The following two studies did not explore the class or groups of students as a whole, rather, they addressed features of the adult literacy classroom, namely, meaning–making and collaborative practices. Kegan, Broderick, Drago–Severson, Helsing, Popp and Portnow (2001) researched groups of learners in settings other than a class, but directed their discussion towards the sociocultural and meaning–making system of the adult literacy classroom. The study was guided by a sociocultural view of adult development, and specifically "the development of individuals' ways of making sense of their inner and outer experience" (Kegan et al., p. 3). They referred to their perspective as constructive–developmental to suggest that a person constructs reality based on changing and developing belief systems. They identified three ways of knowing—instrumental, socializing, and self–authoring–that they used to help guide their exploration of students' roles, learning goals, expectations, definitions of success, and educational practices.

Using a variety of data collection methods–such as open–ended interviews, structured exercises, classroom observations, group interviews and quantitative survey measures–over a one–year period, the authors presented three major findings. Uniting their findings was their assertion that there is another form of diversity—besides culture, age, race, and gender?—that adults brought to the classroom, and that was the different meaning systems or ways of knowing held by each student. They found that adults experienced significant change in the classroom; the cohort or student peer group was important to adult learning; and, adult learners had a variety of meaning–making systems. These findings were referred to collectively as a new pluralism. Kegan et al. suggested that there is a need for educators to understand and take into account the diversity of students’ systems of understanding and meaning–making. This will then lead to more appropriate and various program designs and outcomes to accommodate the different systems of meaning and students' developmental growth from instrumental to socializing and ultimately self–authoring learners. The authors also stressed the need for more learner-centred, qualitative explorations of the adult basic education experience.

In the third classroom study, Taylor, King, Pinsent–Johnson, and Lothian (2003) explored collaborative practices in adult literacy classrooms. Their view was guided by a Vygotskian sociocultural theory of learning with a specific focus on the role that collaborative learning had in moving learners towards the Zone of Proximal Development or independence of learning. Using a qualitative case study methodology, the authors collected data from five sources: 1) observations, 2) in-depth interviews of learners and 3) instructors, 4) a learner group interview, and 5) documents. In their findings, they developed an organizing framework that presented four types of collaborative practices used amongst the students—social learning behaviours: negotiation behaviours, feedback behaviours, and patterns of directionality. Influencing these practices were factors such as the nature of the literacy task, the classroom socialization process, and the instructor’s role and teaching style. The findings focused on three areas: 1) the relationship between learners reaching the Zone of Proximal Development and current MTCU program guidelines that fostered the development of self–direction and lifelong learning; 2) the developmental needs of both students and teachers in fostering a collaborative environment; 3) and theoretical support for an understanding of formal adult literacy learning through the ideas of cognitive apprenticeships and communities of practice.