Using Creative methodologies to help adult students understand equality issues: findings from the Literacy & Equality in Irish Society Project.(LEIS)

Literacy perspectives often reflect the ideological perspectives of their creators as well as social, cultural , political and economic environment of the time.This article examines ways in which adult tutors can use non- text creative methods in their teaching. to help learners understand equality issues.

Teacher attitudes and best practices with ICT faculty Adult Continuing Education in Andalusia

The present paper reports the results of a study aiming to describe the attitudes of teachers in adult continuous education in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia (Spain) towards the use and integration of information and communication technologies (ITC) in the educational centres they work in, while identifying those factors that favour the development of good practice. It is a mixed methods descriptive research, and information collection techniques include a questionnaire and in-depth interviews. A total number of 172 teachers were surveyed, as well as 18 head teachers and coordinators, in adult education. For questionnaire validation the expert judgment technique was used, as they were selected by the «expert competence coefficient» or «K coefficient» procedure. To improve its psychometric properties, construct validity was determined by means of Varimax factor analysis and maximum likelihood extraction (two factors were extracted). Confidence was set by Cronbach's alpha (0.88). The interview guide was also validated by this group of experts. Results point out, on one hand, that teachers hold positive attitudes towards ICT regarding both ICT's role in professional development and their ease of use and access. On the other hand, among the most important factors for ICT-supported good educational practices lies in ICT's capacity to favour personalized work.

Meeting the Needs of Adult Learners in a Faculty of Education Careers Curriculum

Adult learners are a discrete population with specific needs and characteristics. The context of this project is a Career Services office in a Faculty of Education at a Local University [pseudonym]. The office serves a population of students from various programs within the Faculty, with the majority of students enrolled in the Bachelor of Education program. As a result of the current job market for teachers in Ontario and Canada, it is important to be able to communicate effectively with students to support them in their job searches. The purpose of this project was to identify the needs and characteristics of adult learners, and to identify ways that the current Career Services curriculum could be improved to better support adult learners. In order to engage this population of students, it is important to ensure that the content of the course addresses and meets their needs. To provide a more personalized learning environment, online resources were considered to allow students to participate more, providing a more convenient and suitable method of delivery for our intended audience, and a sample website was created to host the online resources. In addition, the entire Career Services curriculum was formalized by producing a curriculum document to outline the goals and outcomes of the program to ensure that the content will facilitate the achievement of those goals. What resulted is a hybrid, online and in-person program for Career Services, and a more robust curriculum that considers the needs of our adult learners.

The musculature and associated innervation of adult and intramolluscan stages of Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda) visualised by confocal microscopy

Gross anatomy of muscle and sensory/motor innervation of adult and intramolluscan developmental stages of Echinostoma caproni have been investigated to ascertain the organisation and the functional correlates of any stage-specific patterns of staining. Using indirect immunocytochemistry to demonstrate neuroactive substances and the phalloidin-fluorescence technique for staining myofibril F-actin, the muscle systems and aminergic and peptidergic innervation of daughter rediae, cercariae, metacercariae, and pre- and post-ovigerous adults were examined and compared using confocal scanning laser microscopy. A complex arrangement of specific muscle fibre systems occurs within the body wall (composed of circular, longitudinal and diagonal fibres), suckers (radial, equatorial, meridional), pharynx (radial, circular), gut caeca (mainly circular), cercarial tail (circular, pseudo-striated longitudinal), and ducts of the reproductive system (circular, longitudinal), presumed to serve locomotor, adhesive, alimentary and reproductive functions. Immunostaining for serotonin (5-HT) and FMRFamide-related peptides (FaRPs) was evident throughout the central (CNS) and peripheral (PNS) nervous systems of all stages, and use of dual-labelling techniques demonstrated separate neuronal pathways for 5-HT and FaRP in both CNS and PNS. FaRP expression in the innervation of the ootype wall was demonstrated only in post-ovigerous worms and not in pre-ovigerous worms, suggesting an involvement of FaRP neuropeptides in the process of egg assembly. Comparison of the present findings with those recorded for other digeneans suggests that muscle organisation and innervation patterns in trematodes are highly conserved.

Neuroactive substances and associated major muscle systems in Bucephaloides gracilescens (Trematoda : Digenea) metacercaria and adult

Cholinergic, serotoninergic and neuropeptidergic components of the nervous system were examined and compared in the progenetic metacercaria and adult gasterostome trematode, Bucephaloides gracilescens in order to provide baseline information on neuronal control of the musculature involved in egg-assembly. Enzyme cytochemistry and indirect immunocytochemical techniques interfaced with confocal scanning laser microscopy demonstrated all three classes of neuroactive substance throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems. A comparable orthogonal arrangement of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral array of nerve plexuses was observed in both metacercaria and adult. Staining patterns for cholinergic and peptidergic substances showed significant overlap, while the serotoninergic system was confined to a separate set of neurons. Immunostaining for FMRFamide-related peptides (FaRPs) was strong in the CNS and peripheral innervation to the attachment apparatus of metacercaria and adult but was only found in the innervation of the ootype in ovigerous adults, implicating FaRPs in neuronal control of the muscle of the female reproductive tract during egg-assembly.