This book applies and expands upon the concept of the 'learning conference' as a site of learning and development, using the paradigm and methodologies of participatory action learning and action research (PALAR). Making a significant contribution to the field, this is the first book to outline the characteristics and development of a learning conference culture in theory and practice. It demonstrates how application of the learning conference concept can maximise learning opportunities and successful research outcomes to bring about sustainable professional, organizational and community development. An international team of contributors offer their diverse perspectives on conferences and the practical and theoretical work conducted at these events. They contextualize these reflections in the light of global developments in this increasingly troubled twenty-first century marked by greater complexity through technology, globalization, neo-liberalism, climate change and other sources of practical and ideological change, all of which enhance the conceptual and practical utility of the learning conference.

This book examines contemporary issues in music teaching and learning throughout the lifespan, illuminating an emerging nexus of trends shaping modern research in music education. In the past, most music learning opportunities and research were focused upon the pre-adult population. Yet, music education occurs throughout the lifespan, from birth until death, emerging not only through traditional formal ensembles and courses, but increasingly through informal settings as well. This book challenges previous assumptions in music education and offers theoretical perspectives that can guide contemporary research and practice. Exploring music teaching and learning practices through the lens of human development, sections highlight recent research on topics that shape music learning trajectories. Themes uniting the book include human development, assessment strategies, technological applications, professional practices, and cultural understanding. The volume deconstructs and reformulates performance ensembles to foster mutually rewarding collaborations across miles and generations. It develops new measures and strategies for assessment practices for professionals as well as frameworks for guiding students to employ effective strategies for self-assessment. Supplemental critical thinking questions focus the reader on research applications and provide insight into future research topics. This volume joining established experts and emerging scholars at the forefront of this multifaceted frontier is essential reading for educators, researchers, and scholars, who will make the promises of the 21st century a reality in music education. It will be of interest to a range of fields including music therapy, lifelong learning, adult learning, human development, community music, psychology of music, and research design.

The book identifies a set of validated competencies and performance statements, with supporting explanation and data to inform and equip online learners with the critical attitudes, knowledge and skills for successful learning in online and/or blended learning settings. The work also enables online education providers (e.g., instructors, course designers, programme administrators, scholars) to better understand learner needs in order to design and deliver online education products and services best suited to learners. Supplementing a large number of anecdotally-based "how to" books published for those engaged in online education, this volume offers a definitive set of 14 competencies and 75 performance statements (that demonstrate those competencies). Validated by systematic research and input from over 1,000 online users and providers worldwide, this work should impact the quality of learning and teaching at both the individual and organisational levels, involved in online education.

New edition of a classic community work textbook Contains all new practice examples and a new chapter redefining the concept of neighbourhood. Includes chapters on starting work, data collection, goals and priorities, making contacts, forming groups, supporting ongoing work, working with people and leaving a neighbourhood.

This book explores connections between the fields of foreign/second language teaching and adult learning. This interdisciplinary approach serves as a framework in order to: (a) understand the teaching methods that promote the deeper, more critical sort of language learning advocated by scholars and professional organizations, (b) understand how adult students learn and transform through language study, and (c) reinforce the immense value of beginning language courses. Johnson studies a classroom of adult language learners for one semester, exploring issues of motivation and perceived value for these short-term learners as well as touching on issues around intercultural communication teaching and learning. The book will be of interest to adult language teachers as well as researchers studying adult education and second language learning.

This book asks how we can reclaim the university for the public good. The editors and contributors argue that the sector is in crisis, accelerated by the passing of the UK Higher Education Research Act in 2017 and made visible during the University and College Union strikes in April 2018. In response to this, there are widespread demands to reclaim the university and protect education as a public good, using co-operative structures. Taking an interdisciplinary and social justice perspective, the editors and contributors offer concrete examples of alternative higher education: in doing so, analysing how the future of the university can be recovered. This intersectional volume discusses a broad range of approaches to higher education while disseminating new ideas. It will be of interest and value to those disenchanted with the current state of higher education in the UK and beyond, as well as activists and policy makers.

Rethinking Pedagogy for a Digital Age examines contemporary issues in the design and delivery of effective learning through a critical discussion of the theoretical and professional perspectives informing current digital education practice. This third edition has been thoroughly revised to address socio-cultural approaches, learning analytics, curriculum change, and key theoretical developments from education sciences. Illustrated by case studies across disciplines and continents for a diversity of researchers, practitioners, and lecturers, the book is an essential guide to learning technologies that is pedagogically sound, learner-focused, and accessible.

