THE LIFE ENRICHMENT PROGRAM FOR OLDER ADULTS: AN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL MODEL

The question of what is uniquely possible for the older adult learner is seldom asked by adult educators. Dealing with a population whose educational experiences are largely pedogogical, instructional programs have often attempted to continue this model of teacher‐selected content and methodology. This paper is a review of an experimental educational program designed to provide experiential activities related to learning needs and potentials of the older adult. The nature of the format allowed participants maximum opportunity to. identify and achieve personal learning goals. Evaluation procedures were designed to test the hypothesis that older adults respond meaningfully to programs designed to meet their needs rather than the educator's preconceptions. Results of the study indicate successful achievement of the goals of the project and an expanded level of psychosocial functioning of the older adults.     

ORIENTATION PROGRAM CONSIDERATIONS FOR NEW COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY

The roles and expectations of community college faculty members have grown more complex as their institutions change to meet the needs of their respective communities. Whereas faculty development programs have assisted in the creation of programs and strategies to help faculty cope with change, the initial orientation of faculty to their college proves to be vital to their performance, success, and length of tenure. This study was designed to supply an understanding of community college faculty perceptions of the objectives for faculty orientation programs, using a revision of the Council for the Advancement of Standards student orientation program objectives. The primary rationale for faculty orientation was found to be the assistance of new faculty in understanding the mission of their specific institution. General responses indicated high expectations for faculty orientation programs, and responses also indicated that programs were not intended to serve as retention activities.     

GRADUATE TRAINING IN EDUCATION AND AGING: RESULTS OF A NATIONAL SURVEY; PART 1

The graduate departments of adult education at 88 universities in the United States were surveyed for information pertinent to their programs in and about aging. Results show that 55% of the departments offer no courses dealing exclusively with education and aging. Only one department offers a program concentration per se in educational gerontology. Those adult education academic programs that have a seeming interest in education and aging typically offer only an isolated course or two. Much needs to be done if adult education programs are to begin preparing people to meet the learning needs of older adults.     

Addressing the Persistence and Retention of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education: Incorporating Key Strategies and Supports on Campus

This article explores the key characteristics of postsecondary education programs that help youth and young adults with disabilities persist and remain in college. Student support factors include services that develop stronger self-determination skills, teach and support young adults' self-management skills, expose students to assistive technology, and promote career development by providing internships or other career-related experiences. In conjunction with student support services there are two professional development emphases for instructional faculty that contribute to the institutional support needed by college students with disabilities. Students benefit when faculty have an increased awareness and knowledge of the characteristics and needs of students with disabilities and when faculty incorporate concepts of universal design into their instruction and curriculum.     

Conjoint Analysis:

In a time of growing competition among colleges and universities for the most able students, degree-granting programs must be designed with the needs of the prospective student in mind. Traditionally, the development of academic programs relied on the energy and enthusiasm of a few faculty champions who saw new degree programs as a reflection of faculty interest and competence rather than of market demand. Conjoint analysis is a tool that has been used extensively in developing products since 1971. During the 1980s its use was expanded to help design services in such industries as banking, health care, computers, and hospitality and tourism. This multivariate technique allows prospective customers to make trade-offs on various product or service attributes. Those customer choices enable the development of utility functions for each service feature and thereby form the basis for configuring offerings that may optimize customer preference and market share. This article reports the use of conjoint analysis to determine the graduate management needs of undergraduate business alumni. At question was the type of degree program preferred by this growing population. The results of this study suggest that an accelerated and abbreviated M.B.A. program would be preferred to an M.S. degree. Such a new program would not substantially cannibalize existing programs nor would this shorter M.B.A. program be perceived negatively by potential students.     

The Impact of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment on Technical and Professional Communication Programs

Because of accreditation, budget, and accountability pressures at the institutional and program levels, technical and professional communication faculty are more than ever involved in assessment-based activities. Using assessment to identify a program's strengths and weaknesses allows faculty to work toward continuous improvement based on their articulation of learning and behavioral goals and outcomes for their graduates. This article describes the processes of program assessment based on pedagogical goals, pointing out options and opportunities that will lead to a meaningful and manageable experience for technical communication faculty, and concludes with a view of how the larger academic body of technical communication programs can benefit from such work. As ATTW members take a careful look at the state of the profession from the academic perspective, we can use assessment to further direct our programs to meet professional expectations and, far more importantly, to help us meet the needs of the well-educated technical communicator.     

