different levels include: level 1 (position), level 2 (permission), level 3 (production), level 4 (people development), and level 5 (pinnacle). Before the lecture, the participants will be asked to serve as "listening teams" according to the section of the room they are sitting in - one section to listen to the presentation/lecture for points requiring clarification [the clarification team], another for points with which they disagree [the rebuttal team], another for points they wish to have elaborated on [the elaboration team], and a fourth for problems of practical application they wish the speaker to address [the application team]. After the short lecture, the teams will be asked to "buzz" in groups to raise up their questions. The speaker responds actively to all the questions until the time runs out.

This session will discuss a case study’s findings that examines a technology-mediated metacognitive instruction implemented for adult ESL college students. The presenter will share the instructional design, student examples, and interview data. The participants will grapple with the theoretical understanding of metacognition and how to incorporate it in the classroom.

The study's findings will be valuable for teachers and curriculum developers for teaching English for speakers of other languages for both academic and community purposes. In addition, those who study second language acquisition and those interested in qualitative educational research may apply practical and theoretical knowledge from this study to their practices and research.

Metacognition (Flavell, 1979) is an essential psychological process for learning, which occurs through four phases: metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive experience, goals, and strategies. In Second Language Acquisition, this notion is echoed in Swain's (2005) Output Hypothesis that emphasized the importance of verbal metalinguistic reflection, e.g., verbalizing one's L2 grammar mistakes by using the target language, because "speaking" may simultaneously mediate one's internalization of target L2 features. The purpose of this session is to share findings from a case study about web 2.0 technology-mediated metacognitive instruction implemented for adult ESL learners who pursue higher education in the US. The instruction consists of four activities: speech recording by using a web 2.0 tool (VoiceThread), transcribing, peer evaluation, and reflection writing. Among 90 students who experienced the instruction, 6 students were recruited for the case study. The findings reveal that students' metacognitive experience (recognizing that I don't know a certain content yet) may lead students' goal setting and study strategy establishment to improve their speaking skills. Implications and drawback will be discussed. Thus, the participants of this session will be equipped not only with the understanding of metacognition, but also practical ideas about how to apply metacognition in practice.

Adult students have limited access to service-learning opportunities because they are primarily offered in traditional settings. Online service-learning (e-service-learning) can increase access, but there is little empirical evidence supporting its effectiveness compared to traditional delivery. This study compares the learning outcomes of adult students in e-service-learning and face-to-face service-learning courses.

The target audience for this presentation are educators and administrators interested in examining the effectiveness of e-service-learning as a viable solution to increase access to service-learning opportunities for adults. The discussion will focus on a comparison of critical thinking, communication, career and teamwork, civic responsibility, global understanding, and academic development for students in face-to-face and e-service-learning courses. Researchers and practitioners interested in a comparison of learning outcomes for adult students in online and traditional service-learning activities are encouraged to attend.

The purpose of this presentation is to examine the effectiveness of e-service-learning by comparing learning outcomes of adult students in face-to-face and online service-learning courses. E-service-learning is service-learning incorporated into the online format. This session provides attendees with techniques, strategies, and best practices for offering service-learning and e-service-learning at the undergraduate and graduate level. The session content will focus on the service-learning conceptual framework, components, partners, and learning goals. The components include academic material, relevant service, and critical reflection. The partners are students, faculty, staff and community members. In addition, research on service-learning and e-service-learning outcomes, networking, and community outreach will be covered.

Online education has become an integral part of higher education. This session will use a dramaturgical perspective to present a cognitive reframing of online learning and faculty-student interactions. The session looks ahead at how a reframing could affect online faculty satisfaction.

Adult educators in the online environment, instructional designers, workplace trainers utilizing online training programs, adult educators who will be offering online programs, university, college, and organizational administrators will all find some key takeaways.

An interpretive phenomenological study was conducted with online faculty to examine how they perceive and experience presence in their online teaching. The findings were analyzed through the conceptual framework of dramaturgy. The dramaturgical lens presented a new model of online learning and faculty-student interaction.
This session will present a new perspective of online learning as framed by dramaturgy. The dramaturgical framework provides a new understanding of interaction that will help online faculty experience presence. The framework also presents factors that impact faculty experience of presence in the online environment.
Furthermore, the session will consider how a reconceptualization of online teaching can help faculty experience more satisfaction in their online teaching. Finally, the session will explore the implications of this model for faculty who are new to online teaching.

Results of a national study of state community college directors about their adult education programs, particularly high school equivalency programs such as the GED. Data were stratified and reported based on state-designed funding of community colleges. Results indicated significant differences in the types of supports available to colleges.

This session is targeted at college faculty who conduct research on high school equivalency and GED programs, as well as practitioners who work with similar programs. A secondary audience would be those generally working in community college delivery of adult education programs and those studying community college trends and issues. A third audience would be those interested in postsecondary education finance.

Community colleges play a critical role in the provision of a variety of adult-centered learning activities. These programs, whether self-funded, industry sponsored, or the result of state economic development funding, cover a broad spectrum of learning opportunities that lead to credentials, diplomas, certificates, employment, and increasingly, leisure pursuits. Historically, community colleges have collaborated with public secondary school systems to offer different types of remedial education, namely adult basic education (Cohen & Brawer, 2008; Voorhees & Milam, 2005).

The rapidly changing nature of adult education in community colleges has been noted in the popular press, but few efforts have been undertaken to define in any quantifiable way the status of these educational programs. Therefore, the current study was designed to explore the changing nature of community college adult education from the perspective of state leaders. By focusing on state directors of community colleges, the interactions of different state agencies and local responsibilities can provide a unique perspective on both the current and future directions of these types of programs.

Overview of the Extension Educator Certificate. Auburn University in coordination with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) offers a Graduate Certificate titled Extension Educator for working professionals within Extension who want to enrich their personal knowledge, enhance their teaching credentials, increase promotability, and consider the possibility of a graduate degree.

Educators interested in learning more about Extension and its mission and employees. Those interested in deploying and executing a fully interactive (blended) offering to targeted adult/professional learners. Those interested in how targeted educational opportunities benefit both the individual and the organization (employer) which are dispersed over large areas and serve multiple demographics.

This certificate recognizes extension employees who have committed to additional course work to improve their ability to teach within the cooperative extension system, to increase their career promotional opportunities, and to improve cooperative educational programs, at the local, state and national levels.

This session will focus on adult learners’ emotional well-being and optimism about academic performance. The focus of this session is to help adult educators and learners understand how emotions affect how we feel and influence our day. This session will explore how self awareness can be used to increase resilience.

Adult educators and adult learners who would like to:
Have more energy throughout the day.
Develop intuitive know how to respond to challenge and change.
Reset your motivation.
Perform communications which are clear, rich and fulfilling.
Be challenged to get the job done.
Improve resilience and performance.

This session will explore resilience concepts such as capacity and awareness. Capacity is the ability or power to do, experience, or understand something. Awareness is the knowledge or perception of a situation or fact. These are concepts along with the emerging views that adult learners have the ability to build their personal resilience capacity—physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually (The session will focus on the emotional domain). The session will provide an analysis of the ways that we can deplete our energy reserves—especially emotionally. Through understanding how emotions affect our daily activity the activities will help participants become more aware of their emotional energy expenditures and how it affects their resilience. Participants also will become more aware of ways to build resilience, which can assist adult educators and adult learners in formal and nonformal learning environments. Stress affects the body in many ways. The best way to manage stress is to deal with it in the moment of onset. Building resilience will help improve our cognitive functioning in order to ensure we are operating at peek performance mentally, emotionally and physically.

This qualitative study presents empirical data on adult learner and traditional age community learners’ perceptions of their perceptions and experiences of studying within a community college environment that is intensely focused upon student success reform initiatives.

Professionals who are interested in adult learners in postsecondary settings, particularly community colleges, would benefit from this session. Practitioners and scholars who work with community college or other postsecondary faculty, student services or administrative personnel would potentially benefit from this session, especially in terms of understanding and serving inter-generational students. This session is an appropriate fit for anyone interested in adult learners or adult learning in colleges.

The purpose of this study is to build a substantive understanding and analysis of how community college adult learners and traditional age learners experience and perceive intensive institutional efforts to improve student success. The theoretical framework combines a working model of excellence in community colleges proposed by the Aspen Institute for Excellence and an application of Saldana’s qualitative conceptualization of daily interactions and experiences. The study is based upon nearly 200 hours of observational and interview data collection, as well as artifact analysis. Findings are organized around understanding adult learner and traditional age learner perceptions and experiences in community colleges focused upon a student success reform agenda. The findings include: 1) Student perceptions of evolving community college mission; 2) Everyday student experience surrounding shifts in institutional perspective and corresponding policies and daily practices; 3) The intensification of the student experience due to increased expectations for faculty, staff and leaders to be intentional and consistent in supporting student success; 4) Shifts in intergenerational and adult learning dynamics in community college environments. This research study contributes to an important topic facing community colleges today and has implications for both adult education and community college research and practice.

This session illustrates use of embedded formative assessment in a professional development program for human services practitioners. Examples of training activities designed as assessments of how practitioners’ engage, construct and transform their practice perspectives are reviewed and use of this information to improve training design and trainer practices is discussed.

Adult education researchers and professors, adult educators; training directors and trainers in human services; adult educators of low and lower wage workers; continuing education program directors improving learning, training design and trainer practices.

Changing or improving professional practice in human services can be a difficult outcome to achieve especially when adult learners are resistant to training on new program standards or skeptical of the latest evidence-based practices. This session describes the use of embedded formative assessments in the context of a 25-hour, noncredit, continuing education training program on youth engagement for low and median wage residential child and youth care workers. Instructional activities used as embedded formative assessment are presented. How these assessments were interpreted and what they revealed about where practitioners were in their learning is discussed. Special focus is given to evidence of participant beliefs, frames of reference and types of knowing that had direct implications for improving learning, training design and trainer practices. Challenges to implementing formative assessments in human services training is discussed. Connections between embedded formative assessment and constructivist principles of adult and transformative learning in human services training and workforce development programs are highlighted.

Tennessee Tech University created an accessible and effective pathway for adult learners and stop-out students to complete a bachelor's degree through the creation of 2+2 cohort programs for area community colleges. The program offers relevant curriculum delivered through 5-week accelerated evening offerings at local community colleges.

Higher education representatives such as admissions, advisors, faculty, and counselors.

Adult learners are the new norm for American colleges and universities. Campuses must be prepared to meet the demand to help this students be successful in completing their bachelor degrees.

The speaker will present findings from a phenomenological study that explored (a) how older, professional men cope adaptively with involuntary job loss, as well as (b) the role learning plays in this process. Results underscore the importance of self-regulation, time use, and social supports for learning through uncertainty.

Three groups in particular might be especially interested in this session. First, those who facilitate learning for older adults would find this session of interest, for results from this study suggest more nuanced ways of conceptualizing later life generativity. Second, public policy advocates would find this session worthwhile, as this presentation will touch upon barriers that participants experienced in their transitions. Finally, individuals with strong interests in transitional learning would find this session worthwhile, as this study’s conceptual framework includes a “dual process” grieving model from the death/dying literature to help attendees better appreciate the learning aspects of transitioning.

The speaker will share findings of a phenomenological study that explored how older, professional men (i.e., 50 years of age and older who have obtained at least a 4-year college degree) cope adaptively with—and learn through—the uncertainties that accompany involuntary job loss. This later life phenomenon is an emerging example of transitional learning (cf. Rossiter, 2007), and this study’s findings suggest that self-regulation, time use, and social supports impact and inform how study participants cope with this phenomenon and meet the demands of this unanticipated life transition. Because coping adaptively with this unanticipated and involuntary life transition may challenge this population to make meaning of their circumstances at a time when negative emotions are likely to influence their meaning-making, learning becomes a major part of the adaptive coping process for this population. Hence, a challenge for facilitators of learning for older adults (e.g., educational gerontologists, coaches) is to understand how these men learn from and through their circumstances, and what types of learning experiences relate to adaptive coping. To that end, this session will invite attendees to explore what types of learning interventions might help older adults become more skilled and confident with adaptive change.

This session will examine best practices of an effective higher education leader based on current literature. Effective ideas to support meaningful social change and innovation for adult learners will be addressed. The relationship between the learning leader and the learning higher education organization to support the success of adult learners will be discussed.

This session will be of interest to adult educators, faculty members, program directors, and administrators as well as students who would like to have a positive influence on the leadership and management of adult education programs.

