What is Self-Directed learning?
In Self-Directed Learning the student identifies their own learning objectives and learning processes to achieve set learning tasks. In the UK, the reality of curriculum constraints, and volumes of subject knowledge means teachers typically scaffolding overall learning objectives for students to ensure independent study time spent is utilised to best effect.
In this section, principles of Self-Directed Learning are introduced. Self-guided resources are:
- Learning approach: how learning takes place in Self Directed Learning, and the role of teacher and student in the classroom process.
- Video: What is Self–Directed learning? Thomas Haney Secondary School in British Columbia, Canada shares how students use self-directed learning (HRCE,2023)
- Explore further: Additional resource links and videos to explore to support Self Directed Learning.
Quick Links for Self-Directed Learning
Learning approach: Self-directed learning requires students to learn to use and apply independent study strategies. These include intrinsic processes of self-regulation, learner motivation, personal responsibility, and autonomy.
Teachers need to ask themselves five questions (Bull, 2021):
- What do I need students to learn?
- How will I ensure students have a compelling reason for learning this?
- How will I know when students have learned it?
- How will I monitor student learning across time and provide meaningful feedback?
- How am I going to help students learn the material/skills?
Learning behaviours developed by students through Self-Directed Learning are the identification of discrete learning outcomes, project planning and time management, identifying, and collating resources, sifting, and extracting relevant information, evaluation and critical analysis, and application to problem solving. In addition, students need to learn to recognise and ask for help when needed. These independent study skills form part of the suite of 21st century or soft/metacognitive skills and contribute to students taking responsibility and ownership for their learning (Edutopia, 2017).
Video: What is Self-Directed learning? In this 7-minute video, Thomas Haney Secondary School in British Columbia, Canada shares how students use self-directed learning, teacher support, and the school timetable (HRCE,2023).
How Learning Takes Place:
Teachers use a range of strategies to support self-directed learning activities. Teachers teach and reinforce these strategies as part of classroom activities, providing students with scaffolding, and a safe place to build their skills through teacher and peer modelling:
Strategies to Support Self Directed Learning
Open questioning: teacher use of open, higher order questions supports student criticality and promotes deeper learning. Studies show that learning and practicing questioning skills in the classroom through collaborative working, or use of protocols, contributes to higher order thinking and deeper learning, which students transfer to self-directed study.
Blended learning: evidence suggests use of hybrid/blended learning including technology to explore and present ideas engages students, allows students to deepen their knowledge and engage with material in creative ways. However, digital poverty is well-documented, and schools need inclusive strategies if blended learning and use of technology form part of self-directed learning approaches.
SMART targets: teachers support students through scaffolding and modelling to set SMART goals which link the overall objectives to smaller, achievable project steps that incrementally build for the student. Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time Bound.
Mix and Match learning approaches: self-directed study allows students to develop learning strategies in ways that work best for them individually and allows students to have agency over how they learn.
Positive mindset: teachers encourage students to develop ‘can do positivity’ about tasks, and resilience through accepting that testing and refining of ideas may lead to failures as part of the learning process. Testing and refinement can be developed and reinforced within the classroom in group activities such as project, problem, and design-based learning, as well as in collaborative learning strategies de-risking the processes individually for students.
Accept and act on feedback: Students need to develop the resilience to ask for, and act on feedback. Similarly, to the processes above, building feedback skills in the classroom first through teacher and peer modelling, and collaborative working allows students to the apply these strategies to self-directed learning (Brandt,2020).
Explore Further: Self Directed Learning
Bibliography and Additional Resources
Brandt (2020) measuring student success skills: A review of the literature of self-directed learning. Available from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED607782.pdf
Bull, B. (2021) Teacher Directed v Self Directed Learning. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAJ9s0n5GTo
Edutopia. (2017). How to put self-directed learning to work in your classroom. Available from: https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/how-put-self-directed-learning-work-your-classroom
Halifax Regional Centre for Education. (2023). What is Self-Directed Learning? Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3hTjpLNHsY
Structural Learning. (2023). Self-Directed Learning: A School Guide. Available from: https://www.structural-learning.com/post/self-directed-learning-a-school-guide
Voskamp, A et al. (2022). Teaching practices for self-directed and self-regulated learning: case studies in Dutch innovative secondary schools. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03055698.2020.1814699