In recent years there has been increased interest among educators in the concept of self-directed learning. The ultimate goal of all teachers is to cultivate students who are able to take responsibility for their own learning. Yet there are many skills which students must learn in order to develop this ability, and teachers have an important role to play in helping them. Many teachers of senior secondary students in Hong Kong are also facing increasing levels of learner diversity. How can they cater for students’ needs within the limited teaching time they are given? Could self-directed learning offer a means of meeting the learning needs of individual students more effectively? In an attempt to meet the challenge of learner diversity among their S4 students, and to give their students greater exposure to different text types and media outside class time, teachers at Hotung Secondary School decided to incorporate a self-directed learning portfolio into their S4 Popular Culture elective module, in order to supplement work done in class and allow a wider coverage of topics for students.