As more and more adults are returning to colleges and universities to obtain additional skills and knowledge to complete in the 21st century workplace, leaders are faced with revising and crafting the organizational culture to accommodate the influx of adult students. Academic leaders in community colleges, colleges, and universities are challenged with the task to adjust the degree programs, certificates, and technical education programs to better serve the adult student. The learning culture needs to shift to accommodate students who have life and work experiences that will enrich learning opportunities for all enrolled students. In addition, an effective learning culture must accommodate both nontraditional students and adult students. Effective learning leaders need to negotiate, problem solve, and develop creative solutions to accommodate adult students. As a leader, one must also serve as the center of influence to encourage and support others who affect necessary institutional change to adapt to the needs of adult students. This session will highlight techniques that may be used by adult education leader to meet the needs of the 21st century adult learner.

In serving the nontraditional student population of Johnson C. Smith University, Metropolitan College has cultivated strategies to motivate student to achieve successful outcomes. The presenters will speak to the evolving definition of nontraditional learners, the difference in mentoring adults, and provide examples of the strategies used to generate student success.

Administrators, Faculty and Staff that work with adult learners.

By 2020, 85% of all students matriculating college campuses will be nontraditional. Institutions of higher learning will not only have to attract the nontraditional student to their campus, but also those students will need to be retained. Research indicates that retention rates for postsecondary institutions have not changed in the last 70 years, however nontraditional learners require a scaffolded support system to manage the school/life balance. Successful mentoring strategies for adult learner will not only support postsecondary recruitment, but also facilitate retention and degree completion.

In this session, presenters describe best practices in changing the entitlement culture of college-athletes while helping them prepare for their future away of the spotlight.

The target audience for this session is the college/university professor or student support services professional who has found it challenging to engage with and teach student-athletes in the academic setting.

This session will address factors that foster the entitlement mentality in many student-athletes, and will inform the participants of best practices in the classroom to ensure student-athlete academic success.
Modern technology for student-athletes is no longer a tool, it’s become a life-style. This “life-style” generates the seclusion that often nurtures narcissism. There has become quite a disconnect between academics and athletics. High school student-athletes going through the recruitment process are promised things they could never imagine getting. When they get to college, the mentality that they will be treated the same, as a student-athlete, by coaches and fans as they will be in their academic standing leads to negative attitudes and poor performance in the classroom.

Brookfield identifies two conditions that have an adverse effect upon institutional efforts to recruit and retain students: impostership and cultural suicide (2006). This study was designed to identify student populations most likely to suffer from one of these two conditions and determine effective means to lessen their effects.

Because of the emphasis that education places upon critical modes of thinking, it is vital that faculty, administration, and staff make efforts to identify and address students’ feelings of impostership, also known as imposter syndrome, in order to create an environment in which students can engage in the types of thinking that will make them successful in education and in their careers.

In his book, The Skillful Teacher, Stephen Brookfield identifies two conditions that have an adverse effect upon institutional efforts to recruit and retain students: impostership and cultural suicide (2006). Because of the emphasis that education places upon critical modes of thinking, it is vital that faculty, administration, and staff make efforts to identify and address students’ feelings of impostership, also known as imposter syndrome, in order to create an environment in which students can engage in the types of thinking that will make them successful in both college and in their careers.
Cultural suicide involves a conflict between students’ home cultures and the culture that they encounter at school. When students begin to engage in critical thought, they may begin to question aspects of their home culture that they may have previously accepted without question. They may begin to reconsider traditional roles and religious beliefs in light of new experiences, and this can cause them to become isolated from family and peers.
The study that this session is predicated upon was designed to identify student populations most likely to suffer from one of these two conditions and determine effective means to lessen the effects on students at all educational levels.

The legacy of colonial education lingers on even fifty years after independence of many African countries as is the case of Burkina Faso. Though African governments have struggled to maintain respectable levels of investment in education even with the economic recession and structural adjustment problems, there is the continuing persistent inequality between the sexes in educational attainment despite increased access of educational opportunities for women over the last four decades.

General audience but more particularly for those in pursuit of knowledge on Third World development, gender and adult literacy notably in African countries.

It is the contention of this paper that many of the schools started by missionaries in African countries were not only separate but also unequal in both the type and quality of education administered to the girls. Girls were streamlined into schools that targets girls where goals of education were limited to domestic training and community development and less on the critical disciplines. In many countries, a relatively high percentage of high school women graduates (in Burkina Faso, it is women with the baccalaureate) and those with Bachelors degree are found in teacher training and nursing programs in keeping with the rest of the world notably the United States of America. Many others with respectable levels of education (two years of high school) end up with jobs in food service, dressmaking, hair dressing and small scale commerce. Men on the other hand, were encouraged to take on more challenging subjects in science and technology, business and economics and thus, their prospects in the job market and career mobility patterns were enhanced. Research today shows that modest attempts have been made to rectify the past discrepancies but women and girls are still enrolled in a limited number of fields of study that have less access to and participation in technical and scientific areas. This is not unique to Africa.

Rarely do you see the phrase "gifted adult" and with even greater rarity do you find adults that embrace the label "gifted" as fitting for who they are as a person. During this presentation you will go on a journey of discovering that, YES YOU are gifted!

Have you ever felt like you were a minority of one in your thought processes? Attempting to navigate the norms, but feeling somewhat outside of the lines no matter how hard you try to stay "in the lines"? Would you describe yourself as a keen observer, intuitive (able to discern the feelings of individuals around you), a problem solver, one that has a strong sense of justice, and driven to fulfill a life purpose? If you are still reading this with interest, this session is for you! Yes, this is for you...even if you don't consider yourself "gifted".

"Are you relentlessly curious and creative, always willing to rock the boat in order to get things done . . . extremely energetic and focused, yet constantly switching gears . . . intensely sensitive, able to intuit subtly charged situations and decipher others' feeling? If these traits sound familiar, then you may be an Everyday Genius--an ordinary person of unusual vision who breaks the mold and isn't afraid to push progress forward." The aforementioned quote comes directly from Dr. Mary-Elaine Jacobsen's book, The Gifted Adult, which helps to uncover how many adults are "everyday geniuses" unaware. During this session we will look at some of the psychological factors that can come into play as a gifted adult; such as feelings of isolation or being misunderstood. Furthermore, we will look at some case studies of how "giftedness" can manifest in the workplace and everyday life. You will leave this session with a greater understanding of why you are the way you are, and how you can best embrace your true self while having an impact on the world around you. If you still don't see yourself as a "gifted" individual, you will learn how to support others that exude "gifted" qualities.

Emerging trends in Higher Education includes crisis management of producing results to solve problems. Leadership faces an ethical crisis that stops our work, decreases bottom line decision-making and wipes out hope. The crisis is a lack of trust. Trust changes everything! Low trust causes friction, hidden agendas, interpersonal conflict, interdepartmental rivalries, win-lose thinking and defensive communication. All of these reduce trust. The lack of trust is created by our behavior and taking the exponential leap of faith that makes all the difference in restoring it. Impacting ethics is one of the hot topics today as it is fundamentally important. The hope for the future lies with trust as the root of ethical decision making, communication and the most important is working relationship to produce in the workplace. Trust is something you can do something about. Come and join this conversation to learn how you can create trust!

Deans, faculty and staff.

Emerging trends in Higher Education includes crisis management of producing results to solve problems. Leadership faces an ethical crisis that stops our work, decreases bottom line decision-making and wipes out hope. The crisis is a lack of trust. Trust changes everything! Low trust causes friction, hidden agendas, interpersonal conflict, interdepartmental rivalries, win-lose thinking and defensive communication. All of these reduce trust. The lack of trust is created by our behavior and taking the exponential leap of faith that makes all the difference in restoring it. Impacting ethics is one of the hot topics today as it is fundamentally important. The hope for the future lies with trust as the root of ethical decision making, communication and the most important is working relationship to produce in the workplace. Trust is something you can do something about. Come and join this conversation to learn how you can create trust!

The Center for the Study of Adult Literacy focuses on adults who read between the third and eighth grade levels. Results from two aims of this Center will be presented: 1. Five hundred participants' performance on 37 different literacy related measures; description of reading curriculum development and feasibility outcomes.

The target audience includes adult literacy practitioners, researchers, policy makers, advocates, and administrators.

A recent international adult literacy study has indicated that 1 in 6 adults in the United States reads at elementary levels. We do not completely understand their underlying reading-related strengths and weaknesses, nor do we know the best approaches to help them reach their reading goals. The focus of this Center is to conduct research that will explore individual differences in reading-related abilities and motivations for learning so that we can better tailor instruction to adult learners, and design a reading program and an interactive online reading tutor that can more effectively meet adult learners' needs.
The participants in our work are adults who read between the 3rd and 8th grade levels. Some unique aspects of our Center are:
a. a comprehensive approach to assessment that combines cognitive assessment with evaluation of motivational needs and attitudes about adult literacy learning;
b. development of a curriculum with different modules to allow tailoring to differing instructional needs in decoding and word identification, reading fluency, vocabulary, text analysis, and reading comprehension;
c. adoption of a web-based portion of the curriculum which will allow for individualized instructional opportunities.

"Employer engagement" and "demand-driven" are the new buzzwords in talent development. While emphasis on employer needs is critical, it is equally important to understand the populations being served. Research suggests that self-esteem and supports that facilitate risk taking – including career navigation skills – are the most important for success.

Career and technical educators, workforce development professionals, administrators, adult educators, and others who work to prepare adults for meaningful careers.

The session will explore various new models, metrics, and assessments to explore the needs of adult learners, with a particular emphasis on preparation for sustainable wage careers. Through exploring research and evaluation projects ranging from California's AB86 Adult Education Planning Grants to innovative career navigation programs in Silicon Valley and Boston, the session will emphasize how individuals - especially those disconnected from the economic mainstream - benefit from personal and professional assessments, career navigation training and practice opportunities, and detailed and personalized attention to not only obstacles and barriers, but also students' strengths, interests, and values.
The session will show how a strengths-first approach improves self-esteem and persistence, and how career navigation activities, which are sometimes considered the province of the privileged (elite universities, Fortune 500 employees, etc.), can be successfully taught and practiced - and can create significantly improved outcomes. Several case studies will be presented, as well as detailed recommendations for attendees to bring back to their programs.

This session explores strategies and tools for retaining and engaging bi-racial and multi-cultural adult learners by expanding understanding and opportunities within a university setting. Please join us to learn new tools and to contribute new strategies to best practices within higher education.

The target audience for this round table are those individuals who have an interest in adult education such as faculty, staff, administrators, and program planners. The discussion will include prior best practices and strategies for academic and social integration of bi-racial/multi-cultural adult learners and provide opportunity for interactive discussion focusing specifically on strategies and tools for retention and assimilation of bi-racial/multi-cultural adult learners.

The most common racial makeup of individuals in America today is that of bi-racial or multi-racial identity (Townsend, Markus, and Bergsieker, 2009, p.187). This increase of bi-racial/multi-cultural adult learners creates a need for a variety of services and academic support measures that are not being met through traditional educational practices. In this round table, the presenter will introduce talking points and then allow educators, administrators, and staff from a broad array of organizations and educational institutions to share ideas, techniques, and experiences in relation to best practices for bi-racial/multi-cultural adult learners. In particular, concerns unique to bi-racial/multi-cultural learners. This is especially relevant as prior research has shown being sensitive to the needs of bi-racial/multi-cultural learners expand the opportunity for success as multi-racial individuals are often victims of institutional racism that makes multi-racialism invisible or non-normative (Salahuddin and O’Brien, 2011, p. 495). Therefore, this topic is timely and important as it provides a valuable resource to not only meet the needs of bi-racial/multi-cultural adult learners, but to help them succeed. Last, multiple perspectives and suggestions allow participants to make informed decisions about implementation of future practices and research.

This presentation uses Niklas Luhmann's framework of systems and how it differentiates society to better understand the role adult education plays in educating students. My thesis is that teaching and learning needs to be coupled coupled with systems analysis in order for students to meet their full potential.

The target audience is all adult educators including those working in adult literacy, higher education, community and organizational development, and social movements. All adult educators operates in various systems unique to their specialty. Though they may see their role as transferring knowledge or empowering learners, wittingly or unwittingly their primary role is to sustain the system in which they operate. This presentation will focus on how systems shape the practice of all adult educators and suggest strategies to better serve learners within these systems.

