Treat+us+like+adults

**Treat us like adults: Adult students' concerns with community-based learning** Susan Reed, Associate Professor, DePaul University sreed@depaul.edu] Howard Rosing, Director, Steans Center for Community-based learning, DePaul University hrosing@depaul.edu] Helen Rosenberg, Faculty Director, Community Based Learning and Research, Center for Community Partnerships, University of Wisconsin Parkside, [ rosenbeh@uwp.edu] Anne Statham, Professor, University of Southern Indiana aastaham@usi.edu]



**Key Words:** Adult, students, nontraditional, community-based, service learning

**Track:** Student development and learning

**Format:** Research paper

**Date & time: **Thursday 2:00-3:10 **Location: **Salon 10

**Summary:** Adults who have made the decision to go back to college may find that community-based learning courses help them to develop in these ways. Educators who work with nontraditional students are encouraged to provide opportunities for experiential learning that appeal to the learning styles of those who might be more inclined to the practical over the theoretical and less comfortable in the classroom than in the community. This study explores the perspectives and experiences of adults in community-based learning courses at a large, private university in the Midwest. The goal was to explore their perceptions of the value of these experiences to their development as students.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">In this study, adult students reveal through interviews how they struggle to find their place in the service learning classroom, balancing their need and ability to give back to the community, their multiple roles and commitments, their identities as students and their relationships with younger peers and professors. Students discuss the importance of “giving back” and the value of identifying this need and opportunity through community-based learning This present study suggests that practitioners of community-based learning may also need to make adjustments in order to incorporate knowledge and abilities of older students into their projects and discussions. This finding has strong implications for the potential impact of adult students on the work of partnering community organizations.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">By adjusting practices to enhance the experience of adult students in the community, universities may strengthen their own partnerships with community-based organizations as adults become more engaged and effective. Adult students may bring experience with civic engagement to the classroom, they may deepen their skills through community-based learning and, perhaps most importantly for the community partner, they may be more likely to remain involved as a result of the connections fostered through their community-based learning project.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">**References:** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Daloz, L.A.P., Keen, C.H., Keen, J.P., Parks, S.D. (1996) //Common Fire: Lives of Commitment in a Complex World//. Boston: Beacon Press.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Holland, B. A. & Robinson, G. (2008). Community based learning with adults: Bridging efforts in multiple sectors. In S. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Reed & C. Marienau (Eds.) //Linking Adults with Community: Promoting Civic Engagement through Community-based// //Learning// (pp. 17-30). //New Directions in Adult and Continuing Education,// No. 118. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Kasworm, C. E. (2010). Adult learners in a research university: Negotiating undergraduate student identity. //Adult Education Quarterly//, //60//(2), 143-160.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Largent, L. & Horinek, J. (2008). Community colleges and adult service learners: Evaluating a first year program to improve implementation. In S. Reed & C. Marienau (Eds.), //Linking adults with community: Promoting civic engagement through community based learning.// (pp. 37-47). New Directions in Adult and Continuing Education, No. 118. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Morton, K. and Enos, S. (2002). “Building Deeper Civic Relationships and New and Improved Citizens.” //Journal of Public Affairs//, Supplemental Issue 1: Civic Engagement and Higher Education, 83-102.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">Snyder, M. and Clary, E.G. (2003) “Volunteerism and the Generative Society” in //The Generative Society: Caring for future generations// by Ed de St. Aubin, Dan McAdams and Tae-Chang Kim. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 140%;">U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009) //Digest of Education Statistics, 2008// (NCES 2009-020) Retrieved from [].

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