revised ABSTRACT: "Older College Students as Tutors for Adult Learners in an Urban Literacy Program."

Helen Dano

ENGL CO855

Teaching Adult Writers

 in Diverse Contexts

Professor Barbara Gleason

revised  5 May 2015

ABSTRACT

Ntiri, Daphne W. “Older College Students as Tutors for Adult Learners in an Urban Literacy Program.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 43:l (1999): 48-57. Print.

  The interaction and experiences between the older college students of an Adult Learning Methods practicum course conducted at Wayne State University’s Interdisciplinary Studies Program in Detroit MI, and the adults from an all all-male drug minimum residency rehabilitation program is presented here. The practicum’s college students were assigned as one-on-one tutors to the adult learners in a short-term literacy program. The tutors’ median age was 45, the youngest-oldest: 29-54; the learners’ median age was 36, youngest-oldest: 30-56.  Ntiri explains that this15-session program, spanning three consecutive semesters (a year-long course) at 30-course hours, is not feasible in its short length to be studied for its efficacy on reading literacy gain.  However, this course, in part a community service project, partnering the college student one-on-one with this all-male population to help address literacy needs of the city was studied for a) the practicum experience of the older student’s, b) understanding the tutor/learner relationship by reviewing the documented responses of both groups, c)analyzing the impact of the program on tutors. This latter issue, Ntiri states is rarely presented in the adult education literature; more such studies of the student/tutor roles are needed to bring more awareness of the contribution that the older student/tutor role has on adult learners and the low literacy rate nationwide.

Ntiri cites 45% of this country’s college enrollment to now be in the age range of 25 years and over. She also notes the poor literacy rate in the United States; this being so in Detroit where 25% (200,000) of the “state’s poor readers” reside (49).

Evaluations by these l) tutors, by the 2) evaluators of the program surveying tutors’ portfolios of lesson plans and auxiliary listing of their resources, and the 3) adult learner attempting to improve literacy skills is analyzed here. Ntiri also discusses past research studies that examined problems relating to enrollment and retention, adult student characteristics, instructional strategies, and support needed and their conclusions which indicate that retention reflects the positive establishment of a relationship between tutor and learner, “a family-type learning environment,” this noted by the tutorees (57), where each inspires the other with their life experiences and roles, the tutor serving as role model, mentor, coach, motivational leader. Evaluations revealed the value of this program to have merit not just among the learners but the older college student/tutors as well. The tutor group considered this program effective as it served to be an opportunity for personal development, including a willingness to be of help, display empathy, give moral support, provide genuine concern. As a result, these tutors/the older adult students of this practicum course found inspiration to continue working in the literacy field, and in similar community service work.  The actual practicum experience of teaching and educating afforded them practical work experience they believed could serve them in finding  possible future employment.