Niklas Luhmann offers educators an opportunity to understand how systems affect learning and information transformation. He takes the simple notion of open and closed systems (those dependent on their environment vs. those which operate independent of their environment) to a more complex understanding of autopoietic systems which allows them to self-produce through their operations and structures within their environment. The presentation apply's Luhmann's systems theory to any teacher-student interface where knowledge and information is transferred. According to Luhmann, schooling exasperates social and psychic differentiation as a system, and in essence is a means to socially construct the student and therefore is a vehicle of social differentiation. Hence adult education is not merely about bettering the students lives but differentiating students based on acceptable patterns of behavior. This is achieved through curriculum, teacher remarks, testing and communicated expectations. Based on Luhmann's systems theory, education is less about transferring knowledge and more about self-production of the educational system. This presentation will highlight how adult education, educators and students are shaped by systems, and suggest strategies that enable students and teachers to gain more control over their lives and careers.

Current research still lacks information regarding female first generation college students (FGCSs). Female FGCSs are dropping out at higher rates than males, yet not much research on their college experiences has been conducted. This session presents the study’s findings from a critical theoretical study on rationale behind their dropouts.

The findings of this study will be valuable to colleges and universities, specifically the departments who work with female and/or male FGCSs. Additionally, those who are interested in research regarding female FGCSs can utilize the information to help further the research on this population.

The research surrounding FGCSs is abundant. This research consistently shows the challenges that these students face during college. What is less abundant is the research that exists for the subpopulations within FGCSs, such as female FGCSs. Research shows that females are more likely to be a FGCS versus a non-FGCS, and even though they are outnumbering males in attending college, studies show they have a dropout rate higher than their male peers. Current research lacks information regarding this subpopulation, which encouraged this particular study. Utilizing a critical feminist lens, this study shed new light on the challenges that female FGCSs face and explored why they are dropping out at higher rates than their male peers. Common themes found were gender discrimination, identity issues, mentorships, and working class background impacts. With this information, researchers, colleges, and universities can begin to understand the needs of female FGCSs in order to provide better resources to help retain them and guide them to graduation.

“Learning is experience. Everything else is just information.” Is by Albert Einstein.
Experiential Learning: Dance at the Community College is a lecture/performance presentation that explores the learning that takes place through the engagement in dance at the community college level. Presenting comparative analysis with dance education and Kolb’s learning styles.

The target audience for this presentation is students, educators, community program organizers and individuals involved with or interested in community engagement and the arts.

Experiential Learning: Dance at the Community College is an exploration of learning theory through practice and performance. Albert Einstein said, “Learning is experience. Everything else is just information.” David A. Kolb and Roger Fry developed a learning styles model consisting of four elements: concrete experience (feeling); reflective observation (watching); abstract conceptualization (thinking); and active experimentation (doing).

This presentation will focus on dance programs at the community college level and the impact the programs have community members, faculty, students, and the community at large through danced based activities, workshops and performances that encourage community engagement. A comparative analysis will be presented with dance education and Kolb’s learning styles model.

This presentation will incorporate a PowerPoint lecture, video and live dance performance to illustrate the process of learning theory through practice and performance and to bring this process to life through the art of dance.

A Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning has the potential to improve faculty’s effectiveness in the classroom, but the creation of such a space can be fraught with objection, rejection, and denial. However, in the right hands, forging a center for teaching can be inspiring, motivating, and game-changing.

This session is ideal for those who have experience with or would like to gain insight into the creation of a center for teaching and learning excellence on a college campus. College deans, department chairs, administrators, distance learning directors, and faculty will bring diverse perspectives to this conversation that addresses the challenges and rewards of actively pursuing faculty development.

In response to the growing demands placed on higher education institutions to produce graduates who are truly job-market-ready, administrators are searching for solutions that will accomplish this goal. Once upon a time, a diploma was sufficient to secure a well-paying job after graduation, but in recent years employers have noted that college graduates are entering the workforce unprepared and under-skilled. In order to ensure that this is not the case and that a college degree is a true representation of a student’s learning one consideration is to improve what happens in the classroom. As Kuh (2009) notes, "Institutions cannot change who students are when they start college. But with the right assessment tools, colleges can identify areas where improvements in teaching and learning will increase the chances that their students attain their educational and personal goals "(p. 14). A center for teaching and learning excellence can facilitate these goals, but the process of creating such a space for faculty to learn how improve their craft of teaching and assessing students’ learning can be fraught with objection, rejection, and denial. However, in the right hands the process of forging a center for teaching can be inspiring, motivating, and challenging.

This paper examines whether there is a relationship between non-formal learning activities and earnings and how, if any, such the relationship differs by gender in South Korea (Korea, hereafter), using data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC).

The target audience of this study would be adult education policy makers and researchers who are interested in the role of non-formal learning in earnings. Human resource development (HRD) professionals may also be interested in our paper, as results inform workplace learning strategies that can increase productivity as well as promote individual and organizational learning. Furthermore, given a growing gender diversity in Korea’s labor market, this study sheds light on effective HRD strategies that promote gender equality in earnings in Korea as well as elsewhere.

Human capital has played a critical role in Korea’s remarkable economic growth, and companies have continued to invest in human resources by providing structured formal learning interventions. The current, drastic economic restructuring challenges this traditionally approach focusing on a formal training as a route to prosperity. In response, non-formal learning activities have increasingly become common; however, little is known about the impact of these activities on employees’ capability growth and their income. Simultaneously, despite a high level of women’s academic achievement in Korea, women in business sectors and leadership positions are still underrepresented. In order to address these issues, prior research has suggested that capability building opportunities, rather than other supports (e.g., a reward system), are critical for women to transition into managerial positions. In line with previous research, our findings indicate that while certain non-formal learning activities are associated with increased earnings for both females and males, females benefit more from their participation in non-formal learning activities, especially on-the-job training, in terms of increased earnings, compared to their male counterparts. As such, our study offers important insights into differing roles of non-formal learning activities in earnings by gender in the Korean context.

Did you know that being “an ally’ is not defined by who you are, but by what you do? Come hear about simple ways you can support your ESL students, working as allies to be part of social change in your work as adult educators and in your community.

This session is appropriate for teachers at all levels of expertise. The material covered is important for both ESL teachers and ABE/ASE teachers who have current or former ESL students in their classrooms, administrators, and program support staff.

Although the term “ally” is often used in discussions around the LGBTQIA community, our ESL students also need allies, or people who will “work continuously to develop an understanding of the personal and institutional experiences of the person or people with whom they are aligning themselves” (http://www.scn.org/friends/ally.html), “recogniz[ing] the unearned privilege they receive from society’s patterns of injustice and take responsibility for changing these patterns (http://www.diversitydufferin.com/how-to-be.html).”
This presentation acknowledges the role many adult educators play as a source of support for their ESL students and will prepare participants with insights, knowledge, and tools to act as effective allies. The goals of this presentation are to (1) provide adult educators with an understanding about what an ally is, (2) promote self-reflection in ally interactions with students, and (3) encourage impactful ally behavior. Participants will think critically about unearned privilege from societal patterns of injustice. Participants will consider and discuss what adult educators need to learn, believe, and do to be better allies for their ESL students. We will present tools that participants can use to become more effective allies. The present will also provide opportunities to discuss the implications of contemporary issue impacting adult ESL students.

This session provides a comprehensive review of training transfer literature and identifies a unique approach of training design for adaptive transfer that allows application of learned knowledge and skills from a training to employee's job setting that may be different from the training context or setting.

The target audience will be trainers and instructional designers of profit and non-profit organizations who need more advanced training design techniques facilitating training transfer. Those people who conduct training evaluation in the corporate and public sector organizations may be benefited from this session's content. Instructors of vocational educational settings will also find some useful instructional methods and activities for learning transfer from this session.

Current research on transfer of training has paid less attention to adaptive transfer, and empirical evidence has just begun to uncover some of the complex mechanisms that exist during the process of adaptive transfer. In this session, first, a review literature on training transfer including learner characteristics, training design, and organizational variables will be presented. For further discussion of the issue of adaptive training transfer, a conceptual model that serves as an organizing framework for this proposed study will be presented. Building on the work of Smith, Ford, and Kozlowski (1997), this session attempts to expand the understanding of adaptive transfer and to identify how factors such as training design and individual characteristics influence learning outcomes and adaptive transfer. This study suggests the conceptual model that describes the process through which training design activities result in adaptive transfer. The training design strategies include three components: learning principles, training methods, and training practice. Lastly, future research directions will be suggested.

This session provides an overview of how popular culture operates as an arena of education and a site of adult learning, and reviews the most recent literature within adult education focused on lifelong learning through popular culture. I will illustrate how popular culture can either reinforce oppression or encourage resistance.

Anyone interested in working with adults as holistic persons. Critical educators who base their practice around social justice, global human rights, environmental sustainability, worker rights, reducing economic disparities, overcoming prejudice, or any other form of educator activism. Teachers who struggle to teach critical theory, critical race theory, queer theory, crip crit, or other transformational ways of examining injustices.

One cannot contemplate the landscape of adult learning without considering that most of what adults learn of the world—what forms their identities and worldviews—is assimilated through popular culture. While this learning is unmediated, it is fully present in our classrooms as a significant part of our students’ knowledge. Adults search the internet for information, read blogs about their interests, and absorb messages from music, television, and movies. It is imperative that we understand how popular culture shapes people’s “common knowledge” on social issues, politics, economics, history, and other cultures. Educators often help students unlearn that hegemony (challenge their ideology) in order to learn.

Cultural studies began with adult literacy educators Raymond Williams and Richard Hoggart in the mid twentieth century (Steele, 1997). They recognized popular culture’s impact on their students’ learning, and their investigations into those phenomena evolved into the discipline of cultural studies (CS). But CS lost the emphasis on adult learning and identity development that inspired its emergence. Adults learn from popular culture. Understanding what and how they learn is central to advancing our field. In this session, I will review recent studies on AE/popular culture and help participants connect theories to practice.

Based on our findings from a study on ethic and national identity among young adults on the divided island of Cyprus, we explore the idea that identity is learned (rather than constructed or formed) throughout an individual’s life –from childhood to adulthood- and that identities adapt to changing environments.

Researchers and educators interested in Identity, Informal Learning, Social Learning Theory, Social Identity Theory, Conflict Resolution and Peace Education.

Cyprus is a divided island as a result of nationalist conflict between the Greek-Cypriot and the Turkish-Cypriot communities which lived apart from 1974 until 2003. Using narrative analysis this qualitative study uncovers influences to ethno-national identity learning of young adults from the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot communities that were born and grew-up during the segregation period and hence did not meet the ‘other’ until later in their lives. Such influences include education, politics, religion, social environment, social interactions and language/dialect.
We found that in the Greek-Cypriot community there are three ethno-national self-identifications, Greek-Cypriot, Cypriot and Greek. In the Turkish-Cypriot community we found two, Turkish-Cypriot and Cypriot. Each participant emphasized historical events, discourses and personal experiences that support their self-identification and ignored elements that contradict their self-identification. Our findings also indicate that ethno-national identity is a continuous process that involves reflection on their relevant experiences.
Based on our findings we explore the idea that identity is learned (rather than constructed or formed) throughout an individual’s life –from childhood to adulthood- and that identities adapt to changing environments. We ground our argument on theories from the social constructionist approach to identity, social identity theory, social learning theory, lifelong learning and informal learning approaches.

This session overviews an action research study following Heron’s epistemology of knowledge acquisition- a holistic approach including pre-reflective creative expression in addition to words, concepts, and actions. Discussion will focus on the learning design, creation of communicative space, and the relevance to teaching and learning in a higher education context.

Educators interested in using dialogue, creative expression, multiple ways of knowing, and group processes in adult learning contexts

Transformative learning theory seeks to explore the content of our knowledge, values and feelings through critical reflection, in relation to experience, as a way to understand and articulate personal meaning perspectives. This session reviews an intentional approach to unpacking experience under the umbrella of a constructivist, transformative approach, by utilizing a process designed with the framework of Heron’s extended epistemology of knowledge acquisition. The epistemology is extended in that it reaches beyond theoretical knowledge to incorporate experiential, presentational, propositional and practical knowing. Research participants in a participatory action study accessed these four levels of knowing with various activities and tools so that they could reflect on a specific experience, in a critical way, beyond more familiar cognitive means. This session will explore the design of the study sessions and the creation of a Habermas-inspired communicative space for exploring pre-reflective expressive forms, examining personal assumptions, and generating new, intentional behavior.

The study explored the perceptions of health sciences librarians on how they acquire knowledge in their content areas. The sample consisted of health science librarians who work in a variety of schools. Individual interviews and a focus group were used to collect the data which was analyzed using content analysis.

Students and faculty interested in adult learning or on the job learning. Also anyone who works in medical education or has an interest in qualitative research is a target for this presentation.

