Self-directed Learning With Ict

Preface

2

CONTENTS

3

LISTofTABLES

4

LISTofFIGURES

5

Introduction

6

7

8

1 SelfDirectedLearning(SDL)ANaturalProcessofLearning

Introduction

9

Vignette:SDLisanaturalprocessoflearningdevelopedfromayoungage

Gracejustturnedone.Hermotherboughtheracutelittlebabycupwhichcamewithastrawthatwasattachedtothelid.Priortothis,shehadbeendrinkingfrommilkbottleswithsiliconeteats.Shewascuriousaboutthecup;sheshookitandchuckledatthenoisethewatermade.At first,sheusedthesamemethodofdrinking fromamilkbottlebitingthestraw,treatingitlikeateatandtiltingthecupuptodrinkthewater.Failing todrink thewater, sheplayedwith it likea toy.Oneday,Grace satnext to a girlwho used a similar cup to drink somewater. She observed the girlintensively forawhile.Shemusthaverealizedthatshecoulddrinkwater fromthecup,butnotinthesamewayasdrinkingitfromamilkbottle.Laterthatdaywhenshewasathome,shewasobservedsuckingthestrawfromhercupinthesamewayastheoldergirlsheobserved.Ittookherafewattemptsbeforeshegotitright.Shewassothrilledthatshedrankupallthewaterinthecup.

10

HistoricalDevelopmentofSDL

x x x

x

11

12

SDLasa21stCenturySkill

13

Ownershipoflearning

14

Selfmanagementandselfmonitoring

15

Extensionoflearning

BehaviouralIndicatorsforSDL

16

SalientaspectsofSDL Somepossiblebehaviouralindicators

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

17

AdditionalNotesaboutSDL

18

19

2 PrinciplesforDesigningSDL

SDLasaSpectrum

20

PhasesofSDL(Gibbons,2002)

Studentsreadiness

StudentsSDLcharacteristics

21

WhereDoesaTeacherBegin?

x x

Which phase ofSDLissuitable?

Puttingthelessontogether

Incidentalselfdirectedlearning

Teachingstudentstothinkindependently

Selfmanagedlearning

Selfplannedlearning

Selfdirectedlearning

Decidedbyteacher

Articulatedbystudents

Learningoutcomes

Lowdegreeofselfdirection

Highdegreeofselfdirection

Instructionalstrategies

Resourceselection

Technologyintegrationtoenhancestudentslearning

IntendedoutcomeofthelessonSDLasalearningprocessSDLasalearningoutcome

22

Learningoutcomes

x

23

x

x x x x x

x

PhasesofSDL

x x x

24

Instructionalstrategiesandresources

o o

o

o

o

o

o

25

o

o

o

x x x

Technologyintegration

x

o

o

o

26

o

x x

x

o o o o

o o

o o o o

o

27

o o

o o

o o o

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3 WorkedExamplesofSDL

Introduction

DesignConsiderationsforIncidentalSelfDirectedLearning

Learningoutcomes(forScenarios1&2)What are the learning outcomes the students should achieve by the end of thislearningprocess?x Insteadofbeingprovidedwiththeinformation,studentsaregiventheopportunity

tointerconnectrelatedconceptsandissues.

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Scenario1: WhatanonincidentalselfdirectedlearninglessonmaylooklikeMrs Lim wants her students to differentiate between living and nonliving things.Through a didactic manner of teaching, Mrs Lim presents the information via aPowerPointpresentation. Shepresents informationon the characteristicsof livingthings, namely: feeding, movement, breathing, excretion, growth, sensitivity andreproduction. MrsLimthenshowspicturesof livingthings likeanimalsandplantsaswellasnonliving things likecars,books,and toys.Throughnominatedresponse,sheasksherstudentstochooseany4picturespresentedandgroupthem into livingandnonlivingthings.RedesignedScenario1: Whatanincidentalselfdirectedlearninglessonmaylooklike Mrs Lim begins the lesson by showing animated pictures of a dog and a carusingPowerPoint. She poses questions to make her students think. She providesopportunities for them to ask her questions about the two pictures related to thecharacteristicsoflivingandnonlivingthings.Ifstudentsdonottaketheopportunitytoaskquestions,Mrs.Limmayelicitresponsesfromthembymakingthemthink. Forexample,sheasks: x Whatarethesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthesetwothings?x Oneofthecharacteristicsofadogisthatitcanmove.Sincethecarcanmovejust

