Using Study Plans to Develop Self-Directed Learning Skills: Implications from a Pilot Project.

Abstract

Self-directed learning has been lauded as a powerful learner-centered approach to involve students in every aspect of their learning. This article depicts a pilot project utilizing study plan as a vehicle to promote self-directed learning in an intensive and teacher-dominant college language program. This article seeks to identify both the enabling factors and constraints in implementing study plans embedded in traditional pedagogy. Data sources come from student study plans and a reflective research journal. A total of six constraining and facilitating factors bearing on the use of study plans are found. This article also discusses student feedback and draws several important implications for future research and practice. Keywords: Self-directed learning, foreign language education, study plans Introduction Over the past decades, self-directed learning (SDL) has been widely implemented across many fields at the college level (e.g., teacher education, medical education, adult education, and business education). Many scholars argue the development of self-directing learning skills is essential for (a) improving instructional delivery via meeting the innate needs of adult learners, (b) developing lifelong learners in the contexts of a global economy and information-oriented society, (c) individualizing the knowledge and skills unique to college student growth (Bourner, 2003: Dynan, Cate & Rhee, 2008; Patterson, Crooks & Lunyk-Child, 2002). Although the foreign language teaching literature is replete with studies of learning strategies, self-directed learning has received scant attention in the current knowledge base. A number of studies grappling with self-directed language learning find several benefits, such as increased student productivity, higher motivation, higher student retention rates, and improved metacognitive skills (e.g., Ellis, 1994; Rivers, 2001). Scholars (e.g., Schmenk, 2005) have advocated more studies of SDL within a variety of teaching contexts. A majority of SDL studies (e.g., Lunyk-Child et al, 2001) were conducted in programs where self-directed learning was the central component of teaching philosophy. However, this article draws implications from a pilot project introducing self-directed learning in a teacher-dominant and intensive foreign language learning environment. Review of Literature Definitions of self-directed learning (SDL) abound in the literature. Knowles (1975) advanced a most authoritative and comprehensive definition of SDL as: 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 materials resources for learning, choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning outcomes (p.18). Although all learners, regardless of their level, possess cognitive control over their learning efforts, SDL is primarily used in postsecondary and adult education programs ranging from being one subsidiary component of traditional teacher-directed learning regime to being the dominant principle of curriculum (Dynan, Cate & Rhee, 2008). Despite the variations in practice, one common feature is that students should possess requisite skills, competencies, and emotional maturity to engage successfully in the process of SDL (e.g., Candy, 1991; Knowles, 1975). Specifically, six competences are identified as essential: assessment of learning gaps, evaluation of self and others, reflection, information management, critical thinking, and critical appraisal (Patterson, Crooks & Lunyk-Child, 2002). Students typically exhibit a broad range of variability in SDL competencies, real-world experiences, and familiarity with the subject matter, posing a roadblock to SDL. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the teacher to scaffold instruction in alignment with the developmental phases of student SDL competences. …