If we consider learner autonomy to mean learners taking control of/taking responsibility for their own learning, how do you promote this with your students?
I was a public school English and journalism teacher for ten years, and I found that students take responsibility for their learning when they create their own goals and assignments. For example, I had students pick a writing goal for themselves from a list, and I would pick one for each student, too. They would also choose their own genre and write about whatever they were interested in, whether it's video games or getting braces. I believe autonomy and choice go hand in hand.
I totally agree with everything you say Courtney. Thanks for your contribution.
In a higher education context, my students have always had some scope to customise many of their assessment items to suit their professional contexts. With that said, the nature of the programs I teach on means that the students are generally mature aged men and women already working in various professional domains - although all with an adult learning dimension (eg. Professional associations, nurse educators, community educators, human resource professionals, vocational teachers etc).
Dear David,
thank you for asking this question, which is, even to me, a question I ask myself again and again.
With my students in advanced italian courses at my University, I try to promote learner autonomy raising awareness about their strenghts and weaknesses, about their goals, but also about the language and the resources for improving their language competences. And, of course, giving them space for some choices, such as choosing the homework which better suits them, a project in the target language and so on.
With the students at the self-access centre I am responsible of, I try to raise awareness about their learning process, their learning strategies, let them reflect on chances and constraints of their learning Environment and support them in making choices. In one word, as Ramphelane says, providing scaffolding, at different levels, both for the language competences, the learning competences and social and affective aspects of the learning process.
Best
Giovanna
PS. You may be interested in the free webinars of the Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group of IATEFL: our next webinar will be Saturday, November 21st, with Libor Stepanek, on 'Using creative teaching to develop learner autonomy' : http://www.iatefl.org/web-events/sig-webinars
Feel free to join it!
Best
Giovanna
Dear Dr. Gardner,
I experimented with project-based learning in one of my classes, and the findings turned out to also indicate how this method can encourage students' autonomy. Here are the findings:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282877534_Project-based_Learning_and_Its_Validity_in_a_Thai_EFL_Classroom
Best regards,
Cameen
Conference Paper Project-based Learning and Its Validity in a Thai EFL Classroom
I think by giving students a task by ask students to find answer for specific questions or
to solve problem using library/trusted websites with reawrd to students
In my Teaching since last 8 years this is a good question....In View point I experienced that I provide Material student to motivate in autonomy learning The motivation that set a goal to your life,An other big thing that I have tried to my students to read autobiographies of Successful people in the field how they face problems and bring solution and how they become successful people.................. then give the material and tasks............................
Dear @David Gardner, I teach Biology, and I try very hard to increase the intrinsic motivation of students to learn Biology. Besides that I implement collaborative learning that emphasizes the process, not just the outcome.
"So what is so interesting about Biology? Many reasons..., and what is NOT related to Biology?...
For my active students, is SWIMMING not related to Bio?
Is RUNNING not related to Bio?
Is Tae Kwan Do not related to Bio?
Is BREATHING AND LIVING not related to Bio?
is GROWING UP not related to Bio?
Is having OFFSPRING not related to Bio?
Answer: EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE RELATED TO BIOLOGY.
Article Facilitating Cooperative Learning Among Matriculation Biology Students
I teach Filosophy of Law and taxes. While keeping traditional lectures at minimun, in groups, they develop tasks and activities around the content and assume respònsibility in showing insights and experiences to the rest of the group. When they feel they are leading actors in what they learn, they become autonomous.
I am retired Professor of Pharmacology. I used to point out most relevant aspects of the topic; emphasize that class test is not a punishment but just estimate of your knowledge; questions should be on main areas and not remote segments; When they become doctors each patient is your examiner without mentioning in which subject of medicine; diagnosing and treating is the ultimate aim, goal and reward to stimulate your learning
I co-teach Management for Educational Change. When designing and delivering the course, we strive to create opportunities and scaffolding for self-directed learning. This largely happens with increasing the students autonomy. To illustrate on a few examples:
- our course consist of a wide and diverse portfolio of learning activities from which the students select those activities that most suit them
- course grading is based on a point system - 10 points is the minimum to pass the course, 20 is the maximum of points students can claim for the subject (or the top mark if you will), but if they want they can complete 30 activities
- self-reflection or self-evaluation is an integral part of many of the activities, it is actually more frequent then peer review or formative feedback from the course team
- students also choose topics for own projects and they also determine the level of own involvement in the projects
- students can and did propose own assignments which were then integrated in the portfolio
- student who miss class have the opportunity to complete most of the rewarded activities online
This question is an important one and I am reading all the responses with great interest!