likeadog,doesitmeanthatthecarisalivingthing? x Sowhyadogisclassifiedasalivingthingandthecaranonlivingthing?x Whataretheotherpossiblecharacteristicsthathelpusdecideoneisalivingand

theotherisanonlivingthing? Afterhavinggoingthroughmoreexamples,Mrs.Limasksherstudentstodrawamindmap of theirunderstanding of livingandnonliving things. Sheasks them to addquestions if they are unsure. Students will complete the mind map. After goingthroughherstudentsmindmaps,Mrs.Limcanconsolidatetheirdoubtsandclarifyinthenextlesson.

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PossibleusesoftechnologyfortheredesignedScenario1Teacher uses technology like PowerPoint and online teaching materials from theInternet to present facts about the characteristics of living things and nonlivingthings.This provides opportunities for students to visualize andmake comparisonsand infer the characteristics of living and nonliving things. The teacher alsoprovides opportunities for students to consolidate their understanding through theuseofmindmaps. Scenario2: HownonincidentalselfdirectedlearningmaylooklikeintheclassroomMissKala informs the class that theyaregoing to learnabout the variousways torepresent data, such as in the form of pie chart, histograms and bar charts. Sheshowsher students thevariousgraphsviaPowerPointandquerieswhichgraphicalformtheyshouldusefortheirlessononthatday.Majorityofthestudentschoosethepiechart.Usingthepiechartasanexample,sheexplainsthatthepiechartisagreatwayofshowingthedifferentsegmentsthroughcolourcodes. Piechartisalsousefulforvisualisingthevariouspercentagedistributionsasawhole.MissKalahighlightstoherstudentsthatoften,theywillseeasegmentofthedrawingseparatedfromtherestofthepieinordertoemphasizeanimportantpieceofinformation.Astudent,Joseph,asksMissKalahowapie chartdiffers fromabargraph.MissKala then shows theclassherpreparedPowerPointslidesonthebargraphandverballyexplainsthekeypointsaboutthebargraph. RedesignedScenario2: HowincidentalselfdirectedlearningmaylooklikeintheclassroomMsKalainformsherstudentsthatdatacanberepresentedinvariousforms. MsKalashowssomeexampleshowdataiscollected,collated,analysedandrepresented,suchasusingthepiechart,bargraphandhistogram.ShethengivesherstudentstwentyminutestosearchtheInternetonwaysofrepresentingdataandtheusefulnessofeachgraphicalform.Dependingontheabilityofherstudentstoworkindependently,MissKalamightgivethemkeywordstobegintheirsearch,orspecificwebsitesforthemtolook for informationorgive themcompletechoiceofwhere theywant tosource for

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the relevant information. She instructs her students to discuss in groups toconsolidatewhattheyhavefoundoutfromtheirsearches.EachgroupisgivenaWikipagetosharetheoutcomeoftheirgroupdiscussion. PossibleusesoftechnologyfortheredesignedScenario2Theuseofinternetallowsforstudentstosourceforinformationandmakedecisionsaboutrelevanceofinformationselected. Dependingontheabilityofthestudentstosearch for information, theuseof internetprovides formuch flexibilityas towherestudents locate information. The teacher has decided to use Wiki to support herstudentsdiscussion. ShecandosobycreatingaWikipageforeachstudentgroup. In eachgrouppage, the teacher can scaffold theirdiscussionbyaddingpicturesofvariousgraphs. Studentsarerequiredtorespondwiththeirreasonsastowhytheywilluseaparticulargraph. TheuseofWikienablestheteachertomonitorstudentsresponsesand tocheck for theirunderstandingon theappropriateuseofgraphs torepresent data. In addition, the use of Wiki as a platform allows students toconsolidatetheirlearningandtosharetheirfindingswithintheirgrouptohelpbuildon eachothers contributions. Each studentgrouppage canbemadeavailable toothergroupsintheclass,sothattheycanlearnfromoneanother. BesidestheWikipages, teachers could also use Google docs since the platform allows groupcollaborationandaccessbyvariousgroupmembers.

