Editorial: The necessity of adult learning methods in programs of intensive study

This article presents the educational methodologies that prove effective in adult educational programmes of intensive study. The many facets of a quality educational programme are discussed and I will focus on four topics that any adult educational programme must have: an adult learner, an instructor of adults, a curriculum, and a response to outside forces. These topics become increasingly critical when one examines the components of technical education and, especially, an intensive training programme in laboratory automation systems. The adult will be discussed as a learner and the associated myths and principles. Next, I will focus on the instructor and his/her necessary personal and professional qualities, including essential skills and psychological elements required. Aspects of curriculum will then be studied. The conventional and the innovative approaches to curriculum design, development, and delivery differ markedly. Development and delivery are so closely linked to the curriculum that both will be discussed under the one title of ‘curriculum’. The final discussion will focus on the outside forces that directly and indirectly affect adult education; since these are many, they are limited to a few salient ones.