Twenty-two high achieving students (grades K-2) who participated in a self instructional mathematics program showed the greatest gains at each level when compared with a high achieving control group and a random comparison group. Advantages of self instruction include ease of administration, flexibility, and a systematic approach. (CL)

How to go about using the public library in learn-it-yourself experiences. (WL)

Examination of self-education and feedback systems suggests that self-education, experience, and the science of education are closely related and of great antiquity. (SK)

Discussion of informal learning (intrinsically motivated, non-linear, and self-directed) in museums focuses on a study of museum professionals that investigated learning experiences in their lives. Highlights four types of learning: sparking an interest; delayed learning; visceral learning; and wrap-around learning. (LRW)

Describes the development and impact of a self-instruction indicated drug abuse prevention program, Project Towards No Drug Abuse. Describes the justification for the self-instruction program, keys to good programmed self-learning, and how a 12-session health-educator delivered program was converted to a self-instruction format. Presents the…

Examines the traditional liberal adult education thesis of educational externalism: that the role of the educator must be undertaken by a person other than the learner. Argues that this requirement is without defensible grounds in the management of the educational event or through singular contribution to its content. (Author/JOW)

The first part of this article gives an overview of two major paradigms that have influenced research in education: the positivist/empiricist and the interpretive. The second part presents an attempt to develop a research agenda into self-direction from a perspective that takes into account the learner's subjective interpretation of the learning…

Critically examines the general characteristics of a "discourse" of self-directed learning and considers consequences of assumptions made about adult learning and teaching. Presents and analyzes case studies of practice involving experiential teaching approaches with two groups of adult students. (JOW)

A study was undertaken to determine if identification of learning styles would assist in predicting adult students' success in an independent study program.. Results indicated that regardless of learning style, students can expect to complete the experience successfully. (JOW)

This article examines the nature of student workload and how perceptions of it are formed. Inferences are drawn from five detailed case studies, taken from a wider sample of university students who completed an hourly diary for one week. A subsample was also interviewed. Perceptions of workload are not synonymous with time spent studying, but can…

Online learning can be an effective tool in second language acquisition (SLA) because it can be an efficient and convenient way to provide accurate, understandable material to second language learners. It is crucial for instructors to have online knowledge and skills as well as the ability to choose how, when, and to whom to apply such expertise.…

The self-directed learning (SDL) in all of its characteristics measured in students and in various learning contexts continues to have a very important role in educational research and requires new explorations. Contemporary research indicates that there is a direct positive relationship between the level of student self-directed learning…

Professional societies in the field of medicine have recommended that the traditional model for lifelong medical learning, which had previously focused on attendance at weeklong didactic continuing medical education (CME) courses, should be replaced by individualized study. Self-directed and practice-linked learning are well accepted in principle,…

In the 2007-2008 school year, Jennifer Hunt, language arts teacher for the 8th grade pre-Advanced Placement class wondered how she could harness the power of Web 2.0 tools to develop her students' literacy skills and deepen their engagement with literature and ideas. To that end, she wrote a successful Qwest Arizona Technology in Education…

Directed self-guidance, whereby trainees independently practice a skill-set in a structured setting, may be an effective technique for novice training. Currently, however, most evaluation methods require an expert to be present during practice. The study aim was to determine if absolute symmetry error, a clinically important measure that can be…