Engaging the Adult Learner Through Graduate Learning Communities

Introduction

Graduate student education is an important link to a well prepared 21^st century workforce (Council of Graduate Schools, 2010). College and university graduate programs which actively support the adult learner account for 660,000 master’s and doctoral degrees each year (Snyder, Dillow, & Hoffman, 2009). While this figure might appear to be large it equates to only 8.8% of the U.S. domestic population and of that number approximately 1% are doctoral degree holders (Bell, 2009b). Adult learners are commonly defined as individuals aged 25 or older and the National Center for Educational Statistics considers these learners as non-traditional students. They may have delayed post-secondary education enrollment; are typically financially independent of parents; they work full-time; and have dependents other than a spouse (Adult Learning, 2008).

Global demands recognize the critical need for a talented, technologically savvy workforce with the social and intellectual skills to successfully navigate an ever growing cyber community (McCarthy & Samors, 2009; McPherson & Shulenburger, 2009). Graduate schools are an important link to our nation’s mission to develop a competitive workforce. As Debra W. Stewart, (2010), President of the Council of Graduate Schools, stated,

Graduate education in the United States has been an enormously successful enterprise, serving the vital scientific, cultural and economic needs of the national and global community. Our graduate schools are epicenters of discovery, innovation, and application, leading to advancements that affect every one of us. (para. 1)

Such an enterprise can be nurtured in graduate programs (Maki, 2009) and in particular through graduate learning communities (Gardner, 2009; Rovai & Jordan, 2004; Tokuno, 2008).

Learning communities have shown great promise in increasing student satisfaction, retention, enhanced academic development, strengthening of the college curriculum and teaching, connectiveness to faculty and peers through research and projects, engagement and motivation and increased recognition of the need to collaborate with others (Smith, MacGregor, Matthews, & Gabelnick, 2004). In learning communities the curriculum is structured “…so that students are more actively engaged in a sustained academic relationship with other students and faculty over a longer period of time than in traditional course settings” (Minkler, 2002, p. 1). Researchers have found positive results when learning communities were used in the areas of retention, academic success and student satisfaction in undergraduate programs (Tinto, 2006; Zhao & Kuh, 2004) but there is less evidence available regarding the use of learning communities in graduate programs. Although it is difficult to find large national studies concerning the effects on graduate programs, current studies are encouraging (Gardner, 2009; Tokuno, 2008; Pratt & Tokuno, 2008). There is a growing body of knowledge concerning graduate learning communities which are also referred to as a community of practice (COP) (Dabbagh, 2007; Stacey, Smith, & Barty, 2004). Dabbagh (2007) stated that “members of a COP understand that a social mind is at work and that knowledge is a shared intellectual capital” (p. 220). Learning is social and a critical tenet when learning communities are to be implemented within distance education programs and affiliated coursework (Dabbagh & Bannan-Ritland, 2005; Wenger & Snyder, 2000).