I used to teach a university elective course entitled "Chemistry & Society" open to all students except those specialized in chemistry. It was about what chemistry involves basically, its role in energy & energy alternatives, its application in public health & manufacturing industries, its contribution to social needs (such as food, clothes, "protection of the environment "and housing), and some problems & challenges that chemistry is facing.
The course was so popular among the students because they were expected to discuss & share various topics and in updating information. The course moved them towards autonomy in learning.
The course content went through continuous changes in the details of the above subjects & the students were the ones who brought about these changes.
Unfortunately, the administration cancelled this course for unknown reasons nearly 8 years ago. However, to this day I still have the distinguished short essays that were written by the students about (e.g. prospects of hydrogen as a fuel, smart houses, smart dress, repair parts for human organs, how consumer products could be made more safe…). When I meet my old students, they usually talk about that course & how it changed their previous negative view of chemistry.
Dear David:
Good question. I would be interested as to how to do this given the following context:
The best American students are autodidactic and teach themselves. Lesser students need guidance and my research shows that: 1) current electronic technologies to promote this kind of learning has not proven effective, at least with American students and 2) I suspect some kind of structured collaborative learning method would work with Chinese and other Asian students.
For myself, I've been experimenting with Manga (Japanese comic books) textbooks for autodidactic individual STEM learning that may precede getting the students to work collaboratively to solve the more technical aspects of the subject.
Mike
Learning by doing or experiential learning that's the name of the game so says the sages who taught me. We have started experimenting with so called " Capstone Projects" where we get problems from various organisations and ask the students to solve the issue. Students learning is obivious
Promoting learner autonomy is not a one-off activity. In my view, it must involve developing their autonomy at every stage and in every area of learning. Autonomy connotes the notion of independent action/freedom to act. For me, autonomy is promoted right from the stage of deciding what goes into their curriculum. Of course, this does not mean that they single-handedly decide the content of their syllabus. Within the seemingly prescribed content, there is room for a form of nuanced autonomy in terms of the direction through which the prescribed content is approached. Similarly, when it comes to learning, autonomy can again prevail in terms of letting learners have a say in terms of how best they learn. That will of course reflect on the various strategies and resources you use. Similarly, autonomy can be reflected in assessment strategies. In this case, i refer to assessment for learning. Learners can be empowered to indicate how best they can be assessed for learning including actually self-assessing.
A final note of caution. Autonomy does not mean that the teacher has no input or that learners have total control. That, is only workable in a dream world and particularly not in the current environment where education has become commodified and almost totally instrumental.
I teach pastoral care to seminary students in a hospital. They have to learn theoretical concepts, reflect on them, talk about them, then put them into action with patients, while demonstrating compassionate listening and responding. The framework I use is assessment, action, care plan. The framework allows the students to own their educational experience autonomously, while being accountable to a group's critique.
I think the problem lies in transition from school to University. In school they are spoon fed and during the transition period to University- there are no professional supports or the students do not avail of them. Yes students have big lives with work and partners , University learning is no longer the main aim. Show me how to do the assignment and then I pass with a paper degree is their motto. Learning environments have changed so much- it is hard for lecturers to keep up with the needs of students. Understanding their needs is a whole other chapter!
I try to enhance their motivation by, for example, discuss their upcoming process of getting a job in the future, after the exam, and how it relates to the course that they are taking with me and the task at hand. I also try not to spoon-feed them too much, i.e. I do not always reply with a short and correct answer. Rather, I point them in the right direction and tell them that this is the path I take, personally, when I solve this type of problem. It seems half my job, is to lower anxiety and encourage young people :-)
In one of my my research papers on how to challenge honors students, I describe the ways in which some of my colleagues provide autonomy (see page 8-11)
In the subgroup of medical students who have trouble with seeing their own autonomous role in learning clinical skills I have used a faded scaffolding approach, over four half days stretched over 4-5 weeks I started with a very teacher centered approach (directing all the tasks, producing all the material, setting homework for the second session), and over the sessions handed over responsibility for each part of the session to them. My test for success is that I always turn up late for the last session, and note that they have started without me! In only four sessions I managed to shift them from seeing the Teacher as sage to guide.
