Life Long Learning

Self Directed Learning

What do you think about the following comments?

    
      Nobody can learn unless there is somebody to teach. Do you agree with this point of view?
    
      Have you learnt anything on your own without somebody asking that you to learn it?
    
      Under what circumstances we can do without a teacher?
      

Introduction

Self-directed learning is "a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others," to diagnose their learning needs, formulate learning goals, identify resources for learning, select and implement learning strategies, and evaluate learning outcomes (Knowles 1975).

Self-directed learning involves a significant change in the roles of the teachers and learners. The learners have to know what they need and identify the types of materials that suit them. Teachers need to know how to help learners learn on their own (with the help of self-learning materials) and evaluate their own progress through self-assessment. Finally the problems of self-directed learning need to be analyzed and appropriate solutions have to be worked out.

SDL and Teaching-Learning 

A detailed discussion of what self direction involves, how it is different from self-instruction and what the problems are in introducing self directed learning in the teaching-learning programme are discussed in detail in the following sections and some suggestions are offered for the effective implementation of self directed learning. 

Self-instruction and Self-direction

Leslie Dickinson (1987) uses the term ‘self-instruction to refer to “situations in which a learner, with others, or alone, is working without the direct control of a teacher.” According to him this kind of independent learning could be for short periods within a lesson, for whole lessons or in extreme cases of learner autonomy for the whole of learning. Leslie Dickinson defines self direction as a “particular attitude to the learning task, where the learner accepts responsibility for all the decisions concerned with his learning but does not necessarily undertake the implementation of those decisions.” He differentiates self-instruction from self-direction. The self-directed learners,  take up the responsibility for their own learning but will seek expert advice and help as and when they need it.

According to Lowry, Cheryl Meredith (1989) whether or not learning is self-directed depends not on the subject matter to be learned or on the instructional methods used. Instead, self-directedness depends on who is in charge, that is, who decides what should be learned, who should learn it, what methods and resources should be used, and how the success of the effort should be measured. To the extent the learner makes those decisions, the learning is generally considered to be self-directed.

Pause and Ponder

Check your understanding by deciding whether the following statements are true or false.

 1. Learners always have to work alone during self-instruction.

2. Independent learning can only be for part of the learning programme.

3. In self directed learning the learner cannot ask for teacher’s help.

4. The subject matter decides whether learning is self-directed or not.

5. In self directed learning the learners takes up the responsibility for their own learning.
 

Problems in Self Directed Learning

Educators have found that some adults are incapable of engaging in self-directed learning because they lack independence, confidence, or resources. Not all adults prefer the self-directed option, and even the adults who practice self-directed learning also engage in more formal educational experiences such as teacher-directed courses (Brookfield 1985). In cases where the learners are used to very strict teacher control, the learners find it very difficult to take up the responsibility for their own development.

In India, most of the learners have to learn from overcrowded large classrooms and the teachers cannot pay individual attention to the learners and cater to their preferred learning styles. In a way, the learners have always been on their own in classrooms mainly because the teachers find it difficult to provide individual feedback. Hence it would be very helpful if  some part of the learning programme is offered in the self-directed mode and learners are prepared to take up the responsibility for their own learning.

To implement a self-directed learning programme successfully, it is necessary to understand how it changes the roles of the educational institutions, teachers and learners.