Learning at the Center

Abstract

We ask the reader to consider a proposal for cooperative renewal in the evaluation of a course (OurU) offered in partnership between a university and community-based adult learning center. This proposal’s aim is to enhance adult learners’ ability to evaluate their learning experiences, with the goal of adopting more learner-directed content into OurU’s curriculum. Drawing from instructional team members’ experiences in a diverse adult learning environment, the authors propose steps to develop a more holistic and dynamic approach to evaluation. In this snapshot of a course operating within the same budgetary realities familiar to others in the field, resourcing evaluation is a priority for developing a dynamic assessment evaluation model. This article is offered from the view that learning is a social process and community-based research and learning can be an organic connection place between universities and the communities they serve. This article is intended primarily for practitioners in community-based adult learning contexts seeking alternatives to course evaluation processes that situate learners at the process center, as well as academics interested in participating in partnering with community adult learning centers to strengthen adult learners’ evaluation and research capacity.