This book explores community education in Ireland and argues that neoliberalism has had a profound effect on community education. Rather than retain its foundational characteristics of collective, equality-led principles and practices, community education has lost much of its independence and has been reshaped into spaces characterised by labour-market activation, vocationalisation and marketisation. These changes have often, though not always, run contrary to the wishes of those involved in community education creating enormous tensions for practitioners, course providers and participants.

Originally published in 1982. This book is concerned with the new kinds of demands on our reading ability made by the work we undertake for A-level, or in college, or at university, or indeed at work. It is not a speed reading book, or a reading skills book. Anyone with a lot of reading to get through may not want to read all of it quickly. Some things can be skimmed through; others take a lot of reading. This book helps readers discriminate and gives techniques to assume responsibility for their own reading. The book takes the form of a reading workbook, and consists of a number of exercises together with an interleaving commentary, along with suggestions for further work. It can be used by the individual student, by students in groups or with a teacher, and as a sourcebook for courses in study skills.

Dyslexia: Surviving and Succeeding at College is a practical and easy-to-read guide for dyslexic and dyspraxic students. Clearly and simply written, in a dyslexia-friendly format, it addresses not just study skills, but also more general aspects of coping with student life.
Each chapter includes step-by-step strategies which can be put into practice from the very first day at college. You will learn how to develop effective study skills such as:

• reading strategies to improve your accuracy and comprehension skills
• how to make your note-taking efficient and useful for essay writing
• feeling confident in contributing to seminars
• memory strategies for study and everyday life
• how to organise your time and plan your work.

Sylvia Moody recognises that adapting to student life generally is as important as developing study skills. Guidance is given to assist you in finding your way around campus, building relationships with tutors, managing emotional development and preparing for the world of work. Full of invaluable self-help strategies, this book will empower you to improve your skills in all areas.

The book will also be useful to subject tutors who wish to learn about dyslexia, and to dyslexia tutors and co-ordinators who want to give practical advice to their students.

Dr Sylvia Moody is a freelance writer and psychologist specialising in adult dyslexia.

While much has been written about science education from pre-K through to postgraduate study, interaction with science and technology does not stop when schooling ends. Moving beyond scholarship on conventional education, this book extends the research and provides an original in-depth look at adult and lifelong learning in science and technology. By identifying the knowledge and skills that individuals need to engage in self-directed learning, the book highlights how educators can best support adult learners beyond the years of formal schooling. Through case studies and empirical analysis, the authors offer a research-based exploration of adults' self-directed learning and provide tools to support adults' learning experiences in a wide range of environments while being inclusive of all educational backgrounds.

'Overall this text is a very interesting read with significant applicability to both advisors and faculty. The creative advisor will have no problem synthesizing Materna's ideas and theories of brain-compatible learning strategies into daily interactions with students and faculty.' uJennifer Varney, Hesser College'This outstanding book combines neuroscience and education to create an energetic and practical guide to the adult brain. You'll finish it feeling as if you've just been entertained and enlightened.'uSheryl Feinstein, Augustana CollegeUse brain-based learning techniques for powerful staff development!Brain-compatible learning promotes the brain's natural capacity to learn, and more and more educators have been using this technique to help young students become successful learners. By combining adult education theory with brain-compatible learning, noted educator Laurie Materna offers practical, brain-friendly instructional approaches for working with adults in both informal and formal environments.This user-friendly guide provides valuable background information about adult learning styles, memory, and how the brain learns. Engaging, interactive strategies for classrooms or workshops include graphic organizers, music energizers, exercise activities, and self-assessments, and each strategy is accompanied by a wide range of real-life examples. Educators will be able to motivate adult learners toBecome more self-directed in their own learningImprove their ability to recall, comprehend, and apply complex informationUnleash their creative potential as they explore a variety of learning modalitiesTurn their education into a meaningful and rewarding experienceIdeal for staff developers, trainers, principals, teacher leaders, coaches, mentors, adult education instructors, adult learners, andaconsultants, Jump Start the Adult Learner provides everything staff developers need to successfully implement this dynamic and learner-centered approach in any adult learning environment.