On the job training for academic librarians who work in health sciences is very important because most library schools do not specifically train students to work in medical education. The librarians have to learn medical terminology and other things on their own. The aim of this preliminary study was to explore the perceptions of health sciences librarians on how they acquire this knowledge. The study revealed that (1) librarians are self - directed learners, (2) previous training is important and helpful in learning new content in the schools and (3) the environment of the schools affects the method and amount of knowledge the librarian gains. The results of the study help to illuminate the issues faced by health sciences liaison librarians when approaching on the job training. Information gained from the study can be used to enhance professional development for new health sciences librarians and curriculum in library schools.. Most important this pilot study opens up an opportunity to explore this issue with a larger sample of librarians from a variety of health sciences academic settings.

In this highly interactive session, we will explore the philosophy and practice of "nurturing the human spirit" in the context of adult education, face-to-face and online. We will show how positive organizational scholarship, positive psychology, motivation and other research can easily be applied to support student success.

Anyone who interacts with students will find this session valuable, whether you are a professor, instructor, adjunct, administrator or a student yourself! Please join us and have your own spirit nurtured!

We believe that "nurturing the human spirit" is a vital component of student success, retention and satisfaction. Grounded in positive organizational scholarship, positive psychology, mindfulness, and other research, we have developed a model that focuses on spirit-nurturing behaviors. These have been practiced in online as well as face-to-face classes with very positive results.

In this highly interactive session we will share our work and engage in activities that reveal how easy it is to be "spirit-nurturing" and the benefits to you and those you serve.

This session will focus on historical foundations of adult and distance education and on contemporary figures that pioneered the field of distance education. Discussion of key theorists (e.g. Charles A. Wedemeyer (University of Wisconsin) Otto Peters (Germany) and Börge Holmberg (Sweden) and others) provide a context for online education today.

Anyone interested in and involved in adult education and online education should enjoy and benefit from learning about the foundations of adult and distance education and the work of pioneers in providing educational access to nontraditional learners. The session should also be of benefit to those interested in conducting and/or exploring opportunities in historical research in both adult and distance education.

Adult and Distance Educators continuously create new knowledge through research and through the use of new technologies which enable them to provide increasing access to adults who fall into the category of nontraditional students. These unending and forward looking efforts provide little time to research and appreciate the efforts of their colleagues who have built the foundation upon which current adult educators now stand upon. This session provides an opportunity for conference attendees to reflect and to appreciate the work of those who have played key roles in the evolution of our field. There is also limited research in the history of adult and distance education, and this session will provide insights into the value historical research.

Settling on the choice to attend higher educational institution in America is a significant life event that influences non-traditional age, adult international students. The motivation behind this paper is to tell the lived encounters of adjusting to the U.S. society among non-traditional age, adult international while attending higher education institution.

The target audience for this presentation is faculty members and department staffs who have an interest in the international students that grace their colleges, departments, and classrooms. This presentation is essential for all stakeholders in our universities and colleges to understand the challenges that adult international students with or without family encounter when they arrive in United States colleges. The challenges and stories of these students will help all stakeholders who serve them to better understand their situation and help them succeed.

International adult student reentry to college in the U.S is here to stay and this was reiterated by Ross-Gordon (2011) that reentry adult students seem, by all accounts, to be a student populace that is here to stay. Progressively, higher education institutions have endeavored to make projects and services that are receptive to adult students' life and learning preferences. This exertion has tested universities faculty and administrators to think past conventional methods for teaching and conveying instructive programs. Much can be studied from existing program's encounters with different methods of prior learning assessment, and intensive courses, some of which are profiled in other articles within the issues. Ross-Gordon (2011) opined that faculty can assume an imperative part as change operators in making supportive learning environment for adult learners both by joining theory and research on adult learners into their own particular classrooms and by upholding for adult-situated programs and services on their campus. The outline and conveyance of these programs are vital to successful undergraduate experience for reentry adult students (Ross-Gordon, 2011).

The goal of distance education is to make it accessible for all types of learners. Distance education evolved drastically through the years. It started as early as the eighteenth century and still growing until this time. A discussion of the the history and the used technology will be presented.

Adult Learners, Professionals, Educators, Instructional designers, and anyone interested in distance education.

This session will involve a discussion of the history of distance education. Back to the beginning of it on 1728, till the current time. Distance education has taken many shapes depending on the available methods of communication in different times, it made use of most different communication methods as they emerged, such as regular mail, Radio, TV, Computer networks, and the internet.
This session will allow for more in depth conversation and reflection on the distance education impact and limitations.

The Heuristic Elicitation Methodology (HEM) is used in this study to examine the impact of online instructional design strategies for adult students in degree completion programs. Adult distance education students' perspectives of various instructional design strategies which enhance and challenge their learning will be discussed.

This session targets practitioners, faculty, and/or administrators of adult and continuing higher education programs.

This session will introduce the Heuristic Elicitation Methodology (HEM). This mixed method approach has been used for cross cultural research which gives credibility to the perspective of the recipient and can be especially useful when designing policy or services. The purpose of this methodology is to determine how a new item, program, or service can be developed so that it is culturally relevant. Results from the study of adult students’ perspectives in an online degree completion program utilizing the HEM will be presented. Since adult students may gravitate toward online degree programs as a way to balance work, family, and other responsibilities, their unique perspectives of instructional design strategies may be culturally relevant for educators developing online degree programs. Retention of distance education students continues to be a concern for many higher education institutions. The results of this study may assist in the development of online degree programs for adult students which aids in the retention of adult distance education students. Questions and comments will be generated through guided discussion.

Today’s employers expect graduates to be workforce ready when they hire them. Students must prepare for the workforce during their academic programs, not after they graduate. This presentation showcases working models to help students get work experience while they complete their degrees and fulfill their responsibilities to job and family.

This presentation is for deans, directors, administrators and faculty who are interested in learning about successful working models for providing adult and professional studies students valuable experiential learning opportunities while they matriculate through graduate and professional studies programs. This presentation will expose participants to the range of common approaches for providing experiential opportunity for adult learners including co-operative education and internships, project-based learning, and external partnerships. Participants will learn about signature examples of experiential learning opportunities at other institutions. The presenter will also discuss his own first-hand experience with experiential models at his own institution.

This presentation explores today’s emerging landscape of successful models for providing adult learners experiential learning opportunities while they matriculate through graduate and professional studies programs. Employer expectations for graduates have never been higher; most employers expect recent graduates to be workplace ready the day they begin work. Likewise, students are concerned about being properly prepared for job opportunities in their chosen disciplines prior to graduation. Students want to begin curating their professional identity while they are completing degree programs and certificates, not afterwards. Along those lines, this presentation will discuss why it is important for adult and continuing education programs to provide experiential opportunity in light of these emergent student and employer expectations. It will examine the range of common approaches for providing such valuable experiential opportunity for adult learners, including co-operative education and internships, project-based learning, and external partnerships. And this presentation provides examples of working models for experiential learning at other institutions. The presenter will also discuss his own first-hand experience with building and delivering experiential models at his own leading institution. And he will and provide time for questions and answers.

This session is designed to explore the effectiveness of student groups partnering with organizations to address their critical issues using Action Learning, as well as understanding student learning during the process. The focus is on graduate Adult Learning education and the learning outcomes using this approach.

Adult Educators interested in using Action Learning as a learning tool in graduate education, as well as anyone interested in learning more about Action Learning as a tool for problem solving and self-directed learning.

Action Learning has long been used by organizations to promote creative problem solving for critical and complex issues, as well as developing leadership skills and team building, but can Action Learning techniques be used as an effective learning tool for graduate students to aid organizations in this endeavor? This session will explore the concept of Action Learning, the effectiveness of student groups partnering with organizations to address their critical issues using Action Learning, as well as exploring student learning during the process. Understanding the impact of Action Learning as a teaching and learning platform for students and partner organizations may provide interesting findings to inform the field of Adult Learning in graduate education.

It's your invitation to Hangout!
This interactive session will show you how to set-up, schedule, and broadcast a Google Hangout. Come explore the many ways this free online tool can be incorporated both in and outside your classroom.
Participants are asked to create a Gmail account prior to the presentation.

Adult Basic Education (ABE) instructors, staff, and support personnel in face to face, hybrid or distance learning programs. Also, those interested in designing curriculum and instruction that incorporates technology in the classroom.

Our mission at NMDELT is to enhance education through technology. Our goal is to expand educational opportunities for those in Adult Basic Education by creating a culture of change that embraces technology and innovation.

The social, economic, and educational marginalization of adult basic education (ABE) participants is exacerbated when programs promote policy goals over learners’ own goals. This session will use data from an ethnographic study of ABE learners and the Critical Race Theory methodology of counter-storytelling to envision alternatives grounded in learner-centered instruction.

This session will be especially of interest to those who are concerned about marginalization and institutional racism in adult basic education. The discussion will be relevant to practitioners who are interested in supporting learner-centered, anti-racist classrooms, policymakers and policy advocates who are interested in promoting legislation that supports educational equity, as well as researchers interested in qualitative research or the application of critical race theory and methodology in adult basic education.

This session is grounded in the goals and motivations articulated by participants in an ethnographic study of adult basic education (ABE). Utilizing the critical race theory (CRT) method of counter-storytelling (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002), this session imagines what might have been learners’ educational experiences and outcomes had instruction been guided by their goals and interests, rather than by deficit-driven policy goals. These counter-stories contrast with the institutionally-created failure and marginalization experienced by these learners and explore other models of ABE that value learner knowledge, insights, and experiences as the foundation of educational growth.
The large majority of ABE participants are low income people of color. In addition to oppression based on race, class, gender, and sexuality, ableism and discrimination rooted in print literacy status frequently inform learners’ past and contemporary educational experiences. Previous critical policy scholarship foregrounded race and the marginalization of ABE learners during welfare reform (Sheared, McCabe, and Umeki, 2000), but little research has examined whether and how contemporary policy perpetuates learner marginalization and oppression. CRT offers ABE researchers an approach to critical examination of policy and instructional practice that accounts for persistent discrimination (Closson, 2010; Peterson, 1999), but has thus far been under-utilized in the field.

Design thinking is a structured approach to generating and evolving ideas that is human-centered, collaborative, optimistic, and experimental (Brown, 2008). In this session, we will share our experience facilitating this process with students and faculty to answer the question, “How might we better leverage diversity in the MA program?"

This session will benefit adult educators working with diverse students as well as those who prepare adult educators to work with diverse learners. Adult educators and those who plan programs of study will consider how the process of design thinking might be applied to more meaningfully engage diversity in higher education.

Design thinking can be particularly useful under conditions of complexity and ambiguity and as applied to challenges that have multiple possible solutions. Although initially used in product design, design thinking methods are increasingly advocated across the higher education landscape; for example, to promote innovation in management education (Dunne & Martin, 2006), to develop critical thinking skills (Razzouk & Shute, 2012), and to increase safety among engineering students (Behm, Culvenor, & Dixon, 2014).

This year’s conference theme recognizes the rich landscape of adult learning, a landscape that is increasingly diverse with respect to culture, ethnicity, country of origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical ability, family background, learning style, educational history, and age. Based on interviews and focus groups with current and former students, one master’s program in adult education recognized a need to improve the representation of diverse viewpoints across the curriculum and opportunities to meaningfully engage diversity in the classroom. Using a design thinking process, the authors convened a group of faculty and students to address the question, "How might we better leverage diversity in the MA program?” This multiphase, iterative process involved the use of materials from IDEO's (2012) Design Thinking for Educators.

Accessibility is one of key factors for educational success of adult learners; however, professional development opportunities on how to design and teach accessibly have been lacking. This session introduces a free and open professional development course on accessibility and related research on its effectiveness.

The target audience for this session are any individuals working with adult learners using any form of technology, either fully online, blended courses, web-enhanced, and fully face-to-face environments in higher education or community and workforce development. The session is designed to be beneficial for course developers, trainers, instructional designers, faculty, educational technologists, administrators, disability services providers, and other individuals interested in designing and delivering accessible educational experiences to adult learners.

With increased urgency, higher education, the federal government, and advocacy groups insist that courses meet accessibility thresholds. The availability of accessible courses will help many students complete or begin degrees that they may not otherwise have had the opportunity to do. To meet this challenge, a team of educators developed a massive open online course as a professional development opportunity. Accessibility: Designing and Teaching Courses for All Learners ran as a live, facilitated session and is now available in a self-paced format on Canvas Network. This presentation will discuss the importance of accessibility and the results of the following research questions to gauge the effectiveness of the course in meetings it’s goals:
- To what extent did the participants perceive a change in their knowledge and understanding of each of the three course goals from the start to the end of the course?
- Those who attempted the peer assessments, were they successful in showing they mastered the content that map to the three course goals?
- Those that expressed desire to be active, did they earn all the course badges?
- Where there any trends in participants’ perceptions, motivation, and completion based on their roles, campus type, or demographics?

