A growing body of evidence indicates that, increasingly, the public is engaging with science in a wide range of informal environments, which can be any setting outside of school such as community-based programs, festivals, libraries, or home. Yet undergraduate and graduate schools often don't prepare scientists for public communication. This…

Designed to develop the reader's knowledge and skills, this book explores key issues such as communication, power relations, ethics, gender exclusion, sexuality, race discrimination, and social class in informal education in the youth work setting. The author places emphasis on conversation as a key means of promoting informal learning and…

This book gives step-by-step instructions on how to design, implement, and present an evaluation study for a museum or other settings for informal education, and it presents guidelines for studying the experiences of visitors in informal educational settings. The chapters are: (1) "Planning an Evaluation Project"; (2) "Informal…

Field trips don't have to be grueling. This practical guide helps teachers work together with science educators in the community to avoid common pitfalls that interfere with the many science-learning opportunities that exist in museums, parks, and science centers. The book offers tips and strategies on selecting community resources for field…

Concepts at the heart of intercultural communication are addressed in a step-by-step manner and include individualism and collectivism, monochronic and polychronic concepts of time, verbal and nonverbal communication styles, and power distance relationships in the workplace. Cross-cultural dialogues are used as pre- and post-tests to analyze the…

This nine-chapter book, written in Europe by a French-speaking Swiss educator, explores the rationale for using educational biography approaches in adult education and presents examples that illustrate various uses of these life history activities. Chapter 1 provides an introduction and overview of educational biography, and Chapter 2 describes…

The question of how adult educators can make their teaching of adults more effective is explored in the context of recent work on adult lifelong learning. The following are among the topics discussed: (1) modes of adult education and the shift in focus from adult education to lifelong learning; (2) the contract between adult student and adult…

This book provides information and strategies on how adult educators can integrate action learning concepts in their teaching practice. The book defines action learning as going beyond the traditional idea of "learn by doing" and applies it to various organizational cultures and educational contexts. Chapter 1 introduces the origins of action…

This book, which is intended for high school students, explains how to scout out alternative learning opportunities available to high school students and how to select, prepare for, and make the most of alternative programs. The book begins with a definition of alternative learning and a brief overview of the many types of alternative learning…

This book, which is intended for academics, educators, educational managers, and policymakers concerned with higher education, examines how universities and colleges can prepare their students for lifelong learning through continuing education, specialized courses for adults, and mainstream teaching programs geared toward traditional students. The…