¶ … Diversity means that there are differences among the individuals in a group, and those differences are not always readily apparent. When the group is adult learners, the possibilities become even more complex. Because there are differences in many areas such as culture, age, geography, and others (Gadbow, 2002) it is necessary for an instructor to look at all that diversity means within a classroom and try to accommodate that (Zepke, 2005). The three articles in question look at the question of diversity as it is applied to adult learners. Gadbow (2002) takes the approach that different aspects of diversity mean that a teacher should have a variety of different teaching methods available to try and make the instruction understandable. Another of the articles, that by Noble (1999), is more of a guide for instructors about setting up a learning environment that is conducive to instruction. Zepke (2005) finishes out the three articles by looking at the future of adult education and its diversity by using two different techniques. He comes up...

Chapter One summary
The most important thing that I learned from reading the selections was that diversity both comes in many more forms than I had originally considered (Gadbow, 2002), and that there are many ways in which diversity can affect the future that were not readily apparent either (Zepke, 2005). Since diversity is usually thought of just in terms of ethnicity or race, it is easy to fall into a complacence in which that is the only form of difference that one thinks about. However, age and geography lay a very important role in how a person reacts to situations and learns. Also, as Zapke (2005) points out, there are many different outcomes that diversity can bring about.

I suppose the observances of Zepke were probably the most important because he envisions a future that is formed either through the positive or negative force of diversity. Most now view diversity of experience and inclination as a positive,…