Considers higher education and professional learning and describes a Web-based course focusing on project management skills, including collaboration. Discusses professional knowledge; self-directed learning; social processes of professional learning; integration of learning and assessment; social support for professional skills; cognitive support…

Discusses the field of educational technology and the need for new perspectives on the processes of learning, teaching, and doing research. Topics discussed include the scope of education; goal-directed feedback; control system theory; cybernetics and general system research; self-instruction; and suggestions for future planning for educational…

This paper is informed by one clear guiding principle: collaborative learning provides the platform on which independent learning is nurtured. The nature of collaborative learning in musicology as well as performance is considered. The focus is on learning rather than achievement, on process rather than presentation, on how students are encouraged…

In 2002-03, a qualitative study examined the experiences of 70 stakeholders connected to two community-based adult literacy programs in Manitoba, Canada. Self-directed learning was one of several elements that these research participants considered essential to the learning process. These literacy stakeholders defined self-directed learning as a…

The learning project interview is a group-interview technique that is useful for developing an awareness of the process of adult learning. Specifically, it provides insights concerning the types of things adults try to learn, the number of learning experiences they have, their methods of learning, and the sources of the subject matter that they…

The amount and structure of prose learning derived from vocabulary definition and graphic post-organizer construction methods of independent study tasks is examined. Undergraduate subjects (n=144) read a 2000-word passage in a 20-minute reading period. Two subject groups performed text information tasks while a third acted as a control to measure…

A study was made to determine how the rate of spelling and the retention of spelling words was influenced by the number and spacing of practice presentations on unlearned words. Sixth-grade students (42) in East Palo Alto were drilled by a computer for 6 weeks on six lists of 12 different spelling words each. They drilled on one list until (1)…

Two studies were conducted to obtain information about the metacognitive environment of the preschool child and the impact of parent-child communication on problem solving. Children working with parents showed improvement on several problem-solving measures, but children working alone also improved, solely as a result of practice. (Author/PP)

This book explores the concept of academic and personal tutoring and brings together established theoretical arguments; current activities in schools and classrooms; and observations gleaned from the authors' own research. It recognizes the important role of the personal tutor in working individually with his or her students, and illuminates the…

Describes a model which recognizes active and passive roles of teachers and learners as a means of identifying five basic methods of teaching. (CHC)

Discusses the need to focus on student learning processes and strategies rather than only on technology in the classroom. Topics include classrooms, laboratories, and virtual laboratories; learning outside classrooms or laboratories; training professors; learning skills students need, including technology training; multimedia; team teaching;…

Presents model of instructional strategy planning that links specific cognitive learning and thinking processes with specific computer-based instructional strategies. Topics discussed include memory systems; types of knowledge; drill and practice; tutorials; task-oriented simulations; problem-oriented simulations; and self directed experiences.…

Two recent theoretical developments in adult education, self-directed learning and transformative learning, are applied to the college faculty development process. With this approach, faculty learn to direct their own learning process, become aware of their assumptions about teaching, and revise them using critical self-reflection. (MSE)

Discusses the development of Web-based courses at the University of Southern Queensland (Australia) and presents a conceptual framework of three models of student learning: the independent learner, the interactive learner, and the collaborative learner. Highlights include the impact of constructivism; reflective practice; situated learning; and…

Medical advances and lifestyle changes have resulted in older adults living longer and healthier lives. Nevertheless, older adulthood, as other life stages, requires change in work, family, and health. Self-directed learning (SDL) is one way of negotiating these transitions. The purpose of this study was to understand this process of learning.…