Facilitating Lifelong Learning aims at fostering an understanding of the conditions that might best facilitate adult and lifelong learning in educational institutions and in the workplace.

The broad aims of this unit are to:
1. Foster an understanding of the conditions that facilitate adult and lifelong learning in educational, informal, professional and workplace settings.
2. Facilitate the development of knowledge and skills for designing effective learning activities for adults.
3. Facilitate the development of knowledge and skills for becoming a reflective practitioner as both an educator and a learner.
4. Establish skills to support engagement with academic reports and critical analysis of published research.
5. Prepare students to discuss, critique and demonstrate the connections between adult education theories and practical applications.

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the unit you will have:
1. Established skills to effectively and efficiently read technical literature, assess academic writing, and critically analyse published research reports.
2. Gained an increased understanding and appreciation of...
• the nature, significance and validity of the concept of lifelong learning and the major characteristics of adult learners;
• the constructive nature of learning and knowledge development, and the importance of developing learner autonomy;
• the significance of social dimensions of learning, including modelling and coaching, collaborative learning practices and socially supportive learning contexts;
• the multifaceted aspects of motivation in adult education and lifelong learning;
• the importance of facilitative attitudes and appropriate adult teacher
- learner or facilitator - learner relationships for achievement of successful learning outcomes;
• the need for designing methods of assessment and evaluation which foster valuable learning.
3. Developed knowledge and skills in relation to the preparation, planning, implementation, assessment and evaluation of courses and learning activities in adult learning contexts.
4. Developed an appreciation of the significance of becoming active lifelong learners for their own continuous professional development as teachers/facilitators, individually and in collaboration with colleagues.

The following includes notes directly taken from the Unit Learning Guide introducing each topic, questions raised in the online class, responses, along with notes from other participants in the class.