Prosper Mukobelwa Lutala

A very important question.

One way could be students themselves writing down (before study period starts) what they expect out of the opted course; what particular skills/area would they like to be proficient at; in short what exactly they wish to gain from the course. Teachers can then focus more on these areas; give case studies matching student interests and assessing on these areas of interest of the student. Once a student takes ownership and knows he can choose and focus on his area of interest as well; he will feel empowered and appropriately challenged at all times during his course. Chances of him/her getting de-motivated will, I strongly believe be reduced.

Best regards

I intervene on management and leadership issues.

My experience shows that self-directed learning is not has efficient in the long term. When assessing after 6 months on the acquired skills there is a very low level of acquisition when self-directed. I cannot explain why. Is it due to the quality on the on-line modules and videos, or the documents or ... ? Is it due to the psychological state f people learning on-line ? ... My experience is that the blended combination (a mix of self-directed and presential or directed online) is the most powerful way to build up competences.

Regards

Etienne

Thank you for your question. The design of the curriculum and the teaching and learning used are among the critical factors for such a shift. Introducing a student-centred curriculum that uses PBL, CBL, or team-based learning will help in changing the roles of teachers to become facilitators and students to become central and responsible for their learning.

For details, please read my book Navigating Problem-Based Learning and my papers on ResearchGate.

Hello, I would agree with everyone else's ideas so far, especially in terms of developing a curriculum philosophy which strategically advocates a range of learning theories (blending, rather than being dominated by one approach).

Personally, I have found that in putting together a schema of blended learning methods for a unit/module of learning, and ensuring expectations and rewards are know in advance - the collaborative and collegiate learning culture is more likely to emerge.

I have found blending and sequencing flipped classroom principles with experiential gamified session techniques creates significantly more discussion than when I don't. Research findings (not published) of achieving this with groups between 12 and 110 point to what you might expect in terms of love it or hate it. Generalising now, haters seem to be those who feel it is my 'duty' to 'teach'; which creates sub-cultures in a cohort described as avoidance for 'good group' aspirations.

Those who love the blended principles appear to be generally more enthusiastic, though it is clear from the participants interviews, a number feel the different facilitative techniques were cathartic in terms of helping them realise how they 'could know', and a self-satisfaction with 'knowing'.

The key seems to be in the explicit, practical scaffolding, and really significantly, rationalising why and how a specific gamified technique has relevance. There is a strong movement/philosophy demonstrating the virtues of 'serious game pedagogy', of which the 'play based' approach I tend to adopt.

I will ask my colleague who has just been awarded her PhD in this field to look in and joint the debate.

We can work towards this transition from traditional to self learning first of all by changing attitudes of teachers, students and administrators towards e-learning.Next we have to create a collaborative environment where some technology person and content writers also participate. Besides students are also to be responsible and ready for self directed learning...Above all teachers can't be complacent and confined to their comfort zones.

change your mindset first and the set the goal of teaching with variety of tech methods and assesment in siutable ways.

Why is Self-Directed Learning the Better Approach?

With a variety of methods, for example, goal-based learning, that facilitate the self-directed approach as well as the ability to guide your own learning experience, self-directed learning already seems like the more appealing approach. Let’s delve a little deeper and consider some of the practical benefits of embarking upon a self-directed learning journey and, how this method not only impacts learners but, their organization as well.

The learner has complete control:

By choosing learning activities directly in line with their own interests/meet the needs of their end-goal, learners are more likely to engage with the content and therefore, take away beneficial points of interest to help better perform in their job role.

Rooted in the application of skills:

With SDL, learners are required to grasp the “how” and the “why” rather than the “what”. These acquired skills can then be utilized throughout their role for example, problem-solving, time management and communication skills.

Fosters a collaborative learning environment:

The social element of Curatr allows learners to interact with one another throughout their learning journeys. Subjects, problems and solutions can be debated by all learners and, ultimately, this encourages learners to learn from their colleagues and peers, creating a combined knowledge throughout an organization.

Meets individual learners needs:

SDL facilitates learning at one’s own pace. Relevance also increases because learners are motivated to learn from their own experiences while applying their newly-acquired knowledge to the job in hand.

A more convenient approach:

Through SDL, learners have the ability to learn whenever and wherever – for instance, listening to a podcast in the car, reading a short article on the train. Mobile versions help facilitate this possibility and, learning becomes much more manageable for learners to fit into the working week.

Overcoming the Pitfalls of SDL

Like with any learning approach, there are a few drawbacks to be mindful of when implementing the strategy into your organizations learning environment.

Loss of motivation:

With this approach, learners are now accountable for their own learning and, there is a risk that learners could lose motivation to continue. To overcome this, it offers the reflection feature that encourages learners to engage with their learning content, thinking back on what they have actually learned and the benefits of the learning material from a continuing professional development point of view.

This could be a consequence of the past not the present. I guess with your students being postgraduate medical students they have been out of high school for at least 5/6 years?

The idea of flipped learning, online learning were new back when these would have been in high school etc.

These days online learning is much more common place, with many schools including mine being ‘Google’ schools and using google classroom for almost all learning both in class and self directed. Our students engage well. So id imagine that over the coming 5/10 years you will see the engagement improving.