DesignConsiderationsforTeachingStudentstoThinkIndependentlyx

x x

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Learningoutcomes(forScenarios3&4)Whatare the learningoutcomes that thestudentsshouldachieveby theendofthislearningprocess?x Studentsshouldbeabletotakethe initiativetoaskquestionsrelatedtothe

topicofdiscussionx Students should be able to conduct inquiry and investigate their areas of

interestx Basedontheir findings,studentsshouldbeabletopresenttheiropinionsor

deriveafeasibleconclusionverballyand/orusingothermodalities

Scenario3:Acounterexampleofteachingstudentstothinkindependently MrLimprovideshisstudentswithdatacollectedfromsomerealworldcontexts.Theuseofrealdataenablesthestudentstolinkwhattheyarelearninginclasstothe real world outside. He shows the students how the data is presented ingraphical forms.Hegiveshis students somequestions toanswer that test theirability to analyse the graphs in the form of a groupwork.The teacherwalksaround the class to answer any queries that may arise during the groupdiscussions. RedesignedScenario3: HowateachingstudentstothinkindependentlylessonmaylooklikeMrLimpreparesinstructionsandinformsstudentsthattheywillhavetocollectdatafortheMathematicslessonnextweekonGraphs.ThisisMrLimseffortinprovidingopportunities forhis students toexperiencehow to collect theirowndata. He informs them that it shouldbeanareaof interest to them, suchasfindingoutyoungpeoplesresponsesaboutanewmall in theirneighbourhood.Theuseofrealdatalinksclassroomlearningtorealworldcontextandstudentsactuallylearnbydoingcollectingdatathattheywanttoanalyseontheirown,analysingand representing it.The task for students is toanalyse thedataandpresenttheirfindingsusingthegraphtheyfeelbestrepresentswhattheywanttofindout.

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Unliketheusuallessonwherestudentslookatthefinalgraphandanalyseitlikea worksheet, students are now experiencing how data is collected, collated,analysed and represented. They will have questions to ask, such as how toconsolidate the data they have collected using Microsoft Excel. They canapproach the teachers to clarifyanydoubts that theyhave, suchaswhen theyhavedifficultiescreatingthegraphstechnicallyusingMicrosoftExcel. Once theyhavecreated thegraphs, theywillhave torationalize theirchoiceofgraph and its suitability for representing the data they have analysed.At thisstage, students can be given opportunities to discuss online. They can searchwebsites Mr. Lim has provided for them. Alternatively, if his class isindependent,Mr.Limmightsuggestkeywords for them tosearchonlineand tosourcefortheirinformation. Mr.Limmaybeabletointervenebymodellingforthem thekindsofquestionsand issues theyneed to consider.For instance,Mr.Limmayquestion therelevanceandcredibilityof the information the studentshave found fromtheInternet.Duringtheonlinediscussions,theteacherassignsrolesamongthegroupmemberssothatmultipleperspectivesaremadepossible. It ismore likely that the studentswillargue theirpointof view for issues likewhichgraphissuitableandtheirreasonsfortheirpreferredchoice.Therolesareexplicitsothatthestudentsaregiventheopportunitiestoquestiononeanothersassumptions before reaching a consensus. They are explicitly instructed toagree todisagreeas their ruleofengagementbutat theendof thediscussion,theywillhavetonegotiateandreachaconsensusasagroup. Beyond thecontent learningoutcome,students in thisscenario learnsoftskills. Theylearntopresenttheirargument,tosubstantiatetheirargumentorpointofviewwith reasonsor facts. They learn toquestioneachotherspointofview. Students are provided opportunities to communicate with each other and toshare their points of view. They are provided opportunities to negotiate andreacha consensus.Theseare skillsandexperiences that studentsgainbecauseMr. Lim, the teacher, has decided to provide opportunities for his students tothinkindependently.

