Facilitating Group Learning. Strategies for Success with Adult Learners

Practical «brain-aware» facilitation tailored to the adult brain Facilitating Learning with the Adult Brain in Mind explains how the brain works, and how to help adults learn, develop, and perform more effectively in various settings. Recent neurobiological discoveries have challenged long-held assumptions that logical, rational thought is the preeminent approach to knowing. Rather, feelings and emotions are essential for meaningful learning to occur in the embodied brain. Using stories, metaphors, and engaging illustrations to illuminate technical ideas, Taylor and Marienau synthesize relevant trends in neuroscience, cognitive science, and philosophy of mind. Readers unfamiliar with current brain discoveries will enjoy an informative, easy-to-read book. Neuroscience fans will find additional material designed to supplement their knowledge. Many popular publications on brain and learning focus on school-aged learners or tend more toward anatomical description than practical application. This book provides facilitators of adult learning and development a much-needed resource of tested approaches plus the science behind their effectiveness. Appreciate the fundamental role of experience in adult learning Understand how metaphor and analogy spark curiosity and creativity Alleviate adult anxieties that impede learning Acquire tools and approaches that foster adult learning and development Compared with other books on brain and learning, this volume includes dozens of specific examples of how experienced practitioners facilitate meaningful learning. These «brain-aware» approaches can be adopted and adapted for use in diverse settings. Facilitating Learning with the Adult Brain in Mind should be read by advisors/counselors, instructors, curriculum and instructional developers, professional development designers, corporate trainers and coaches, faculty mentors, and graduate students—in fact, anyone interested in how adult brains learn.

Written for department chairs and deans, this well-researched resource offers a practical reference for how to create and sustain a more civil and harmonious departmental culture. Filled with useful information, including relevant case law, the book gives readers what they need to know to enhance the climate, culture, and collegiality in an academic department, as well as the university. Praise for Facilitating a Collegial Department in Higher Education «Bob Cipriano has provided a book that addresses department civility—a critical, ongoing problem in higher education. The book is rich in examples, best practices, and strategies for dealing with individuals as well as ways to build collegial departments?. Not only is the book packed with information, the author also has an engaging writing style and wit.»—Daniel W. Wheeler, higher education consultant; professor emeritus and former head, University of Nebraska-Lincoln «Pull out a fresh highlighter before opening this book! Be prepared to immediately collect practical, usable tools for building civility in your department from an experienced chair and successful workshop presenter.»—Sharon Brookshire, director of conferences, Division of Continuing Education, Kansas State University «Department chairs' greatest job dissatisfaction emanates from colleagues in conflict. Bob Cipriano teaches and guides us, first how to deal with toxic colleagues and then how to turn your department into a collegial environment.»—Walter Gmelch, dean, School of Education, University of San Francisco

This volume presents models, methods, and strategies that facilitate and promote learning within online environments.Arguing that success in online environments is dependent on the role of autonomy in order to create sustained and enduring learners, the introductory chapter presents current research and identifies ways through which autonomous learning is established within the learning environment. Contributors demonstrate how quality online programs are made up of a «blend» of technology, pedogogy, organization, strategy, and vision; explore the concept of online social presence as a significant factor in improving instructional effectiveness and contributing to a feeling of community among learners; and offer strategies for instructors facing the new challenges and opportunities of the online educational experience. Two chapters examine master's level online programming by exploring a model through which the design template for one such program was built and presenting the actual experiences students who completed master's degrees online. Editor Steven R. Aragon joins his colleagues to make the case that instructional designers need ways to support quality teaching and learning within online environments that take into account the variability in student learning styles, provide external motivation for the isolated students, and build community, collaboration, and communications among learners. Finally, contributors from the field analyze the impact that online technology is having on training and development initiatives of business and industry and demonstrate how current trends have cultivated an environment open to online learning. This is the 100th issue of the Jossey Bass series New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education.

Best practices, practical advice, and design ideas for successful ecommerce search A glaring gap has existed in the market for a resource that offers a comprehensive, actionable design patterns and design strategies for ecommerce search—but no longer. With this invaluable book, user experience designer and user researcher Greg Nudelman shares his years of experience working on popular ecommerce sites as he tackles even the most difficult ecommerce search design problems. Nudelman helps you create highly effective and intuitive ecommerce search design solutions and he takes a unique forward-thinking look at trends such as integrating searching with browsing to create a single-finding user interface. Offers much-needed insight on how to create ecommerce search experiences that truly benefit online shoppers Juxtaposes examples of common design pitfalls against examples of highly effective ecommerce search design solutions Presents comprehensive guidance on ecommerce search design strategies for the Web, mobile phone applications, and new tablet devices Shares the author's years of unique experience working with ecommerce from the perspective of the user’s experience Designing ecommerce Search is mandatory reading if you are interested in orchestrating successful ecommerce search strategies.

