Program Design

Program Design

Group Members

Stephanie Dean, Abeni El-Amin, Mandy Velligan, and Sabrina West

Strategies for Teaching Adults

Self-Directed/Individual Learners

EDAC 634

Ball State University

Group Member	Roles	Commented On
Stephanie Dean	Write Program, review/edit/comments	Spiritual and Social Cognitive Theory
Abeni El-Amin	Group Lead, Introduction, grammar/APA, design/format, submit to blog, design blog	African Indigenous Education and Social Cognitive Theory
Mandy Velligan	Rational from literature, Reflection, Table 2 & 3	Spiritual and Narrative    Learning
Sabrina West	Rational from program, review/edit/comments	Social Cognitive Theory and Narrative Learning

Introduction

Self-directed methods of education have been used for many years (Hiemstra, 1994). Herein and outlined are instructional methods for Self-Directed Learning Course Development (SDLCD). The purpose of this program is to provide a benchmark to instructors for the curriculum design of self-directed learners. Our target learners are those who are course developers, instructors, and administrators of those who facilitate self-directed learning courses. The objectives of the program are to expose instructors to the Staged Self-Directed Learning model (SDLM) as a framework for course construction, provide instructors curriculum ideas to engage self-directed learners in their development of problem-solving, critical thinking, and competency necessary for students to become experts in their field of study, and finally a sample course is presented, which is tailored specifically to self-directed learners based on their preferences, style of learning, and needs.

Gerald Grow (1991) introduced the Staged Self-Directed Learning model (SDLM), which was based on the situational leadership model of Hersey and Blanchard (1988) and advocates a gradual, stage-based approach to fostering self-directedness in learners. In this model, facilitators and students’ progress over time through four stages of development. The stages are Stage 1: Learners of Low Self-Direction; Stage 2: Learners of Moderate Self-Direction; Stage 3: Learners of Intermediate Self-Direction; and Stage 4: Learners of High Self-Direction. After which, the instructor introduces traditional teaching techniques such as facilitation with feedback, practice, and informational lectures, shifting towards learner autonomy until students reach the self-directed stage. As this point, the facilitator acts as a consultant and assists the learner in their individual, yet guided learning objectives.

Additionally, those who facilitate SDL instructional methodology must caution against rapid deployment of SDL instructional techniques without understanding student’s learning goals and objectives, meeting learners where they are, and then leading them toward a self-directed learning experience (Grow, 1991). Further, there are six competencies required for students to become self-directed learners: self-assessment of learning gaps; evaluation of self and others; reflection; information management; critical thinking; and critical feedback (Grow, 1991). Each of these skills are not reciprocal but correlate as students use all or a combination of these skills concurrently to direct and control their learning.

To develop courses preferred by self-directed learners (Hendricson, Andrieu, Chadwick, Chmar, Cole, George, & Meyerowitz, 2006), recommended questions instructors must answer are:

1. What are educational best practices for helping students acquire the capacity to excel in their field of study?

2.  What constitutes expertise and when does an individual become an expert?

3. What are the differences between novice and expert thinking?

4. What educational best practices can help students acquire mental capacities associated with expert function, critical thinking and self-directed learning?

To support this iterative process the SDLM indicates that learners progress through stages of increasing self-direction and premised that instructors either assist or become a detriment to the development of self-directed learners. Furthermore, well-designed course development and instruction matches the learner's stages of self-direction and helps the learner progress towards their learning goals. Specific methods are recommended for instructing students at each stage, although many different instruction styles are suitable when applied appropriately.

Conclusively, a major goal of self-directed learning methodology is to provide students with the necessary competencies to become lifelong learners. Self-directed learners must be exposed to learning competencies to obtain the knowledge, proficiencies, and skills distinct to their personal and professional growth (Patterson, Crooks, Lunyk-Child, 2002). 

Rationale from the Literature

Based on our review of the literature, there are several main ideas of self-directed learning that we would like to highlight into our program design. 

Choice and Independence 

Learning is a process, and those who are capable of self-direction have matured and reached the point in their education where they are not only motivated to learn, but they are willing to guide the direction of what they are studying (Knowles, 1975).

The self-directed learner enjoys being an active participant in their learning.  They appreciate being able to choose the method in which they learn and well as setting their own goals.  As stated by Garrison (1997) learners should be provided with choices of how they wish to proactively carry out the learning process. The hallmark of our program puts the learner in the driver’s seat.  Based on their learning style, they will be equipped to make better choices throughout the course. 