More numerical evaluations suggested that their performance in clinical skills exams improved from failing to at least average (perhaps above average, but the data isn't clean), and this was maintained for learning new skills over the following two years. (unpublished data)
Whether you see this model as metacognative training or building autonomy or shifting locus of control or improving self efficacy, it was interesting to reflect that within the confines of clinical skills training which I see as one of the last bastions of behaviourism, that a relatively simple intervention seemed to effectively shift the responsibility of learning from teacher to student.
Several measures for promoting learner autonomy:
1. Give the learner to reflect what they learn and why they learn: the feedback can be in the form of writing or presentations
2. Never try to bombard with numerous tasks; let the learner takes some freedom to study.
3. Promote discussion in the classroom : it should not be one sided rather multi-sided ( teacher and learners)
4. Never a teacher be authoritarian in the class room: accept if you made a mistake
I always integrate Technology in instruction. Constructionist support my approach since students 'hand on' and 'Minds on'. Have a look the link..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=075aWDdZUlM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndXMIUFdqIY
I consider it useful to promote scientific research in students. When medical student obtains a theme of his/her interest, they do their best to read, search, write, etc. about a subject of their research. In our university we have annual student's scientific conference, where they present the results. For some of them it is a first step to the future deep scientific work or PhD grade.
As for the daily teaching process, it seems useful to provide them with real clinical case-studying activities , where the sudents may feel themselvs as "real doctors", making diagnosis and interchanging opinions.
By providing positive feedback but not to ignor students answers
Education has many new tools that provide interactive learning with improved retention, including team-based learning projects, flip classrooms, discussion groups that require that students learn the material and then teach it to others. As you know, you cannot really teach well unless you know your subject well. Having students take upon that role can enhance their learning. Other basic concepts include case-based learning, concept mapping, employing essential questions, metacognitive reading, understanding by design...all pedagogical ap
Adult learners in an indigenous learning context need to draw on their own experiences in whatever they are learning, if it doesn't relate to their prior experiences it can be difficult to encourage autonomy. Ako or the preferred Māori pedagogical / andragogical ways of teaching and learning see learning as being reciprocal, if the learner is put in a situation where he or she has to in turn teach others in the class then this is most empowering for them. Autonomy is an indigenous educational organisation is a direct result of reciprocity.
Scaffolding would summarize for me the way to autonomy ,working with strategies that will create a cognitive path ,fostering critical thinking and promoting expressing opinions.Providing a collaborative working environment;team activities will help for future individual actions.Allowing making mistakes
I introduce controversial topics involving "threads" such as cost-efficiency vs. patient safety that require students to compare and defend opposing points. The quality of their research has to be comprehensive in order to meet that objective. Then I ask them as a group to develop a position and/or policy based on research and best practices.
My research supports the comments that pointed to students assuming the teaching role as implicated in the development of autonomy or independent thinking. As French philosopher Joubert stated in a famous aphorism: "to teach is to learn twice". First, in mastering material, second in teaching that material to others once the teacher has made it his or her own (and perhaps, third, in receiving feedback from others in response to one's teaching). The route to autonomy is through dialogue. An independent thinker develops an idea or claim to knowledge, but must then test it against challenges from others; if it stands fine, but another mark of autonomy is to self-assess that changes are needed. Hence, the process does involve reciprocity as Sheryl Lee Ferguson argued.
Observe how music teachers accomplish automaticity. Practice! In neuro-science
we call it activation and reactivation of brain cells. In education we call it "Review" and music teachers know that instead of a few reviews it may take a few thousand.
To me learner autonomy means letting learners have their own point of view and allowing them to justify their stand using various examples. I say this because every learner has some views on the topic that is being discussed or written upon. The learner can then modify or stick to his/her position depending upon the input received. At the end of the day, learner autonomy means independent thinking and the conviction by which they can present their point view before the world.
Giving them opportunities to debate on issues that they have to research on their own and craft their own rebuttals. I have found that giving them such autonomy is motivating for them and promotes their self-confidence in being able to work to win the argument:
Conference Paper Debating: A Dynamic Teaching Strategy for Motivating Student...
""Teaching without talking" A New Voice .
