The "independent learner" is a key construct within discourses of educational policy and practice in the UK. Government policy statements stress the importance of developing learner independence, and higher education pedagogical practices tend to rest on the assumption that students are independent learners. This paper draws on research…

This qualitative research study investigates the uses of an American college library by ESL students in improving their language skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Language learning activities in the library are identified, described, and placed in a framework of self-directed language learning and language learner autonomy.

What the author has learned from this experience is to allow time for the unexpected when dealing with technology. She has further learned that one needs a strong technological support system in the school to ensure that access can be restored. The physical setting for online learning is important, as well. Students need to have a place where they…

This paper presents a teaching methodology involving an independent research project component for use in undergraduate Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy laboratory courses. The proposed project introduces cooperative, active learning in a research context to comparative vertebrate anatomy. This project involves pairs or groups of three students…

In this article, we describe the development of a mobile butterfly-watching learning (BWL) system to realize outdoor independent learning for mobile learners. The mobile butterfly-watching learning system was designed in a wireless mobile ad-hoc learning environment. This is first result to provide a cognitive tool with supporting the independent…

This study recounts a practicing teacher's attempt to describe reflections during the course of teaching at the primary level. A self-study was conducted to address teacher thinking during "bumpy moments" in teaching, offering an insight into how we might capture the details of teachers' unseen reflections. Through an analysis of the many "bumpy…

School reform efforts can have greater effect on student achievement if there is a much-needed dialogue between proponents of standards-based reform and proponents of learner-centered reform. The standards-based reform movement could learn a great deal from the theory and research generated by the learner-centered approach and use that knowledge…

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…

Incorporating information literacy exercises into the science curriculum will help students to navigate through the myriad of information available in different formats, and to become better scientific thinkers and writers. Here we describe how we incorporated such exercises in introductory biology and evaluate their effectiveness in achieving our…

This research is part of a broader project being carried out by Erain School (San Sebastian) since February-March, 2004. The project is centered on the educational use of digital video. It has been catalogued as an R&D&I Project by the Diputacion (provincial council) of Guipuzcoa and the Basque government who collaborated in financing it,…

One Master's Program, Initiatives in Educational Transformation, has integrated a computer management system (WebCT) into a learner-centered (Weimer, 2002) community of K-12 practicing teachers. Online discussions were an extension of instructional practices that supported dialogue, reflection, and self-assessment for the purpose of continuous…

Various authorities outline the benefits of collaboration in the form of classroom writing groups in learning certain writing skills. Collaboration promotes interaction, dialogue and negotiation between reader and writer. Whether the collaboration resides in interior dialogue or communal discourse or both, collaborative discourse can enable the…

Teachers in multilevel adult English-as-a-Second-Language classes are challenged to use a variety of materials, activities, and techniques to engage the interest of the learners and assist them in their educational goals. This digest recommends ways to choose and organize content for multilevel classes, explains grouping strategies, discusses a…

The School for New Learning (SNL) was established in 1972 at DePaul University especially for adult students. SNL students are adults, age 24 or older, who want to accelerate their progress to a degree by using experience as well as classwork for academic credit, and who want to design their own programs with help from an advisory committee of…

The purpose of this book is to increase awareness of the numerous seminars, short courses, field courses, workshops, and programs for teachers, students, naturalists, and independent scholars. These programs emphasize the natural sciences including general biology, botany, zoology, ecology, marine biology, ichthyology, microbiology, natural…