While much has been written about science education from pre-K through to postgraduate study, interaction with science and technology does not stop when schooling ends. Moving beyond scholarship on conventional education, this book extends the research and provides an original in-depth look at adult and lifelong learning in science and technology. By identifying the knowledge and skills that individuals need to engage in self-directed learning, the book highlights how educators can best support adult learners beyond the years of formal schooling. Through case studies and empirical analysis, the authors offer a research-based exploration of adults' self-directed learning and provide tools to support adults' learning experiences in a wide range of environments while being inclusive of all educational backgrounds.

A veteran college dean gives parents of college students all the practical guidance they'll need to navigate the labyrinth of bureaucracies and policies in order to support their student's academic career and extracurricular life. Most books for college parents dwell on the emotional and psychological challenges when their son or daughter "cuts loose" into the quasi-dependent, quasi-adult limbo of college. Here at last is an expert nuts-and-bolts guide showing parents how to work collaboratively with their children to navigate the college bureaucracy-a labyrinth that at times seems perversely designed to frustrate parents at every turn, even on such basic matters as tuition and fees, grades, and disciplinary, legal, and medical problems. Drawing on her 20 years of experience as a student affairs dean at a top-ranked national university, Helen Akinc teaches college parents everything they need to know about policies and practices today in college administration, instruction, and student services. The practical advice gathered in this handbook will empower college parents to extract enough information from the system to support, guide, and monitor the academic career and general well-being of their college student-both on campus and off, in both routine and special situations. A bibliography of suggested websites, readings, and additional resources at the end of most chapters A comprehensive index

In 2015, the Journal of Education for Teaching celebrated 40 years of original contributions on the subject of international teacher education with the publication of an anniversary virtual special issue. Its unique contribution to debates about the preparation and lifelong learning of teachers in a variety of fields, including medical education and language education, have been expressed in a variety of formats and international contexts. These include high quality academic papers using innovative qualitative and quantitative methodologies, symposia in the form of Platonic dialogues, and even critical positions expressed in verse. This virtual special issue was freely available online throughout 2015 but the strong demand for the papers has prompted their re-publication in this volume, with the addition of several more articles. Taken together, this collection will allow the reader to experience the variety of the dozen or so international contexts represented in the journal and its academic quality. Included in the volume is the original Editorial from the first issue of the journal. The fact that the points made in this forty-year-old piece still ring true suggests that the threats to high quality teacher education remain much the same as they did four decades or more ago. The Journal of Education for Teaching continues to provide an indispensable platform for colleagues to make their voices heard in what appears to be an increasingly shrill evidence-free environment. Long may it do so.

Learning for the Age of Artificial Intelligence is a richly informed argument for curricular change to educate people towards achievement and success as intelligent machine systems proliferate. Describing eight key competences, this comprehensive volume prepares educational leaders, designers, researchers, and policymakers to effectively rethink the knowledge, skills, and environments that students need to thrive and avoid displacement in today's technology-enhanced culture and workforce. Essential insights into school operations, machine learning, complex training and assessment, and economic challenges round out this cogent, relatable discussion about the imminent evolution of the education sector.

This book aims to isolate specific success factors for underrepresented minorities in undergraduate engineering programs. Based on a three-phase study spearheaded by the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, the findings include evidence that hands-on exposure to problem-based courses, research, and especially internships are powerful catalysts for engineering success, and that both college adjustment and academic skills matter, in varying degrees, to minority success. By encompassing an unusually large number and range of programs, this research adds to the evidence base for the importance of hands-on exposure to the work of engineering.

Fully revised and updated, this second edition of Participatory Action Research (PAR) provides new theoretical insights and many robust tools that will guide researchers, professionals and students from all disciplines through the process of conducting action research 'with' people rather than 'for' them or 'about' them. PAR is collective reasoning and evidence-based learning focussed on social action. It has immediate relevance in fields ranging from community development to education, health, public engagement, environmental issues and problem solving in the workplace. This new edition has been extensively revised to create a user-friendly textbook on PAR theory and practice, including: updated references and a comprehensive overview of different approaches to PAR (pragmatic, psychosocial, critical); more emphasis on the art of process design, especially in complex social settings characterized by uncertainty and the unknown; developments in the use of Web2 collaborative tools and digital strategies to support real-time data gathering and processing; updated examples and stories from around the world, in a wide range of fields; critical commentaries on major issues in the social sciences, including stakeholder theory, systems thinking, causal analysis, monitoring and evaluation, research ethics, risk assessment and social innovation. This modular textbook provides novel perspectives and ideas in a longstanding tradition that strives to reconnect science and the inquiry process with life in society. It provides coherent and critical treatment of core issues in the ongoing evolution of PAR, making it suitable for a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. It is intended for use by researchers, students and working professionals seeking to improve or rethink their approach to co-creating knowledge and supporting action for the well-being of all.