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PossibleusesoftechnologyintheredesignedScenario3 StudentsusetheExcelspreadsheettocollateandorganisetheirdata.Thedatacan be represented in various forms.With theuse of technology, students canvisualizehowtheirdatawilllooklikethroughtheuseofthevariousgraphs. Forumsareuseful for thestudents toworkon theirdatacollaborativelyoveraperiod of time. It is appropriate for them to discuss and share their findings. Somepossiblebenefitsarethatstudentscanconductresearchontheirownandshare their findingswith the peerswithin the group.They can further discussabouttheprosandconsofthevarioustypesofgraphsandtheusefulnessofusingthevarious typesofrepresentations.The forumdiscussion servesasaplatformforstudentstosharetheirthoughtsandideas,questiononeothersassumptionsandtoexploreandgatherinformationbeyondthetext. Theforumdiscussionisalso useful forMr. Lim tomonitor his students understanding of the topic ofinvestigation.Mr.Limcanguidehisstudentsiftheyareunabletomakedecisions.Mr.Limcanalsomonitorhisstudentsprogress. Whennecessary,hecanclarifystudentsdoubtsandhelpthemtomoveforwardintheirlearning.TheteachersrolesintheredesignedScenario3Mr.Limsroleistoessentiallysettaskswithclearinstructionsandmilestonesforhisstudents.Mr.Limwillhavetofacilitateandmonitorstudentsprogress,bothinthefacetofaceandonlinemodes.Dependingonthereadinesstoparticipateingroupwork,Mr. Limmay permit some students to form groups or give somestudentsclearguidelinesonhowtheycanformtheirowngroups. When using technology,Mr. Limmay have to demonstrate the technical skillsrequired. For example when using the spreadsheet, Mr. Lim might have todemonstrate how data entry should be done. This may be taught justintimewhen the students ask questions about keying in and analysing the data theyhavecollectedusingMicrosoftExcel.Alternatively,Mr.Limmightengagestudenthelperstoassistindemonstratingtotheirpeershowdataentrycanbedone. When settinguponlinediscussions,Mr.Limneeds to stateclearly therules for

35

engagement,suchasthediscussionformatandtheetiquetteforparticipatinginthediscussion.Mr.Limsrole inthe forumdiscussion istomonitorhisstudentsdiscussion,observethe learningthat istakingplace,andtoansweranyqueriesthathisstudentsmayhavesotheycanmakeprogressintheirlearning.Modellingby the teacher takesplacehereaswellasaway to teach the studentshow tothink independently in groupworkwith regard to their levels of thinking, thechoices theymake, the relevance and credibility of the information they havesourced,andhow toengage inargumentative thinking that is constructive forgroupwork. ThestudentsrolesintheredesignedScenario3Giventheopportunitytoexplorewaysofrepresentingtheirunderstanding(suchas by creating graphs), the students learn how to consolidate, organise, andpresent their data graphically. They also learn to rationalise the best way torepresent theirunderstandingasagroup, suchaswhen theyare selecting themost appropriate graph for their group task. The students also learn to beresourcefulas theyexplore thevariousgraphs thatareavailable for theiruse. Theyalsolearntobeeffectiveintheirsearchthroughtheguidelinestheteacherprovides during the search itself and learn to evaluate the various sources ofinformationasagroup.Thestudentstakeresponsibilitytoreachaconsensusandlearnhowbesttopresenttheirfindingstotheclassortheteacher. Scenario4: Acounterexampleofteachingstudentstothinkindependently MdmRohana sets a task for her students to research about a current or pastworld leader.Thestudentstask isto investigateandresearchaboutthe leader,thecharacteristicsoftheworldleader,theactionsoftheleaderandtheimpactoftheactionsandhowpeopleperceivetheworldleader.Thestudentsthenpresenttheir findings in the formofa talk show.Eachmember is to takeona role:Areporter,theworldleader,anaidetotheworldleader,oneortwomember(s)ofthepublic,preferablyofdifferentsocialeconomicstatus. Thestudentswillhavetosourceforsufficientinformationtoplaythevariousrolesandduringthetalkshow,theyaretosharetheinformationwiththeirclassmatesandtorationalise

