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April 8�11, 1999, Detroit, Michigan

Learning Communities, Adult learners, and Instructional Teams at IUPUI

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Learning Communities, AdultLearners, and Instructional Teams atIUPUI

May Jafari

May Jafari is instructional librarian at IUPUI University Library.

IntroductionAdult independent learners are becoming an increasinglyimportant and sizable segment of the college studentpopulation. It has been projected that within the nextten years the majority of students will not be the eigh-teen-to twenty-four-year-olds who come to higher edu-cation directly from high schools. Instead, the largestgroup will be students who are older and attend schoolon a part-time rather than full-time basis. Recent studiesshow that not only is there a shrinking pool of the tradi-tional �younger� students and a rapid expansion of theolder population but also that part-time students are thefastest growing population in higher education (Hussar,1993).

Access to library resources and developing skills areimportant elements of the academic experience for allstudents. Yet, adult learners experience barriers in theuse of the library and its many resources. In the mean-time, the advent of electronic information retrieval inuniversity libraries has caused resources available to ourusers to grow exponentially. Technology has sensitizedus to potential differences in skill levels and �learning

styles.� Institutions of higher education and their aca-demic units and libraries have been asked to re-examinetheir roles and to come up with innovative methods oralternative services to accommodate the needs of adultlearners as well as the needs of their traditional students.Through establishing learning communities, several uni-versities have begun to address and accommodate thelearning and teaching needs of their students. As a re-sult of this new environment, libraries and other aca-demic and computing units on campus have becomepartners in the new learning environment.

This paper describes Learning Communities Pro-gram in development at Indiana University Purdue Uni-versity Indianapolis (IUPUI). It draws upon the experi-ence of one of the Learning Community which utilizesan �instructional team� approach to teach various in-formation literacy and technology skills to adult learn-ers over 25 years of age. It examines the unique needsand learning objectives of an adult learner. The paperinvestigates the issues and challenges of collaboratingwith faculty , other team members and adult learnersoperating in a team environment.

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Learning/Teaching Paradigm and AcademicLibrariesIncreasingly, institutions of higher education are beingasked to provide students with critical thinking and prob-lem solving skills. Equally important has been a para-digm shift within colleges and universities to move to-ward �learning paradigm� rather than �teaching para-digm�. As a result of this new learning environment,some of the universities and academic units responsiblefor teaching and learning efforts on their campuses havebeen forced to come up with innovative ways to educatetheir students to prepare them to participate in the �life-long� learning process. This new shift on learning hasresulted in new research, new methods, and new con-siderations, creating a new learning environment for fac-ulty, librarians, and learners as well. As a result, variousacademic and computing service units have joined ef-forts to expand and enhance the teaching and learningmission of their institutions.

In most universities and colleges, academic librariesare part of the academic units of the campus and areexpected to contribute to the institution�s educationalmission. Support for the role of libraries in educationalreform through the integration of information literacyskills into the curriculum can be found in works such asthe article written by Patricia B. Knapp over 40 yearsago which states� if we wish the library to function moreeffectively in the college� we must direct our effortstoward the curriculum, working through faculty� (Knapp,1958: 831). In 1989, the American Library AssociationPresidential Committee on Information Literacy issuedits Final Report, in which they noted �ultimately, infor-mation literate people are those who have learned howto learn...they are people prepared for lifelong learningbecause they can always find the information neededfor any task or decision at hand� (American LibraryAssociation, 1989).

In more recent years, other writers such as PatriciaS. Breivik and E. Gordon Gee (Breivik and Gee, 1989),Hannelore B. Rader (Rader, 1997), Brendan A. Rapple(Rapple, 1997), and Gabriela Sonntag and Donna M.Ohr (Sonntag and Ohr, 1996) have emphasized the needfor forming partnerships between the library, faculty,classroom, and university administration to integrate elec-tronic information and information literacy instructioninto the curriculum. Kimberley M. Donnelly lists fourdistinct approaches that librarians have used to developand integrate information literacy into the curriculum

of their respective institutions (Donnelly, 1998). The fourapproaches are:

� The Required, core-curriculum, for credit model;� The Required, discipline-specific, for credit-course

model;� The Elective, for-credit course model;� The Course-integrated model.Faculty and librarians� collaboration has been a ma-

jor factor in developing the above successful informa-tion literacy programs. Another recent development hasbegun in some colleges and universities to better under-stand �how their students learn,� �in what kinds of en-vironment or setting,� and �what educational reform�are needed to enhance their learning experience. As aresult of this renewed interest in �students� learning,�some universities have created innovative approaches thatattempt to create rich, challenging and nurturing aca-demic communities for their students. One such ap-proach has been the creation of �Learning Communi-ties.� Once again, academic librarians have emerged asactive partners in the educational arena through theirinvolvement in the learning communities program oftheir respective institutions.