I teach English, and midway through the spring 2013 semester, I lost my voice. Rather than cancelling my classes, I taught all my courses, from developmental English to Shakespeare, without saying a word. Though my voice had mostly returned by Tuesday evening, what I was observing compelled me to remain silent for the remainder of the week. My experience teaching without talking proved so beneficial to my students, so personally and professionally centering, and so impactful in terms of the intentionality of my classroom behavior that I now “lose my voice” at least once every semester.
A wealth of literature focuses on active learning and learner-centered instruction, but I submit that nothing empowers learners as immediately and profoundly as does removing the professor’s voice from the room." .
Teaching without talking this is taken from "The Silent Professor
By: Joseph Finckel"
If by learner autonomy we define learner's capacity to set fitting learning intentions and command of own learning, then this is dependent upon teachers to create and maintain learning environments that support its development in the first place. Teachers who model reflective practices themselves find it easier to create a conducive learning environment that fosters learner autonomy.
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/al/research/groups/llta/circal/dahla/histories/the_history_of_learner_autonomy.pdf
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/linguafolio/5574
http://iteslj.org/Articles/Thanasoulas-Autonomy.html
http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/62/4/395.full
When I was in graduate school at a major research university over 45 years ago, I remember overhearing a professor remark, "This wouldn't be such a bad job if only we didn't have students." Gardner's posting on promoting learner autonomy is especially pertinent today because machines are replacing teachers and that should be context for answers to his question. In that context, the tenured research professor teaching students to use the new WWW technologies to teach themselves has the advantage of enabling the professor to concentrate on what's becoming more and more important today, research, instead of having to deal with today's undergraduate students which one academic wag called "The Dumbest Generation."
Before teaching was all figure and no ground where the instructor's role was to help convey the abstract concepts and content found in the textbook. Now teaching by humans is becoming all ground and no figure, with the machines taking over the latter. What the new generation of teachers have to do is provide a conducive learning context or environment that allows for optimal machine learning. As predicted by the online people years ago, the "sage on the stage" is being replaced by "the guide on the side." Of course all this bodes ill for adjunct and other instructors, including tenure track assistant professors who believe that they can't be replaced by machines because of their romantic notions of teaching and education.
Given this state of affairs, my advice for tenure track assistant professors is: 1) avoid any hint of innovation in your teaching, especially online instruction and including student automated learning because the senior faculty will do all they can to deny you tenure and 2) However, once you get tenure do anything, including online methods to make your teaching easier and more "fun" for your students and let the machines do the serious teaching of textbook content and concepts for that's the present and future of education.
For the future of textbooks, see "The Manga Guides to, Physics," etc. These undergraduate level textbooks work without dumbing down concepts and concepts. https://www.nostarch.com/manga_set
Mike
Sure. Please follow this link:
http://www.spectrumofteachingstyles.org
Best
Denis
http://www.spectrumofteachingstyles.org
their study content and methods.Learner autonomy means different th8ngs for beginners and for advanced students in how much "open space" the teacher gives them for decisions about their study - minor decisions about choice of topic for assignements, literature, mode of presentation - or major decisions about choice of electives, topic of a thesis, ways of selfassessment and approaches to solve complex problems. Michael, machines can be helpful, but they can not replace teachers in guiding students toward (personal) autonomy.
Greetings to all,
Barica
Dear Barica:
Well taken, but machines are already replacing teachers as evidenced by online education. In addition, Google and others working on AI and machine intelligence can only result in more automated learning where machines will be better at teaching the "hard" stuff, with humans providing the soft side of education, such as holding their hands, raising their self esteem, improve their social graces, serve as mentors or role models, etc. Of course this model fits the current academic business model where they view teachers as the problem --- i.e. not contributing to increased enrollment and therefore tuition --- and not the solution. When teachers practice automated student learning, they are unwittingly playing into the hands of the administrators.
Mike
I Define and Explain the task with a clear model; then, I ask students to practice with ten or more excercises!
One way: I used action research when the students went off on their internships (in education). See
Bloomfield, D., Taylor, N. & Maxwell, T.W. 2004. Enhancing the link between university and schools through action research on teaching practicum, Journal of Vocational Education and Training 56, 3, 355-371.
More broadly, see
Maxwell, T.W. 2012. Assessment in higher education in the professions: Action research as an authentic assessment task. Teaching in Higher Education 17, 686-696. DOI:10.1080/13562517.2012.725220
Two students reports were re-worked into articles:
Emerson, K. & Maxwell T.W. 2011. Graphic Organisers and Writing Performance: Improving undergraduate competence using action research in a workplace internship, Work based learning e-Journal 2, 1, 5-23. [http://wblearning-ejournal.com/currentIssue/E3012%20rtb.pdf].