36

why they feel this leader is their rolemodel. The students finally do a reportwritingtaskontheleaderidentifiedfortheirresearchtopic. RedesignedScenario4:HowateachingstudentstothinkindependentlylessonmaylooklikeMdmRohanaasksher students for examplesofworld leaders they know fromtheirtextbook,newsandelsewhere.Sheleadsaclassdiscussiononwhatmakesapersonaworld leaderandcollectivelywiththeclass,she teasesoutcriteria forassessingleadership,suchasthecharacteristicsoftheworldleader,theiractionsandtheimpactoftheiractionsontheworld,andtheperceptionsofthepublicofthem. MdmRohanaaskseachgroupofstudentstochooseaworldleaderbasedontheclassdiscussionand findoutmore informationabout the leader thegrouphaschosen toresearchon. MdmRohanaassigns specificroles foreachgroup, thetaskstobecompletedwithinaspecifiedtimeframe.Eachgrouphastoreporttoher thedecisions theyhave tomake, suchas the responsibilitiesofeachgroupmemberaccordingtotherolesgivenandtheirreasonsforthechoiceoftheworldleader.StudentsarealsotoldtogathertheirinformationandbuilduptheirWikipageontheworldleaderwhomtheyhavechosen. MdmRohanaprovidesquestions toguideherstudents in their fact findingandposesquestions that further their thinking so thather students can constantlybuildtheirunderstandingusingtheWiki.OncetheinformationhasbeenbuiltupontheWiki,studentswillhavediscusstoextractrelevantinformationtheywantto shareorpresentduring the talk showwhere theywill share their findingswith their classmates. Students will also consolidate the resources andinformationusinganypresentationtoolstocomplementtheirtalkshow. PossibleusesoftechnologyintheredesignedScenario4Mdm Rohana makes use of Internet resources to expand students knowledgeabout the selected world leaders. In addition, the Wiki is created to guidestudentsmeaningmakingprocessas theyreadandassimilatewhat theyknow

37

about the world leaders. The Wiki is also used to share and build studentsknowledge during this process. Finally, theWiki serves as a resource page foreachgroupandtheentireclass,not just todeveloptheir talkshow,butalsoasanother learningmaterialabout theworld leaders. Inaddition, theWikipageservesasaplatform forMdmRohanatomonitorandtrackthedevelopmentofthoughts and knowledge about the world leaders among the students. MdmRohana may suggest the use of Glogster to present the key information increativemannertotherestoftheclassmates. TheteachersroleintheredesignedScenario4Similar toScenario1,MdmRohanasrole is toset taskswithclear instructionsandmilestones forher students.MdmRohanamayhave to start the lessonbymakingavailablesomeresourcesforclassroomteaching,suchasalistofstartupwebsitesforclassroomdiscussionsandafollowupInternetsearch.MdmRohanamayprovide someguidelines onhowher students shouldparticipate ingroupdiscussionforeachspecifiedrole.Forexample,shemayaskastudenttoplaytheroleofadevilsadvocate.Thestudentadoptingthisrolemayaskquestionslike:Ilikeyourreasonsbuthaveyousearchedwebsitesthatpresenttheworldleaderinanegativemanner?Basedonknowledgeofherstudentsparticipationingroupwork,MdmRohanamayassignstudentstoaparticulargrouporallowthemtoform theirowngroups.When the studentsare ready,MdmRohanagives thempermission tobegin their researchandadd relevant informationon theirWikipage.If students need further guidance or resources, the Mdm Rohana may thenprovide themwith thenecessary resourcesor topoint them towhere theycanobtaintherequiredinformation. MdmRohanamightalsoaskquestionstohelpeachgroupmonitorthedevelopmentoftheirthoughtsandknowledgeintheWikipagetoensurethattheyhavecollectedsubstantialinformationtopresentduringthetalkshow.