Learning CommunitiesHow do we define �learning communities?� One majorproponent of the learning communities movement, Bar-bara Leigh Smith, states that the, �learning communityapproach fundamentally restructures the curriculum, andthe time and space of students...link together courses orcoursework to provide more opportunities for active learn-ing, and interaction between students and faculty� (Smith,1993). In another recent article, Philip Tompkins, SusanPerry and Joan K. Lippincott discuss the � new learningcommunities� movement in several universities such theUniversity of Washington (UW-UWired Program), andthe Southern California (USC, Jump Start Program). Theseeducators note that �New Learning Communities Pro-gram was developed to support pioneers in education whouse networking and networked information to supportstudent-centered teaching and learning� (Tompkins, Perryand Lippincott, 1998). They also state that �importantmodels existed that demonstrated the convergence of theincreasingly important role of collaboration and collabo-rative learning, the availability of Internet and network-ing� and the importance of including information lit-eracy in the higher education curriculum� (Tompkins,Perry and Lippincott, 1998).

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Learning Communities, Adult learners, and Instructional Teams at IUPUI

IUPUI Learning Communities InitiativeIUPUI is a public, four-year urban university of some27,000 students. About 98 percent of the students areIndiana residents and 48 percent are part-time studentswho work and have family obligations. There are 1,400full-time and approximately 800 part-time faculty em-ployed at IUPUI. IUPUI was formed in 1969 when In-diana University and Purdue University merged theirIndianapolis operations. IUPUI is recognized as a leaderin urban higher education, ranked as Indiana�s third larg-est and most comprehensive university.

Since 1996, IUPUI has been the home institutionof one of Coalition for Networked Information�s (CNI)New Learning Communities (NLC) project leaders.IUPUI offers students a variety of educational and ca-reer opportunities. The size and complexity of IUPUI,however, may create problems for all students, especiallythe adult learners, who have not been in school for anumber of years. Some may find it difficult to makeconnections with other students, faculty members, andcampus resources. The Learning Community Programprovides an environment where students are supportedin making those connections to better ensure a success-ful transition to college. Learning Communities are fa-cilitated by an Instructional Team which is a collabora-tive effort of a faculty member working with a librarian,and supported by a student mentor, an academic advi-sor, and a technologist.

Since Fall 1996, the IUPUI University Library hasbeen involved in collaborating with faculty and otheracademic units in providing support to the LearningCommunity program. The IUPUI Librarians were ableto devote more attention to understand and accommo-date the needs of our First-Year students as well as ouradult learners with respect to information literacy andtechnology skills. All Learning Communities include afirst-year experience class. Some learning communitieslink two or more classes, and some are specifically de-signed to introduce students to their majors. All stu-dents entering IUPUI for the first semester in collegeare eligible for a Learning Community.

Instructional Teams and Adult Learners at IUPUIInstructional Teams are an integral component of thelearning communities program. In fall 1996, there were23 instructional teams on campus. Called together bythe faculty member to prepare and/or revise a course,the instructional team moves through four phases in the

development of a successful learning experience for stu-dents enrolled. The four phases of development withininstructional teams are:

1. Team Formation2. Development Design3. Implementation4. EvaluationIn each of these stages, team members have par-

ticular roles to play. For further information about In-structional Teams at IUPUI see our Web page: (http://www-lib.iupui.edu/itt/itt.html).

The library assigned a team of librarians to supportinstructional teams. The author was one of the librar-ians assigned to work with two non-discipline specificcourses whose linkages were based on generally con-necting students to the university and to the scholarlycommunity. The objectives of each course were intendedto reflect the student population they targeted. The de-scription printed in the Schedule of Courses reads: FirstYear Success Seminar: �Designed to help returning stu-dents ages 25 and over, or any student who is a parent,develop habits and skills that will enable them to be suc-cessful in the intellectual and cultural environment ofIUPUI.�

The Instructional Team members met to discusstheir roles and to develop an understanding of �learn-ing styles� of adult learners. They decided to studyMalcolm Knowles� works. In his writings which date backto the 1960s, Knowles discusses the concept of�andragogy, or the art of teaching adults� (Knowles,1968). In the andragological perspective the librarianor any other team member becomes a �facilitator�rather than the �giver� of all knowledge. Students learnby methods such as collaborative strategies and link whatthey already know to newly acquired skills. As Knowlesand Brookfield noted in their separate works onandragogy, the adult learner is self-directed, more moti-vated to acquire information and skills relevant to reallife situations. The adult learner is also well experiencedprofessionally and personally and expects an immediatepayoff or practical application (Knowles, 1990;Brookfield, 1986).

