Cooperative Learning as a Strategy for Self-Directed Learning in Blended-Distance Learning Environments

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Chantelle Bosch ◽  
Dorothy Joy Laubscher
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Learning Environments ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Content Area ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Academic Publications ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Blended Distance Learning

Self-directed learning (SDL) is an essential component for the success of distance learning students. Technology serves as a suitable tool to enable cooperative learning (CL), a strategy that can be used to enhance SDL. The aim of this chapter is to report on literature relating to CL as a strategy for SDL in a blended-distance environment. The research question is: How does cooperative learning as an SDL strategy feature in a blended-distance learning context? A systematic literature review was performed using suitably selected key words in various databases. The selection criteria included academic publications in the last decade, relating to higher education, various research methods, and in any content area. This chapter concludes that studies involving the use of CL to promote SDL particularly in a blended-distance environment feature sparsely in the literature. Conflicting ideas on the use of terminology is problematic and further research is suggested.

scholarly journals Challenges and Opportunities of Asynchronicity: Task-Based Approach After COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Līga Beļicka ◽  
◽  
Tatjana Bicjutko
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Asynchronous Learning ◽  
First Year ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
First Year Students ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Professional Contexts

The fast transition to fully online studies due to the pandemic made the universities around the world question many of their accepted notions on teaching foreign languages in general and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) methodology in particular. Putting stress on the synchronous remote teaching and learning has proven to yield a reductionist perspective missing asynchronicity, the dimension which makes reconsider the whole educational process. With its shift from the sole focus on learning terminology to training skills in authentic professional contexts, the task-based approach has long excelled in meeting the diverse needs of students. Thus, the research question is how well task-based teaching (TBT) solves the problems raised with asynchronous learning in a university ESP course. The research of available literature on TBT yielded the framework for constructing an extended task applicable in the advanced medical English. The case study with 120 first-year students of medicine organised around an informational interview with health professionals demonstrated easy adaptability of the task to the asynchronous nature of the educational process. Personal observations by the course instructor, summaries of student-conducted interviews, and student written feedback proved the responsiveness of the method to the learners’ needs and the potential of the approach in terms of motivation. The emphasis on self-directed learning, however, threatens the systematicity of the acquired language skills, as a more controlled teaching environment would not allow “skipping” any learning step. Additionally, TBT does not solve the problem of the voluminous teaching load.

Videagogy

2013 ◽  
pp. 138-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Jonas ◽  
Darnell J. Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Video Content ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Teaching Technique ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Traditional Pedagogy ◽  
Home Computing

Capitalist economics posits that increased competition between entrepreneurs in an economy leads to better, more consumer friendly products. As colleges compete for students, the same could be said for how modern learners have driven traditional pedagogy to new heights. In the last 30 years, education has witnessed the transformation of distance learning via the internet and home computing, the growth and inclusion of non-traditional learning methods, and most recently, the growth of a ubiquitous video culture via the usage of digital video recording, phone cameras, and web vehicles such as YouTube. This chapter attempts to connect research with the practical components of using technology in the form of humorous, short videos as a new teaching technique called videagogy: from the words video and pedagogy, pronounced vid-e-ah-go-jee. Using humorous videos and allowing students to select video content brings self-directed learning to students in a non-threatening way that actually makes them laugh out loud.

Online Virtual Learning Environments

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicoletta Adamo-Villani ◽  
Hazar Dib
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Virtual Learning Environment ◽  
Virtual Learning Environments ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Complex Information ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Interactive 3D

This article is an overview of online virtual learning environments for discovery learning. The paper defines Virtual Learning Environments and discusses literature findings on the benefits of using web-based VEs for self-directed learning. It gives an overview of the latest technologies/platforms used to develop online VEs, discusses development and delivery challenges posed by complex, information-rich web-based 3D environments, and describes possible solutions that can be adopted to overcome current limitations. The paper also presents and discusses two 3D web-deliverable virtual learning environments that were recently developed by the authors: the “Virtual Tour of the Muscatatuck State Hospital Historic District (MSHHD)” and the “VELS: Virtual Environment for Learning Surveying”. The “Interactive 3D Tour of MSHHD” is a web-based digital heritage application that uses Virtual Reality as a tool to document and preserve historic sites and educate the public about them; the “VELS” is an online virtual learning environment whose objective is to help undergraduate students learn surveying concepts and practices.

