The College of Education
Departmental Course Syllabus
“The College of Education is dedicated to the ideals of Collaboration, Academic
Excellence, Research, and Ethics/Diversity. These are key tenets in the Conceptual
Framework of the College of Education.”
ADE 6360
3 credit hours
Methods of Teaching Adult Education
Regular Instructors: Drs. Suzanne Kirkman, Daniel Gardner
Course Prerequisites: None required.
Course Description:
This course is a study of methods, tools, and techniques employed in facilitating
adult learning. Concentration is placed on the preparation and the process of delivering
leader led effective group training activities in short term programs such as workshops,
seminars, and project meetings. The knowledge and skills which are necessary for the
professional roles of an instructional specialist such as a facilitator, trainer, or teacher of
adults is emphasized throughout this course.
Course Goals and Objectives: Upon completion of this course, participants will be able
to:
Apply appropriate models to the design of an instructional event.
Choose and demonstrate effective formats and instructional strategies for specific
content presentation.
Demonstrate instructional skills required in the delivery of effective leader-lead
group facilitation.
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of various instructional techniques
and methodologies.
Describe processes for planning, delivering, and evaluating an instructional unit.
Evaluate facilitators during learning events by identify areas requiring
adjustments as well as best practice.
Content Outline:
Temporary Systems Model
Facilitation Model
Transfer of Learning
Formats and Techniques
Basic Presentation Tools
Presentation Skills and Software
Managing Participants
Lecture and Discussion
Case Studies, Self Study and Job Aids
Consensus Building, Team Building and Nominal Group Techniques
Behavior Modeling, Role Playing, Demonstration
Games and Simulation,
Group Problem Solving
Mentorship, Job Rotation and Internship
Computer-aided Learning
Teleconferencing and Distance Learning
Evaluation of learning units
Student Expectations, Requirements and Assessment:
Active Participation - 20% of final grade and includes: attendance, participation in
learning activities, and contribution to discussions. Participants will be responsible for
completing eleven in-class evaluations of other participants’ presentations according to
guidelines presented to the participants including:
Program Opening
Clarification of objectives, process, agenda
Identification of expectations
Introductions
Ice-breaker(s), if any
Program Operation
Sequence of activities
Use of methods
Involvement of participants
Use of media
Program Closing
Transfer of learning
Expectations
Feedback
Review of Literature – 25% of final grade
Participants will write a review of literature on a course related topic in APA format.
Process Observation – 15% of final grade
Each class member will observe a workshop, seminar, class session, etc. and observe
techniques and processes used to help participants learn. The results of this observation
will be reported consistent with the following format.
Nature of the Program
Organization
Purposes and/or objectives
Target population
Description of the Trainer, Leader, Teacher
Background, preparation
Similarity or differences in relation to the target population
Program Planning
Evidence of planning
Facility considerations
Pre-system communication
Needs identification, if any
Program Opening
Clarification of objectives, process, agenda
Identification of expectations
Introductions
Ice-breaker(s), if any
Program Operation
Sequence of activities
Use of methods
Involvement of participants
Use of media
Program Closing
Transfer of learning
Expectations
Feedback
The Process Observation Report will include the items listed above and a flowchart that
depicts the overall sequence of activities. In addition, handouts may be attached.
Train-the-Trainer Presentation – 35% of final grade
This activity is a major portion of the final grade as it involves a 90 minute, leader lead,
train-the-trainer presentation on an assigned course content topic. Additionally, a
portfolio of presentation preparation, unit lesson plan, budget and feedback will be part of
the assessment. Participants will be video-taped during this presentation.
Final Quiz – 5 % of final grade
Grading Procedures and Criteria
“No grade below “C: will be accepted toward a graduate degree. This includes Cgrades.”
Grading system and percentages to be used in this course are as follows:
Grade
A+
B+
C+
D+
F
Percentage
Grade
A
B
C
D+
89-87
79-77
69-67
59-
Percentage
93-100
86-83
76-73
66-63
Grade
ABCD-
Percentage
91-90
82-80
72-70
62-60
Grades of FF, I, IF, IU, MF, MU, N, S, U W, WC and Z described in the current catalog
will be used.
University GPA equivalents of the above grades are as follows:
4.00
A+
B+
C+
D+
F
(Please note
no additional
grade points
for A+
designation)
3.33
2.33
1.33
0
A
4.00
A-
3.67
B
C
D
3.00
2.00
1.00
BCD-
2.67
1.67
.67
Textbooks(s)
TEXT - Required
 Silberman, M. (1998). Active training, A handbook of techniques, designs, case
examples, and tips. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc. (ISBN: 0-7879-3989-7)
TEXT - Recommended
 Galbraith, M. (2004). Adult learning methods, A guide for effective instruction. 3rd
edition. Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing Company. (ISBN: 1-57524-232-X)
“ADA Statement: Students with disabilities are responsible for registering with the
Office of Student Disabilities Services in order to receive special accommodations and
services. Please notify the instructor during the first week of classes if a reasonable
accommodation for a disability is needed for this course. A letter from the USF
Disability Services Office must accompany this request.
USF Policy of Religious Observances: Students who anticipate the necessity of being
absent from class due to the observation of a major religious observance must provide
notice of the date(s) to the instructor, in writing, by the second class meeting.”
“Web Portal Information: Every newly enrolled USF student receives an official USF email account that ends with :mail.acomp.usf.edu.” Every official USF correspondence to
students will be sent to that account. Students should go to the Academic Computing
website (http://www.acomp.usf.edu) and select the link “Activating a Student E-mail
account” for detailed information. Information about the USF Web Portal can be found
at: Http://www.acomp.usf.edu/portal.html.”
“Academic Dishonesty: Plagiarism is defined as “literary theft” and consists of the
unattributed quotation of the exact words of a published text, or the unattributed
quotation of the exact words of a published text, or the unattributed borrowing of original
ideas by paraphrase from a published text. On written papers for which the student
employs information gathered from books, articles, or oral sources, each direct quotation,
as well as ideas and facts that are not generally known to the public at large must be
attributed to its author by means of the appropriate citation procedure. Citations may be
made in footnotes or within the body of the text. Plagiarism also consists of passing off
as one’s own, segments or the total of another person’s work.
Punishment for academic dishonesty will depend on the seriousness of the offense and
may include receipt of an “F: with a numerical value of zero on the item submitted, and
the “F: shall be used to determine the final course grade. It is the option of the instructor
to assign the student a grade of F or FF (the latter indicating dishonesty) in the course.”
“Detection of Plagiarism: The University of South Florida has an account with an
automated plagiarism detection service which allows instructors to submit student
assignments to be checked for plagiarism. I reserve the right to 1) request that
assignments be submitted to me as electronic files and 2) electronically submit
assignments to SafeAssignment.com, or 3) ask students to submit their assignments to
Safe Assignment.com through my USF. Assignments are compared automatically with a
database of journal articles, web articles, and previously submitted papers. The instructor
receives a report showing exactly how a student’s paper was plagiarized. For more
information about SafeAssignment and plagiarism, go to http://www.c21te.usf.edu and
click on Plagiarism Resources. For information about plagiarism in USF’s undergraduate
catalogue, go to: http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/0304/adadap.htm#plagiarism “
All quotations above come from the College of Education’s 2004 Departmental Course Syllabus: Graduate Level Courses publication
or from the Guidelines for Syllabi from the University of South Florida’s College of Education web site
http://www.coedu.usf.edu/main/downloads/syllabi_guide.html retrieved 10/20/2005.