This article analyses and compares the learning environment in smaller and bigger rural schools by focusing on the arenas of both formal and informal learning; the lessons and the recesses between. Relational patterns are both analysed using complete network data from 19 schools in four different municipalities in four Norwegian counties and by…

School psychology university trainers confront a significant and increasing challenge in attempting to deliver essential content at the graduate specialist level without adding course requirements to an already demanding and lengthy curriculum. Training in counseling is one example of a domain valued by faculty and practitioners that by necessity…

This paper discusses three technologies used in an adult continuing education Masters programme: blogging, learning objects and e-portfolios. My reflections on their use and on the literature underpinning their use form the basis of the discussion. All three of these technologies were used to promote self-directed learning, reflection and learner…

This paper reports on attempts to develop a new learning in the workplace degree based upon an online learning community approach. The paper describes the use of individualised learning plans, shared electronic portfolios and collaborative reflection on practice. Online strategies such as "hotseating" and the use of workplace advocates are…

Self-directed learning (SDL) is viewed as a desirable outcome of schooling, yet scant information is available to educational leaders and teachers on how to implement an inquiry-based curriculum or to support effectively students' development as self-directed learners. To understand better the relationship between the inquiry nature of primary…

Educational programs are continually seeking ways to encourage students' independence, personal growth, and self-directed learning. Graduates should enter the fashion industry with the ability to engage in lifelong learning in order to ensure competence in professional practice. Competition experiences help students to achieve these goals. The…

Developments in lifelong learning and learner autonomy have given fresh impetus to the debate about learning without formal teaching. This paper concerns the educational relationship between learner and adviser in self-directed schemes. Two French self-directed language learning set-ups were observed, one situated at university level (Systeme…

Modern learning approaches increasingly have fewer structured learning activities and more self-directed learning tasks guided through consultation with academics. Such tasks are predominately project-/problem-based where the student is required to follow a freely guided road map to self discovery while simultaneously achieving desired learning…

This study examined the relationship of different assignment structures (i.e., teacher-constructed and student-constructed) on the achievement patterns of 6th-grade gifted and advanced students in a Southwest suburban school. Through a descriptive case study design (Berg, 2004; Merriam, 1988), an action research approach (Stringer, 2004) and…

There is in higher education a powerful discourse of "independent learning". While there may be pedagogical rationales to support the desirability of increased independence at the tertiary stage, it may also serve other institutional agendas, such as functioning as a way for academic staff to "manage" the frustrations…

WebTOP is a three-dimensional, Web-based, interactive computer graphics system that helps instructors teach and students learn about waves and optics. Current subject areas include waves, geometrical optics, reflection and refraction, polarization, interference, diffraction, lasers, and scattering. Some of the topics covered are suited for…

Researchers have documented links between a number of behavioral issues and homelessness, including the following: limited/no social networks; social isolation; proneness of victimization; history of emotional, physical, sexual, and substance abuse; lack of education; and anxiety resulting from inadequate physical space. The possible benefits of…

This paper details the results of two surveys of teacher attitudes to self-access that took place at the English Centre at the University of Hong Kong during the 1992-93 year, and relate these back to an earlier survey of teacher attitudes from the previous year. The Survey of Teacher Attitudes to Self-Access Learning is appended. (JL)

To provide for curriculum flexibility a block of five courses is available in each department of Pershing College. One example: an in-depth study of a major problem, theory, or person in the discipline. The plan was successful for a small college with limited faculty but diverse, creative, and flexible faculty and student body. (JT)

New College, a private institution in Florida that focused on independent study, has now become an upper-division college of the University of South Florida. The author discusses the administrative and financial difficulties of New College in relating its history. (PG)