Self-Directed Learning as a Framework for Online Instruction

In the most basic sense, any approach to learning that encourages learners to take responsibility for their own learning can be defined as self-directed.

Self-directed learning is not new. Aristotle espoused principles of self-direction and more recently, theorist and educational psychologist John Dewey was a proponent of self-directed, student-centered learning as part of the progressive educational movement. Cyril Houle established self-directed learning as an important part of modern adult learning in his book, The Inquiring Mind in 1961 (Loeng, 2020

FIG. 1: The Theoretical home of Self-Directed Learning

According to adult learning theorist Malcolm Knowles, self-directed learning is “a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying human and material resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes (1975; p. 18).”Two things to consider about Knowles’ definition; first, Knowles takes care to separate self-directed learning from autodidactism, or self-learning without the benefit of instructors or institutions. Self-directed learning can be done alone, in groups, within an institution as part of a structured learning environment and/or with or without the help of an instructor.

Fig. 02 - Illustration adapted from Blaschke, 2012

Evolving beyond the concept of andragogy into a concept of self-directed, life long learning is the practice of heutagogy. A heutagogical approach to teaching and learning emphasizes the development of learner autonomy, capacity, and capability with the goal of producing learners who are well-prepared for the complexities of today’s workplace (Blaschke, 2012). ?

The two critical elements of self-directed learning regardless of the naming convention applied, are learners who are ready, able, and willing to take responsibility for their own learning. Second, the learner is an active participant, not a passive recipient of information. At each stage of the learning process the learner takes an active role in setting goals, selecting content, choosing the learning pathway, and evaluating their progress (Garrison, 1997). We Need Self Directed Learning

We Need Self Directed Learning        

Self-directed learning has three broad and necessary goals;

1. To improve the ability individuals to be autonomous in their pursuit of knowledge – that is to create life-long learners capable of adapting to change (societal, professional, etc.)
2. To provide a platform for transformational learning experiences (to experience the kind of epiphanies, those ‘aha moments’ engender)
3. To facilitate the development of a learner capable of acting as an agent of change

Why are these goals necessary? Why is self-directed learning necessary?

The future of work is increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA). Based on feedback from employers, university graduates who have been educated in traditional, passive learning environments, are not prepared to work in this new, VUCA world. Future professionals who will almost certainly work in highly dynamic settings will be far better prepared to succeed if they learn via authentic tasking in in self-directed learning environments (van Woezik, 2009). Beyond current contexts, Sir Ken Robinson said, many times, that the world’s colleges and universities are preparing students for jobs that do not exist yet. How is it possible for large, complex institutions to be so nimble as to deliver graduates prepared to work when the work they will perform has not yet been invented? One answer is both incredibly simple and agonizingly complex; self-directed learning.

More importantly is the reality that skills and knowledge are no longer as durable as they once were (Guglielmino, 2001). According to M.J. Marquadt, a successful organization is one that “…learns powerfully and collectively and is continually transforming itself to better collect, manage, and use knowledge…” To develop the knowledge base of the organization, the individual members of the organization should have the capacity to be self-directed learners.

Characteristics and Attributes of Successful Self-Directed Learners

In contrast to an externally directed learner, a self-directed learner can formulate their own learning strategy and recognize the tools, resources, and strategies they needed to achieve their knowledge goals. Here are some of the differences between self-directed learners and more traditional students. Self-directed learners are;

1. More persistent than other types of students
2. Empowered by the ability to make decisions and chart their own course on their learning journey.
3. Able to take the initiative
4. Able to manage their time; they can pace themselves, avoiding the kind of procrastination traps and cramming behaviors that passive learners frequently fall into.
5. Reflective, capable of examining their own performance relative to the achievement of their learning objectives and taking action if they are falling short of their own goals.
6. Far more likely than passive learners to seek out help when they are struggling
7. Willing and able to accept responsibility for the quality and content of their work.

The evidence that people who take the initiative in their learning learn more they learn more deeply, and their learning is more durable than people who taught passively (Knowles, 1980) is conclusive.

