Assessing Adult Learning and Learning Styles

Adults have different learning styles which can either enhance or deter their learning. In the conversation that follows, I discuss the utility of assessing adult learning and the diversity of learning styles. Adult education literature is replete with discussions on characteristics of adult learners and adult learning and development. But how do we actually know if adults gained the knowledge they set out to learn? We know that there are several factors that should be taken into consideration when facilitating adult learning, but as adult educators and practitioners of the field, it is equally important that we learn and/or know how to deploy various approaches in assessing adult learning. In this chapter are brief discussions on adult learning, learning styles, and learning assessments.

Career and Technical Education Technology

In the last three decades, the nature of technology incorporation into career and technical education (CTE) training has changed. Technology used in the field has been supplemented by technology used in training per se. Technology has increasingly infiltrated into today’s social arena, workplace, and education. In response, the use of technology in CTE reflects both educational philosophy and societal context. Teaching about technology differs from teaching with technology; the former focuses on content, and the latter focuses on process. The nature of CTE, instruction as a whole, and technology in particular, have shaped how CTE faculty teach with technology over the past three decades. In this period, technology-enhanced CTE instruction has moved from top-down to broad-based, from one-directional to two- and multi-directional communication, from static to dynamic, from programmer-dependent to content-dependent, and from administrative- to learning-oriented. Representative practices and a model of CTE technology-enhanced instruction are discussed.

Challenges and Opportunities in Career and Technical Education

Career and Technical Education (CTE) is no longer just a training program for workers. CTE today prepares students for employment, industry credentialing, postsecondary education, and lifelong learning. This change, stimulated by demand and federal legislation, has brought many new challenges and opportunities for CTE. Federal legislation, CTE image, and decrease in secondary enrollment and in teacher education programs have created challenges and opportunities for all CTE stakeholders. In 2008, a National Career and Technical Education Research Agenda were approved by the Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE). This agenda will be the framework for future research relating to the critical issues and concerns in CTE. This chapter addresses the challenges and opportunities for CTE as well as future trends.

Adult Learning and CTE

While the fields of adult learning and career and technical education began in isolated silos, as the fields emerged, their histories became entwined and technology had a profound influence on their growth and direction. This chapter will begin by exploring the beginnings of adult learning and CTE as two fields developing in parallel paths and serving two different audiences. However, as the fields developed, there is evidence of their entwinement in both the literature and programs within organizations. In addition, from the Gutenberg printing press to today’s Web 2.0, technology has played an important part in the development and direction of both of these fields This chapter will examine this history of silos and connections and continue to explore the role of technology in the future growth and meshing of these fields to generate even more effective and efficient learning.

Teaching Philosophies of Career and Technical Education

Teaching philosophies as applied to career and technical education are more complex than teaching philosophies studied for a liberal arts teacher. Adult learners present challenges not often encountered by elementary or secondary teachers. Contact with the world of work presents teachers with the paradox of preparing young people directly for work but maintaining a nurturing classroom environment. This challenge often requires unique and innovative solutions to the educational problem presented by adult learners. This chapter presents philosophical approaches the career and technical education teacher can use in the classroom or laboratory.

Certification and Licensure Requirements for Career and Technical Educators

Teacher certification/licensure requirements are in a constant state of change. This is true of both the traditional academic disciplines and vocational/career and technical education. The goal of this chapter is to provide the reader with a historical and current overview of vocational/career-technical teacher certification/licensure through both the traditional and alternative routes. Discussion of expectations of post-secondary institutions and variances in those expectations are shared. A detailed explanation of requirements for alternative certification is provided, specifically with reference to educator preparation requirements, including customized coursework, work experience, entrance requirements and induction programs. Testing for licensure is discussed, as well as details regarding licensure renewal. Issues facing career and technical education referenced in this chapter focus on the highly qualified teacher designation, the need for modifications of testing requirements, employment opportunities, teacher attrition, standards in teacher preparation programs, reform in career and technical teacher preparation, and the need to focus on preparing future CTE teacher educators.

Designing Culturally-Sensitive Career and Technical Career Curriculum

The workplace has become more cross-cultural due to labor costs, outsourcing, and international production. Cultural sensitivity accepts cultural similarities and differences without assigning relative values to them. Culture-sensitive curriculum can optimize organization effectiveness with different populations. In order to design effective culture-sensitive curriculum for CTE, basic information about cultures, curricula, learners, and organizations needs to be understood. The curriculum itself should enhance content meaning through cultural context and provide culture-sensitive learning skills in order to help students learn, and to enable them to address cultural factors when dealing with their potential clientele. Culture-sensitive trainer competencies, resources, instructional strategies, assessment issues, and technological trends are detailed. A focus on healthcare training exemplifies culture-sensitive curriculum that results in more effective service.

Career and Technical Education

Educational institutions are increasingly challenged to provide relevant and rigorous programs to students who demand variety in learning venues, delivery platforms, degree options, and quality assurance. Like many evolving fields, career and technical education (CTE) is additionally challenged by its history, the scope of its mission, a perceived lack of a unifying definition and purpose, a complex of funding formulas and allocations, and the blurring of boundaries among educational providers. This chapter discusses myths regarding CTE that obscure its mission, provides evidence of CTE effectiveness, and illustrates how CTE is transforming itself to meet the demands of multiple stakeholders having diverse agenda and varying needs.

The History of Career and Technical Education

This chapter examines the history of career and technical education in the United States beginning with its earliest forms in the 16th and 17th centuries and continuing on through present-day society. Chronologically formatted, the primary focus is on how the nation’s domestic and international issues during each time period affected the development of vocational education, leading to major federal government legislation. Following a brief introduction of the subject, the background section will provide the reader with basic definitions of career and technical education as discussed by various authors, noting the changes of such definitions over the years. The main body of the chapter is divided into several sections based upon time periods. Each section will discuss national issues and major legislation reflecting changes in vocational education. Finally, the future of career and technical education will be examined, followed by a brief conclusion.

Career and Technical Education’s Role in Alternative Teacher Licensure

The preparation of teacher candidates is highly differentiated among teacher preparation programs across the country. With the increasing development of alternative teacher licensure (ATL) programs, these practices have been the source of considerable debate and contention. The purpose of this chapter is to: (a) provide a historical overview of teacher licensure; (b) review the literature regarding alternative teacher licensure and the needed knowledge base for teachers; and (c) discuss the role Career and Technical Education (CTE) plays in regards to ATL, as well as point out a misconception regarding the original inception of ATL. Further, future trends and implications for future research regarding ATL and the preparation of teachers are outlined.