Mead, K. & Maxwell, T.W. 2010. Using the Counting On mathematics strategies: An action research case study. Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom 15, 3, 13-19.
I teach in the context of EFL teacher education and use Engestrom's Activity System Theory to organise and run my classes. One of the factors of AST is 'division of labour'. In my case it means that my role is to define the syllabus, organise classes, facilitate students activities, participate in the discussion reflecting on their experience with the activity and evaluate their progress. The student's role is to work in a team on a selected theoretical topic (e.g. Evolution of the concept of language competence), to prepare and give a presentation to their peers, prepare and run a workshop (individually or in pairs) as EFL teacher(s), where their peers are their students , to practice some language aspect (e.g. acquiring vocabulary through games). The srtudent-teachers run the activity, introduce discussion on methology problems after the workshop which is also facilitated by me as their methodology teacher. In this way they have an influence on selection of topics for the presentation and the reading which gives the knowlege, they practice their teaching skills and due to the interactive character of activities they learn to cooperate with others, they are free to express their opinions. At the end they also participate in the process of evaluation, as each group evaluates the presentations by the other groups according to pre-specified criteria. The also have an oportunity for self-evaluation as at the beginning of the course they design a mind-map of associations with the theme of the seminar (e. g. Developing intercultural communicative competence) and get back their mind-maps for reflection and amendment at the end of the course.
Hi David
I offer some suggestions at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/26541489_Ten_tips_for_promoting_autonomous_learning_and_effective_engagement_in_the_teaching_of_statistics_to_undergraduate_medical_students_involved_in_short_term_research_projects .
To this I would add that sufficient space must be available in the curriculum to accommodate the strategies I recommend, particularly where students are non-specialist learners in the discipline; otherwise learners will expect much more spoon- feeding.
Article Ten tips for promoting autonomous learning and effective eng...
There is an important difference between personal agency and learner agency. There are also important distinctions to be understood between school autonomy, teacher autonomy and student autonomy.
A useful paper (attached) - Learner Autonomy: A Synthesis of Theory and Practice - helps with conceptualising what learner autonomy is, and models of learner autonomy. I find the five-level model of learner autonomy useful in sharing with students to help them self-identify which level they are at or might need to demonstrate for specific learning experiences; i.e. awareness, involvement, intervention, creation, and transcendence. I'm encouraging students to understand 'creation' and 'transcendence'.
We had this question for a long time and we still discuss this topic periodically.
We develop Learner autonomy through Project Based Learning (PBL). We assign activities that mandate the student to learn the basics and do some homework before attending classes.
We also recommended reflection journal that the learner uses to report to himself about the learning process and this can be occasionally seen by the Faculty Guide (Mentor/Adviser)
We also tried Research Based Learning (RBL) which will help students to work towards a goal and the progress of the learners can be seen as a product (paper)
It is not easy to define the finest method but based on the branch or subject we are teaching, we choose the best method of developing learner autonomy. We may have to try multiple options as the learner progresses by each semester...
Jayaprakash Jala
ASC, VIT University
My personal experience has been that there is a huge disparity across learners from the same year group in terms of their own maturity and thus their readiness to become self-directed learners. Some have a natural sense of personal responsibility for achieving desired learning outcomes for self-directed learning. Others have no idea whatsoever that they are actually gaining hugely more help from the educator than ought to have been the case under a self-directed learning model. There is an emotional aspect to this problem. Some learners need a great deal of reassurance and others are more willing to grapple with a problem and make mistakes until they have reached a desired level of proficiency. Also some learners are more industrious than others. I cannot emphasize too much how important it is for faculty members as a whole to be supportive of educators by repeatedly making clear to students that the self-directed model is the correct one and of ensuring that there is consistency shown to different students in terms of how much help their project supervisors provide. Students compare their experiences with one another and if there is inconsistency, they can default to the spoon-feeding model as the correct one.
Research states that both autonomy and competence increase intrinsic motivation and students’ self-efficacy. The following strategies are research-based and claim to support student autonomy: understanding students’ emotional state, listening to students’ needs, creating a student-centered environment, fostering relevance, allowing students to work on a problem in their own way, providing justifications for why that specific rule is important and, last but not least, justifying why completing a seemingly uninteresting activity is necessary.