This study attempted a qualitative analysis of what constitutes expertise in teaching in Adult Education/Higher Education. The researcher studied peer nominated educators in an attempt to ascertain what qualities they believed helped them excel in teaching adult students.

The target audience for this presentation will be educators in adult education and professors in higher education

It is well known that a majority of the instructors in higher education are content experts. It is no shock that many of these instructors have little to no training in education or teaching techniques. It is through previous experience that many of these professors came to learn how to teach. The importance of this study is to provide educators with tools that they can use to enhance their teaching techniques.

Given the changing needs and opportunities for American workers, workforce development programs that support diverse learners are increasingly necessary. We present applications of Feminist Theory to the creation of more inclusive workforce programs, including practices and approaches to help increase enrollment and overall completion rates for women and diverse learners.

This session is relevant to adult educators, advisors, directors, program developers, campus recruiters, and administrators working at institutions of higher or continuing education with existing workforce and trade programs and who wish to better support new adult learners or expand current programs. This session will also be helpful to individuals seeking innovative practices and approaches to create more inclusive workforce programs and attract more women and diverse learners into these programs.

Feminist Theory incorporates the concepts of care and safety in adult learning. Care is not associated with stereotypical feminine values, but rather is a collaborative effort to benefit society. Safety, in the context of feminist pedagogy, provides space for non-dominant voices to be heard and validated without fear of retribution. Both of these values and corresponding practices reinforce and provide innovative opportunities for workforce programs to be more inclusive of women.
We will present, through the lens of feminist pedagogy, different practices and approaches to enhance the inclusion of women in workforce and trade programs and the impact that such practices can have on the overall success of these programs. Specifically, we will present how these approaches will help better serve and contribute to the participation of women in traditionally male-dominated fields, like welding.
Considering the demand for workforce personnel and the current gender gap in workforce and trade programs in higher and continuing education, more inclusive approaches in the development of workforce programs are a pressing concern. In recognition of this concern, we will present specific strategies based on theoretical perspectives, while using workforce programs from a large community college as a concrete example bridging theory and practice.

Feeling blocked in your writing? Putting the “pro” in procrastination? Ready for a creative breakthrough? In this session, you’ll learn inspirational, stress-free methods designed to help you generate ideas (the ideas everyone wants to have!), get unstuck (and stay unstuck!), and share your work (brilliantly and fearlessly!) with the world.

This session targets individuals within the field of adult education who are feeling blocked in their writing. As a former adult literacy instructor, turned professor of adult education, and now a creativity and academic writing coach, I know firsthand the writing requirements of the profession. Audience members may include graduate students struggling to overcome procrastination and finish their theses or dissertations, professors wanting inspiration to help them complete their academic journal articles, administrators seeking ideas to help them complete their reports, or adult educators who want motivation to get through the writing assignments related to their jobs.

I am proposing a concurrent session for professors of adult education, graduate students, adult education teachers, administrators, and really any individuals in adult education who are feeling creatively blocked when it comes to their writing and are looking for strategies for cultivating creativity. Many professionals struggle with feeling creatively blocked and stuck in their writing (Maisel, 1995; Bane, 2012; Badonsky, 2013). As professor of adult education know turned professional creativity and academic writing coach, I know the reality of losing touch with one’s writing and feeling creatively unfulfilled. I will provide participants with inspirational, stress-free writing methods so they can understand their own creative block practices, recognize at which point they block in the six stages of the creative process, and understand how and why they procrastinate. Participants will learn five key strategies they can use again and again to help them move past procrastination and onto generating ideas, getting unstuck, and feeling confident sharing their writing with the world. This session will use innovative techniques from the fields of creativity, writing, and neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) (Hoobyar, Dotz, & Sanders, 2013). Writing is an important aspect in so many adult educators lives. This session will help to make writing stress-free.

This session focuses on an exploration of the various forces interacting with the adult education environment. Forces are addressed through the metaphoric lens of tectonic plates, and strategic methods for negotiated responses and programmatic agility in the dynamic environment are presented.

The target audience includes educators, human resource development practitioners, program designers, administrators in community and higher education, and anyone with interest in the future challenges of adult education.

The significance of this session is that it centers on the various forces in the contemporary adult education environment. The presentation will begin by exploring the convergent, divergent, and transforming interactions of these forces using geological tectonic forces as an innovative metaphoric framework for understanding the pressures and their impact on program delivery or practice in a technologically oriented learning society. This will be followed by discussion of predictions, possibilities, and adjustments that will be needed in curriculum and philosophical approaches. Requirements for change-readiness, phenotypic plasticity and flexibility in delivery methodologies and practice will be discussed. Finally, proposed methods for responding to the dynamic environment will be presented and further explored with participants. The topic focus is vital because the contemporary environment of adult education is rife with competing interests of adult learners, challenging requirements of the workplace, changing needs in the community. These environmental forces are continuously reshaping the adult learning environment, therefore, addressing these forces is both timely and expedient, and will be a perpetual requirement well into the future.

Using a constructivist lens and drawing on Cervero & Wilson’s (2006) framework, this presentation provides insights and lessons-learned from a partnership between a State University and a top-tier Medical School during the co-development a Master’s of Health Professions Education program.

The target audience for this presentation are Professors of Adult Education, Medical Professionals, Program Developers, Program Administrators

Given rising number of adult education programs focused on medical education, this presentation provides insights and lessons-learned from a partnership between a State University and a top-tier Medical School during the co-development a Master’s of Health Professions Education program. Partnerships and the co-development of programming requires effective working relationships and shared understandings of organizational processes, course content, participant identifiers, and program outcomes. We argue our medical partners were situated in an evidence-based, quantitative, positivist paradigm and drew upon particular approaches in respect to program development, educational approaches, and outcomes, which at times, conflicted with our approaches. The collaboration process required substantive discussions and negotiations to create shared understandings of adult education more broadly. Drawing upon the experiences of two professors in a Department of Adult Education, we discuss this process of program development. Reflecting on the ten year long process of development, we utilize a constructivist lens to interpret the construction of shared mental models in respect to university and medical school parameters, course content, outcomes, and theoretical approaches. We use Cervero & Wilson’s (2006) framework to examine the navigation of power relationships. This presentation is relevant to professors and health professionals and will provide guidelines for potential program developers.

Bridging the opportunity gap among vulnerable urban populations is critical to creating a competitive 21st Century U.S. workforce. The purpose of this session is to describe a work readiness program which uses a multiple/digital literacy approach for engaging urban adults to explore career pathways and successful employment.

ABE, Adult Educators, Workforce Development Specialists, Literacy Instructors, Employers

Bridging the opportunity gap among vulnerable urban populations is critical to creating a competitive 21st Century U.S. Workforce, as well as, a major goal of the Workforce Investment Opportunities Act. Since vulnerable populations often face multiple barriers to success in education and employment, they are often reluctant participants in workforce development and training programs. In order to be effective, adult education and training programs must be cognizant of the differences in learner needs, cultures and experiences, and the concurrent effects of each on learning outcomes and personal development. The purpose of this session is to describe a work readiness program which is based on andragogy and uses a multiple/digital literacy approach for engaging urban adults to explore career pathways through self-directed learning experiences.

The purpose of this study was to understand the reasons the four female participants decided to pursue electrician technician training, their perspectives of the apprenticeship program, their perceptions of successful employment in a male-dominated occupation, and differences in treatment based on their gender.

Target audience are adult educators with a focus on gender equity in the workplace learning and development within the technician (level one STEM) career pathway education programs.

The lack of access to male-dominated occupations has limited females to employment in low-wage and familial role occupations (Catalyst, 2013; Institute for Women’s Research Policy, 2013). The construction industry sector has employed females in different occupations over the past years. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau (2013), at the professional level in the construction industry sector, 9% of managers were females, and so were 10% of executive officers, and 5% of corporate boards (Catalyst, 2013). At the technician level in the construction industry, less than 6% were females (U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau, 2013). Catalyst (2013), the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (2013), and the U.S. Department of Labor, Women’s Bureau (2013) reported in 2012 the percentage of females who were electrician technicians was 6%, but only less than 1% of the female electrician technicians were able to obtain continuous employment as an electrician technician. According to Eisenberg (1998, 2011) and Moccio (2009), the slow progress of female electricians in the construction industry was further delayed by the male culture that existed in trade occupations, which perpetuates the masculine culture in electrician technician occupations (Bennett, 2005; Denissen, 2006, Moore & Gloeckner, 2007; Whittock, 2002).

This session features a non-verbal, theory-to-practice leadership training exercise liberally adapted from OSS training ideas for adult learners in a Group Leadership and Consultation course. Students worked in teams of four outdoors for two-hours to surmount a set of environmental obstacles while working through a problem collaboratively and non-verbally.

Leaders, professors, administrators, and managers interested in innovative ways to motivate adult learners to get along and build/renew skills
Higher education faculty who teach leadership or counseling courses that include self-assessment as related to communication patterns, both problematic and deleterious as well as those that promote group efficacy
Individuals who work with ELL learners with spoken language issues that inhibit collaborative learning
Leadership trainers and counselors as well as professors who believe in teaching strategy, communication, creative problem solving, risk-taking, tolerance, and resiliency as tenets of leadership
All of the above individuals who get bored easily

This session addresses AAACE’s conference theme, “the rich landscape of adult learning,” by literally incorporating outdoor environments in Group Leadership course instruction. Featuring theory-to-practice training opportunities derived from military Officer Survival School, student team-groups hone multidimensional leadership skills and qualities through non-verbal strategic experiences by learning how to observe, identify, communicate, and rely on collaborative strengths without talking.
In the 21st century, leaders need to be multidimensional, versatile, nimble, and smart in addressing and negotiating problems collaboratively toward identifying creative solutions quickly. Field scholarship shows leadership benefits from appreciation of diversity and skill in recognizing nuances through observation and communication. By leaving indoor classrooms to explore leadership intelligences-- e.g., bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, and non-verbal communication-- in the literal field-landscape, students learn powerfully through simple yet challenging physical tasks that require coordination, identifying and depending on others’ strengths in collaboration, and intense communication in creative non-verbal ways.
Another facet of this innovative outdoor pedagogy involves use of digital media to record student groups for extending in-person experience indoors through objective viewing and reflecting on behaviors, decision points, and leadership characteristics of each participant in relation to group outcomes, with consideration of action plans for altering non-verbal communication patterns to gain leadership effectiveness.

I argue that adult learners should critically engage learning situations to develop thinking and broaden their understanding during the course of their education. I make this argument by comparing existential learning models. Ultimately, I uphold Hannah Arendt’s concept of natality, or rebirth, which best inspires such dispositions in adult learners.

The presentation is aimed at scholars, researchers, practitioners, and graduate students alike. Although I examine philosophical concepts, I will carefully explain ideas and their educational implications for adult learners in a clear and practical way.

Peter Jarvis argues that learning is transformational (Learning to be a Person in Society). I will take up this claim, and build upon it by taking on a humanist approach to the analysis of transformation in existential learning, a type of informal learning toward personal flourishing. In this humanist analysis, I will turn to important works of three major philosophers, Hannah Arendt (The Origins of Totalitarianism and The Human Condition), Jean-Paul Sartre (Existentialism as a Humanism and Colonialism and Neocolonialism), and Paulo Freire (The Pedagogy of the Oppressed and The Pedagogy of Hope). In my critical examination of key existential concepts from the works of these three thinkers, including Arendt's concepts of beginning and action, Sartre's concepts of authenticity and choice, and Freire's concepts of freedom and rebirth, I will compare each account's approach to the notion of personal flourishing, and ultimately demonstrate how Arendt presents the most viable account for facilitating growth toward personhood. By putting these thinkers in critical dialogue with each other and adult learning ideas of transformation, I am insisting upon the humanist tradition's importance in adult learning literature. I am also recognizing transformation as a foundational concept in adult learning.

College students traveled to Florence, Italy and studied international food and culture for six weeks during the summer of 2015. The professor/researcher encouraged students to discuss their transformational learning experiences using the well-known Mezirow theory as a backdrop and self-reflection too. Journals, face-to-face discussions, and final reflection papers were used.

Many transformational learning experiences occurred in the lives of both students and professor. The presenter believes these powerful experiences enhanced the overall learning experience in the course and changed many peoples' perspectives regarding their existing beliefs. The target audience for this presentation may include but would not be limited to: adult educators in a global classroom setting, individuals connected with university study abroad programs, individuals interested in the effects of transformational learning on adult learners.

