Several practitioners and researchers consider interactivity as the essential mechanism for effective and successful self-regulated learning within web-based learning environments. Even so, there are few studies that address the question of how students deal with the interactivity provided and how this may be related to their achievement. To…

This article reports the findings from a secondary analysis of the data from two qualitative studies conducted by the researcher regarding the self-directed learning experiences of prostate and breast cancer patients. Of interest were possible differences in the descriptions of the participants' experiences that appear to relate to gender.…

Teachers at an urban elementary school developed and implemented a literacy instructional framework based on a gradual release of responsibility model. The framework included: (1) focus lessons; (2) guided instruction; (3) collaborative learning; and (4) independent learning. Over six years, literacy and math achievement at this school increased…

This study represents an effort to construct a learning framework for knowledge building and collective wisdom advancement in a virtual learning community (VLC) from the perspectives of system wholeness, intelligence wholeness and dynamics, learning models, and knowledge management. It also tries to construct the zone of proximal development (ZPD)…

Students are often faced with the temptation of attractive activities, which may interfere with the learning task and result in detrimental effects on experience and performance. Seventy-seven students (50 girls, 27 boys; M age = 15.9 years; SD = 1.65 years) participated in an experiment that reflected the typical situation of students having to…

This article explores the nature of self-study of teacher education practices by examining what self-study is and how it might be conducted and reported. In working through these ideas, the article makes an argument for the need for learning through self-study to be documented in ways that might not only be accessible to others but also meaningful…

This research was conducted to determine the effects of traditional instruction versus Contract Activity Packaged (CAP) versus Programmed Sequenced Learning (PLS) versus Tactual Resources (TR) on the achievement and attitudes of 32 second-year undergraduate teacher education majors enrolled in two classes of a required child-study course at a…

Students were electronically polled about the influence of the Internet in their education and ways teachers could use this resource to motivate them and increase their learning. Responses from the 956 adolescents showed that the school quest to increase student engagement could more often be met through online assignments that facilitate…

Drawing on examples from the best and most popular works in mystery writing--from Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane to Scott Turow and Thomas Harris--this book introduces the fledgling writer to his or her most indispensable "partners in crime": character, plot, and procedure; the secrets to creating heroes and villains; the art of…

Training is often difficult to acquire for family day care providers because most training initiatives are workshops or seminars, which require a specific time frame and which are frequently scattered and lack continuity. A practicum project developed and implemented one unit, or module, of a 13-module self-instructional training program using an…

A practicum project was developed to provide self-directed learning opportunities for all 10 members of a kindergarten enrichment group. Specifically, the project was implemented over a period of 10 weeks to help students gain independent work habits, to improve their care of materials, and to raise their reading ability by one grade level. Ten…

This article is concerned with an environmental education program designed to allow students, grades five through eight, to investigate important ecological relationships. The course has two phases, the awareness phase whereby students construct the Environmental-Ecological Web, and the involvement phase whereby they use it to investigate local…

In response to questions raised by the Pupil Accounting System Advisory Group concerning the criteria for determining a day of attendance and whether study hall time should be counted when measuring attendance, the Illinois State Board of Education conducted a comprehensive survey to ascertain current study hall policy and practice among the…

Self-directed learning is reconceptualized in light of John Dewey's work. Although one would think that proponents of self-directed learning would turn to Dewey's philosophy of education to find support for the idea of self-directed learning, such is often not the case. Instead, advocates of self-directed learning frequently look to Carl Rogers…

The concept of independent learning is discussed. Independent learning is defined as learning in which the learner, in conjunction with relevant others, can make the decisions necessary to meet his or her own learning needs. This must be regarded as a direction or goal to be pursued, not as an absolute standard and not as a set of identifiable…