Browsing by Subject "Self Directed Learning"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Development Of Self-Directed Learning Skills In Students Enrolled In ESL/Adult Education Classes
    (Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, 2003) Churpina, Larissa
    The purpose of this table-top presentation is to fill the gap between the everyday practical concerns of English language teaching professionals and research in the fields of Adult Education, Educational Psychology, and Teaching English as a Second language with respect to self-direction. Being prompted by research in these fields, the presenter proposes to teach self-directed learning skills explicitly in ESL classes. By choosing this approach, ESL students take responsibility for their own learning process, learn about their learning styles and develop knowledge how to learn, how to plan, how to achieve outcomes, and how to transfer that knowledge into new, real life situations. A self-directed component in ESL class enhances students’ motivation and independence. Adult students are usually serious learners once motivated.
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    An Evaluation Of The Use Of Learning Objects As An Instructional Aid In Teaching Adults
    (Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, 2003) Conceição, Simone; Lehman, Rosemary
    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of learning objects in the CD-ROM format for the teaching of introductory American Sign Language to adult learners. A controlled experiment was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of the learning objects to enhance student learning. Findings suggest that there was no indication that the use of learning objects on a CD-ROM affected students’ scores at any level of assessment. Reasons for the learning objects not affecting student outcomes were found in the qualitative comments that the students made in the survey. The reasons included: learners’ inexperience in using the technology and the difference between signs being taught in the classroom and on the CD-ROM. Recommendations for the future application of learning objects as instructional aids are presented.
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    From Homeless To Empowered: A Participatory Methods Response To Multiple Oppressions
    (Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, 2004) Curry, LaMetra
    This paper describes a participatory research/evaluation (PR/PE) project that has been underway for two years with a group of women placed in the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) system. Prior to the mandate for welfare recipients to align with TANF, fifteen women (the subjects of this project) were homeless in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. Chicago has been a center for African American Community organizers and adult educators to embark on the co-learning experience that helped community members “read their own world” Curry, 2002, p.71). The participants became acquainted with one another through the TANF designated housing arrangements; they formed a support group initially, and this has evolved into a self and community development action agenda enabled through participatory methods. This particular agenda is centered on individuals taking responsibility for accommodating issues that plague everyday citizens; issues such as childcare, transportation, mandated employment, and training programs that emerge in the midst of the severe dislocation of federal and state welfare reforms and the bureaucracy that accompanies them.
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    How Developing Electronic Portfolios Impact Pre-Service Teachers’ Self Directedness And Computer Technology Skills
    (Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, 2004) Huang, Y. Carole
    In order to have a better career opportunity or get a promotion, more people including both traditional and non-traditional students, enroll in colleges and universities. Even people with backgrounds outside of education are returning to school to become teachers. Thus, because of these diverse learners, teacher education programs cannot assess these future teachers’ abilities by simply looking at their academic performance (i.e., grades). Most teacher education programs use portfolios to assess preservice teachers’ performance. An E-portfolio can be used for assessment of students’ assignments and required artifacts. It allows preservice teachers to get feedback from their instructors and peers in a timely and efficient manner. Among other things, E-portfolios give users a sense of ownership, support collaboration and facilitate ongoing self-evaluation. This ability to change causes teachers to reflect more on their own work and thus engage in ongoing self-improvement. The purpose of this study is to discover the impact E-portfolio development has on self-directed learning (SDL) and computer technology skills (CTS). The research is framed by the concepts of self-directed learning theory and incidental learning as they occur in the use and development of E-portfolios.
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    Learning Her Way In: The Life History Of A Latina Adult Educator
    (Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, and Community Education, 2003) Hatcher, Denise L.
    This paper explores the various learning experiences of a bilingual and bicultural woman of Mexican heritage. The data collection and data analysis were performed with the intent of creating a life history and allowing recurrent themes to emerge. These three recurrent themes were identified as interplay among learning, survival, and spirituality; health, health care, and parish nursing; and multiple and competing contexts. The essential structure that connected all of the recurrent themes was the participant’s learning and the impacts that it had on her lived experiences. In this way, Monica and her life history are the story of a Latina who has learned her own way into a second culture.