The partnership between the Education Abroad Office at the University of South Florida World and Florence University of the Arts gives students the opportunity to enroll in classes internationally in over 25 countries. USF believes exposing the students to foreign and international experiences will:
• expand their understanding of the world around them;
• provide a comparative context for their US studies resulting in a deeper understanding and appreciation of these subjects;
• prepare them for an increasingly international workplace; and
• create more thoughtful and understanding citizens of the world.
Students’ briefed on Mezirow's transformational learning theory at the beginning of the term were empowered with this useful self-reflection tool. This assisted them in making sense out of the cultures they were embedded in over the six week study abroad course. As you will hear, both students and professor had transformational learning experiences. The different facets of this 11-stage theory were discussed in class, often mentioned in their weekly journals, and sited in their final reflection papers. Overall, the process helped each person realize many of their own struggles and dilemmas were shared by others during the course. The purpose of the roundtable is to explore future research endeavors.

Virtual internships are increasing exponentially as a distance and online experiential learning tool. The purpose of this session is to inform attendees of past virtual internship research and program successes that can be used in program creation, implementation, and management to meet adult learner needs.

Anyone interested in innovation research or ways to serve adult learners through virtual internships would benefit from this session. Information provided will focus on meeting the needs of the adult learner through a virtual experiential learning program. Virtual internships have demonstrated a capacity to serve as an effective tool to move the adult learner from student to worker in an education driven program for the purpose of increasing career marketability. Attendees interested in these topics will gain information and resources useful in practical applications.

Distance and online learning have been a successful tool in achieving many adult education objectives. One distance learning innovation growing in effectiveness is virtual internships. A virtual internship facilitates the transition from student to worker by allowing the adult learner to move learning beyond the classroom to the workplace. A study was conducted from an innovation diffusion perspective centered on data collected from the three stakeholder groups of students, faculty, and employers. Participants will learn about the collected data as well as existing virtual internship programs. At the end of the session, participants will understand how to use research results to increase the speed of virtual internship adoption as well as the adoption of other education specific innovations.

Trustees at American colleges and universities play a critical role in institutional development, but often forgo direct material compensation for their service (Michael, et al., 1999). This roundtable discusses adult work motivation (Braskamp, 1985; Maehr & Braskamp, 1986: Miller, 2002) as a framework to explore trustee institutional governance.

The roundtable will be targeted towards scholars and practitioners who are interested and work with college leaders on issues in institutional governance, including those researchers and scholars who have interest in adult work motivation. Practitioners will find the background of the study on voluntary leadership, boards of trustees, and institutional decision-making in higher education helpful to them in their practice and for consideration in their future research.

Trustees at American universities play a critical role in institutional progress, and because of the commitment that is required to fulfill their duties, individuals who serve selflessly in these public roles often forgo direct material compensation (Michael, Schwartz, Cook, & Winston, 1999). Reasons for trustee service and efforts to help leads higher education institutions include motivation and satisfaction factors. However, the traditional format for examining job satisfaction is not the most appropriate format for evaluating satisfaction of service in voluntary roles (Michael, Schwartz, Cook, & Winston, 1999). Individuals tend to invest their time and energy into activities that they believe are important to them, have meaning, and thus, make choices accordingly (Maehr & Braskamp, 1986). Nationally, many trustees serve at public institutions and independent nonprofit institutions, are recruited from within their institutions, and two-thirds of them spend half or less than half of their time working on board related issues (Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, 2015). Perhaps most importantly, trustees are typically trained and learn the process for appropriately governing their respective college or university. This roundtable discusses adult work motivation (Braskamp, 1985; Maehr & Braskamp, 1986: Miller, 2002) as a framework to explore trustee institutional governance.

The study explores how alumni can help community colleges recruit adult learners from groups traditionally under-served by higher education. Interviews conducted with alumni directors and admissions officers at community colleges explore how alumni help to recruit, motive, and retain adult students. Examples of "best practices" are discussed.

The target audience for this presentation is adult educators who work with people from groups that are traditionally under-served by higher education, including learners from non-dominant groups and the economically-disadvantaged. The presentation is specifically for those who work to recruit and retain adult learners or work with alumni at community colleges.

"Why do so many students with high ability not go to college? We find two reasons identified consistently by investigators: lack of money and lack of desire."
The quote above may seem applicable to traditional and non-traditional students today, but the reference is from 1962 (Fields, The Community College Movement). Over the past fifty years, while access to higher education has increased significantly, there has been less progress in improving opportunities for adult learners from groups that are traditionally under-served by higher education. People from non-dominant groups and those who are economically-challenged, particularly those from generationally poor families, continue to be marginalized.
The community college has always been concerned with increasing access to higher education. It is clear, however, that low income and minority adult students are less likely to enroll in college, and once in college, they are less likely to complete degrees.
A study was conducted to examine whether community college alumni can help to recruit and retain adult students. The goal was to find “best practices” of how alumni can help community colleges to assist adult learners in breaking the cycle of poverty through college attendance.

In 2015, the United Nations released "Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development." Adult learning and education will play vital roles in achieving the ambitious goals embedded in this document, but meaningful impact is not likely unless we employ transgressive practices which are antithetical to conventional wisdom.

This session will be of interest to those concerned with the role of adult learning and education in achieving the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. Instructors, activists, planners and administrators who are anxious about the state of the world and discouraged by timid institutional responses to emerging crises will find this session of interest.

Although a great deal of progress was made globally in responding to the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the target date of 2015, urgent educational responses are required to address the recently-released Sustainable Development Goals if we are to avoid global crises. This session will challenge adult educators to consider how many current "best practices" may constrain efforts to effectively address emerging crises and how more radical "transgressive practices" may be necessary to develop effective responses. Also to be discussed are the moral justifications for the deceptions, infringements and heresies that may be necessary if adult educators are to step up and accept responsibility for contributing to solutions to these global challenges.

Increasingly multicultural classrooms and workplaces create growing needs for democratic learning environments. Instructors may move towards achieving democracy in higher education and organizational classrooms by using teaching activities that support student voice development. A learning activity will be discussed as one means to help achieve democracy in various educational contexts.

This session is relevant to adult educators at institutions of higher or continuing education. This session will also be helpful to individuals seeking different practices and approaches to create more inclusive and democratic learning environment. Also this session could be of interest to administrators and practitioners in organizational development and learning. This also would be interesting for ABE or ELL classrooms.

In an effort to create a more democratic classroom, it is valuable to engage students as extensively as possible in the learning process. Frequently teachers resort to discussion as an engagement tool but discussions are not necessarily inclusive of all student voices and experiences and can undermine a democratic classroom. The impact of not including all voices in the classroom can affect student learning and participation in the classroom.
“Traveling Expert” is an innovative learning activity applicable in a variety of different learning environments. This activity combines movement, shared leadership and a fostering of self-directed learning that is useful in both traditional university classroom settings as well as in employee development settings. It provides learners the opportunity to critically think and develop their own voice about a content area. This activity is also a useful tool in helping students consider and tolerate opposing viewpoints. This discussion is timely with the increasingly multicultural learning environment and the expectation of educational institutions and employers for people to effectively learn new things as well as effectively work together.

In this discussion, we will frame the grit mindset as a superficial solution to a complex problem and begin a new conversation about how faculty and administrator mindsets can better support student success.

This discussion will benefit faculty and administrators who are concerned with improving access and equity for students. Graduate students, particularly those who are interested in the aspects of critical theory concerned with power, privilege, and positionality, will find this session thought-provoking. This session will benefit anyone in education who is interested in examining common models used to promote student retention and completion, providing an opportunity to deconstruct commonly-applied models and entertain new ideas that truly embrace values of critical theory and social justice.

Grit is currently a "buzz word" in the field of education. This popular narrative has been fodder for radio talk programs and featured in TEDTalks. Education institutions across the United States are employing the grit model to attempt to increase student retention and completion. What is largely being left out of the grit discussion is how this mindset puts the onus for academic success on the backs of those who are most marginalized, calling upon these learners to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” to achieve academic success. By reinforcing the problematic narrative of meritocracy, the grit mindset allows educators and policy makers to ignore the systemic barriers, deeply rooted in power and privilege, which work to further marginalize those from historically oppressed groups. In this roundtable discussion, we will unpack the grit mindset, noting how it serves as a form of repressive tolerance and works to celebrate the most privileged while working against equitable access for the most marginalized of students. We will discuss alternative narratives that embrace values of social justice and equity, fostering the success for all learners.

This study seeks to understand how executives experience vulnerability as they transition into the position of CEO; especially as the new executive learns about his or her new role, responsibilities, relationships with the staff, community leaders and the organization’s Board of Directors.

Scholars and practitioners who design leadership development or executive development programs would be interested in this session. This study will help guide practitioners and educators as they develop programs that facilitate the development of senior level executives. Scholars benefit from this study as it provides a different, deeper and richer understanding of how adult learners experience vulnerability during times of transition, phenomena that is under-researched in the adult learning literature.

The presenter will share and solicit feedback to the research design for a proposed study of the nature of vulnerability as the CEO transitions and learns his or her new role. This session will share the problem, purpose, research questions this study explores and conceptual framework, which synthesizes literature in the biographical, social and transformative nature of vulnerability. Brene Brown’s Ted Talk (2010) on the “Power of Vulnerability” has been viewed over 22 million times, indicating an interest in the topic. Scholars, as well as practitioners have observed that workplace learning can cause anxiety, fear and expose an individual’s vulnerability, however there has not been much done to understand the phenomenon of vulnerability. Kaiser and Kaplan (2006) indicated that executives in the workplace are sensitive to being hurt by repeat experiences of a painful event from the past, and that this disposition can cause anger, fear and panic. Turner and Mavin (2007) claimed that vulnerability is an under researched aspect of leadership and they indicated that further research is necessary to understand how leaders experience isolation, vulnerability and emotional displays. Kegan and Lahey (2009) indicated that anxiety management creates blind spots, prevents new learnings and constrains action.

This session explores the transformation of lecture-based instruction into asynchronous online modules and how learning activities can be enhanced using learner-centered continuous improvement. The development of online module, corresponding assessment tools, student learning gains, and student feedback and learner performance measures that influenced the redesign process will be discussed.

Instructors using and/or converting to online learning modules.

This session explores the integration of authentic learning practices within online modules by describing the development of the online module and corresponding assessment tools using best practices in teaching, adult learning, and instructional technology. Student learning gains and their significance will be demonstrated and discussed. Additionally, online authentic assessment tools utilizing a “choose your own adventure” concept will be discussed and demonstrated. Discussions include development and learner-centered continuous improvement approach. Student feedback and learner performance measures influenced redesign and future assessment tools. Data is from a 2-year academic pilot (N>325).

Employee engagement and retention are areas of focus within industry that help organizations assess training effectiveness and workplace culture. Several methods exist with which to research engagement and retention levels yet there has been little research into the effectiveness of learning styles assessments and their contribution to engagement and retention.

Our target audience consists of those who work in industry (trainers, training managers) or those who are involved in workforce education from an academic or industry perspective. Vocational education specialists and professors of Adult Education are also included; especially if they conduct research with learning styles or learning styles assessments. Graduate/doctoral students are strongly encouraged to attend, especially if their research involves workforce education, workplace culture, and learning styles.

Our session will include a PowerPoint or Prezi to present research. Materials will be given so the audience may see the instruments used in the research. Questions and comments will be welcome throughout the presentation so the atmosphere is relaxed resulting in a sharing session rather than a lecture session. Dr. James Witte and I will speak for approximately thirty five minutes and allow for questions/comments during the last ten minutes of the session.

Archeologists have developed an image of life in Neolithic Ireland. Groups of 3-5 families lived communally, cultivated fields and raised livestock. These communities learned to survive harsh conditions without written language. Social network theories have been applied to these communities and can apply to workgroup design to support situated learning.

The target audience is any person working in organizations that can impact the structure of self-directed work groups or communities of practice. This includes administrators, HR managers or workplace trainers. Since most workplace learning is informal, the structure of organizations can do much to facilitate or hinder that learning. Conversations need to take place between those responsible for workplace learning and those that set the structure to the organizations.

The session will begin with a description of life in Neolithic Ireland. The structure of society at the time mirrors some flattened organizational structures today. Key parts of this discussion will focus on factors that relate to informal learning. Second, I will review some of the literature that discusses social group sizes. Much of this literature has not been applied to adult education yet so this is an emerging topic in our field. Finally, I will review some literature (ranging back to the 1950s up to today) that shows that larger work groups require more "direct supervision." The conclusion will show that self-directed work groups need to be small enough that they do not form factions, cliques, or subgroups.

