Tuesday, March 30, 2004
Online Article - Teaching & Learning Forum
Teaching and Learning Forum 96
Higher levels of agency for students: Participation, self-regulation and the learning process
Catherine McLoughlin
Science, Technology and Engineering
Edith Cowan University
Constructivist approaches to learning (Marton, 1984; Palincsar & Brown 1984; Simons 1993; Shuell, 1988) have emphasised that learning is an active, constructive, cumulative and goal-directed activity. Other characteristics of constructive learning are that learners should be diagnostic and reflective. This means that learners are able to undertake activities like monitoring and self-testing to help them judge whether they are still pursuing the goals they have set. Particular competencies, attributes or qualities are necessary to constructive and lifelong learning and to participation in further education. In this paper it is argued that the essential ingredient is that the learners themselves become active participants in the learning process. Only the learner can be a diagnostician of her/his own learning; an outsider (like a lecturer) can never have access to the mind of the learner. Only a goal that the learner defines and strives for herself/himself can be meaningful. The lecturer cannot force students to have goals they don't want. Therefore constructive learning pre-supposes self-regulated learning.
The dilemma/paradox that must be faced is that while most teachers believe that self-regulated, independent learning is important, many do not believe that students are capable of self-regulation. Consequently, they organise all the events of instruction and in so doing, deprive the learners of opportunities to develop such skills. On the other hand students may believe that teacher should make all the decisions about learning and are happy to abdicate all responsibility. It is obvious therefore that there are conceptions to be changed and regulation processes to be learned by both parties to the teaching/learning process. In the university context, is critical to create environments to support self-regulatory processes, and research indicates that apprenticeship systems offer pedagogical principles which can be effectively adopted.
This paper is very relevant because it discusses the conflicting expectations of students and teachers which are similar to my current environment. Useful as the contextual information where a new pedagogical approach in designing learning materials and tasks will be introduced and implemented. This contextual information will allow the researcher to inteprete the reactions and responses of students and teachers alike towards the new approach. Downloaded and printed.
Higher levels of agency for students: Participation, self-regulation and the learning process
Catherine McLoughlin
Science, Technology and Engineering
Edith Cowan University
Constructivist approaches to learning (Marton, 1984; Palincsar & Brown 1984; Simons 1993; Shuell, 1988) have emphasised that learning is an active, constructive, cumulative and goal-directed activity. Other characteristics of constructive learning are that learners should be diagnostic and reflective. This means that learners are able to undertake activities like monitoring and self-testing to help them judge whether they are still pursuing the goals they have set. Particular competencies, attributes or qualities are necessary to constructive and lifelong learning and to participation in further education. In this paper it is argued that the essential ingredient is that the learners themselves become active participants in the learning process. Only the learner can be a diagnostician of her/his own learning; an outsider (like a lecturer) can never have access to the mind of the learner. Only a goal that the learner defines and strives for herself/himself can be meaningful. The lecturer cannot force students to have goals they don't want. Therefore constructive learning pre-supposes self-regulated learning.
The dilemma/paradox that must be faced is that while most teachers believe that self-regulated, independent learning is important, many do not believe that students are capable of self-regulation. Consequently, they organise all the events of instruction and in so doing, deprive the learners of opportunities to develop such skills. On the other hand students may believe that teacher should make all the decisions about learning and are happy to abdicate all responsibility. It is obvious therefore that there are conceptions to be changed and regulation processes to be learned by both parties to the teaching/learning process. In the university context, is critical to create environments to support self-regulatory processes, and research indicates that apprenticeship systems offer pedagogical principles which can be effectively adopted.
This paper is very relevant because it discusses the conflicting expectations of students and teachers which are similar to my current environment. Useful as the contextual information where a new pedagogical approach in designing learning materials and tasks will be introduced and implemented. This contextual information will allow the researcher to inteprete the reactions and responses of students and teachers alike towards the new approach. Downloaded and printed.
# posted by Yik Sheng : 11:26 AM