Insuring Self-Direction and Flexibility in Distance Learning for Adults

2011 ◽  
pp. 322-336
Author(s):  
Mary C. Ware
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Adult Learners ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Adult Learning Theories ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Learning Flexibility ◽  
On Line ◽  
Contract Learning ◽  
On Line Learning

Distance learning via the internet has become the key to reaching adult learners globally. Adult learners have been shown to benefit from such qualities as: provisions for self-directed learning, flexibility, and frequent communication with the instructor in order to achieve success. Contract learning and contract grading are two innovations popularized during the “individualized instruction” movement of the 1970s which are being used to assist instructors of twenty-first century on-line learning courses in providing for self-direction, flexibility and frequent communication. The chapter which follows will provide an overview of contract learning and contract grading as it can be used with adult learners in distance learning courses (e.g., courses supported by WebCT, Blackboard). The chapter will examine adult learning theories which support contract learning/grading as well as provide information on designing learning contracts and grading contracts which are appropriate for adult learners.

scholarly journals A CASE STUDY OF SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING USING MOVIE TO PROMOTE ORAL COMMUNICATION

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Mohammad Amro Mohammad Suleiman ◽  
Mahendran Maniam
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Directed Learning

The main aim of this study is to help EFL students’ improve their oral communication proficiency out-of-class. To achieve that, video-movie was chosen as a medium for improving the subjects' oral communication proficiency. It was hoped that movie could function as a pseudo-immersion for the students, an accessible and easy alternative to being in the English native countries. Based on that, this study aim has been transformed into this research question ‘what effect does self-directed learning using movies has on the students' perceived oral communication proficiency?’. To answer that, six first year students at the faculty of English language and literature, Ajloun University in Jordan, were selected based on purposive sampling and divided equally into two groups, treatment and control, based on random assignment. The subjects in both groups were asked to take the self-assessment language test twice, once before the beginning of the case study scheme and another after. Likewise, to be interviewed twice, and to fill in the study notes during the case study scheme. Only the treatment group were given eight movies with its guides and asked to self-study with it over eight weeks. The results from the case study indicated that movie could help improve the students' oral communication proficiency with higher post-test scores than pre-test scores. Methodological triangulation from both the interviews and study notes also supports the assertion that movie improved the subjects’ oral communication proficiency. The subjects in the treatment group revealed in the post-interview that movies helped improve their listening skills and two subjects suggested that it could possibly have helped improve their speaking skills as well. Their perception in their study notes also supports the results. In conclusion, it is very likely that self-directed learning using movies has improved the students’ oral communication proficiency. This study has implications for practical applications in language teaching and learning which suggests that movie can be effective out of class. In addition, the results suggest that further larger scale investigations into students' language improvement out of class will be worth carrying out.

scholarly journals Self-directed Teacher Professional Development in Saudi Arabia: EFL Teachers’ Perceptions

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1359
Author(s):  
Hamad I. Alshaikhi
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Teacher Professional

This study explores Saudi EFL teachers’ perspectives, attitudes and experiences with regards to their teacher professional development (TPD) with special emphasis on workplace learning and self-directed initiatives. Using semi-structured interviews and reflective essays, the study managed to highlight a thriving workplace learning context in which teachers are involved in many forms of self-directed learning, including experiences stemming from the dailiness of the everyday realities of their schools. Data showed that Saudi EFL teachers are committed professionals who are well aware of a variety of TPD resources and opportunities; some of them are institutionalised while the majority are self-directed by teachers themselves beyond any institutional requirement. The study revealed that many participants had high preferences for self-directed learning over institutional provisions for its embeddedness in their context, the nature of their specialisation, and for the changing nature of their profession. Networking, collaboration, reflection and collegiality are some of the main features of self-directed learning as reflected in teachers’ current practices.

scholarly journals Introducing cooperative learning: students’ attitudes towards learning and the implications for self-directed learning

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsa Mentz ◽  
Sukie van Zyl
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Computer Application ◽  
First Year ◽  
Application Technology ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Attitudes Towards Learning

This article reports on research that aims to enhance self-directed learning by introducing cooperative learning strategies. The two-fold aim of this research was firstly to determine whether the implementation of cooperative learning in a Computer Application Technology class of first-year students contributed to positive attitudes towards learning, and secondly, whether students’ attitudes towards learning, after completion of the cooperative learning intervention, related to their self-directedness. We conclude that the implementation of cooperative learning in a Computer Application Technology first-year class positively contributes to students’ attitudes towards learning and their attitudes towards learning related to their perceived self-directed learning (SDL) readiness.

scholarly journals Multidimensional Model of Distance Learning Environment

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Irēna Katane ◽  
Edgars Katans
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Ecological Approach ◽  
Multidimensional Approach ◽  
Multidimensional Model ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Technological Environment ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Distance Learning Environment

Education diversification is a precondition for the sustainability of the society and education as such. Diversified education can ensure the accessibility of education, as well as individualization according to the needs of the society. Distance learning is one of education alternatives. Research in the field of distance learning environment shall be based on the ecological approach in education, which has many and various forms. Multidimensional approach is one of them. The aim of the article is to justify the multidimensional model of distance learning environment, that comprises: 1) self-directed learning pedagogical support environment; 2) informative environment; 3) technological environment; 4) e-environment. The multidimensional approach promotes holistic approach, thus avoiding unilateralism in relation to research in the distance learning environment specificity, as well as to its development.

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