Control and Personalization 

Personalization allows learners to connect with the content they are interacting with in different ways and adapt to different learning environments according to Yapp and Freitas (2005).The ability to control how the individual learns and apply their own experiences to their learning enables them to be more successful. Research supports that learners want control over their learning. For example, our program will give learners options in how they want to manage their learning activities and assignments.  

Motivation

Finally, some of the literature suggests that self-directed learners tend to be goal-orientated and motivated regarding learning. Self-directed learning allows for individuals to choose their goals and set their own expectations for learning.  Therefore, self-directed learners require a certain level of motivation. These ideas can also be viewed as a commitment to learning. (Garrison 1997). Our program will allow learners to self-reflect during the course and can collaborate with other like-minded individuals.   

Rationale from the Practical Program

Indiana University in Bloomington, IN has a variety of self-directed learning courses built into their Adult Education Master’s degree. This program provides “an opportunity to focus on an applied project related to your workplace or community-based organization, or to do in-depth research on a specific adult education topic”. 

The courses IU offers are Practicum, Independent Study, Readings and an Internship. Each of these classes requires the student to complete a “learning contract”. This contract engages the student in their learning experience. The questions asked are “What do you want to learn? How do you want to individualize the course to your particular professional development needs?” Answering these questions and working with a faculty advisor or course instructor allows the student to gain clarity and focus on their learning goals. 

Our program will include a “learning contract” where the student will lay out their plan for the semester. This plan can be modified as needed. Like the IU program, our goal is for the student to be clear and focused on their learning goals. 

Students that participate in these classes can present their learning through a variety of different mediums. Their learning project can be delivered as a research paper, a website, video recordings, multimedia projects to name a few.  Allowing the students to deliver their learning through a medium that supports their personal learning style will result in better understanding and more focused results. 

We feel this is an important part of making the self-directed learner successful. Students learn differently so it makes sense that they would present their findings differently. This will also have real-world applications as the students may be asked to present in a variety of forms in their professional careers. This along with assessments of the students learning style will be included in our program. 

The classes are concluded with a final document where the student describes their work process. “All projects will include a final document in which you describe the work process and reflect on the ways you applied theory to both process and project”.  This is another idea we will incorporate into our program. We will be adding to it based upon the information in the Akita International University literature. At the Akita International University in northern Japan, a self-directed learning course is in place to help students learn English language skills. English is the language used throughout the undergraduate degree programs. It is crucial to the students to be proficient in English as quickly as possible. With students having different levels of English comprehension a self-directed learning class allows the students to work on areas in which they need help. 

Students develop a learning plan laying out their goals, similar to the one created by the students at IU. Once the students have their plan, they begin doing the work to achieve those goals. As they work towards their goal they are asked to monitor their learning experience. 

“One of the key components to the students’ day-to-day experience is 

monitoring their learning. In this context, this means that they keep 

track of their learning and question the effectiveness of what they are 

earning and question the effectiveness of what they are doing in terms 

of their desired goals” (Murray, G. 2009).

We feel this is an important part of the self-directed learning process and plan to incorporate this into our program in the form of a blog the student will complete on a weekly basis. At the end of the course, the students at AIU select their own grade, after reviewing their work during the course, and provide rationale for why they feel this is an appropriate grade. The instructor will then review the student’s rationale and the submitted work to assign a final grade. If the instructor and the student do not agree, they can work to determine a grade together. If they are still unable to resolve the grade, it will be submitted to a third party to make a final decision.

We find this idea interesting but feel that the student should be assessed throughout the program by the instructor. Our idea is for the student to write a final reflection paper describing their learning process and the goals they achieved throughout the course. They will include a section where they reflect on their current grade and if they feel it represents the level of learning they have completed. This paper will help the professor understand more about the student's process and can affect the final grade. Using the styles from IU and AUI we feel that we can effectively create a self-directed learning program at BSU.

Program Design

Overview

The course we are designing is aimed towards educators who are teaching self-directed learners. With adult education programs often times being self-directed, the course is organized so that educators can become familiar with self-directed learning and how to best guide their students.  The program designers recognize that self- directed learning is a transferable skill, so it is our hope to present information that can apply to a variety of fields.

