Developing Adult Learners

2001 Winner of the Phillip E. Frandson Award for Literature in Continuing Education

"An absolutely indispensable trove of practical, concrete ideas for teaching and training adults. Enough theorizing and mythologizing! This is the real stuff!"
―Laurent A. Parks Daloz, associate director, the Whidbey Institute, and author of Mentor: Guiding the Journey of Adult Learners

"This book gives us educators and trainers of adults a solid framework for intentionally incorporating into our practice what we believe to be a central tenet of what we do―help learners develop and change."
―Rosemary S. Caffarella, professor, Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Northern Colorado, and coauthor of Learning in Adulthood: A Comprehensive Guide

Today's adult educators recognize that it is no longer sufficient for teachers to teach and trainers to train. This practical guide shows how to encourage learning and development while helping adult learners to become more aware of their personal growth and change. It not only offers a rationale for focusing on the experience and development of adult learners, but also presents a theoretical and conceptual framework of the intentions that guide educators.

The authors provide nearly seventy instructional activities--some of which can be done in a single session and others that can be done in a series of sessions or an entire course. These flexible activities are organized according to their focus on a particular learning strategy. No matter the content or setting, readers can select any activity and customize it to suit their developmental and instructional objectives. Most important, Developing Adult Learners highlights the compelling voices of teachers and students who have discovered the excitement of growing and changing through learning. It is full of pragmatic advice for faculty members, part-time instructors, workplace educators, leadership trainers, and anyone dedicated to helping adult learners achieve rich and rewarding experiences.

KATHLEEN TAYLOR is professor in the School of Extended Education and chair of the Department of Portfolio Development at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California. She also writes and consults in the areas of adult development and learning, learning and transformation, prior learning assessment, and women's development.

CATHERINE MARIENAU is professor and faculty mentor in the School for New Learning at DePaul University in Chicago. She teaches, writes, and consults in the areas of adult learning and development, experiential learning, outcomes-based curriculum and assessment, self-assessment, and women's development.

MORRIS FIDDLER is professor and faculty mentor in the School for New Learning at DePaul University in Chicago. He teaches, advises, writes, and consults in the areas of adult and experiential learning, competence-based curriculum and assessment, prior learning assessment, online education, and medical genetics.