Findings

Analysis

There was professional development in the English panel.  The teachers got a better understanding of self-directed learning and their roles in the process of nurturing self-directed learners.

The teachers reflected that the workshops had clarified their concepts about self-directed learning.  They realised the importance of taking on the role of a facilitator. They understood that, instead of directly teaching students knowledge and skills all the time, teachers should provide opportunities for students to take responsibility for managing their own learning. They believed that adopting a progressive approach in promoting self-directed learning had helped enhance their capacity in designing tasks which could increase students’ ownership of learning, self-management skills, self-monitoring skills and capability in applying knowledge to different contexts.

Students improved their ownership of learning.  They also enhanced their self-management and self-monitoring skills.

After the units of work with elements of self-directed learning had been implemented, a student interview was conducted. Students found those units interesting as the topics were accessible and they took part in the lessons more enthusiastically. Their ownership of learning has improved. They also found the introductory session meaningful. After completing the survey, they were more aware of their learning needs and attitudes. Some said they seldom thought about what and how to learn in the past. It was a good starting point for them to reflect upon what they should do to take charge of their own learning. 

The teachers observed that students were able to apply note-taking skills to improve information retention when doing other listening tasks. Before attempting more complex tasks, many students remembered to make predictions and highlighted key information in the question without the help of pre-task questions. These are signs that students are more able to manage their learning.

A completed student survey

Students learning task management skills by answering pre-task questions

An excerpt of a completed listening diary – students reflecting upon
their learning experience and making plans for improvement

After introducing self-directed learning, more curriculum space was created for learning and teaching in the English classroom, paving the way for higher-order tasks.

The pre-lesson tasks created more space in the curriculum.  When the teachers first introduced self-directed learning in the English classroom, pre-lesson tasks were set for students to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for a lesson. This created space for a range of tasks to be done during the lesson, such as proactive web search, note-taking, etc. Since students were ready, the teachers could now introduce more complex and varied pre-tasks.