This session presents findings from a year-long, interview-based qualitative dissertation study of adult undergraduate learning practices situated in adult learning-focused institutions. It focuses on the shifts and contradictions evident in practitioner discourse about students' lives and learning, with implications for instructional and academic support practices.

The target audience for this presentation includes professors, administrators, advisors, and tutors.

This session will present findings from a year-long qualitative dissertation study of adult undergraduate learning practices in adult learning-focused institutions. Specifically, it will focus on the emerging shifts and contradictions evident in practitioner discourse about students' lives and learning. Semi-structured phenomenographic interviews with students and practitioners elicited reflective narratives that demonstrate divergences between the ways in which students and practitioners each described students’ learning practices, priorities, and lives. Many practitioners characterized adult students as spending insufficient time on or insufficiently prioritizing their college education. Practitioner narratives also demonstrated internal contradictions regarding perspectives on students. These contradictions also evidenced positive association between specificity of student examples and more nuanced or affirmative perspectives student lives and learning. Attention to these contradictions, in conversation with students' own narratives affirming their dedication to their college educations, can yield greater insights into the following two areas: the influence of dominant ideological narratives about adult undergraduates' insufficiency or marginality, even in adult learning-focused institutions (Sissel, Hansman, & Kasworm, 2001) and the implications of adult learning-focused practitioner positionality and bias for instructional and academic support practices (Casanave & Li, 2008; Donaldson & Rentfro, 2006).

Student leadership in the form of a student council gives students the power and voice needed to advocate for and meet student needs, organize to respond to crises, and contribute to the larger functioning of an Adult School, the larger community and the Adult Education system.

Adult Education students, teachers, staff and administrators, as well as state agency staff and elected officials, can all benefit from this workshop. Both immigrant and US-born communities have a stake in student voice – and both communities can benefit from this workshop.

Having weathered the crisis in funding for Public Education, we want to share what we’ve learned with school communities in other states who are facing what we survived.

A student team will explain the how the Student Council at San Mateo Adult School is organized. They will detail the strategies, and support that are necessary to an effective Student Council and the goals and benefits of student leadership. They will explain how to create and maintain open communication to address students` needs as well as how the student leadership helps support the adult school.
This active, informed engaged student body is prepared to organize and act on their own behalf in times of crises (including the Adult Education funding crises) and advocate for all students.

In this session we will discuss some of the successful recruitment and retention practices carried out by the workforce departments at a large community college. Specifically, we will discuss how the incorporation of stackable credentials in areas such as welding and machining have increased workforce completion and student retention rates.

This session is relevant to adult educators, advisors, directors, program developers, campus recruiters, and administrators working at institutions of higher or continuing education with existing workforce and trade programs who may have difficulty retaining students and increasing completion rates. This session will also be helpful to educators who are required to or wish to track cohort data, such as contact information, program completion progression, one-on-one interactions, group sessions, and overall success rates for workforce and academic programs.

As workforce programs continue to be a common and growing trend in higher and continuing education institutions, the attention with which these programs are planned, formulated, and executed must be carefully considered. New and innovative approaches must be considered and enacted to help increase the positive impact that such programs have both on students and their local communities.
In this session, we will look at how creating workforce programs with market-driven and industry-approved stackable credentials not only help to increase the completion and success rates of adult learners in these programs, but also help to increases the recruitment and retention rates of said programs.
Specifically, we will present some of the important and innovative approaches that Lone Star College has taken in the development of its workforce programs, which include fields such as welding, machining, drafting, petro data, and field service. We will then present new approaches and tools that have been enacted to help bridge the growing gap that can sometimes exist between industry demands and the ever changing landscape of workforce education programs in higher and continuing education.

Can we authentically tend to eliminating racism without coming to terms with our own cultural identities? Can understanding our background, environment, and subliminal messages from our cultural experiences shed insight to our own implicit biases? This session will highlight successful and well-intended unsuccessful efforts toward this end.

faculty, administrators, community leaders, students

Can we authentically tend to eliminating racism without coming to terms with our own cultural identities? Can understanding our background, environment, and subliminal messages from our cultural experiences shed insight to our own implicit biases? Can we authentically join the struggle to end racism and oppression before addressing our own cultural ancestry of racists and oppressors? What is the difference between individual and structural racism and oppression? This session addresses strategies to heighten awareness of our own cultural identities and the impact on our embedded stereotypes. How does this impact awareness affect our overt efforts in addressing and eliminating racism and oppression? This session will highlight successful and well-intended unsuccessful efforts toward this end.

In this interactive session, instructors will receive an overview of the three primary principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Using real-world scenarios and standards, participants in this workshop will leave with ready-to-use UDL activities that meet the demands of the ELA CCRS.

Adult Basic Education teachers and professional developers are encouraged to attend this session. It does not matter what content you are teaching, you will learn about engaging ways to provide access to all students during this session.

In this interactive session, instructors will receive an overview of the three primary principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is an approach to curriculum design that can help teachers customize curriculum to serve all learners, regardless of ability, disability, age, gender, or cultural and linguistic background. UDL provides a blueprint for designing strategies, materials, assessments, and tools to reach and teach students with diverse needs (TEAL Fact Sheet: Universal Design for Learning). While UDL may not new to adult education teachers, we can revisit these research-based principles and learn how to support the teaching and learning of the College and Career Readiness Standards. Using real-world scenarios and standards, participants in this workshop will leave with ready-to-use UDL activities that meet the demands of the CCRS. This workshop will focus on how UDL can support the English Language Arts standards and is open to all teachers.

In 2013, the University of South Carolina created Palmetto College to provide greater access, affordability, and flexibility to bachelor's degrees. The innovative system model combines four two-year campuses with online bachelor's degrees completion programs from three comprehensive campuses and the Research 1 institution to reach students across the state.

The target audience for the session is faculty, staff, and administrators at both campus and system levels, including but not limited to those involved in regional campuses and distance learning.

Much of South Carolina is rural and under-served by higher education, resulting in low bachelor's degree attainment levels and corresponding poverty and quality of life issues. To address raising educational levels across the state, the innovative concept of the University of South Carolina Palmetto College was developed and launched in 2013. The Palmetto College concept will be introduced and described, from development to launch to successes of the first three years. The importance of improving access, affordability, and flexibility to bachelor's degrees through Palmetto College is critical, especially for adults and other students across the state who may not otherwise have the opportunity to pursue a degree. During the first three years of operation, over 1500 students have been enrolled in the seven initial bachelor's degree completion programs, with more than 500 of those graduating to date. Additionally, the combined enrollment of the four two-year campuses across the state with the online programs is over 5,000 students. This innovative, transformative effort for the eight campus USC system is very timely and important to the college completion agenda.

Vocabulary is an important first step in learning a language; however, not all vocabulary instruction is equal. This study was an investigation of instructional practices used by teachers in a non-academic adult ESL program to teach oral vocabulary to beginner-level students, and the theories of practice that informed their decisions.

This study contributes relevant knowledge of the instructional practices used by adult ESL teachers in a non-academic program, to teach vocabulary for speaking and listening. Therefore, it would be beneficial to instructors, administrators, program directors, professional development providers, and anyone with an interest in adult ESL instruction or vocabulary instruction.

Vocabulary knowledge is an important entrance into a language, and central to communication and comprehension, especially for beginner-level adult students. For this study, I observed and interviewed teachers in a non-academic adult English as a second language program to learn about the instructional activities they used to teach vocabulary, particularly oral vocabulary. In this session, I discuss my findings and the implications for classroom instruction and professional development. I also discuss the theories of practice the research participants shared, and how these beliefs informed their classroom practices. This study is important as it adds to the knowledge base of research conducted with adult ESL teachers, an often neglected population. Furthermore, the findings of this study may influence professional development of adult ESL educators, and encourage future studies.

Because their educational and work histories have been circuitous, adult students may divest their past work of meaning and devalue the knowledge they have gained from experience. This session explores ways of encouraging students to construct and reconstruct their past, current, and future selves as active and purposeful lifelong learners.

This session will enable faculty, administrators, and graduate students to discuss methods of facilitating reflection about purpose and calling with adult students. The session will discuss ways of integrating content about constructing meaning into courses and curricula, as well as the relationship between reflection on calling and career development on retention.

Adult undergraduate students return to college with a tangible and specific goal in mind: career advancement. While much stress and strain has gone into the decision to complete their degrees, rarely do students reflect on the meaning of their education and its relationship to their purpose or calling. Much as they question the need for general education, adults may view reflection on such intangibles as a distraction until they are given the opportunity to construct meaning out of their past experiences and integrate their past and present selves with their career goals.

Because their educational and work histories have been circuitous, adult students may divest their past work of meaning and devalue the knowledge they have gained from experience. This may lead them to question their ability to succeed in college and grow in their careers. How might adult undergraduate courses and curricula integrate reflection on calling or vocation, in order to promote success in college and create a sense of ownership and direction in their world of work? This session explores ways of encouraging students to construct and reconstruct their past, current, and future selves so that they are active and purposeful lifelong learners.

In this roundtable we will share the experience of the Colorado State University Adult Education and Training Program's Distributed Leadership model. We'll cover how we share work, hold ourselves accountable, make decisions, the challenges we've had, and the power of working together to complete our administrative and leadership duties.

Our target audience is anyone interested in or involved with administration and leadership of academic programs at community colleges as well as undergraduate and graduate institutions.

Between 2008 and 2010 the number of Adult Education and Training (AET) Specialization students grew from 50 to 190. With this growth came many new challenges and increased administrative needs. In 2010 a DL model was initiated and two faculty began sharing leadership and administration of the program including aspects such as answering questions, making decisions, working on program progress, and nurturing university-wide partnerships. Both faculty members had different strengths and divided the work to match their skillset. The DL model has continued to develop and in 2015 three different faculty members rotated into leadership position within the program.

A DL model allows each faculty member to contribute according to their area(s) of strength and expertise. This innovative approach can result in positive program outcomes and acknowledges that faculty in higher education are best served by not all being required to bring the same skill set to the workplace. Yet, there are still challenges to consider with a DL model. Shared responsibilities mean more faculty have a larger percent of administrative time, taking them away from other faculty responsibilities and resulting in increased program costs. Nevertheless, the outcomes related improved leadership and administration outweigh the costs.

What can art offer adult language education? A brief presentation will share findings of a yearlong study in which adult immigrant ESL students created plays based on their lives for performance in the community. Participants will then engage in drama activities, reflecting on their challenges and potentials across different contexts.

Drama has been used across a variety of educational contexts. The presentation portion of this session will focus on how drama has been used in language education contexts, making it relevant to language teachers. However, the techniques explored in the interactive portion are of interest to educators in any field who are looking for new ways to engage students in meaningful dialogue. Any attendee with an interest in incorporating drama into their curriculum, whatever that curriculum may be, has the opportunity to participate in drama activities and explore how they might be adapted to their

This session consists of two parts. In the first, attendees will be presented with findings from a yearlong study in which adult immigrant language learners created plays for performance in the community. These findings indicate that engaging students with drama first led to increased anxiety, then increased feelings of pride and empowerment that extended beyond the classroom; further, students perceived drama to augment their language skills. Immigrant language learners in the US are often viewed from a deficit perspective. Giving students a platform to share their voices is a means of reversing this deficit model with the potential to lead to meaningful change in the community.
In the second (and lengthier) part of the session, attendees are invited to participate in drama activities that can be adapted to a variety of educational contexts. It is hoped that by participating in drama activities in the workshop, attendees will explore ways to adapt them for use in their own contexts and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses. There is currently a trend in US education and education research towards valuing art and creativity in the curriculum. In this session we will explore what drama has to offer the broad spectrum of adult education.

I will present insights from an interdisciplinary study of critical feedback to address two questions: what are the hidden psychological demands of receiving critical feedback in a manner that advances learning; and in what ways can individual’s developmental capacity be a resource for receiving critical feedback from a shared-inquiry perspective?

Organizational learning practitioners and researchers; coaches; those working in professional development; HR professionals. and anyone interested in supporting adults to learn and grow

The purpose of this session to re-pivot the feedback conversation around the experience of those receiving critical feedback. This has an important practical implication at a time when most feedback 'advice' is aimed at those 'giving' critical feedback. Further, organizations are redesigning their feedback processes to give more timely feedback to their employees, without much inquiry into how individuals 'psychologically' experience this feedback. The second aim of this session is to ground the significance and purposes of interactional feedback in the transformative learning goals, from which the conversation has moved away in recent times, and has gone in the direction of feedback for performance evaluation.
To do this, I will draw upon Robert Kegan's Constructive-Developmental Theory to demonstrate how the expectation to receive critical feedback with a stance of inquiry and minimal defensiveness is consonant with greater individual psychological complexity. More specifically, individual members' experience of and response to critical feedback can be considered more coherently when viewed through this developmental lens. Finally, I will discuss implications for design of feedback processes and interactions.