The Impact of Student Learning Outcomes Assessment on Technical and Professional Communication Programs

Because of accreditation, budget, and accountability pressures at the institutional and program levels, technical and professional communication faculty are more than ever involved in assessment-based activities. Using assessment to identify a program's strengths and weaknesses allows faculty to work toward continuous improvement based on their articulation of learning and behavioral goals and outcomes for their graduates. This article describes the processes of program assessment based on pedagogical goals, pointing out options and opportunities that will lead to a meaningful and manageable experience for technical communication faculty, and concludes with a view of how the larger academic body of technical communication programs can benefit from such work. As ATTW members take a careful look at the state of the profession from the academic perspective, we can use assessment to further direct our programs to meet professional expectations and, far more importantly, to help us meet the needs of the well-educated technical communicator.     

Preparing Instructional Designers for Different Career Environments: A Case Study

The competency requirements, content, culture, and value systems of business and industry career environments can differ significantly from that of the higher education context where instructional design and technology (IDT) students receive their formal training. Therefore, faculty should consider how they might provide flexibility in their programs to allow IDT students to experience the contexts in which they choose to work following graduation. The article reports on the results of a case study of an exemplary IDT program identified through a national survey. The emphases and preparation practices of faculty in the case study program were noted to provide an example of how one program successfully prepares its graduates for a variety of career environments, and specifically for a business and industry environment. By studying the successes and challenges of specific programs, new or existing programs may gain ideas for building or re-working existing programs to better meet the needs of students desiring contextualized preparation for different career environments.     

HPT in Academic Curricula: Survey Results

The purpose of this research was to determine to what extent human performance technology (HPT) is being taught in academic programs that traditionally emphasized training—programs such as instructional systems, training and development, human resource development, and adult learning. A written survey was used to collect data from 82 academic programs. Results indicate that while training (and the related areas of needs assessment and evaluation) continues to dominate curricula at these institutions, non-training performance improvement strategies (and the broader performance analysis that leads to their selection) are frequently taught as well. No correlations were found between the extent of teaching HPT topics and the variables of program size, program type, location, degrees offered, or faculty membership in NSPI (now called the International Society for Performance Improvement). Future research could investigate the driving and restraining forces that determine HPT's impact on the curriculum and the effects that current curricula have on program graduates.     

Indicators of exemplary programs in instructional design and technology: faculty and student perspectives

This exploratory study investigated what faculty and current students in Instructional Design and Technology (IDT) programs perceive as indicators of an exemplary program. We surveyed a sample of the faculty and students and asked them to identify the most important indicators of an exemplary program and rank their own programs according to those indicators. We contacted programs from 11 different countries, though the majority of contacted programs were from the United States of America. We coded and analyzed the respondents’ 941 indicator statements and created 35 thematic indicators. The frequency and percentage of occurrence of these themes across the programs for both faculty and students were analyzed. Their mean rating of their programs for each theme was also calculated. The paper presents the results of this analysis and examines the differences across students/faculty and program types. The findings of this survey, albeit limited due to the low response rate, could benefit IDT programs in terms of performance improvement and assist students by offering criteria by which they can select a graduate program.     

DEVELOPING FACULTY THROUGH A UNIVERSITY/COMMUNITY NURSING SERVICE PARTNERSHIP

More people are surviving to old age, which places increasing demands on the health care system and accentuates the importance of developing alternate methods of meeting the unique health care needs of older adults. A university/ community partnership, such as the one described in this article is one example of an innovative, alternate community nursing service. The program provides home health services; gerontological teaching, research, and practice opportunities for faculty; and expanded gerontological clinical experiences for nursing students. Critical elements of program development are discussed and recommendations for similar programs are given.     

Reflections of Program Faculty on NIA-Supported Research Training

From the program faculty of St. Scholastica's National Institute on Aging Summer Institute on the Psychology of Aging, 7 members responded to a series of questions posed to them in individual telephone interviews. They represented a wide range of disciplinary interests and institutions. Their motivation for participation, their advice for both program participants and others at similar institutions, and their sense of the niches that could be filled by aging research conducted at primarily undergraduate teaching institutions differed among the faculty in provocative ways. At the same time, their positive experiences with the program, willingness to return, and respect and admiration for its goals and its director were very apparent. This suggests that programs such as this might provide opportunities for faculty development, with benefits extending also to the faculty who bring their expertise to the program. The motivations and benefits mentioned are consistent with those identified in the mentoring literature. The results suggest that programs such as this can provide opportunities for faculty development, with benefits also extending to the program faculty who bring their expertise to such a program.     

GERONTOLOGY AND EDUCATION: A CASE FOR COLLABORATION

Too little consideration has been given to the potential dangers underlying program development for older adults. These dangers are exemplified by the inability of program designers to share their expertise. A close examination of current educational efforts serving the older adult reveals that past inadequacies and present growth trends demand more realistic approaches. More people are going to reach the age of 65; shifts in population demand shifts in priorities.