You may wish to read the works in this book.
Building Autonomous Learners
Perspectives from Research and Practice using Self-Determination Theory
Editors: Woon Chia Liu, John Chee Keng Wang, Richard M. Ryan
ISBN: 978-981-287-629-4 (Print) 978-981-287-630-0 (Online)
I consider learner autonomy from a broader institutional perspective, even though most contributors have looked at it from the classroom only. Yes, the pedagogy in the classroom matters a lot, as far as the subject or discipline is concerned. These days most universities provide support in the form of academic skills or English skills that come under the guise of some other names. In addition library, research skills and study skills add up to help the learner to be self directed and therefore autonomous.
Also, extra curricula activities should not be overlooked, eg sports, games, campus societies or clubs, etc. These build student character, enrich their learning experience and prepare them for future work or study.
In order to promote learning Independence, I use real-life based problems for students to discuss and present solutions. I also provide training in argumentation, for improvement of capabilities to articulate thoughts, either through talking or through writing. I also teach ethics, over real-life case studies.
People who learn alone, educate or teach themselves. According to the English phrase "self-made man (the man who built himself)". The rest is relative.
Autonomy stems from decision-making. When I was an Effective Learning Adviser at the University of Glasgow, I would discuss a range of approaches/ methods so that students could think about, and experiment with, which methods would work best for them. I was criticised by some colleagues who prefer a more authoritative (or do I mean authoritarian?) pedagogy. My success rate with students convinced me that I was on the right track. Success, for me, is defined as transforming a stressed out student into an optimistic student who takes pleasure in their working methods. This almost always results in improved grades in coursework and exams.
Hello Barbara
I am interested in your answer. Are you willing to share a few case studies in context so as to illustrate in what sense(s) the learning was autonomous?
Effective learning is a controversial area and I am aware that former colleagues do not agree with my methods of encouraging student autonomy. I worked as an Effective Learning Adviser for 13 years and was responsible for 8,000 students when I left, so I can provide many case studies.Most of my work was in the form of large lectures and seminars, but I learned a great deal from working with individual students.
Following an episode of mental ill-health, a 23 year old Social Sciences student had taken a 1 year break from studies after junior honours. She came to see me as part of her preparations to resume her course. During our first meeting she described the extreme stress she experienced while writing essays. I asked her to describe her methods and together we identified aspects of her writing practices which exacerbated her anxiety. Each time I suggested 2 or 3 alternative approaches which were new to her. It is essential that the student makes the choice of which new method she adopts. This is a crucial part of developing autonomy, whether the student is recovering from an episode of mental ill-health or not. Adopting a new method enables the student to start afresh, free from the stressful emotional associations of the failed method. The student is applying their self-knowledge to make the best choice, a more powerful mechanism than that of a professional 'expert' dictating a method.
The student then began to apply these new metacognitive insights in her coursework and emailed me regularly, asking questions and leading discussions on the best way forward or the pros and cons of different writing methods. She subsequently reported that she now initiated discussions about writing methods with other students on the course and felt confident in sharing her insights with others. After submitting her first essay, she emailed me to say that this was the first time in her studies that she had enjoyed writing an essay. She went on to complete her honours course and gain a good degree.
I hope this begins to answer your questions. The huge diversity of student concerns around their study methods was an endless source of fascination to me. Sadly I no longer work in this area as my methods are not in line with present trends in HE.
I believe that autonomy starts with commitment and engagement of all participants involved. Students register in a course with the intention to learn, earn credits and a letter grade, but also to incorporate things not learned or experienced before through the course in reference. The curriculum is already prescribed, but the instructor’s ability to encourage student participation by having a well balance instruction is crucial - in which lecture, class participation and interactive learning becomes a dual role of the instructor and students themselves. When students are valued in terms of how much they can contribute to the learning of all including the Instructor, students feel that their presence in the classroom is more meaningful and a two ways street of knowledge, experience and sharing.