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ThestudentsroleintheredesignedScenario4Sincestudentshavetoselectaworldleadertoresearchon,theywillhavetocometo a decision based on a consensus reached among the group members. Thedecision making process may take various forms. One possible way is wherestudents in a group brainstorm and select a world leader based on the mostconvincing reason and popular vote.Another approach could be that studentsstartwithresearchonvariousworld leadersandpropose theirselection to therest of the group members and convince them that their selection should bepicked. This iswhere studentsare likely to question, explore, investigate andarguemoreabouttheirpointofview. Itprovidesopportunitiesforstudentstodevelopindependentthinkinganddecisionmakingskills.Oncethegrouphasdecidedontheworldleader,theywillthenhavetonegotiateand decide who takes on the various characters reporter, world leader etc. Some groups may decide that they will conduct their research based on thedifferent requirements set by the teacher and once they have the information,theywillthenworkouttheroles. Again,studentswillhavetodecideandworkouthowbesttheywanttolearn.Students then discuss and think of the bestway to present their choice of theworld leader and the rationale for their choice. Theywill also have to thinkabout what information they will want to add on to their presentation tool(Glogster,PowerPoint,etc)tocomplementtheirroleplayandtosuccinctlybringtheimportantpointsacrosstotheirclassmates.During role play, other students can be prompted to ask questions, to seekclarification and to challenge assumptionsmade by the groups. After havinggatheredthevariousviewpoints,studentswillnowhaveabetter insighttotheinformationtheyhavegathered.Theywillthentakeonthepersonaofanyofthecharactersandwriteareport.

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DesignPrinciplesforSelfManagedLearning

LearningOutcomes

Whatarethelearningoutcomesthatthestudentsshouldachievebytheendofthislearningprocess?x Studentsaregivenopportunitiestoselectwhattheywanttolearnx Studentspacetheirlearningx Ifstudentsareunsure,theyareabletorevisittheconceptsandlearnthem

attheirownpacex Studentsmayseekassistancefromtheteachershouldtheyneedtox Oncestudentsareconfidentoftheconcepts,theycanopttoselfassesstheir

learning x Assessmentcouldalsobeconductedbytheteacher

Scenario5:HowselfmanagedlearningmaylooklikeintheclassroomMrGabrielselectsanarticleonglobalwarmingtogenerateinterestamonghisstudents. Hegivesthemthefollowingarticletoread

GlobalWarmingwhatisitallabout?

An islandof icemorethan fourtimesthesizeofManhattan isdriftingacrosstheArcticOceanafterbreakingoffaglacierinGreenland.

In a July 6, 2009 photomade available byGreenpeace, researcher JasonBoxadjustsatimelapsecameraonthesoutheastsideofPetermannGlacier,oneofGreenlands largest and most northerly glaciers. A 100squaremile iceberg

40

brokeofftheglacierlastweek.

SatelliteimagesfromNASAshowthePetermannGlacieronJuly28(leftphoto)andaftertheicesheetbrokefreeonAug.5.Itssobigthatyoucantpreventitfromdrifting.Youcant stop it, says JonOveMethlieHagen,aglaciologistattheUniversityofOslo.

Potentiallyinthepathofthisunstoppablegiantareoilplatformsandshippinglanes and any collision could do untold damage. In a worstcase scenario,large chunks could reach the heavily trafficked waters where anotherGreenlandicebergsanktheTitanicin1912.

It's been a summer of near biblical climatic havoc across the planet, withwildfires,heatandsmoginRussiaandkillerfloodsinAsia.ButthemomentthePetermannGlaciercrackedlastweekcreatingthebiggestArcticiceislandinhalfacenturymaysymbolizeawarmingworldlikenoother

Sourceofarticle:http://www.pressherald.com/news/nationworld/gianticebergfuelsdebateoverglobalwarming_20100811.html

Mr Gabriel informs his students that there is renewed interest in globalwarminggiventhecurrentissueofthebreakawayiceberg.Inordertoprepareforclassdiscussions,heasksthemtoreadalessonpackagehehascreatedforthemon theLearningManagementSystem. He informs them that theyhaveoneweektocompletetheirtask. Heremindsthemtoattemptthequizhehasdesigned forthemattheendofeachsegment. Theobjectiveofthequiz istohelphisstudentstotesttheirunderstandingofthetopicswhichtheyhavejustgone through.He reiterates that if theydonotperformwell for thequiz, thestudentsareallowedtorevisittheinformationandtoattemptthequizagain.He reminds them toattemptall thequizzesand to submit their responses sothathecanassesshowpreparedhisstudentsarefortheclassdiscussion.

