Making the Invisible Visible: A Model for Delivery Systems in Adult Education.

Abstract Delivery systems are not well defined in adult education. Therefore, this article reviews the multiple components that overlap to affect the adult learner and uses them to create a model for a comprehensive delivery system in adult education with these individual components as sub-systems that are interrelated and inter-locked. These components are philosophy, theory, method, need, educational entity, influence, outcome, and assessment. By combining these, the adult educator has access to a delivery system consisting of a full spectrum of opportunities by which the learner may realize an optimal educational experience within a learning environment. The model provides the components that can make visible this invisible system. Introduction Literature in the field of adult education commonly uses the term "delivery system," yet no consistent definition or model of what a delivery system actually is seems to exist. Models exist for program planning as do model-like typologies for adult education, so is a delivery system simply a synonymous term for multiple types of learning opportunities? Is a delivery system a way to plan programs? Is it a process and procedure? Or perhaps is it an approach to classroom activities and participation? Is it some of these things, all of these things, none of these things? In its current usage, the term "delivery system" seems to be an invisible mantle cloaking a myriad of adult education scenarios. An attempt to make visible this invisible system led to a thorough review of the multiple components that overlap to affect the adult learner and the creation of a model for a comprehensive delivery system in adult education that takes these individual components and sees them as sub-systems that are interrelated and inter-locked. The model attempts to articulate the components of what we as adult educators actually do, perhaps without thinking about the underlying assumptions and process - in other words, it attempts to make the invisible visible (see Figure 1). A delivery system in adult learning, as used here, is a set of overlapping components (specifically philosophy, theory, method, need, educational entity, influence, outcome, and assessment) and sub-components, which interact with each other and revolve around the learner and the learning environment to maximize adult learning through the combination of selected subcomponents. This delivery system model differs from a program planning model in that it takes into account components and subcomponents that deal with the facilitator's philosophical and theoretical orientations, as well as how all parts of the model overlap and influence each other in order to affect the learner as who is situated within the learning environment. The facilitator's conscious utilization of the following model's components and sub-components creates an interface between the learner and the educational experience. Components and Sub-components The Learner and the Learning Environment The learner, surrounded by the learning environment, becomes the hub of this model. The learner brings to the educational experience, among other things, age, gender, prior knowledge and experiences, cultural values, perceptions, motivation, cognitive abilities, skills, and curiosity. Being observant of these traits and nuances allows the facilitator to better mold the delivery system and accommodate the learner's specific needs such as a degree, occupational pay raise, or personal gratification. For optimal learning to occur, the learner needs to be acknowledged as an individual. Velia' s (2002) book, Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach, lists 12 major steps that should be covered when directing learning towards adults. These include a needs assessment of what is to be learned; a feeling of safety for the learner within the environment; sound relationships that are established between the facilitator and the learner; the sequence of the content presented and its reinforcement; the use of praxis; the establishment of respect for learners as decision makers; the understanding of the learner's ideas, feelings, and actions; immediacy of the learning; clear established roles on the part of the facilitator and the learner; the use of teamwork; the engagement of learners; and accountability. …