Describes an open learning initiative in China called the Higher Education Examinations Self-Taught Learning (HEESTL) that relies on autonomous learning, student motivation, and students' ability to seek out additional needed support to take the National Unified Higher Education Examinations. Discusses the role of state and provincial governments…

Examines aspects of learning Cantonese by English speakers in Hong Kong. Particular focus is on the effectiveness of the instructional materials currently on offer. (Author/VWL)

Discusses instructional design and explains the multi-channel learning environment which was developed to allow the use of various media to provide alternative learning paths to accommodate differences in learning styles and media preferences. Highlights include taxonomies of learning; social aspects of learning; self-learning in distance…

Examined teaching behavior in Dutch secondary schools in the early phase of an innovation promoting self-directed learning. Observation data indicated that teachers did not spend much time teaching students how to learn. Activating features of teaching were more predominant than the mere transmission of knowledge, but process-oriented teaching…

This article describes the benefits of integrating technology into the curriculum including giving gifted students an opportunity to work at their own pace and ability level and to research independently. Internet usage is discussed, as well as using technology to reach out to gifted girls and gifted at-risk students. (Contains references.) (CR)

The current perspective of autonomous learning defines it as the agentive exhibition of resourcefulness, initiative, and persistence in self-directed learning. As a form of human agency, it has been argued in the literature that this perspective should be consistent with Bandura's (1986) Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). The purpose of this article…

The authors examined the effectiveness of self-regulated learning (SRL) training in facilitating college students' learning with hypermedia. Undergraduate students (N = 131) were randomly assigned to either a training condition or a control condition and used a hypermedia environment to learn about the circulatory system. Students in the SRL group…

Progress files represent a major policy initiative involving the use of Personal Development Planning (PDP) aimed at the production of autonomous learners who are capable of planning for their own career and personal futures. The paper is organized in three parts and argues for a more critical approach, which locates PDP as part of broader shifts…

This paper explores the varied use of information technologies (ITs) such as the computer and Internet for self-education, highlighting how these technologies can facilitate and suppress such learning opportunities throughout the adult population. Based on data drawn from a large-scale study of adults in the West of England and South Wales, the…

To acquire representations of printed words, children must attend to the written form of a word and link this form with the word's pronunciation. When words are read in context, they may be read with less attention to these features, and this can lead to poorer word form retention. Two experiments with young children (ages 5-8 years) confirmed…

Purpose: In the light of the growing emphasis on independent learning and non-technical skills in education and employment, the study aims to examine the relevance of learning style to student self-assessment skill. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of first-year undergraduate students was asked to provide self-assessed marks for their…

A micro-level approach to the study of relationships between component processes within self-regulated learning in young adolescent students is described. Using this approach, contingencies between self-regulatory processes can be identified and insight into factors that promote students' use of self-regulatory strategies can be investigated.…

The Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate at the National Science Foundation has been examining its role in supporting the development of new approaches to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. This article explores what it means to be scientifically literate, what it takes to become a learning organization,…

In this article the theme of individualisation of teaching is described and analysed. In the light of a fairly long tradition of a comprehensive school system embracing the idea of individualisation, we expected this to be an important aspect of ongoing changes in Nordic schools. Individualisation can be seen as continuity in the pedagogical…

Often with large classes of students it is difficult to cater for individual needs. Large classes hold many students, some of whom may be under-prepared for the course they are taking and some who will already have a high degree of familiarity with much of the planned content and learning outcomes. In catering for the diversity of students,…