An alternative approach to this scenario could be thatMrGabriel generatesinterestinthetopicofglobalwarmingtogethisstudentsattention. Hethengives thembroadareas to focusonandhe reminds them that theyhaveoneweek to search for the relevant information so that they are prepared to

41

participate actively in class discussion the following week. In order to getthem started, Mr Gabriel posts some web resources and information for hisstudents. He expects them to research beyond the information that he hasprovidedandtocharttheirlearning. MrGabrielmightchoosetomonitorhisstudents progress by requesting them to post their findings on a forumdiscussionboardorablog.

TheteachersroleinScenario5Mr.Gabrielsrolecouldvarydependingonhisassessmentof theabilityofhisstudentstolearnindependently. IfMr.Gabrielassessesthathisstudentsneedprepackagedmaterialstogetthemstarted,thenhisroleasateacherwouldbetogathertherelevantinformationandpresenttheresourcestohisstudentssothey can explore. If he feels that his students potential can be stretchedbeyondtheinformationhehasconsolidated,hemightsuggesttothemthattheycanexploreresourcesbeyondwhathehasgiven.In a different scenario, Mr. Gabriel might assess that his students areindependentandwillbeabletoresearchonthetopicswithouthisconsolidatedresources. In this situation,Mr.Gabrielwillprovidebroadguidelines forhisstudents so they knowwhat research they should be engaged in. Theywillthensourcefortherelevantinformationandlearnwhattheyhavetoinordertobepreparedfortheclassdiscussion. ThestudentsroleinScenario5Thestudentsarerequiredtoassesstheirownknowledgeofthetopic. DirectedbytheresourcesthatMr.Gabrielhasconsolidatedforthem,studentswillaccesstheinformationthattheyfeeltheydonotknowwellandlearnit.Theymaydoselfassessmentbyattemptingthequiz.Iftheydowell,theymaythenproceedtoanotherareawhere they feel theyneed togather knowledge.Essentially, thestudentsroleistoreflectonwhattheydonotknow,andtolearnitsothattheyarepreparedforthetaskthattheyhavetoattempt.

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SelfplannedandSelfdirectedlearning

Scenario6

Insteadofprovidinghis studentswith topics for theirprojectwork (whichMr.Tan usually does), he has decided that he wants his students to takeresponsibility for their work and to be motivated to complete it. Mr. Tansdecisionismadeonthebasisthathewantshisstudentstolearnwhattheywanttowhentheyareengagedinprojectwork.

He informs students that they will have to submit a project, together with aportfolioof theprogress theymade in their learning tohim in6months time. He tells them tomakedecisionsand toconsulthimonhow theywould like toapproachtheproject.

During the consultation, Mr. Tan expects his students to inform him of thefollowing:

x Thegroupmemberswhomtheywillbeworkingwithx Thetopicoftheirchoiceandwhyx The timeline for their project, togetherwithmajormilestoneswhere

theywillsubmitartefactstohimreflectingtheirprogressx Thedirectionsinhowtheywilllearnandcompletetheprojectx The choice of presentation mode they will use to showcase their

learningMr.Tanremindsstudentsthattheyareresponsibleforgeneratingtheirlearningobjectives and charting the timeline. He reiterates that it is the studentsresponsibilitytoupdatehimontheirprogressandtoconsulthimwhentheyneed

43

assistance.Toassisthisstudentslearningprocessandtomonitortheirlearning,Mr.TanmaycreateaneportfoliowithintheLearningManagementSystem.Hisstudents coulduse the eportfolio topresent theirprogress toMr.Tanand toreflecton theirown learning.Theeportfolioservesasameans forstudents tochart theirprogressand toreflectonwhether theyhaveachieved the learninggoalstheyhadsetforthemselves.

