Visit a local agency or program that provides adult educational opportunities. When picking your
agency it can not be your place of business (not your department, but it could be another
department in your company of which you have an interest but not very much knowledge). It can
be the same field as you are in but not the place you work. However, I prefer you chose a
subject you have an interest in but no prior knowledge of. So, it should help you broaden your
areas of teaching interest and potential teaching methods. If you have questions, ask the
instructor if the agency you picked is appropriate.
Your final report will include:
 An overview of the agency as a whole. You’ll most likely meet with an agency director
and review other documents to accomplish this. Gather details on:
o Brief history of the agency
o Description of the agency including mission and / or purpose
o Training needs assessment – how do they decide what programs to develop?
o Overview of programs offered
o Budgets and funding sources
o Any other topics that are specific to the organization that you visit.
 Details on a specific program / class offered by the agency. You’ll likely want to actually
visit the class as well as speak with the instructor and some students. Gather details on:
o Brief description of program / class
o Description of learners – who are they and why are they there?
o Instructor (s) – who are they, qualifications, etc.
o Anticipated goals / outcomes of the program / class
o Description of instructional methods and facilitation style
o Evaluation methods – of the program and the participants
o Any other relevant details
 Critical reflection on the agency and the program you reviewed. What did you learn?
What does the agency / program do well? Not so well? Why was this assignment useful
to you and your learning about adult education (or not?)
 Brief summary of the process you used to gather your data.