Many students, both undergraduate and graduate, come to your classrooms; both virtual and brick and mortar; without these characteristics. Leading students on self-directed learning pathways is somewhere between difficult and impossible if the students lack the maturity and the capacity to be autonomous. Fortunately, you can teach students to be self-directed and meta-cognitive, just as you can teach them how to calculate the area of a shape. You can, by creating a well-scaffolded, self-directed learning environment; help students build the very characteristics that will help them succeed in your class and in the work place.

Creating an Environment for SDL Success

The first aspect of self-directed learning is that it is individual (student) and process, rather than content based. This is a gross departure from traditional, passive learning. How many times have you heard (or perhaps said) “We have to get through nine chapters…” The defining characteristic in passive learning is that the content is at the center of and the primary driver of the learning experience. There is a plethora of reasons this inhibits learning, but the primary failure of the approach is that the entire foundation; that very content at the core of the model; is not durable. Which means that learning based on content is durable and valid only so long as the facts presented remain relevant. In today’s rapidly evolving disciplines the facts and therefor the foundation for the learning in progress, can change while a course is being taught!

A far more effective and durable approach is process-based learning with the student at the center of that process. Self-directed learning environments, are, by their nature and function, focused on the individual learner, and the learning process that each learner created with the guidance and expertise of instructional faculty.

Facilitating self-directed learning can take a lot of different forms. Central to all of these forms however, is the creation of an environment in which self-directed learning can take place. An environment where the learners exert significant control over and make decisions about many if not most of the meaningful aspects of their learning.?Here are ten strategies for creating that environment;

1. Provide opportunities for students to conduct regular self-assessments; before the presentation of new content so they may evaluate their own readiness
2. Provide guidance and support in the development of a level of autonomy and engagement necessary for successful outcomes
3. Provide guidance on how to set appropriate learning objectives for the level and scope of the subject matter
4. Identify the starting point for the learning project; this can be an entire course, piece of a course, topic, or specific learning activity
5. Aggregate a core set of appropriate resources (books, articles, videos, subject matter experts, tutorials, references, etc.) and guide learners in identifying additional high-quality source materials that support their goals.
6. Scaffold self-directed learning approaches by helping students choose instructional methods (generally a mix of instructional approaches like; guided research, direct instruction, peer engagement, collaborative learning, problem-based learning) that align best with the learning objective(s)
7. Scaffold learner acquisition of decision-making strategies
8. Negotiate a learning contract that sets learning
9. Scaffold the self-evaluation of their own work based on criteria that define mastery;
10. Reflect on what he/she is learning.

As you can see, creating the environment for self-directed learning is not a ‘one and done’ task; it is continual throughout the learning process. It is also important to encourage and support learners throughout the knowledge acquisition process.?What you are doing when you engage with your students in this manner is not only helping your students recognize their own growing knowledge, but the helping them realize the change in their thought processes and strategies.

One final note; it is absolutely critical that self-directed learners have a variety of options to prove to both you and to themselves that they have achieved their learning objectives. For more information on how to do this, visit this CAST Universal Design for Learning resource.

Roles

Students play far different roles in structured, self-directed learning than they do in traditional, passive learning, lecture-based classes. In the traditional classroom (both online and face-to-face) direct instruction and content focus mean students play a ‘recipient’ role. They are the ‘assessed’ as opposed to the ‘assessor.’

In self-directed learning environments, students must accept new roles and responsibilities, for example;

• Self-assessment of learning readiness
• Developing observable, measurable learning objectives
• Engagement with the learning process
• Monitoring your?progress toward established goals – the use of a ‘learner contract’ or rubric can scaffold this process
• Take and maintain the initiative throughout the learning process

Communicate with your instructors and peers as necessary to progress toward your goals

If students must embrace new roles, the same is true for instructors. The role of faculty is a self-directed learning environment dramatically changes. Some of those changes include;

