AreIndependentLearnersEmptyVesselsorIntellectual.ppt

Are Independent Learners “Empty Vessels” or “Intellectual Robinson Crusoes?”Independent Learning and Student Development C-M Bernier, Dejan Djokic and Peter Spelt Learning Set Advisor: David Burns Tuesday 11th January 2005 How Students Learn: Implications for Teaching. Sixth Learning and Teaching Conference Reasons for Independent Learning -“Good learners have to be creative” PRACTICAL Increased student numbers in H.E. institutions Developments in technology and web access Financial pressures upon students necessitating part-time work Expectations of Employers for transferable skills in graduates INTELLECTUAL Autonomy in active learning Assuming responsibility for learning in a dynamic approach preventing passivity - “spoon-feeding” and “empty vessel” Greater flexibility for lecturers in course developments Adjustments between school and university for students Background DEFINITIONS OF SELF-DIRECTED OR INDEPENDENT LEARNING (Benson and Voller, 1997): Situations in which learners study alone - the “Robinson Crusoe” model.” A set of skills which can be learned and applied in self-directed learning with external guidance. An inborn capacity suppressed by institutions. The exercise of learners’ responsibility for their own learning. The right of learners to direct their own learning. Critical Theories of Independent Learning 3 aspects of independent learning have been identified (Mezirow, 1981) – 1. INSTRUMENTAL LEARNING - task-oriented problem-solving suited to the surrounding environment 2. DIALOGIC LEARNING - understanding methods of communication between individuals 3. SELF-REFLECTIVE LEARNING - how we come to understand ourselves and our learning process - key to developing as active learners and researchers within Higher Education Institutions and beyond Competing definitions of “Independent Learning” The concept of “Independent Learning” is highly contested in historical, political, intellectual and educational terms. At its most basic level, it is “the