Introducing Self-directed Learning to College Students

1
Introducing Self-directed Learning to College
Students

• Yokohama JALTSunday, December 11th, 2005

2
caution

• This is not an academic paper
• This is a story
• The story of my personal development as a teacher
• I hope it may prompt you to think, and to share
  your story, with me, with other teachers, with
  your students

3
overview

• Defining some terms
• Autonomy
• Learning
• Teaching
• History
• Problems and difficulties
• Q A, comments, etc

4
First steps

• Whole class learning
• Drill (Michigan method)
• Some music/songs
• SAPL (self-access pair learning)
• Students work in pairs at their own pace
• LL class
• Wasted resources
• Menu

5
First steps (2)

• 4-corners
• Not everyone in the class wants to speak
• Those that DO, feel inhibited
• So
• Video, audio (songs), writing, conversation

6
Intensive Reading

• 2 classes (sophomores) combined
• Teachers brought materials to the classroom
• 1st semester orientation
• 2nd semester self-directed study
• Negotiated grades
• Portfolio (records and self-assessments)
• Quotas
• Study plans
• Guest speakers

7
Study Skills

• Materials fair
• Portfolios
• Concept
• In reality

8
Problems and difficulties

• Students slow to self-direct
• Lack of engagement
• Few students try different things
• Inability to create their own study plan
• Lack of self-reflection (not understanding the
  rationale for this?)
• Students not doing enough work
• Students not showing up
• Not identifying at-risk students until too
  late.
• Lack of a sense of group, of class community

9
3-tiered system

• 1 possible reason for the aforementioned problems
  is students lack of experience with
  self-directed learning. The very concept is
  alien. So
• Introduce the idea earlier
• Basic English and Talking About Japan (1st-year
  classes)
• Extend it further
• 3rd-year seminar (Dunham)

10
Future steps

• One-to-one interviews
• To give individual attention
• To get to know students better (learner profiles)
• To better identify students interests, strengths
  and weaknesses
• To assign/suggest individually tailored
  activities

11
Conclusion

• Sheffners original hypothesis was that giving
  students choices might raise motivation
• Some students enjoy and benefit from the choices
  others remain confused and unmotivated.

12
Conclusion (2)

• Next step increase the variety and quality of
  materials available for self-directed learning,
  to reflect students own interests and
  predilections.
• Again, this worked with some students, but others
  remained unmotivated and rudderless

13
Conclusion (3)

• Next step increase the guidance and instructions
  in strategies, in ways and means,
• how to use the materials in different ways for
  learning English
• The different purposes (and skills) that might be
  targeted
• Different learning techniques and approaches
• Thinking about their purposes
• Step 3 likewise seemed to have only limited
  success

14
Conclusion (4)

• Step 4 borrowing from Smith (2003), teachers
  spent more time walking around the class, asking
  students about what they were doing
• Why did you choose this material?
• How are you using it? Why?
• What is your purpose here?
• What do you think of this material?

15
Conclusion (5)

• Again, step 4 had no clear success
• However, the increased time spent talking to
  students individually or in small groups DID seem
  to have positive effects on an affective level,
  particularly with low-motivated students
• It also gave the instructors a better idea of
  what students were actually doing in the class.

16
Conclusion (6)

• It seems that, in my search for a way to motivate
  students, I have peeled back a layer of an onion
  each time, and each layer has revealed a further
  layer beyond motivation has not been greatly
  affected by any of the steps yet taken

17
Conclusion (7)

• offering choice,
• offering greater choice, sexy materials
  (cartoons, videos, DVDs, songs, etc),
• Inviting guest speakers to motivate students
• explicit instruction in learning strategies,
• Frequent questioning of students as to their
  choices and goals

18
Conclusion (8)

• None of these steps, it seems to me, has really
  triggered students ability to self-direct the
  majority are still dependent on someone to tell
  them what to do. They cannot
• Define their own goals
• Select their own materials based on their goals
• Decide on how to use their materials based on
  their goals
• Measure their progress

19
Conclusion (9)

• They mostly have not grabbed the freedom that has
  been offered.
• Why not?
• Gatto suggests that young people are in desperate
  need of finding meaning in their lives, and that
  school is not geared to provide that.

