Practitioners in the field of formal and informal adult education, start the program with an examination of their professional interests, experiences and work environments. Within the context of the body of knowledge within adult education, learners will explore questions about competencies, expecations, beliefs, and assumptions that will guide them to analyze the various historical, cultural, philosophical, theoretical, and social contexts.

This course builds competencies in designing educational offerings. It emphasizes pre-design assessment models and practices to prepare practicioners for designing a variety of education events and processes with the learner's needs in mind.

The intersection of design, learning outcomes, and assessment processes passes through the medium of facilitation in educational settings. This course expands the practitioners' repertoire of effective delivery of facilitation/instruction strategies and techniques, and integrating the use of technology in instruction (including Internet-based teaching).

This course aims to ground practitioners' experiences and praxis within relevant adult learning theories and developmental theories. Students will connect researching to the creation and/or application of best practices in their respective niche of adult education.

This course lays the groundwork for the applied inquiry project (SNL 627). Students will learn to connect their professional and personal interests to one or more forms of research: traditional, innovative, theoretical, applied, and/or evaluative.

This course presents approaches for selecting and applying assessment and evaluation models and strategies. It focuses on assessing individuals' learning in the context of evaluating programs and actions intended to meet learners' needs. Participants will gain skills in evaluation instrument design, selection of assessment methods and instruments, assessment of short-term effects, and report writing.

Each student will design his/her SNL 628 Applied Inquiry Project, in consultation with the faculty mentor and a project Advisor. Proposal I emphasizes selecting a project topic/focus and conducting a literature review.

Each student will design his/her SNL 628 Applied Inquiry Project, in consultation with the faculty mentor and a project Advisor. Proposal II emphasizes the purpose and design of the inquiry project, and audience(s) for dissemination.

Students will be able to inquire into particular areas of their professional interest within the field of adult learning/adult education. This course is individualized and supported by mentors.

This MAEA foundational course provides participants with skills in collecting, analyzing and synthesizing literature and resources in their respective area(s) of practice. Among these skills are: searching and accessing various sources; discerning credibility of sources; storing and retrieving information for oneself; constructing thematic literature reviews; and, citing sources using APA style.

This seminar provides students with an opportunity to develop the Liberal Learning facilities through understanding personal and organizational change. Multiple dimensions and dynamics of change and the roles and responsibilities of professionals as change agents are explored. Special emphasis is placed on analyzing change processes using both linear and systems models and formulating interventions to facilitate productive change in the workplace (profit and nonprofit).

This seminar provides students with an opportunity to develop the Liberal Learning Skills through improving interpersonal dynamics. Students are introduced to various models for working collaboratively with diverse constituents over multiple contexts. In addition, students are provided opportunities to strengthen their interpersonal relations and communications skills (per context) by learning and practicing strategies and techniques that foster skill development.

This final seminar provides students with an opportunity to develop the Liberal Learning facilities through exercising effective leadership. Major themes of each of the previous seminars are integrated within the concept of effective leadership in a changing world. Key theories and principles relative to the management/leadership continuum are examined as well as the implications of current trends for the future of leadership both in general and within students' personal/professional contexts.

After the third quarter, students come together for group reflection and analysis and review of their progress in the program. This seminar assists students in focusing their capstone inquiry project.

After the fifth quarter, this seminar offers an opportunity for program review and collaborative review of capstone project process.

At the end of the program, students join in a summit to review their program, engage in discussion on their next steps, and review their credo of adult education. It is also a preliminary graduation review to ensure that any "loose ends" are recognized and appropriate action is clarified for students.

This domain examines the physical, cognitive and spiritual dimensions of personal development and performance. Central questions include: Who am I and what should I become? What habits of mind, attitude, and behavior might I improve upon? How can I construct personal meaning and inform future actions from my experiences? Embedded in these questions are the core concepts of learning and change, choice and consequence, identity, and various dimensions of self. Seminars in this domain might address topics such awareness, agency, emotional intelligence, mindfulness, motivation, reflection, resilience, and self-discipline.

This domain focuses on one?s ability to both communicate effectively and understand the meaning of others? communications. To develop interpersonal effectiveness, one must overcome the barriers that result from differences in culture, race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, and socio-economic status. Interpersonal effectiveness requires self-awareness, cultural competence, and skills in active listening, building trust, dialogue, collaboration, and conflict resolution. Central questions include: How can we improve interpersonal relationships in both personal and professional domains? How can we make decisions and solve problems together? What are the dynamics of and processes for collaboration? How do we understand and use the human/computer interface as tool to enhance communication? Seminars in this domain might address topics such as intercultural communication, valuing human similarities and differences, interpersonal communication, and 21st century human-computer interfaces and interactions.

This domain explores the larger systemic contexts within which individuals function. As the world grows increasingly complex and interconnected, the ability to understand and navigate people-in-groups (organizational, societal, and global) becomes increasingly critical. In this domain, students broaden and deepen their capacity to make a difference at ever-widening levels of system. Central questions include: How do we engage as organizational resources, community participants, members of society and global citizens? How do we get along? How do we get work done? How do we both fit-in and remain unique? Seminars in this domain might address topics such as project management, leadership, organizational culture, career management, performance improvement, context scanning, global citizenship, trend analysis, cross-cultural agility, and future visioning.

This domain examines the ability of individuals to recognize and analyze their own values and those of others in order to find effective ways to translate those beliefs into effective action. When individuals expand awareness of their own choices and recognize the choices of others, they can live their own lives more effectively and successfully mediate conflicts with others. Central questions include: What should I do in this situation? Why did he/she/they decide to do things that way? That is so clearly wrong ? isn?t it? Seminars in this domain might address topics such as ethical reasoning, decision-making, values-clarification, priority setting and courage in action.

This domain focuses on developing methods and processes of inquiry that can be applied in any of the other domains. Adults must be able to engage in self-directed inquiry in order to understand and act effectively in their personal, professional, social, and civic lives. In this domain, students learn methods for systematically and strategically exploring questions, problems, ideas, and experiences. Central questions include: How do I formulate viable questions? What information do I need to understand a problem and what is the best way to obtain it? What are different ways to analyze an idea? How can I make sense of what I have experienced? Seminars in this domain might address strategies and methods to generate and engage primary research; to gather and manage information; to organize, analyze and present data; and to pursue targeted methods of inquiry.

This is a faculty-guided session, which includes the admission process. Students design their course of study, identify course and independent study options, sketch out a potential research agenda, and develop a rudimentary credo and statement of purpose.