Almost 650,000 men and women, approximately the size of the city of Memphis, TN, return home from prison every year. Oftentimes with some pocket change and a bus ticket, they reenter society and struggle to find work, housing, a supportive social network. Economic barriers, the stigma of a felony conviction, and mental health and addiction challenges make reentry a bleak picture, leading some to return to a life of crime. A Department of Justice study of 404,638 inmates in 30 states released in 2005, for example, identified that 68 percent were rearrested within 3 years and 77 percent within 5 years of release. Education and workforce readiness programs must be central components in better preparing individuals to successfully reenter society - and stay out of prison. This book compiles chapters written by individuals on the right and the left of the political spectrum, and within and outside the fields of prison education and reentry that address this need for reform. Chapters feature the voices of prominent national figures pushing for reform, current and former students who have benefitted from an education program while in prison, those teaching or managing educational programs within prison, and researchers, entrepreneurs, and policy influencers.

Despite the Great Recession and looming "student loan debt crisis", college education remains the most proven, invaluable lifetime investment and serves as the most reliable path to upward mobility and socioeconomic class reassignment. Mfume suggests that "the value added" of even one year of college can be transformative. As higher education professionals and partners continue to advocate for new and improved college retention and graduation measures, The College Completion Glass-Half-Full or Half-Empty? Exploring the Value of Postsecondary Education presents a new paradigm for higher education, one that focuses on "the value added" of postsecondary education as well as on student success beyond the traditional measure of college graduation rates, a model which merges conventional practices and supports for students with non-traditional partnerships with, and advocacy from, successful non-completers.

The humanities in American higher education is in a state of crisis with declining student enrollment, fewer faculty positions, and diminishing public prestige. Instead of recycling old arguments that have lost their appeal, the humanities must discover and articulate new rationales for their value to students, faculty, administrators, and the public. Why the Humanities Matter Today: In Defense of Liberal Education is an attempt to do so by having philosophers, literature and foreign language professors, historians, and political theorists defend the value and explain the worth of their respective disciplines as well as illuminate the importance of liberal education. By setting forth new arguments about the significance of their disciplines, these scholars show how the humanities can reclaim its place of prominence in American higher education.

The Student Wellbeing Toolkit puts wellbeing at the centre of your journey into university and beyond. By encouraging self-efficacy and a focus on the things you can control. it provides clear guidance to enhance wellbeing and opportunities for self-reflection that help develop self-awareness and prosocial skills for life. Offering an accessible toolkit of strategies, activities and tips this fantastic, accessible resource considerers wellbeing within six main areas: physical wellbeing socio-emotional wellbeing intellectual wellbeing environmental wellbeing occupational wellbeing financial wellbeing. Drawing on research evidenced theories around positive psychology, theories of learning, motivation, and self-development, the book explores what, how, and why these areas are key to our wellbeing and the rationale for taking them into account to enable you to flourish and thrive at university.

Originally published in 1987 Restructuring Universities uses Aston University as a case study of the internal restructuring taking place in universities. Aston lost one third of its funding in 1981 and was told to reduce its student numbers by one fifth within three years. The university has a balanced financial budget, well oversubscribed courses, and the average A level scores of entrants are over the national average in all subjects taught. The books looks at the ways in which the university dealt with rapid change, looking particularly at the decision making processes within the university and the ways in which internal power and politics influenced decisions made. Previous models of decision making are discussed and a new political model outlined. The book provides a useful and informed analysis of the context, politics and management of change in the university system.

Originally published in 1982 Resource-Based Learning for Higher and Continuing Education was written with the needs in mind of educationists who are responsible for the support of resource-based learning in higher and continuing education. The rationale for this mode of learning is explored and the implications for an institution seeking to provide teaching and learning resources which may well be used by an individual student. To place the reviews of the techniques that follow into a working context, a brief case-history of the Dundee College of Education Learning Resources Project, a major implementation of resource based learning in higher education is presented. The accent throughout the book is on the practical aspects of resource provision. Special attention is given to the problems inherent in the initial preparation by teaching staff of such items as manuscripts for printed works and shooting scripts for visual materials. Economic methods of production and reliable and effective means of presentation for audio-visual materials are also considered, both for use within institutions as well as by home-based students.