How to learn in an academic environment: A vade mecum for the returning adult college students

Adult Students - Learning in an Academic Environment

In the days just preceding my first classes as an adult university student I experienced-as have surely almost all men and women in such circumstances-a spectrum of qualms and emotions. They extended from a nagging sense of inadequacy or lack of preparedness ('have I been away from school too long?'), to moments of uncertainty ('do I really want so much to change the trajectory of my life that I should undertake such an extensive and time-consuming effort?') to confidence ('my life experience to date has, on balance, better prepared me for the challenges of higher education than would have been the case years ago') to elation ('I am on my way'). Each of these considerations in its own way cropped up during my first college year. To explain them, and to put them in context, I have prepared a short vade mecum-a guide that includes my own insights. (I chose the locution vade mecum-Latin for 'go with me'-because it is properly understood as a written guide to both the physical and mental topography of some newly encountered country. And, for those encountering the landscape of distance higher education either for the first time or after a long absence, it can be strange and daunting topography indeed.)

If I had to pick one quality that I imbibed-or, perhaps better, the online classroom conveyed to me-during the course in independent guided study it would best be described as confidence. I do not refer specifically to confidence in my basic abilities-although that is surely included-but rather a certainty that my abilities would find expression in the academic rigor of the university environment. Higher education learning specialist Sherrie Brown (2002) touched on this aspect of the challenges facing the nontraditional student. Many such students, however objectively competent and talented they may be, recoil when faced with the initial academic workload, "if only because nontraditional students face so many more handicaps as they counteract the difficulties of inadequate role preparation and role overload [72]." Professor Brown is likely correct, as least as far as she goes. However, her assessment does not address one crucial, nontraditional, student strength-wisdom acquired through cumulative life experiences. That trait may be intangible, but it is nonetheless real. In my own case, it was key to success in my first academic year.

Conversely, if I had to pick one quality essential to university success (at least by my lights)-and one for me that remains 'a work in progress'-it would critical and creative thinking. In many respects, these associated factors are two sides of the same coin. Creative thinking allows for the new and the different and the promising. Critical thinking applies the accumulated wisdom of the past to provide context, organization and direction. While the methodology of critical thinking may implicate skepticism, at its core it grants to creative thinking a greater prospect of translation into reality. University professor and social media consultant Ellen Derwin (2008) addressed the issue of critical thinking and the university student.

"Online learners have responsibility to engage themselves in the learning process than students in face-to-face courses since a classroom instructor can literally pull them into a discussion." It is here, of course, that wisdom and maturity come to the fore. The returning adult student brings with himself or herself that accumulated wisdom and maturity that not only make online learning a reasonable prospect, they also-as described above-bring assets that make creative thinking a prospectively more rewarding process. Precisely because of the assets that returning adult students bring to classroom mix, it might well be of benefit to all that added emphasis be placed on creative thinking. Such an effort would draw on student assets that could benefit every member of the university family.

Applying my online learning experience to date to the nexus of creative and critical thinking, I suggest that products of creative thinking be posited for class posting/discussion. This would allow students to apply their own critical thinking skills to the matter at hand. (It would be interesting to see of Professor Derwin is on the mark and that returning adult students often display more critical thinking skills than their younger counterparts.) This process, in turn, could well prove to be learning tool in its own right.

Works consulted in the preparation of this vade mecum

Brown, S M (2002), Strategies that contribute to nontraditional/adult student development and persistence, PAACE Journal of Lifelong Learning, 11:67-76

Derwin, E B (2008[?]), Critical thinking in online vs. face-to-face higher education, Media Psychology Review [not paginated]

Kasworm, C E (2010, February), The older student as an undergraduate, Adult Education Quarterly, 60:143-160

Kasworm, C E & Pike, G R (1994), Adult undergraduate students: Evaluating the appropriateness of a traditional model of academic performance, Research in Higher Education, 35:685-710

University of Wisconsin [at La Crosse]/Office of Student Life (2008), Returning adult student's handbook.

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Reasons People Over the Age of 21 Are Entering College

a. Economic necessity

i. Need new career because unemployed
ii. Use financial aid while getting education

b. Professional

i. Advance in current career
ii. Gain job security

c. Personal
i. Self-worth
ii. Role model

People over the age of twenty-one are entering college for personal, professional, and financial reasons. Several people enter college because of economic necessity. In today's economic climate, many are either underemployed, laid off or unemployed. By entering college, they can utilize financial aid to stay afloat while training for new careers.

Similarly, people who are already employed enter college to enhance their current positions. Education can earn them promotions at their current workplaces. Furthermore, education can secure their positions in the aforementioned unstable economy. Lastly, many people over the age of twenty-one enter college for personal reasons. Pursuing education can enhance their feelings of self-worth, and give them a feeling that they are moving ahead in the world. Additionally, older college students can serve as role models for their children or their younger siblings. Whether for personal, professional or economic reasons, many people over the age of twenty-one are entering college in order to fulfill their dreams and to achieve their goals.