Adult Students and the First-Year Seminar

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Adult Students and the First-Year Seminar

• Richard Brungard

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Adults in the Undergraduate Classroom

• The greater the level of a students involvement
  in college, the greater the learning and personal
  development (Astin, 1996).
• Both student-to-student and faculty-student
  interactions contribute to the students level of
  integration with the academic life of the
  institution and the social life of the campus.
  (Terenzini Wright, 1987 Tinto, 1987).

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Adults in the Undergraduate Classroom

• More often part-time, commuters, evening or
  weekend attendees and have limited or no
  involvement in on campus activities.
• Yet, receive equivalent to better grades and have
  higher satisfaction with their collegiate
  experience and faculty than younger students
  (Donaldson, Graham, Kasworm Dirkx, 1999).

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Adults in the Undergraduate Classroom

• Adults are more intent on learning, hope to gain
  something they can apply to their work, approach
  their college experiences with a clearer purpose
  in mind, and take the advice of instructors more
  seriously (Cupp, 1991 Frost, 1991 Kasworm,
  1995).

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Adults in the Undergraduate Classroom

• Failure to become fully involved in campus life
  and socialized into the collegiate culture
  results in marginalization of learners, which
  impact both student persistence and the outcomes
  students realize from college (Astin, 1996
  Tinto, 1987).
• However

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Adults in the Undergraduate Classroom

• Adult learners very differences, marginal status
  and incongruity on campus actually foster their
  learning, permitting them to experience success
  in college and in learning, which they
  personalize and can actually apply in their
  lives. (Donaldson, et al, 2000).

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Differences Between Traditional and Adult
Students in the Classroom

• Adults believe they need more remediation, have
  weaker academic preparation and less developed
  study skills (Solmon Gordon, 1988).
• They are highly motivated learners who are more
  involved in learning and studying (Schlossberg et
  al., 1989).

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Differences Between Traditional and Adult
Students in the Classroom

• Studies show that adult students are more
  internally controlled and perceive less anxiety
  in learning situations (Nunn, 1994).
• Adults are internally controlled but experience
  more anxiety (Klein, 1990).
• Adults experience less anxiety (Yarbrough
  Schaffer, 1990).

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Differences Between Traditional and Adult
Students in the Classroom

• There are more psychosocial similarities then
  difference between adults and traditional
  students (Arbuckle Gale, 1996).
• Many adult, first year students experience the
  same insecurities about their intellectual and
  life planning capabilities as younger students
  (Arbuckle Gale, 1996).

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The First-Year Seminar and the Relationship to
Retention

• The ideal first-year seminar course is flexible,
  tailored to meet student needs, designed to
  enhance student success, and appropriate for
  students attending colleges and universities of
  high, moderate, low and non-selectivity levels
  (Gardner, 1993).

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The First-Year Seminar and the Relationship to
Retention

• Things students need to learn about themselves.
• Things they need to learn about their own campus.
• Things they need to learn about the value and
  meaning of higher education (Jewler, 1989).

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The First-Year Seminar and the Relationship to
Retention

• Students need to identify with both the college
  and a peer group.
• The seminar creates bonding.
• There are certain skills and knowledge associated
  with success in college that can be identified
  and taught.
• Faculty training is necessary (Murphy, 1989).

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The First-Year Seminar and the Relationship to
Retention

• Assisted their understanding of the purpose of a
  university education.
• Helped them to feel more comfortable as members
  of the campus community.
• Increased their belief that they could succeed at
  that particular institution (Sidle McReynolds,
  1999).

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The First-Year Seminar and the Relationship to
Retention

• A felt sense of community
• Increased quantity and quality of student
  involvement in the life of the institution
• Social and academic integration (Barefoot
  Gardner, 1993).

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Adult Learners and the First-Year Seminar

• Waste of time and they did not need the
  course.
• They already have the sense of the value of
  education.
• Many adults are not high risk students
  regarding study skills.
• Should have been regarded as resources for
  younger students.

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Adult Learners and the First-Year Seminar

• Aptitude and ability levels do not decline
  significantly with age, but rather it simply
  takes older learners longer to learn new subject
  matter and skills (Carifio Stewart, 1994).

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Integrating Adults in the Classroom

• Adults encouraged appropriate, adult like
  behavior among younger students through their
  example, their collective and individual efforts
  in maintaining appropriate conduct among youth in
  the classroom, and their expectation that youth
  should act and be treated like adults (Elder,
  1967, p. 613-614).

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Activity

• Break into groups.
• Discuss how you would decide what topics to cover
  in a first-year seminar
• What topics would you cover and how?

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Thank you!