Practical, ready-to-use ELL strategies firmly rooted in the latest research This book provides practical strategies and tools for assessing and teaching even the most hard to reach English language learners across the content areas. Syrja offers educators the latest information on working with ELLs (including using formative assessments) and provides a wealth of classroom-tested models and measures. These tools have proven to be effective with ESL students at all levels, including Long Term English Learners (LTELs). Throughout the book, the author shares powerful research-based strategies and clearly illustrates how they should be implemented in the classroom for maximum impact. Filled with proven ideas and easy-to-implement tips for teaching ELLs Designed to be a practical ELL/ESL resource for classroom teachers Syrja, a former teacher and ESL student, is a noted expert in English language learning and a Professional Development Associate with the Leadership and Learning Center This value-packed guide offers educators accessible and research-based classroom strategies for reaching and teaching ELLs.

Effective Online Teaching is an essential resource that offers a clear understanding of how cognition and learning theory applies to online learning. This much-needed resource provides specific strategies for incorporating this knowledge into effective learner-centered teaching that gets results. The book includes strategies on motivation, tailored instruction, interaction, collaboration, monitoring and communication, time and information management, student concerns, and legal and ethical issues. Designed as a text for online instructors, the chapters can be used for self-directed learning or in a formal training setting in concert with the companion Training Manual and CD. «Tina Stavredes has done something sorely needed in the online teaching world —she has successfully combined solid theory and research with the practical application of instructor training. Both the book and the training manual are a 'must' for any online education organization. Bravo!»—Dr. Darcy W. Hardy, assistant vice provost for Technology Education Initiatives, University of Texas at San Antonio, and chair emerita, United States Distance Learning Association «Drawing from years of experience and solidly grounded in an understanding of the adult learner and learning, Stavredes offers dozens of helpful instructor strategies, activities, and resources to support adult learners' success in an online environment. Effective Online Teaching and its accompanying training manual is a 'must-have' set for online instructors in higher education, corporate, and government settings.»—Sharan B. Merriam, professor emeritus of adult education, University of Georgia, and coauthor, Learning in Adulthood «An eminently practical book that provides clear and unpretentious explanations of the learning theories that are essential knowledge for every online teacher, together with equally uncluttered and easy-to-follow guidance about how to apply this knowledge to achieve excellent teaching.»—Michael Grahame Moore, Distinguished Professor of Education, The Pennsylvania State University, and editor, The American Journal of Distance Education

The third edition of this classic resource is a comprehensive source of information, strategies, and activities for working with learning disabled students. The book offers special educators, classroom teachers, and parents a wealth of new and proven suggestions and ready-to-use materials for helping LD students of all ages learn and perform at their fullest potential.

Explore the game-changing technology that allows mobile learning to effectively reach K-12 students Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Developers, Educators and Learners provides research-based foundations for developing, evaluating, and integrating effective mobile learning pedagogy. Twenty-first century students require twenty-first century technology, and mobile devices provide new and effective ways to educate children. But with new technologies come new challenges—therefore, this handbook presents a comprehensive look at mobile learning by synthesizing relevant theories and drawing practical conclusions for developers, educators, and students. Mobile devices—in ways that the laptop, the personal computer, and netbook computers have not—present the opportunity to make learning more engaging, interactive, and available in both traditional classroom settings and informal learning environments. From theory to practice, Mobile Learning explores how mobile devices are different than their technological predecessors, makes the case for developers, teachers, and parents to invest in the technology, and illustrates the many ways in which it is innovative, exciting, and effective in educating K-12 students. Explores how mobile devices can support the needs of students Provides examples, screenshots, graphics, and visualizations to enhance the material presented in the book Provides developers with the background necessary to create the apps their audience requires Presents the case for mobile learning in and out of classrooms as early as preschool Discusses how mobile learning enables better educational opportunities for the visually impaired, students with Autism, and adult learners. If you're a school administrator, teacher, app developer, or parent, this topical book provides a theoretical, well-researched discussion of the pedagogical theory and mobile learning, as well as practical advice in setting up a mobile learning strategy.

Facilitating with Ease! is an updated version of the best-selling resource that offers easy-to-follow instructions, techniques, and hands-on tools that team leaders, consultants, supervisors, and managers have used to learn the basics of facilitation. Complete with worksheets on CD-ROM that can be customized to fit your personal needs, it's a complete facilitation workshop in a take-home format. Facilitating with Ease! shows you how to run productive meetings with skill and authority and includes the information needed to train others in your organization to become confident facilitators as well. The book is filled with dozens of exercises, surveys, and checklists that can be used to transform anyone into an effective facilitator.