INFT 101

ADULT LEARNING THEORY PAPER INSTRUCTIONS

Adult Learning Theories are an important part of who we are as adult learners. Having a firm understanding in these basic tenets of this theory will help us to be successful students in higher education! For the Adult Learning Theory Paper assignment, you will access Liberty Universitys Online Library and find an article relating to adult learning theories. After finding and reading about your selected topic, you must write a review about it using Microsoft Word. Detailed instructions are provided below. You will write your review based on the article you choose, along with the sample article, provided. Once you have written your paper, save it in .docx format. (If you do not have Word 2010, a .doc format will be accepted.) Then, open the View/Complete link provided in the corresponding module/week, attach the .docx file you just created, and click Submit. This will send your paper to the class instructor to be graded. Below, you will find detailed explanations of each step of this assignment.

General Overview: The first thing to keep in mind when selecting an article is the topic or concept that you want to write about. Liberty Universitys Online Library is designed to allow you to narrow your search to specific topics that interest you. Attached to the assignment instructions area, you will find a sample article to show you what you should be looking for. This sample article will be the second source that you use, along with the article of your choice. When looking for an article, make sure you are looking for full-text, peer-reviewed articles in professional journals. This search should not be done in Google or Bing. All articles should be published within the past 5 years. The full text of these 2 articles must be submitted as attachments in the assignment link by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 2. In the body of your final paper, there should be 2 main sections. The first section the summary will simply review the main points of the topic (i.e., what the authors are trying to communicate to the reading audience). It should not include your personal feelings or opinions. In the second section, you will reflect/react on the articles. This is the area where you can express your own thoughts and feelings about how the information in the articles relates to your previous experiences and/or prior knowledge. The papers summary should be written in third person, which prohibits the use of I or you. Your reflection can be written in first person. Here are further instructions for how to write your paper: Title Page
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Your title page should include your name, date, course and section (centered, double spaced). You will also include a header with the Running head flush left and the page number flush right. It should be an abbreviated title in all caps and should not exceed 50 characters. Each page, including your Title Page, should have a header but only the title page should include the words Running head in the header. In Microsoft Word, click Insert and then Header. Summary Your summary should be on a new page and say Summary at the top, center of page 2 in plain text, which means without special formatting. The Summary should be should be between 300 350 words and should include general information about the journal articles that you have selected. Present your summary in a five paragraph format: introduction, summary of article1, summary of article 2, comparison of the articles, conclusion. Reflection Your reflection should be on a new page and say Reflection at the top, center of the page in plain text. This section should be between 300350 words and should include a reflection on how you would apply the content of the article to yourself as an adult learner in the online higher education world. Present your reflection in a five paragraph format: intro, respond to article 1, respond to article 2, compare the two, conclusion. In-text citations In-text citations are vital for your paper. You will need to cite any and all information or ideas that are not your own. If you directly quote, you will need quotation marks along with the page number at the end of the citation (Gibson, 2010, p. 123). If you summarize a reference, then you do not need to include the page number at the end of the citation (Gibson & Stevenson, 2010). Both of the previous sentences are examples for you to help you correctly cite information. Be careful not to overuse quotes, as this is a form of plagiarism.

Reference Page Make sure that your reference page says Reference(s) (plain text, centered) at the top of your Reference page. The references should be in alphabetical order with hanging indentions. In Microsoft Word, you can highlight your reference, right click, click Paragraph, then in the Indention section of the box that opens, click Special and then select Hanging. Be sure that your references are APA stylized and include where you obtained your reference from if it was obtained online. An example is below:
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Jonas, K., & Bromer, P. (1997). Effects of attitudinal ambivalence on information processing and attitude-intention consistency. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 33190-21-. Doi:10.1006/jesp.1996.1317

Rough Draft: During Module/Week 6, you will submit a rough draft of your paper. This rough draft is an opportunity to gain valuable feedback from your instructor. You should approach the rough draft as though it is your completed paper. When the instructor reviews your paper, you will receive a copy of the assignment with comments and suggested edits. These edits are not required, but it is valuable to consider each comment that is made. The Rough Draft must be submitted to Safe Assign by 11:59 P.M. (ET) on Thursday of Module/Week 6. The Rough Draft is due by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 6.

SafeAssign Submission DRAFT: Also, during Module/Week 6, you will submit your paper through SafeAssign. This software is designed to show you what percentage of your paper is derived from articles or other alternative sources. It is a tool used by instructors to see how much of your paper is original and how much is borrowed. Some students mistakenly interpret the percentage as the percent chance of plagiarism, but this is totally incorrect. A high percentage does not necessarily indicate that you are guilty of plagiarism or academic misconduct. Instead, it can show you that citations are needed or ensure that you are not integrating enough of your own unique thoughts. This must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Thursday of Module/Week 6. Once you receive your Safe Assign results, you may use what you learn from it to improve your work before submitting it as your Rough Draft on Monday of Module/Week 6. Peer Editing: In module/week 7, you will have the opportunity to review and make suggestions for editing of your classmates ALT papers, as they will of yours. Peer editing can be a powerful tool to help you make the most of your writing assignment.

Revised and Edited Draft: Once youve submitted your rough draft, you will have the opportunity to hone and polish your work. Editing allows you to review your work and make changes to the content in order to
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strengthen your work. Revision helps you ensure that you have included only correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling so that your work speaks well for you. Based upon the instructor and SafeAssign feedback, you will revise and edit the rough draft using the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word. This must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 7.

Final Submission: In Module/Week 8, you will submit your final version of your paper via SafeAssign. Make sure that you have chosen sources from professional, peer-reviewed journals. An abstract is not required; however, your paper should include a title page and a reference page though these do not count towards the 23 pages of content. Your final paper should be 23 pages, not including title and reference page, in Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced, and with one-inch margins on all sides. Please remember that a paragraph is at least 35 sentences. The summary of the paper should be written in third person which prohibits the use of I or you. In addition, it must be written in current APA format which includes a resource citation style that many Liberty University Online courses utilize. You can learn about the APA style at our Academic Student Support page. Your paper must provide citation of the articles you read. Further examples of citations are on the next page. This must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday of Module/Week 8.

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Examples of Citation (in APA format) One Author__________________________________________________ Ausburn, L.J. (2004). Course design elements most valued by adult learners in blended online education environments: An American perspective. Educational Medial International, pp. 328-337. Two Authors_________________________________________________ Alem, L. & Kravis, S. (2004). Design and evaluation of an online learning community: A case study at CSIRO. SIGGROUP Bulletin, 25, 1, p. 20-24. Three or More Authors________________________________________ Compton, J. I., Cox, E. & Laanan, F. S. (2006). Adult learners in transition. New Directions for Student Services, 114, p. 73-80.

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