• Build and maintain a learning environment that allows and supports student autonomy
• Assist students in conducting and “ethical ideal” for an expert practitioner of the discipline under study
• Validate rather than a present information
• Guide and coach rather than direct and instruct
• Focus learning on ‘active’ approaches and allow students to facilitate learning
• Scaffold learning as opposed to initiating instruction
• Motivate and support students in their decision making
• Emphasize a cooperative and collaborative rather than competitive

Activities

All learning, to include self-directed learning; takes place in the context of activities. Students perform specific actions that lead to the building of knowledge. In a self-directed learning environment, these activities must be highly student centered with students making some of the key decisions related to what, how, and how well they have learned. Here is a sample of some of the activities; both general and specific you might consider using in a scaffolded self-directed learning course.

General considerations

1. Create activities that support students in weighing outcomes, taking into account the possible results
2. Acknowledge a variety of perspectives using mind mapping other brainstorming techniques
3. Compare approaches and support students in analyzing and identifying differences in relative efficacy of these approaches
4. Scaffold reflection to help students explore the impact of self-directed learning on themselves and their classmates

Specific Activities

• Self-assessment: Students should, in an organized and structured manner, assess their readiness to learn, prior knowledge, and progress in achieving their goals Some of the tools for this kind of assessment can include;

1. Surveys
2. Formative quizzes (quizzing for learning)
3. Knowledge checks (sorting activities, digital flashcards, etc.)
4. Gamified decision making – use branching scenarios to create interactive activities that allow students to choose actions and suffer the consequences or reap the benefits of their choices

• Creation of artifacts – students act as practitioners – creating authentic artifacts relevant to the discipline – for example, authoring a white paper on a topic selected by the learner, writing a computer program based on an original idea, presentations etc.
• Engage in peer interactions using dialogic video, online discussions, and other tools to exchange ideas and provide proof of learning
• Peer instruction – Students engage in role play, facilitate online discussion forums and teach lessons with a portion of the grade for the activity awarded for the level of activity played by peers in the activity
• Peer feedback – offer peers the opportunity to provide feedback and assess the work of their classmates
• Reflection – use journals, blogs, and other interactive tools to foster reflective practice

References

1. Agustiani, I.W.D. (2019) Maximizing teacher roles in shaping self-directed learners, English Community Journal 3(1):289
2. Blaschke, S.L. (2012) Heutagogy and lifelong learning: A review of heutagogical practice and self-determined learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 13(1), 56-71. https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v13i1.1076
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5. Knowles, M. S. (1970) The Modern Practice of Adult Education: Andragogy versus Pedagogy, Association Press, New York.
6. Knowles, M. S. (1975) Self-directed Learning: A Guide for Learners and Teachers, Association Press, New York.
7. Knowles, M. S. (1980) The Modern Practice of Adult Education: From Pedagogy to Andragogy, Association Press, Chicago
8. Houle, C. O. (1961) The Inquiring Mind, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, WI.
9. Loeng, S. (2020) Self-Directed learning: A core concept in adult education. Education Research International, vol. 2020, Article ID 3816132, https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3816132
10. Marquardt, M. J. (1996) Building the Learning Organization: A Systems Approach to Quantum Improvement and Global Success, McGraw-Hill, New York.
11. Moore, C.?(2017) Transforming students into self-directed learners. University of central oklahoma. https://blogs.uco.edu/tts/transforming-students-into-self-directed-learners/
12. Teal Center (2011) Fact sheet 11. Adult learning theories. Teaching excellence in adult literacy. AIR.
13. van Woezik, T.E.T., Koksma, J.J., Reuzel, R.P.B., Jaarsma, D.C. & van der Wilt, G.C. (2021): There is more than ‘I’ in self-directed learning: An exploration of self-directed learning in teams of undergraduate students, Medical Teacher, DOI: 10.1080/0142159X.2021.1885637. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0142159X.2021.1885637
14. Wilcox, S. (1996) Studies in Higher Education, 21(2) June p. 165. Retrieved from https://web.mit.edu/jrankin/www/self_direct/self_dir_univ1.html