2006 Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference in Adult, Continuing, Extension, and Community Education

2006 Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference, Impacting Adult Learners Near and Far

CONFERENCE FOLLOW-UP

Many thanks to all who presented, attended, or in any way participated in the 25th anniversary celebration of the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference! Some 120 adult education professionals and graduate students attended. A special note of thanks to our keynote speaker, Joe Levine, as well as our 25th anniversary guests who participated in the Friday Plenary with Joe: Trenton Ferro, John Henschke, Jim McElhinney and Peter Murk. We hope the conference was a positive experience for everyone involved. We certainly enjoyed hosting the event in St. Louis. Please note several opportunities listed below. Thanks, everyone!

Roxanne T. Miller, Conference Co-Chair
University of Missouri Extension
(314) 615-7607
MillerRT@missouri.edu

2006 Conference Proceedings
If you want to ORDER a printed copy of the Conference Proceedings ($9.96 + shipping/handling) or DOWNLOAD A FREE DIGITAL COPY,
go to: http://www.lulu.com/content/459372.

Join the Midwest Research-to-Practice Listserv
A listserv is maintained by Michigan State University to keep adult educators, graduate students and other interested persons informed about the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference and other pertinent adult education information. Messages are disseminated periodically, not on a frequent basis. If you want to subscribe to the listserv, just follow these few steps:

Go to http://list.msu.edu/signup.html.
Scroll down the listing of listservs until you find <RES2PRAC Research to Practice Conference>.
Enter your e-mail address and name.
Click on "Join the List."
You will receive an e-mail message that tells you the final step needed.

Important: You must complete the final step as instructed in the e-mail message for your name to be added to the listserv.

Questions? Contact Roxanne Miller at MillerRT@missouri.edu or (314) 615-7607.

2007 Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference
Plan now to attend next year's Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference, to be held September 25-27, 2007, at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. The deadline for proposals is March 1, 2007. For more details visit http://mdudka.iweb.bsu.edu/mr2p2007.

Welcome to the 2006 Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference! We're excited to host this special 25th anniversary edition of the conference at University of Missouri-St. Louis. The theme of "Impacting Adult Learners Near and Far" focuses on how both technology and classroom techniques can be adapted to meet the unique needs of adult learners more effectively. We’ll take a look back at the past quarter century of adult education to see what's changed, what's stayed the same, and what trends are emerging.

Here’s a brief glimpse of conference highlights and activities:

Keynote Speaker Joe Levine of Michigan State University is a seasoned Extension professional who has taught graduate courses in adult learning, instructional strategies for teaching adults, program planning and evaluation, and—most recently—how to effectively teach at a distance.
New this year! An online dialogue on adult learning begins Sept. 12 and continues through the conference, facilitated by keynoter Joe Levine. The dialogue will explore "Reflecting on Our Impact" and is open to anyone interested in adult learning issues.
Forty-two papers are now listed and accessible online; 38 papers will be presented at the conference in four categories (Practitioner Concerns, Reports on Research, Evaluation Studies, and Methods and Issues in Research), and four will be poster presentations.
A Graduate Student Pre-Conference to be held 1:00-4:00 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, will provide a forum for graduate students to learn from Adult Education experts and each other. If you're a graduate student and have particular questions and/or concerns you would like to see covered, please e-mail them to Dr. Mary Cooper. Beginning Sept. 12, graduate students are invited to participate in an online graduate student dialogue, facilitated by Dr. Cooper.
Special 25th anniversary fun will celebrate 25 years of this conference's unique blend of practice and research. Several adult educators and past participants will reflect on changes in adult education and the conference through the years. Now available: Listen to online audio interviews to hear a few reflections by Dr. Joe Levine, Dr. Trenton Ferro, and Dr. John Henschke.
Share ideas and network with adult education professionals and graduate students from Midwestern universities and around the world.

Don’t miss this special 25th anniversary celebration!
Remember: September 12 is the early registration deadline!

Audio Interview
Welcome to the Midwest Research-to-Practice Conference! (2:23)
[LISTEN NOW][Read transcript]
Dr. John Henschke of University of Missouri-St. Louis and University of Missouri Extension welcomes conference participants to St. Louis. (To listen, you need the free Windows Media Player 10 installed on your computer.)

Mission Statement
This conference provides a forum for practitioners and researchers to discuss practices, concepts, evaluation, and research studies to improve practice in adult education. Through discussion and collaboration, participants will contribute toward the realization of a more humane and just society through lifelong learning.

Who should attend?
Adult educators, researchers, and practitioners working in colleges, universities, cooperative extension, continuing education, outreach, community education, and any other institution or department focused on adult learning; and adult education graduate students.