20
Conclusion (10)

• The next steps taken will therefore be
• One-to-one interviews with all the students,
  starting at the beginning of the year.
• A compilation made of students interests and
  needs
• Individualized assignments and/or suggestions
  will be made
• These assignments will take into account
  students requirements for personal growth as
  well as their English language-learning
  requirements
• Mini-lectures will be given on specific topics in
  order to broaden students horizons and stimulate
  interest
• Guest speakers will be continue to be invited.
  Speakers will be chosen for their potential as
  mentors to students.

21
Quotes

• Autonomy is the ability to self-direct ones own
  learning. (Henri Holec)
• How do you control the students? (an observer
  of one of our Study Skills classes)
• Discovering meaning for yourself as well as
  discovering satisfying purpose for yourself is a
  big part of what education is. (Dumbing Us Down,
  by Gatto, JT)
• For one hundred and fifty years institutional
  education has seen fit to offer as its main
  purpose the preparation for economic success.
  (Dumbing Us Down, by Gatto, JT)
• Weve got to give kids independent time right
  away because that is the key to self-knowledge.
  (Dumbing Us Down, by Gatto, JT)

22
Quotes (2)

• Self-knowledge is the only basis of true
  knowledge. (Dumbing Us Down, by Gatto, JT)
• Only after a long apprenticeship in rich and
  profound contact with the world, the home, the
  neighborhood, does the thin gas of abstraction
  mean much to most people. (A Different Kind of
  Teacher, Gatto, JT)

23
Bibliography

• Cotterall, S. Crabbe, D. (eds.) (1999),
  Learner Autonomy in Language Learning Defining
  the Field and Effecting Change. Frankfurt am
  Main, Germany Peter Lang GmbH.
• Benson, P, (2001) Teaching and Researching
  Autonomy in Language Learning. Harlow, UK
  Longman
• Benson, P Toogood, S. (eds)(2002), Autonomy
  Challenges to Research and Practice. Dublin,
  Ireland Authentik
• Benson, P. Voller, P. (eds) (1997), Autonomy
  Independence in Language Learning. Harlow, UK
  Longman.
• Dickinson, L, (1987, 1991), Self-instruction in
  Language Learning. Cambridge, UK CUP
• Ellis, G. Sinclair, B. (1989), Learning to
  Learn English, Cambridge, UK CUP
• Gardner, D Miller, L (eds) (1999),
  Establishing Self-Access. Cambridge, UK CUP
• Gatto, JT (2000), The Underground History of
  American Education. , NY, NY The Odysseus
  Group. Also at http//www.johntaylorgatto.com/unde
  rground/index.htm
• Gore, J, (2002) Learner Autonomy in the ESL/EFL
  Classroom an Applied Project in Partial
  Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
  Master of Teaching English as a Second Language,
  Arizona State University. Retrieved from
  http//www.asu.edu/clas/english/linguistics/gore-A
  P.doc on 29th September, 2004.
• Hawkins, E. (1984) Awareness of Language An
  Introduction. Cambridge, UK Cambridge
  University Press.
• Holliday, A. (1994) Appropriate Methodology and
  Social Context. Cambridge, UK Cambridge
  University Press.
• Holec, H. (1981), Autonomy and Foreign Language
  Learning. Oxford, UK Pergamon Press.
• Holec, H. (1993), Autonomy and self-directed
  learning present fields of application.
  Strasbourg, France Council of Europe Press.

24
Bibliograph (2)

• Little, D. (1997), Autonomy and self-access in
  second language learning Some fundamental issues
  in theory and practice. In Muller-Verweyen, M.
  (ed.) New development in foreign language
  learning self-management autonomy. Standpunkte
  zur Sprach- und Kulturvermittlung 7 33-44.
  Munich Goethe Institute.
• Norton, B Toohey, K (eds) (2004), Critical
  Pedagogies Language Learning. Cambridge, UK
  CUP
• Pemberton, Li, Or, Pierson (1996), Taking
  Control. Hong Kong Hong Kong University Press
• Smith, R. Palfreyman, D. (2003), Learner
  Autonomy Across Cultures Language Education
  Perspectives. UK Palgrave Macmillan.
• Smith, R. Aoki, N. (1999), Learner Autonomy in
  cultural context the case of Japan. In
  Cotterall, S. Crabbe, D. (eds.) Learner
  Autonomy in Language Learning Defining the
  Field and Effecting Change Frankfurt am Main,
  Germany Peter Lang GmbH pp.19-28.