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4 AssessmentandSDL

TypesofAssessmentsinSDL

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DevelopingStudentsCapacityinSelfAssessment

VignetteofaPrimary3EnglishclassThepupilsare taskedasa tourguide to introducea famous river to the tourists.Theywork ingroupsof five.Inthisparticular lesson,thepupilsusetheInternettosearch for information fortheirpresentation.ExaminethisexcerptofconversationamongstagroupofthreePrimaryThreepupils(agednine)whentheyaresearchingforinformationontheRiverNile.TheirtaskistoassumetheroleofatourguidetointroducetheRiverNiletoagroupoftourists.

Jeremy: Hey,Ifoundthiswebsite.Look,therearemanypictures.Joel: Wow,quick,rightclickandsavethepictures.Janet: Yes,yes,andpastetheminthePowerPoint.Jeremy: Allthepictures?Joel: Clickthisone.Ilikecrocodilesthebirdslooknicealso.Jeremy: OK,ok,whatshouldItypeinthePowerPoint?Janet: Here,copythispart.TheRiverNile,isthelongestriverinthe

world.Everyyear theNile floodsatalmostexactly the sametimeofyear,15thJuly.

46

Jeremy: OK,what else canwe include?The teacher saidwe need topresentfor2minutes.

StudentsSelfAssessmentofSDL

47

-./

48

Table 2: Students self-assessment of SDL behaviours

BehaviouralIndicators Frequency Reflection

x

{ { { { { {{ {

x

{ { { { { {{ {

x

{ { { { { {{ {

x

{ { { { { {

{ {

x

{ { { { { {{ {

x { { { { { {

{ {

x

{ { { { { {{ {

x

{ { { { { {{ {

x { { { { { {

{ {

x

{ { { { { {{ {

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StudentsSelfAssessmentofPerformanceOutcomes

50

Table 3: An example of an assessment rubric for a science project

Componentsofproject

Beginning Developing Accomplished Exemplary Studentscomments

Teachersorpeerscomments

Choiceofresearchproblemandquestions

Informationseeking

Datacollectionmethod

Analysis

Report/ Presentation

Communication

51

StudentsPortfolio

52

53

TeachersassessmentinSDL

Assessingstudentsbehaviours

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Table 4: Assessing students SDL behaviours

BehaviouralIndicators Frequency Reflection

SDLDimension1:Ownershipoflearning

x

{ { { { { {

x Studentsdeterminelearninggoalsandidentify

learningtaskstoachieve

thegoals

{ { { { { {

x Studentscharttheirlearningprocess

{ { { { { {

x Studentschallengethemselvesandsetthe

standardsforthe

achievementoftheir

learninggoals

{ { { { { {

55

BehaviouralIndicators Frequency Reflection

SDLDimension2:Managementandmonitoringofownlearning

x Studentsexplorearangeofpossibilitiesandmake

sounddecisions

{ { { { { {

x Studentsformulatequestionsandgenerate

relevantinquiries

{ { { { { {

x Studentsselfplanandselfmanagetheirtime

{ { { { { {

x Studentscriticallyreflectontheirlearningand

initiategatheringof

feedbackfromteachers

andpeerstoachievetheir

learninggoal

{ { { { { {

SDLDimension3:Extensionofownlearning

x Studentsapplywhattheyhavelearnttonew

contexts

{ { { { { {

x Studentsutilizetheskillsthattheyhaveacquiredto

learnbeyondthe

curriculumcontent

{ { { { { {

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TeachersselfassessmentofscaffoldingstudentsforSDL Table 5: Teachers self-assessment of scaffolding for SDL

Frequency Reflection BehaviouralIndicators

Studentteacherslearningpartnership

x

{ { { { { {

x

{ { { { { {

x

{ { { { { {

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Frequency Reflection BehaviouralIndicators

Conditionsforstudentsselfmanagementandmonitoringoftheirlearning

x

{ { { { { {

Experiencesforextensionofstudentslearning

x

{ { { { { {

x

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58

59

ConcludingThoughts

60

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