A change in one’s epistemology, or the habitual ways that the person evaluates knowledge claims in constructing their own knowledge, is an important yet often unrecognized outcome of adult learning. This session will present and explore different forms of epistemological change and their significance for learners, educators, and researchers.

The target audience for this session includes scholars interested in new ways of defining and analyzing learning outcomes related to epistemological change, as well as educators and instructional designers interested in converting the tacit expectations of their discipline into explicit learning objectives.

A change in one’s epistemology, or the habitual ways that a person evaluates knowledge claims in constructing their own knowledge, is an important yet often unrecognized outcome of adult learning. Most often, educational scholars writing about epistemology have focused solely on metacognition. Recently, however, attention has been directed at epistemological change as a fundamental type of transformative learning outcomes (Author, 2016). In this newer vein, epistemology is regarded as an integral component of the meaning making process that occurs on a continual basis. From this perspective, there is a need to articulate specific forms that epistemology can take and thus different ways that epistemology can change.
Of particular importance for educators is the need to be explicit about the form of epistemology that is expected of their learners. Every discipline has a specific epistemology that is expected - yet often so deeply engrained as to be tacit in their educational programs. Similarly, there is a benefit for researchers seeking to convey the constructed reality of participants to be able to accurately convey the epistemology employed in that construction. The purpose of this session is to provide conceptual tools to aid these educators and researchers.

How do organizations increase workforce capability and performance in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment? Training, alone, is insufficient. Traditional expert knowledge resists the unprecedented demand for adaptability. This presentation suggests (a) a framework for experienced-based workplace learning solutions and (b) the vital role of reflective leadership.

This presentation is conceived for people in organizations who design and construct workforce development strategies to drive increased individual, team, and organizational performance. In many organizations, this responsibility rests with human resource (HR) and learning and development professionals. However, given the importance of alignment of workforce development with business strategies, this presentation is also relevant to business leaders who are interested in an alternative approach to workforce and leadership development.

How do we facilitate faster and better learning that leads to improved performance in environment of rapid and pervasive change? This presentation proposes a new framework that answers this question. Typically, in times of fast-paced change, organizations turn to ineffective one and done training events to keep up with escalating demands for more training within shorter development and delivery cycles. The result is a workforce ill-prepared to meet vacillating and more complex job demands. Without a capable workforce, companies cannot innovate, adapt, and compete in an atmosphere of rapid and pervasive change.
There is a rising chorus of scholars, researchers, and practitioners advocating a significant reinvention of the way we “do” workforce development. The session supports this trend. While new research or new concepts are not introduced, the presentation offers an alternative and viable approach to workforce development. It is intended that this framework will make understanding and implementing a coherent work-based experiential learning strategy easier. Change is relentless, and competition is fierce. While most companies still cling to anachronistic training solutions, rapid and complex change threatens their survival. It is time for change.

This reports on research conducted into faculty perceptions of student transformative learning potential in placement courses at United Kingdom universities, and which pedagogies might be more supportive of TL. Specific actions to support faculty working with placement learning courses are recommended.

Instructional and research faculty interested in courses and programs involving placements, internships, co-ops, service-learning, tranformative Learning, and assessment. Also people interested in faculty professional development may find this of interest.

Universities often publicize that the student experience is tranfomational but seldom say how this occurs. This report on research explores the faculty assessment of student TL potential in placement courses. This is intended to help faculty learn and perhaps use pedagogies that could support or enhance student TL experiences.

This session will illuminate the history of graduate programs in adult education at three HBCUs: Cheyney University, Coppin State University, and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Adult educators and learners who are interested in historical representation of HBCUS and adult education graduate programs.

There is paucity in the body of research anchored in the field of adult education with regard to the history of graduate programs in adult education within historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In the late 1970s the number of Black graduate students increased (NCES, 2010) and within a ten year span adult education graduate programs were approved at three public HBCUs: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Coppin State University, and Cheyney University. While these institutions were geographically positioned in various parts of the eastern region of the US, their educational efforts were similar in that they shared the common goal of preparing graduate adult learners, in particular Black graduate adult learners to become effective adult educators and change agents. In addition, these institutions share curricular experience wherein the historical, philosophical, and socio-cultural significance of Blacks in adult education is emphasized.

In the knowledge economy, workplace wellness programs have demonstrated results for increasing worker productivity, retention, and well-being. Holistic personal wellness is important throughout one's career. This session will provide participants with wellness tools and strategies to empower students and clients on the path to attaining the career of a lifetime.

This session is intended for any professional providing direct or indirect services to individuals at any stage of their career development process. Wellness coaching is unique in that it can be effectively utilized by both counseling and non-counseling professionals, in academic, social service, athletic/recreational, or community-based settings. Teachers and faculty, academic advisors, counselors, employment specialists, coordinators, case managers, athletic coaches, spiritual leaders, student leaders, managers, and HR professionals will benefit from the knowledge and tools offered in this session.

Wellness is a holistic approach to life, and in turn, career (Smith, Myers, & Hensley, 2002). The modern wellness movement is rooted in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1942), where a person may reach self-actualization when other needs are satisfied. Self-actualization is the goal, too, in career development. At work, high stress and low motivation can hamper productivity and job satisfaction. Workplace wellness programs have grown in distinction as effective solutions. However, less research exists in applying wellness principles to serving job seekers. Job loss or unemployment can be damaging to financial stability, self-esteem, and confidence. This not only can delay re-entry into the workforce, but can also result in a sense of desperation, leading to poor career matches. Wellness coaching can help turn the tables in the face of adversity. The career development professional, as wellness coach, is a guide, empowering clients to affect their own positive decision-making. Holistic assessment of a client’s needs through career wellness coaching can lead to successful and sustainable career placements. This session will provide participants with wellness tools and strategies to empower students and clients on the path to attaining the career of a lifetime.

Participants will learn how to integrate formal active group learning into curricula by experiencing a mini-version of a cultural competency series highlighting various active learning techniques and methods. These include games, simulations, case-studies, and facilitated discussion. Participants will walk away with instructional strategies and support documents for their course design.

Educators and/or course designers seeking unique teaching techniques to improve student learning and knowledge retention through creative hands-on activities.

This session is designed to showcase a variety of interactive approaches and assist educators in re-thinking and re-envisioning their own curricula. To spark their creativity, participants will experience a mini-version of a cultural competency curriculum developed by the presenters. This workshop will discuss and demonstrate different active learning approaches as well as methods of curriculum and program evaluation.
Research suggests students who engage in hands-on-activities are more likely to retain information and skills longer than students who sit passively listening to a lecture (Astin, 1993; Pascarella and Terenzini, 2005; Prince, 2004). In an effort to increase medical students’ exposure to health disparities and other barriers to healthcare, the Department of Family Medicine has taken a pivotal role in developing an interactive cultural competency series for these learners. The first session addresses issues related to language barriers impacting the doctor/patient relationship. The second session examines the influence of organizational culture on the work and behavior of physicians and the experience of patients. The final session explores personal values and how to negotiate situations with patients when values collide. Each of the sessions is highly experiential using role-play, simulations, and other forms of active learning to engage learners.

Keeping pace with tomorrow's students means institutions need to adopt new technologies, data processes and OPM strategies to keep learners engaged. We'll explore the shift in learner demographics - who they are, what they want, and how they are motivated, and how this impacts program discipline and management.

Session content is geared toward campus leaders who are strategically planning for the long-term success of their institutions and programs (presidents, chancellors, deans, directors, and other academic thought leaders).

Roughly 8.7 million adult learners are enrolled in higher education, and that population is expected to hit 10 million by 2022. This shift in learner demographics is impacting the programs institutions offer, the way they offer them, and the way they manage them.
Brenau University, which enrolls 2,000 adult learners across 5 campus locations and online, is teaming up with Helix Education to discuss the trends they are seeing when it comes to post-traditional learner expectations. Discussion will focus on how demographics are impacting programs, support and accreditation.
From degree completers to career advancers, adult learners are challenged to balance work, life and school. We will explore:
• Enrollment drivers (what students want)
• Digital literacy (how they use technology)
• Learning styles (on-campus and online)
• Academic and career goals (what motivates them)
As institutions try to keep pace with evolving student demographics, they are challenged to deliver meaningful experiences and optimize the cost of graduation. We will explore:
• Differentiation (making your institution stand out)
• Program strength and value/cost ratio (time and money)
• Personalization (tailoring programs and outreach)
• Enterprise OPM approach (using data)
• Cost savings (new program management strategies)

The Multimedia Cone of Abstraction was developed to help teachers and instructional designers select appropriate multimedia based on learners' prior knowledge. Multimedia categories include verbal, static graphics, non-interactive dynamic graphics, and interactive dynamic graphics. Novice learners need more concrete multimedia compared to expert learners who may prefer more abstract multimedia.

Teachers and instructional designers who develop and deliver content using computers.

This session will discuss some of the important theories related to multimedia selection including Dale's Cone of Experience, Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, and Baukal and Ausburn's Multimedia Cone of Abstraction. Properly selecting multimedia depends on learners' prior knowledge where more novice learners need more concrete materials and more expert learners may prefer more abstract materials. Properly selecting multimedia is critical to enhancing learning while minimizing instructional design time and cost. With increasingly more visual learners, this session will give teachers and instructional designers research-based guidelines for selecting appropriate multimedia depending on the learners' prior knowledge which typically changes as a course progresses. Learners normally move from novices at the beginning of a course to more expert at the end of a course. Therefore, multimedia for a given topic should change from the beginning to the end of the course by going from more concrete to more abstract. There may be many sublevels for a given level of multimedia which provides the designer with many options. This variety can be useful in enhancing learning for students by visualizing content in multiple ways.

College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL) has initiated the Adjunct Institute in order to provide a comprehensive professional development program for adjunct faculty to help them develop into master teachers. The presenters will discuss the content of the course, as well as the outcomes for the instructors and their students.

The target audience for this presentation is administrators and educators who are looking to improve student outcomes through the professional development of their adjunct faculty. Our research has connected adjunct faculty development and increases in student completion, retention, and persistence. Unlike K-12 instruction, community colleges and universities rely on educators with graduate degrees who, for the most part, have no formal teacher training. Providing pedagogical and best practice tools for this growing group leads to better educational outcomes and better prepared adjunct instructors. There will be a question and answer session and some discussion at the end of the presentation.

College of DuPage has recently implemented the Community College Adjunct Faculty Institute. The purpose of the program is to provide professional development for adjunct faculty to help develop them into more than subject matter experts, but also master teachers. This program has had a positive impact on both the adjunct faculty participants and their students, due to improved instruction and assessment techniques for traditional and online courses.
The presenters will be discussing the program development, curriculum, and outcomes with the attendees. They will give an overview of the curriculum and how it has affected the faculty taking the course, as well as the students of those faculty members. Presenters will discuss some of the successes and challenges faced with the development of the program and will share some of the assignments given in the Adjunct Institute. There will be time for questions at the end of the presentation.

Based on a new study of the relationship between creativity and learning style preference, findings confirmed previous findings indicating that there is not a significant relationship between the two. Findings for the study do introduce the possibility of a relationship between creativity and age as a regression toward the mean.

This presentation would be of interest to those who would like new insights into the creative process in adults. As creativity is a significant component of the human experience, knowledge of this process can assist in a variety of settings. This would include environments dedicated to the adult learner. Teachers and facilitators who work with adults would find value in a deeper understanding of creativity as it manifests itself and evolves through adulthood.

This session is based on original research investigating the relationship between creativity, learning styles, and age. Through the use of accepted research methods, findings indicated that there was no significant relationship between creativity and learning style preference. This confirms the findings of several previous studies. The findings of this study also revealed the possibility of a new understanding of the relationship between creativity and aging. The findings indicated that while measurable outcomes were widespread for adults 21 years of age through 29 years of age, measurable outcomes began to settle toward the mean as the aging process continued. Starting in the early 30's, scores began to narrow. By the mid-40's, creativity scores were centered narrowly around the mean. This would appear to indicate that as adults age, regardless of their measured creativity abilities in early adulthood (highest and lowest scores were found in this age-range), the measurable creative abilities of adults evolve toward a standard level of achievement. Several deductions could be made from the findings to explain the phenomenon. These findings could be significant in the understanding of the creative process and how it manifests itself at various stages of adulthood.