Rules of Engagement: Builders and Barriers to Developing and Delivering Intellectually Stimulating, Non-credit Learning Experiences Offered through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes on University and College Campuses in the United States

Program administration within higher education can be especially challenging for those who are unfamiliar with academia’s bureaucratic processes and constraints. This discussion explores viable avenues for identifying the challenges that directors of non-credit adult learning programs face when associated with degree granting academic institutions

Using Message Boards to Conduct Online Focus Groups

Geographic dispersion of research subjects can make traditional face-to-face focus groups difficult if not impractical to conduct. Online focus groups have many advantages such as enabling researchers to save costs, allowing for more efficient collection of data, and allowing researchers to accommodate research subjects\u27 schedules. However, online focus groups require greater skill on the part of the researcher and research subjects alike. This manuscript chronicles the process that we recently used to conduct an online focus group using a message board system with graduate students enrolled in an online degree program. We explain the processes that were followed in conducting our study and the rationale behind the decisions that we made as qualitative researchers. Finally, we offer guidance and insight for other qualitative researchers who wish to utilize message boards to conduct online focus groups

The Intersection of Self-Directed Learning, Communities of Practice, and Social Networking: How Learners Respond to a Lack of Information

This discussion will focus on the concepts of self-directed learning and how the insufficiency of awareness about pediatric stroke, along with a scarcity of resources, affects the parents’ ability to gather information. Results indicate that the use of social networking and the formation of communities of practice were the outcomes

Faculty Development: Measuring Unintended Consequences of Individual Participation in a Community of Practice

The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of outcomes associated with self-directed learners’ participation in a Community of Practice (CoP) for faculty teaching in an online environment. The research examines how faculty members perceive their involvement impacts their teaching

Extension Cord: Powering adult education through Cooperative Extension programs

Cooperative Extension provides opportunities for adult learning in a variety of settings. The study identified perceptions of county agents related to their role in community development and adult education