Structure

The program will be self- paced and segmented into six different modules. Even though each module within the course will have a different topic or focus, they will have a similar structure including a required reading and response in the form of a discussion board or project. With individualization and taking responsibility for one’s learning being a key component of self- directed learning, students will be able to choose how they present their projects to the instructor. In addition, students will write in a blog every week to summarize what they have learned. Each student in the course is expected to complete a personal learning journal twice throughout the course, once at midterms and the other at the end of the class.  This reflection is used to evaluate the student’s experience and to take a look at how they apply what they have learned to their professional lives. 

The six module topics include:

Module 1: Self- Directed Learning: An Overview

Module 2: Learning Styles Overview and Learning style Quiz

Module 3: The Adult Learner and Self- Directed Learning

Module 4: Strategies and Best Practices for Designing Courses for Self- Directed

Learners

Module 5: Build Your Own Self- Directed Learning Course

Module 6: Personal Learning Journal and Reflection

Assessing Student Success

The instructor of the class will grade assignments throughout the duration of the course.  As the course is wrapping up, students will have the opportunity to write a personal learning journal to reflect on their own learning experiences. They will also be encouraged to include a section in their paper on what grade they believe they receive for their work in the class.  While the grade they give themselves is not the definite final grade they will receive, the instructor will consider their reflection when processing final grades.   

Reflection

Our group consisted of first-time graduate students, a seasoned graduate student as well as instructor. These experiences proved to be a strength for our group. Based on our unique perspectives, we then collaborated to design a program that places the learner front and center. By doing so, the learner is given more authority and choice in how they want to navigate through the course. We were able to provide this level of independence within our six different modules.

Throughout this assignment, our group remained in frequent contact with one another. We originally communicated through GoToMeeing. We then transitioned to the GroupMe app which made communicating quick and easy. Through the app we were able to check-in and bounce ideas off one another. We also utilized Box for this assignment so that we could review and save our work in real time. These two resources allowed us to stay connected and keep us on track.  

Table 2. - Main themes from our individual literature reviews

	The main themes/ideas in the literature	Application of the main ideas in practice
Idea 1	Students want and enjoy self-directed learning atmospheres	Survey the student to see what they liked and disliked about their experience with SDL
Idea 2	Self-directed learners are independent and enjoy a sense of control	Provide flexibility to and input to individuals regarding the learning plan and goals
Idea 3	Cognitive Learning Styles	When educators or trainers skillfully facilitate learners to learn based on their cognitive learning styles, learners are more engaged and get more from the instruction
Idea 4	Personalization	Allows learner to make unique connections to content.   Personalization is an outlet for creativity

Table 3. Summary of Program Design

Self-Directed Learner
Purpose	The purpose of this program is to provide a benchmark to instructors for curriculum design of self-directed learners.
Objectives	To expose instructors to the Staged Self-Directed Learning model (SDLM) as a framework for course construction, provide instructors curriculum ideas to engage self-directed learners in their development of problem-solving, critical thinking, and competency necessary for students to become experts in their field of study.
Rationales- Ideas from Literature Review	The literature shows that self-directed learners are mature and appreciate choice and independence in their learning while also being able to personalize their experiences.
Rationales – features from practical programs (IU & AUI)	We must engage learners by allowing them to participate in the planning and execution of their learning.  This can be accomplished through a learning contract, self-reflection and input into their overall grade.
Highlights and major components of the program design	Our self-directed course design will allow instructors to better understand the needs of the adult learner.  We have implemented modules that are self-paced, time for self-reflection through journaling and the opportunity to select their method of delivery for learning activities and projects.

References

Grow, G. O. (1991). Teaching learners to be self-directed. Adult education quarterly,

41(3), 125-149. Retrieved from: http://acmd615.pbworks.com/f/Grow.html

Hendricson, W. D., Andrieu, S. C., Chadwick, D. G., Chmar, J. E., Cole, J. R., George, M. C., & Hiemstra, R. (1994). Self-directed learning. The sourcebook for self-directed learning, 9-20.

Learning Contracts. (2018). Indiana University. Retrieved from https://education.indiana.edu/students/graduates/program-specific/adult-education/self-directed-learning-courses.html

Meyerowitz, C. (2006). Educational strategies associated with development of problem-solving, critical thinking, and self-directed learning. Journal of Dental Education, 70(9), 925-936

Murray, G. (2009). A Self-Directed Learning Course. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259644885_A_Self-Directed_Learning_Course

Patterson, C., Crooks, D., & Lunyk-Child, O. (2002). A new perspective on competencies for self-directed learning. Journal of Nursing Education, 41(1), 25-31.