Editor’s note: This article is part of Teaching the Adult Learner: Practical Strategies for Higher Ed Success, a six-part series exploring how colleges can better support nontraditional students. Drawing on classroom-tested practices with adult learners in Human Services programs, the series offers faculty and administrators concrete strategies to build confidence, foster engagement, and connect coursework to real-world impact. The series publishes weekly on Mondays.
Too often, students view research as something distant: Scholars write articles, and students read them. But for adult learners in Human Services, this division misses the point. These students are already on the front lines of social issues. They work in healthcare, education, housing, and community agencies. They see gaps and challenges firsthand.
The goal, then, is not just to teach them to consume research but to help them recognize themselves as knowledge builders.
Real-world questions drive engagement
When introducing research proposals, I invite students to bring questions from their professional or personal lives:
- How can after-school programs better engage immigrant youth?
- What strategies reduce relapse rates in substance use recovery programs?
- How does housing insecurity impact school attendance?
Suddenly, research methods aren’t abstract–they’re urgent, personal, and relevant.
Applied assignments that empower
Students design small-scale projects: survey questions, interview protocols, or literature maps. Even if they never conduct the study, the act of designing it empowers them to see that their experiences generate legitimate questions worthy of academic inquiry.
One student working in a shelter once said, “I didn’t think I had anything to contribute. Now I realize I’m already doing research every day–I just needed the tools to frame it.”
Why this matters
When adult learners see themselves as contributors to knowledge, their relationship to education changes. They’re not just meeting course requirements–they’re building capacity to advocate for clients, inform policy, and lead change.
Takeaways for faculty and administrators
- Invite lived experience. Frame students’ real-world questions as the foundation of research.
- Use small-scale projects. Even design-only assignments empower learners to think like researchers.
- Affirm contribution. Remind students that their perspectives matter to the field.
Closing reflection
Adult learners don’t need to be convinced that research matters–they need to be shown that their voices belong in it. When they see themselves as knowledge builders, they gain not just skills but a sense of agency that transforms their academic and professional journeys.
Next in the series: Part 6, Pedagogy for Persistence: Designing Courses That Keep Adult Learners Engaged.
Find Part 1 here.
Find Part 2 here.
Find Part 3 here.
Find Part 4 here.
Timothy Montalvo is a middle school educator and leader passionate about leveraging technology to enhance student learning. He serves as Assistant Principal at Fox Lane Middle School in Westchester, NY, and teaches education courses as an adjunct professor at Iona University and the College of Westchester. Montalvo focuses on preparing students to be informed, active citizens in a digital world and shares insights on Twitter/X @MrMontalvoEDU or on BlueSky @montalvoedu.bsky.social.
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