After studying the above works, the instructionalteam met several times to develop and provide learningopportunities to enhance educational experiences foradult learners. The team members worked together todevelop roles, to achieve goals of planning, develop-ing, implementing, and evaluating each course. By col-

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laborating on curriculum development and design, theteam members were able to teach various informa-tion technology skills and other critical skills. Theunique needs of adult learners were incorporated intothe assignments and projects. Listed are some of theunique ways the team members were able to contrib-ute and enhance the learning experiences of adultlearners enrolled in Learning Communities Program.

FacultyIntroduce students to the culture and society of the uni-versity; provide academic status for the program; courseplanning; maintain an academic course orientation; modelsuccess strategies; assessment of students products andprojects

LibrarianExpand the range of teaching and learning materials;participate in course planning, and learning objectives;incorporate information skills into the curriculum; facili-tate discussions, contribute to critical thinking and evalua-tion of information sources; employ active learning; as-sessment of student products.

Student MentorRole model; mediator between students and the faculty;students� advocate, expert on campus resources; courseplanning; email & technology assistant

Academic AdvisorExpert on campus resources; academic policies; univer-sity regulations; facilitator on the use of a variety of learn-ing styles

TechnologistTechnology expert on e-mail & basic Internet searching

Issues and ChallengesAs with any new initiative, the Instructional Team mem-bers faced issues and challenges in teaching informationliteracy and technology skills to the students. Some is-sues included:

For students:� Various age groups, 25 to 60 years old, different

needs, learning styles and motivations;� Low-self esteem among some students, a high level

of confidence (not realizing how to ask for assistance);� Computer & technology apprehensions;� Family and job obligations, not enough time to

establish contact with the instructional team membersand campus community.

For the instructional team:� Technologist�s lack of knowledge about the adult

learners learning styles;� Faculty & academic advisor lack of knowledge

about the library and its online resources;� Insufficient infrastuctue (networking, personnel,

equipment, facilities, etc);� Difficulty scaling projects (adding more courses

and more students);� The significant time commitment required to de-

velop such projects has taxed the ability of faculty andlibrarians to carry out other �traditional� responsibili-ties, and limits involvement;

� Problems with off-campus access;� Copyright of materials that might be incorporated

in the network resources.

ConclusionAs academic libraries engage in widespread redefinitionof goals and reallocation of resources, the above pi-lot project should be evaluated from the perspectiveof value to academic faculty, its students and the posi-tive roles that library faculty have taken to representthe institutional role of the library. InstructionalTeams have provided many learning opportunities forits members and the student body. Having a voice inthe course planning, integrating information literacyinto the curriculum, and being involved in studentlearning at a more fundamental level has been ben-eficial to team members, and especially the instruc-tional librarians. Having closer connection with theinstitution�s teaching & learning mission and playinganother role central to meeting the changing infor-mation needs of the academic community has con-tributed to higher visibility for librarians involved inthe Learning Communities Program.

ReferencesAmerican Library Association. Presidential Committee on

Information Literacy, Final Report (Chicago, Ill.: Ameri-can Library Association, 1989): 1.

Patricia S. Breivik and E. Gordon Gee. Information Lit-eracy: Revolution in the Library (New York: Macmillian,1989).

Stephen Brookfield. Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learn-ing (San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1986).

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Learning Communities, Adult learners, and Instructional Teams at IUPUI

Kimberley M. Donnelly. �Learning from the TeachingLibraries,� American Libraries 29, no. 11 (December1998): 47.

William J. Hussar. Projections of Education Statistics to 2003.U.S. Department of Education, National Center forEducation Statistics (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1993).

Patricia B. Knapp. �College Teaching and the Library,� Illi-nois Librarian 40 (December 1958): 831.

Malcolm S, Knowles. �Andragogy, Not Pedagogy!� AdultLeadership 16 (April 1968): 351.

Malcolm S. Knowles. The Adult Learner, a Neglected Spe-cies, 5th edition (Houston: Gulf Publishing, 1990).

Hannelore B. Rader. �Library Instruction and Infor-mation Literacy 1996,� Reference Services Review (fall/winter 1997): 103�18.

Brendan A. Rapple. �The Electronic Library, New Rolesfor Librarians,� CAUSE/EFFECT 20, no. 1 (spring1997): 45�51.

Barbara Leigh Smith. �Creating Learning Communities,�Liberal Education 79, no. 4 (fall 1993): 32�39.

Gabriela Sonntag and Donna M. Ohr. �The Develop-ment of a Lower-Division, General Education,Course-Integrated Information Literacy Program,�College & Research Libraries 57 (July 1996): 331�38.

Philip Tompkins, Susan Perry, and Joan K. Lippincott.�New Learning Communities: Collaboration, Net-working, and Information Literacy,� Information Tech-nology and Libraries 17, no. 2 (June 1998): 101�6.


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