This paper attempts to focus on emerging problems associated with program development. Territoriality becomes a central issue in determining who should develop and implement programs for and about older people. The audiences to which this paper is addressed are educators and gerontologists. The prime question raised is: “Can collaborative efforts between gerontologists and educators improve current program quality?"     

BOOK REVIEW

Public educators of adults, because of their locally based programs, are strategically positioned to facilitate the learning of large numbers of older people. Little is known, however, about how these educators view the learning needs of elders who live in their communities. We conducted a telephone interview survey, using fixed‐response and open‐ended questions, with 30 directors of public adult education programs in Maine. The instrument assessed how important particular educational goals were for these directors at the time of the interview and how important each should be in the future. We examined both outcome and process variables. Health education was the outcome factor with the largest discrepancy between present and future program goals. Outreach to elders not presently participating in adult education programs was the process factor with the largest discrepancy. We discuss implications of this research for adult education and for potential partnerships between local educators and gerontologists.     

The older adult as learning participant

The older adult as learner has special needs. Planners of educational programs must take into account such needs. Instrumental (basic, delayed gratification types) and expressive (self-enjoyment, immediate gratification types) needs are two broad categories within which learning activities can be planned. Older adults appear to demonstrate preference for instrumental activities but most current learning opportunities are expressive in nature. In addition, older adults prefer to engage in self-directed planning if given the opportunity. It is suggested that a better scheme for assessing needs and for reaching the self-fulfillment desires of older persons is required of program administrators in institutions of higher education and other agencies.     

Serving Indiana's Emergent Bilingual Immigrant (EBI) Youth: A Collective Case Study of EBI Teacher Educators

ABSTRACT

Unlike states with established immigrant populations, Indiana is a new immigration gateway state that is developing its infrastructure to address immigrant needs. Indiana's English learner (EL) population between 1999 and 2018 has grown by 550% from 9,114 to 59,255 students. Of the current 59,255 ELs in K–12 schools, 24% are immigrants. Employing a collective case study, this article examines how Indiana university faculty prepare pre- and inservice teachers to address the needs of emergent bilingual immigrant (EBI) youth. While there are institutional constraints that impact how EBI youth needs are met, faculty in EL licensure programs are addressing these needs by explicitly facilitating activities that promote respect and develop empathy through perspective sharing. Despite underdeveloped social infrastructures for EBI youth and EBI teachers in Indiana schools, implications suggest that a methodical inclusion of immigration history, perspective-taking, and critical self-reflection can facilitate teacher identity development, and foster their stances of advocacy for EBIs.     

A Faculty Development Program for Nurse Educators Learning to Teach Online

As the College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville prepared to move their graduate programs online, a nursing faculty grass-roots movement led to the implementation of a faculty development program. This instructional design portfolio describes the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of this program, with the goal of identifying best practices in the design of programs for learning to teach online.     

PERCEPTIONS OF COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY ABOUT THE NEED FOR GERONTOLOGY TRAINING

America is aging, and quickly. Among the educational institutions that could address this critical issue, none are better suited than community colleges. Community colleges not only educate students but also respond to the emerging needs of the communities they serve. Previous studies have shown that few community colleges have developed an agenda for addressing the impact of aging on our society and that faculty and administrators may not be aware of the potential for expanding aging‐related programs. This study reports the responses of 703 community college faculty representing a broad variety of disciplines and educational backgrounds. As expected, the majority of faculty had little previous training in aging, included no aging content in existing courses, and were uncertain as to whether to include aging content in other courses that they taught. This uncertainty, however, must be tempered by the fact that 61% of the responding faculty were interested in attending a basic training program in aging. Such community college faculty interest and participation could enhance the introduction of aging materials into existing curricula and expand their other educational activities that would ultimately benefit older persons in the community.     

Addressing diversity in US teacher preparation programs: A survey of elementary and secondary programs’ priorities and challenges from across the United States of America

Data gathered from 142 public university elementary and secondary teacher preparation programs across the United States (representing the preparation of approximately 23,000–30,000 new teachers annually), indicated that race/ethnicity was the most emphasized diversity topic followed by special needs, language diversity, economic (social class), gender, and sexual orientation. The majority of programs addressed diversity topics across program classes. States were similar in the priority assigned to various diversity topics, with the exception of California, which placed greater emphasis upon language diversity but less upon special needs as compared to other states. In addition, there appeared to be little to no relationship between the faculty demographics (gender and race) and the priorities placed upon gender and racial diversity in programs. The project also surveyed program coordinators’ assessments of the various challenges to the inclusion of diversity topics. Finally, the data suggested that possible relationships might exist between faculty attitudes/knowledge regarding diversity topics and student attitudes.