The Learning Lab at Harper College: A Place to Support Adult Ed Students

By Lila Birchfield and Terri Kelly


Partners for Our Communities (POC) exemplifies the spirit of the Workforce Innovative Opportunity Act (WIOA). POC was established in 1994 to coordinate the services of health, wellness, education as well as social service agencies to help community members secure employment in the Northwest Chicago suburbs. Harper College, the local community college in Palatine, Illinois, offers several levels of English Language Acquisition (ELA) classes, High School Equivalency (HSE) classes, and Citizenship classes, but the hub for these students is the Learning Lab. The Learning Lab meets the needs of Harper students and community members who come from fourteen different countries. Students go to the Learning Lab to improve their English through conversation groups or one-on-one tutoring. Some students visit the lab to get help with their homework. Others want to practice their computer skills or get employment assistance. The Learning Lab is staffed with volunteers, mostly retired, who serve approximately sixty people per month.

Adult education instructors at Harper encourage their students to spend time in the Learning Lab to supplement their English classes. Geghard and Sarkis, 28-year-old twin brothers from Iran, are examples of adult students who seek every opportunity to improve their language skills and immerse themselves in American culture. Last year, they regularly attended conversation groups at POC’s Learning Lab, but the combination of more demanding classes on campus and their work schedules affords them less time to participate in the Learning Lab.  However, they jumped at the chance to work as teacher assistants in a low-intermediate English class. For thirty minutes every Thursday, the brothers come to POC and take charge of their reading groups. They listen while the students read, and they provide support when the students stumble. With the direction of Geghard, Sarkis, and the Harper English teacher, the students practice storytelling to participants in the Learning Lab. Geghard and Sarkis gain both language skills and confidence through their work with other adult English language learners. 


Sarkis and Geghard, two Iranian students who have utilized the Learning Lab

One of the goals of WIOA is to address the skill needs of workers and to eliminate barriers to employment. Last spring, POC offered a class called “How to Solder.” The free class was a two-day seminar hosted by Bob Wettermann’s company Best, Inc. Geghard and Sarkis signed up to take the class. They saw it as a means to improve their English as well as the opportunity to pick up a skill they might use.  Both brothers passed the class with flying colors.  In turn, they gave back when they volunteered to help high school tennis players with instruction and practice at a summer tennis camp. The brothers were tennis competitors and instructors in Iran. 

Partners for Our Communities and its Learning Lab provide support and assistance to adult education, citizenship preparation, and employment opportunities. The Learning Lab allows students and volunteers to engage in a mutually beneficial relationship. Students gain valuable knowledge, and volunteers share their skills. Geghard and Sarkis take advantage of the activities offered by the Learning Lab to improve their skills, but they also give back so much of themselves to the students and staff. They embody the spirit of Partners for Our Communities and its outreach within the community.



Lila Birchfield is an Adjunct Instructor at Harper College. Terri Kelly is the Learning Lab Coordinator.