Parking Lot or Busy Intersection? Models for Adult Education

Every once in a while, literacy practitioners find themselves all on the same page. In this case, the page(s) are The Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning: Challenging Assumptions, by Stephen Reder [1]. It is not necessarily his findings as much as his analysis of other researchers, Kevin Leander, specifically, that provoked our collective brain. The ideas presented resonate with several of us in rural BC, as well as a colleague teaching at Simon Fraser.

The reason the ideas resonate is that Reder discussed models for adult education using some of Leander’s metaphors, and practitioners could clearly see this is what they were doing, or wished they could do. As a group, we see that education needs to change and evolve; the few paragraphs in the study have triggered a tsunami of thought, ideas and reinterpretations. Allow me to take you through the metaphors with my re-interpretations and a few photographs, and see what you think.

Leander[2] looks at “the prevailing logic model as the “parking lot” model; what matters is how long students are “parked” in the program”. For this model, students start at the same time, take the same courses, have the same assignments, often in the same room. Very much the traditional view of education that most of us are very familiar with.

Leander suggests we replace it with a “busy intersection” model in which what matters is not how long students spend waiting in the intersection but the direction they take when they leave it.

 

This is where the practitioners get excited. This describes adult education so clearly that we tend to go a bit crazy extending the metaphor. If you look closely at this busy intersection, you will see all the students are different and traveling at different speeds. Some are moving independently, some are being supported to move through the intersection, either with technology or human supports. There are many exits to the intersection; students can choose which exit they wish. They may return at any time and spend more time in the intersection, or less. They may complete the route they originally started on, or head off on another learning journey.

I recently spent some time in Southeast Asia, and came face to face with busy intersections. I got a new appreciation of how these intersections work; the metaphor expanded again. To show you what I mean, in terms of adult education, I am using the word student or learner to replace vehicle or individual as we look at more “busy intersection” photos.

True to the concepts above, each student does move at a different speed. Students will arrive with different burdens and different goals. Slower students are not run over or cursed; the faster moving students respect the speed and baggage of those ahead. It is possible for everyone to progress.

 

 

Sometimes the intersections are full to bursting; at other times they appear eerily quiet. There are no set lanes or routes to follow; students set forth in the general direction they wish to go and all their movements are slow and steady. They temporarily share space with faster learners.

 

The intersections may be large beautifully landscaped traffic circles, focal points for the community where learners can sit and rest, socialize, deal with other concerns, and join in the movement when they feel they are ready. They may intersect with the market or other businesses.

Intersections are used in differing ways at different times. Early morning, 5:30 am, pre-regular traffic, games and exercises are underway on the large expanse of mostly dry pavement. The regular “students” who also show up to use the intersection for more conventional uses at unconventional times, work their way around the early morning folks and everyone meets their goal.

 

As Reder states, when we look further at into the actual learning facility behind this metaphor, we see that students come to the program from different directions and depart towards different destinations. The adult education program helps them choose the best path as they leave the program and provides them with the resources and supports to become persistent lifelong learners and reach their destinations (Lesgold & Welch-Ross, 2012; Miller et al, 2011).[1]
 

In my next blog, I will look at how programs in the northwest are operating like the busy intersection, how that applies to literacy and training, and the effect of the boom and bust cycle on training and re-training.

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[1] Reder, S. (2012) The Longitudinal Study of Adult Learning: Challenging Assumptions. Montreal, QC: The Centre for Literacy. (Research Brief). 1-6.

[2] Leander, K. (2009) As cited in Reder,S. (2012)