Once information resources have been identified and located, it is important to understand how to get more out of professional literature. Techniques include identifying the domains of adult education knowledge, studying the classics of adult education, and having a disposition, a discipline, and a plan for reading for professional development.…

As the knowledge base of adult and continuing education continues to grow, research holds increasing potential for informing practice. Being an effective consumer of research involves developing a working understanding of basic methods and procedures. (Author)

An important part of professional development is writing for publication. A successful writer needs to engage in three simultaneous activities: focusing, understanding, and networking. (JOW)

Effective professionals need to be able to communicate their ideas through speaking as well as writing. Successful presentations involve using strategies to overcome anxiety, organizing the presentation, analyzing the audience, and managing nonverbal elements of the presentation. (JOW)

Professional associations play an important leadership role in the growth of the adult and continuing education field. Involvement in these associations can contribute to personal professional development. (Author)

Graduate study has long been important for professional development in adult and continuing education. The use of a variety of strategies can make this a highly proactive approach to such development. (Author)

Critical reflection is an essential element of successful practice. Developing a critically reflective approach to practice involves several steps: describe the task, analyze what is described, theorize about alternatives, and act on the basis of the theory. (JOW)

An ecological study was made of persistent repetitious movements by 12 developmentally disabled adults in a horticultural day work program. Fewer dysfunctional patterns occurred during times when staff were actively teaching than when the trainee was isolated or resting. Results argued for teaching skills in terms of coordinated response…

Analysis of videotapes of training procedures with 12 developmentally disabled adults in a horticultural day work program found an overall staff emphasis on selectively attending to workers' successful behavior with evidence of both efficiency and effectiveness of this approach. (Author/DB)

This study with 39 secondary students with severe disabilities integrated into regular programs in either home schools or cluster programs found that the proportion of students residing outside the normal school boundaries and the percent of students classified as Severely Multiply Handicapped were both negatively associated with both in-school…

The effectiveness of a cognitive-process approach for teaching appropriate responses to criticism were assessed across three young adults with moderate mental retardation who were receiving vocational training. Results indicated that two participants learned this approach and successfully generalized their behavior across untrained stimuli.…

This review analyzes data-based studies dealing with self-management procedures (self-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-reinforcement, and self-instruction) used by individuals with mental retardation in public school settings. Although support is found for the positive effects of self-management, questions regarding efficient implementation of…

This study, with six high school students with moderate to severe disabilities, found that students who received concurrent sequence training demonstrated better generalized performance in three nontrained grocery stores than students who had received serial sequence training, once training criterion was attained though training required more…

Based on a survey of special educators (n=40) and parents (n=21) of children with special needs, this paper presents a list of safety skills across domains for preschool, elementary, and adolescent students with special needs. Similar safety concerns were found among both parents and professionals. (Author/DB)

Photographs of facial emotional expressions posed by adults classified as mentally retarded were judged by familiar and unfamiliar adults who were not mentally retarded. Happiness and sadness were accurately posed most often. The ability to encode facial emotional expressions was correlated with assessments of interpersonal competence provided by…