Group 2 March Summary

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Group 2 March Summary

Like the other groups, our group started off the month with the unique adult education programs paper. Rob Christy did background research and editing, while Kristin and Kandace did the bulk of the compilation and writing for that paper. We settled on two very unique programs, Goodwill and the state of Maine’s College Transitional Program. Many people would not think of Goodwill, a retailer, as an adult educator, but in reality the company is a very active and influential adult education organization.  The state of Maine’s College Transitions Program also serves very distinct and timely needs of its residents.

We further examined key adult educators in the important adult education organizations paper. Each group member provided introductory information on key adult education organizations in which they were involved or very familiar. We settled on the Tennessee technology center system and the Coalition of Lifelong Learning Organizations (COLLO). Rob became very interested in the Tennessee technology centers after learning about their existence while researching the Tennessee community college system. Though not a part of the Tennessee community system, the technology centers serve a vital role in training adults and relieving vocational training pressures placed community colleges. Christy found that COLLO really embodied everything we have learned about adult education in this course. It is truly an organization of organizations that strives to promote, improve, and heighten the impact of adult education. Kristin and Kandace conducted background research and served as editors on the paper, while Christy and Rob conducted detailed research and assembled and wrote the paper.

In the last month we have learned a great deal through our investigation of these adult programs and organizations.  Researching so many adult education programs and organizations provides a real sense of just how diverse adult education is, and how while the organizations and missions can be so different, they all have their place and can be very effective.  Finally, adult education organizations tend to be very dynamic, and often change to meet the needs of their communities, regions, and states.