Facilitating Coping Through Reflective Learning in Adult Education: A Review of the Reciprocal Relationship Between Coping and LearningLapina, Angelina
2018 Adult Learning
doi: 10.1177/1045159518776126
Coping in adult learning-based environments is a relevant phenomenon because stressful experiences are inevitable at times. Three main types of coping strategies are distinguished to either solve the problem (problem-focused coping), avoid the problem (avoidance coping), or reduce anxiety and other negative emotions (emotion-focused coping) in learning-based contexts. The type of coping strategy impacts not only learning outcomes but it also affects stress levels and adults’ experience with learning. Allowing adults to reflect on their learning experiences has positive effects on their coping capacity and learning outcomes. This article reviews literature that shows interactions between learning and coping and vice versa and the role that reflection plays in strengthening this relationship. After providing an overview of the meaning of coping in adult experience, an analysis and suggestions for future research based on the research findings of the literature are presented. Finally, recommendations for practicing reflective learning in adult education programs are offered.
Member Profile Differences Between Florida and National OLLI InstitutesLee, Jung Min; Rogers, Aracelis; Young, William
2018 Adult Learning
doi: 10.1177/1045159518773918
The purpose of this study was to identify selected characteristics of current Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) members in Florida and then compare the results between Florida and non-Florida institutes. This study was primarily quantitative and employed the Demographic and Behavioral Trends Survey (DBTS) with the addition of four open-ended response options. The data resulting from this comparison indicated that demographic factors, technology use, and time related to relocation after retirement were significantly different between a national sample and a sample of Florida OLLI members. These findings suggest that it is important for adult education field educators, administrators, and OLLI instructors to recognize the growing diversity and technical proficiency of current retirees to continue to promote effective lifelong learning practice.
A Dissection of Experiential Learning Theory: Alternative Approaches to ReflectionKuk, Hye-Su; Holst, John D.
2018 Adult Learning
doi: 10.1177/1045159518779138
The concept of reflection is central to theories of experiential learning common in the field of adult education. In this article, we expand upon the work of Michelson on the dualistic split between experience and knowing inherent in the field’s most common conceptualizations of reflection. We develop alternative approaches to reflection drawing from feminist standpoint theory and theories of embodied knowing. We identify and discuss how each alternative approach points to different positioning of the concept of reflection in experiential learning. We highlight how the alternative positioning of reflection in experiential learning relates to adult education practice through narrative building and the recognition of prior learning. We also identify what we believe are implications of our reconceptualization of reflection for theories of adult learning.
“Making Up for Lost Time”: The Transition Experiences of Nontraditional Black Male UndergraduatesGoings, Ramon B.
2018 Adult Learning
doi: 10.1177/1045159518783200
This qualitative study investigated the academic and social experiences and life events that propelled 13 Black male nontraditional undergraduates to transition back to college and explored the various programs and institutional agents these men used once on campus. Findings indicated that participant’s faced challenges with college as traditional-aged students due to being under and over involved with social activities on campus or choosing to pursue a work career. As a result, participants had either delayed entry into college or dropped out as traditional-aged students. However, participants transitioned back to college due to wanting to make up for not completing their degree earlier in life, needing to increase their employment opportunities, and wanting to prove their doubters wrong. Finally, findings indicated that while the men found support from certain professors on their campuses, there were few targeted programs specifically for nontraditional students on campus. Recommendations on how to support nontraditional Black male students are provided.
Spoken Language and Fear of the Blank PageKorostyshevskiy, Vladislav
2018 Adult Learning
doi: 10.1177/1045159518791258
Ability to communicate using spoken language occurs naturally in children earlier than they learn how to use written language. Throughout persons’ lives, their ability to use spoken language is being continuously maintained and further developed. As a result, spoken language has greater capacities to form and organize thoughts than those of written language. This article discusses one such capacity, to grasp mentally the initial idea, which is essential for beginning any writing process. An integral tool for using spoken language is a voice-recording device, which has become widely available as an application for mobile telephones and other portable devices. The use of spoken language, referred in this article as free-talking, allows a wide range of idea-generating possibilities, only few of which are discussed in this article.