The Book - for real! Well sort of.

Now that you know I'm taking a circular approach to Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach, I'll update you on what I've been reading. It seems Vella has come up with a method for success in educating adult learners. This book contains 12 principles for effective adult learning. Remember in an earlier post I mentioned Vella had been introduced to quantum thinking and now she incorporates the two.

The book has three distinct parts - from the publisher's web site the book outline:

Part One: A Process That Works and Why.
1. Twelve Principles for Effective Adult Learning.
2. Quantum Thinking and Dialogue Education.
3. How the Principles Inform Course Design: Two Examples.

Part Two: The Principles in Practice: Across Cultures and Around the World.
4. Learning Needs and Resources Assessment: Taking the First Step in Dialogue.
5. Safety: Creating a Safe Environment for Learning.
6. Sound Relationships: Using the Power of Friendship.
7. Sequence and Reinforcement: Supporting Their Learning.
8. Praxis: Turning Practice into Action and Reflection.
9. Learners as Decision Makers: Harnessing the Power of Self Through Respect.
10. Learning with Ideas, Feelings, and Actions: Using the Whole Person.
11. Immediacy: Teaching What Is Really Useful to Learners.
12. Assuming New Roles for Dialogue: Embracing the Death of the Professor.
13. Teamwork: Celebrating Learning Together.
14. Engagement: Learning Actively.
15. Accountability: Knowing How They Know They Know.

Part Three: Becoming an Effective Teacher of Adults
16. Reviewing the Twelve Principles and Quantum Thinking.
17. How Do You Know You Know? Supposing and Proposing.

< http://www.josseybass.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0787959677,descCd-tableOfContents.html>

I'll admit I've read the Amazon reviews and other reviews of this book and though I can appreciate Vella's beliefs - I too got a bit tired of her 'rah rah', 'everything works out' writing style. I'll keep to the 12 principles (or may be not!)