Learning Preferences of a Diverse Group of Community College Students: A Qualitative Study
Open Access
- Author:
- Kern, Sandra B.
- Graduate Program:
- Adult Education
- Degree:
- Doctor of Education
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- February 28, 2006
- Committee Members:
- Denise Gaspari Meister, Committee Member
Edward W Taylor, Committee Member
Elizabeth Jean Tisdell, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Rachel A Grant, Committee Member - Keywords:
- adult students
community college
learning preferences
diverse - Abstract:
- The student population on college campuses has been evolving to include larger numbers of adult students. Some researchers and theorists contend that nontraditional students need to be taught differently from traditional-age college students utilizing a more independent, self-directed mode of instruction that takes their prior life and work experiences into account and that educators in higher education need to modify conditions to better serve nontraditional students. Researchers have suggested that the classroom experience is the focal point of the adult student’s learning experience. Indeed, classrooms are spaces where learners make meaning of their experiences and ideas in multiple ways: through individual reflection on reading and/or lecture, through social interaction with facilitators and other learners, and through various experiential learning opportunities. Therefore, knowing the learning preferences of adult students and how they make meaning of their new learning experiences is important to adult educators. The purpose of this study was to explore the learning preferences of adult community college students from diverse backgrounds and how they construct new meanings out of their educational experiences in the classroom. This qualitative social constructivist study extends the existing learning preferences literature by providing depth through interviews of participants, designed to learn of their preferences in their own words. It also provides insight into the reasons behind their stated preferences and the meaning of their new learning in light of both individual preferences and the social context of the higher education classroom. A diverse group of students was selected in order to determine how learning preferences differ based on participants’ positionality and to learn the meanings diverse students place on their classroom experiences from among those who have actually experienced a variety of teaching approaches in the higher education classroom. This study employed a qualitative social constructivist design to learn of adult students’ learning preferences. The researcher conducted 18 individual interviews and 2 focus groups with a total of 12 students who were students or had recently been students in the business division of a community college. The data were analyzed inductively using the constant comparative method. There were four primary findings of the study reported in rich descriptive narratives that contain the students’ own words related to (1) the importance of caring on the part of the instructor, (2) learning from the other students in the classroom, (3) the cultural relevance of the classroom experience, and (4) the preferences for interactive techniques. The results of this study are important in order to facilitate adult students’ academic success as well as attract and retain them in college classrooms.