2006 Conference (St. Louis, Missouri : University of Missouri-St. Louis)
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Item “Putting the Puzzle Together”: Reflection, Learning, and Transformation In an Integrated Liberal Arts Course(2006) Daly, JacquelineOver fifty percent of students in higher education are non-traditional adult learners. Some institutions have developed and implemented integrative liberal arts courses enhancing effective study strategies with interactive methods of instruction, relative and practical content, and a learning environment encouraging a deep learning approach through reflection. As part of a larger exploratory qualitative research study, this paper reports on the contribution of an integrated liberal arts course, the Proseminar, on learning identity and the learning process of the adult student. The findings suggest that participants of the integrated liberal arts course experienced significant changes in their identities as learners and the learning process through reflective activities and self-exploration within a liberal arts breadth of knowledge: Increased confidence as a learner, awareness of varied perspectives, impact of life experiences on values, beliefs, and assumptions of self, and their role in the world.Item Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age (LSITA): A Measurement of Successful Aging(2006-10) Barrett, Andrew J.; Murk, Peter J.The purpose of this research was to develop an updated scale based on the framework that Neugarten, Havighurst and Tobin (1961) used to design the Life Satisfaction Index- Form A (LSI-A). The new instrument, the Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age LSITA), was used to assess 654 third age adults in a measurement development process to establish the LSITA’s psychometric properties. These individuals were Midwestern United States adults from selected third age learning events, retirement centers, church events, community centers and the general public. The participants were all over fifty years old consistent with the definition of the third age. The authors had been involved in a research study that used LSI-A that led to an appreciation of the importance of measuring successful aging as well as the need to apply current statistical techniques to a revised instrument. The LSITA was designed and its psychometric properties assessed using the eight-step design process from DeVellis (1991). The reliability of the 35-item scale was .93 with satisfactory content, construct and criterion validity. In addition, confirmatory factor analysis was performed using structural equation modeling and a very satisfactory goodness of fit was obtained. The new instrument has been made available to researchers by emailing ajbarret@purdue.edu. The expectation is that the researchers will provide the author with an electronic copy of their responses to add to the database.Item Service Learning, Non-Traditional Students, And The Historic Black University: The Harris-Stowe Model(2006-10) Abbott, Mark; Beech, RicharleneThe university traditionally has had three roles: a) student instruction, b) pure research, and c) community service. While these roles have become disconnected in the contemporary university, they have remained integrated in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Due to budgetary constraints and constituent expectations, HBCU faculty and students have pursued these roles simultaneously. In recent years, the concept of “service learning” has been used by HBCUs to further integrate traditional university roles. Service learning involves student performance of course competencies in a community setting. This pedagogical approach has been beneficial for HBCUs because a) student projects aid the community, b) data from student projects may form the basis for faculty research, and c) service learning has shown promise as an effective form of instruction for non-traditional students who are a large contingent of HBCU students. This paper describes how service learning has been used at one HBCU—Harris-Stowe State University—to assume the roles of a university as it transitions from being a college to a university.