I also believe that students can be given a choice of how much they can contribute by providing opportunities for them to research and share. I think about the Puerto Rico Program that I directed at SUNY Buffalo State. Ninety students participated in the program in 12 different groups from 1993-2012. The program was connected with Study Abroad Programs. Students took the class on campus for a full semester followed by a study tour in the Island that last three weeks. In the course, lectures were presented in a variety of topics by faculty and staff from January - March. Students submitted a response in writing to three questions made by the lecturer on a weekly basis. Students were asked to select a topic for their research connected or not with their major (depending on where the students wanted the credits to be applied). During the month of April they will present their research to the group in class and in writing. Exercises were provided in class via the lecturers from the faculty/staff and/or during students’ presentations. The class continued during the trip in Puerto Rico in what I called an open classroom concept. A structure program was in place in which students visited different sites and in where they were given a lecture and a guided tour. Students were able to ask questions and bring their impressions, taking notes and later reflecting on it. This was important for them because they have to write a journal on a daily basis [a requirement of the course], allowing them to bring as much as they wanted while getting knowledge of the history, culture, people and resources of Puerto Rico, and being exposed to a variety of experiences not provided in the traditional classroom. Students then had the autonomy to determine the extent of their involvement, participation and contribution to the overall group experience [both in the classroom and during the trip], while developing academic responsibility, a sense of group, conflict resolution, decision making and problem solving. As stated by some of the participants below:
“The information that I gained on this study tour is immeasurable. The experience provided me with knowledge of a different culture. I learned the specifics of its people, values, government, beliefs and traditions. I do not feel as though all of this knowledge could be gained sitting in a classroom.” - Megan Stenger 2001, Study Tour to P.R., SUNY Buffalo State College
“This tour allowed me to take charge over what I want to do and pay attention to what I need to do in order to get what I want in life and in my career to come.”
– Ramón López, 2007
“I felt empowered, inspired, and healed. […] Studying in Puerto Rico taught me to grow from my past and blossom into my future.”– Maureen Vitali, 2012
In order to have reactions like the above stated, action must be taken by the student themselves, empowered by the process of that learning experience, facilitated by the Instructor(s) and the development of a curriculum "outside the box."
Learner Autonomy is a practice existing from ancient times in indian way of education. I find it relevant even today. The student chooses whom to learn from and what to learn and how much to learn.
Educational institutions have to make provisions for such cafeteria approach and accept the curriculum and pedagogy suggested by learner with scrutiny by Board of Studies and evaluate by assigning total credits to the course.
The autonomy makes the system heterogeneous. To standardize the equivalence is a challenge but is not impossible. BoS can make statutes for assigning credits to curriculum and learner effort along with the advancement programs as guiding rules.
I recently attended an International Conference on Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at Maccu, China ( Land of dreams). There was one interesting paper in which a Faculty hired a student as Student Consultant who would sit in the class and appraise faculty of student's takeaway and teaching plan implementation. The student consultant is not taking the course which she is auditing. Will this help student 's learning. Please share
I believe this website can be useful http://www.apa.org/education/k12/learners.aspx
Do not forget, that is highly important to foster students' competence as well.
Jang, H., Reeve, J., & Deci, E. L. (2010). Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 588–600. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0019682
Teachers partnering with students can negotiate learning and promote learner autonomy where students feel more ownership for their learning, become more engaged and more likely to persevere to overcome challenges
https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/CBS_StudentVoice.pdf
In order for students to fully embrace the autonomy they are given they need to be encouraged to try out different learning methods to find the one(s) that work(s) best for them and accept that there will be uncertainty in the process and that's o.k. It is going to happen. In order to reduce the fear of uncertainty or overcome the fear of failure, it is useful to give an example of a possible outcome that is acceptable, good, and excellent. Once they know what is expected and they have decided the level of outcome they think they can achieve and aim for, they will be more willing to take risks, which is what autonomy requires.
well, many people gave their opinions about how to promote for learner autonomy, these Opinions were mainly about scaffolding. to me I think that due to the importance of this notion especially at the level of university, it is absurd to try to promote for LA in a passive way for students who consider themselves mature and all-knowing about what is going around them. to me, students should be exposed to the term Learner Autonomy from the first months at university. they should be involved in their academic life and taught the necessary skills to take charge of their own learning. I believe that a short term course dedicated for this purpose will be suitable to help students have more autonomy, it would give them at least that bit of knowledge, an initiation to start their academic journey with success and enough curiosity.
is there any update on this, on how to implement both well and at the same time? like any practical strategies?
Jang, H., Reeve, J., & Deci, E. L. (2010). Engaging students in learning activities: It is not autonomy support or structure but autonomy support and structure. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 588–600. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0019682