Self-directed learning

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The term self-directed learning ( SGL ) is often used synonymously with the terms self-organized , self- regulated or self-determined learning . All of these terms denote the application of the principles of self-regulation , self-management and volition to the areas of educational psychology , school education , adult education and vocational education ( personnel development ).

features

The characteristics of self-directed learning are:

  1. Independent goal setting
  2. Self motivation
  3. Selection of suitable learning strategies and learning tactics
  4. Overcoming problems such as learning barriers and distractions
  5. Learning success control.

history

The research of Albert Bandura since the early 1940s, in particular his social-cognitive learning theory and his work on self-regulation, is one of the essential foundations of self-directed learning . This work and knowledge has helped to draw the attention of the professional world to an important problem: Up until the late 1970s, it was common practice to attribute learning success to individual skills such as intelligence , motor skills , memory or the learning environment. In fact, it turned out that, despite such characteristics, many students did not perform well or even failed. On the other hand, competencies in self-regulation proved to be much more important for learning success. These include skills such as self-motivation, forward planning, and self-assessment (feedback); In addition, particularly successful learners were able to design their learning environment in a meaningful way and to apply targeted learning strategies . According to their self-image, they were autonomous, competent and self-confident. A current empirical research project on the promotion of gifted and gifted children in Germany also came to the conclusion that self-regulation is more important than intelligence for school success. These research results raise the question of how parents and educators can promote these skills and whether this is even possible within the framework of state-bureaucratic school systems.

Historically earlier approaches include, among others, Hugo Gaudig (1922 the student's self-employment), Maria Montessori (independent education in early childhood), Célestin Freinet (cooperative class management), Carl Rogers (holistic view of man based on self-directed learning), Alexander Sutherland Neill and Paulo Freire (influence on self-directed learning through alternative pedagogical forms of learning). The concepts can currently be classified within constructivist didactics and are therefore considered a didactic-methodological concept .

The idea emerged in principle in Johann Amos Comenius' compulsory learning .

meaning

In Klaus Holzkamp's school criticism , German educational institutions, especially schools , are accused of still having some catching up to do in the required development towards self-determined learning, because the individual there is induced or forced too much into largely externally determined learning through curricula, teaching goals and performance assessments.

The situation is different in adult education . Practical workshop exercises, case studies and seminar units, to which the participants also contribute more or less as experts without any pedagogical training, are practical for working with students, retraining or for in-house personnel development .

Classification

In general, the term self-determined learning means that learning children or adults decide for themselves about the goals and content, the forms and paths, results and times as well as the places of their learning .

If learners control their own learning with given content and goals and make decisions about how they organize their learning, it is better to speak of self-organized learning than of “self-determined learning”.

Such didactic concepts with the approach of giving students and other learners the opportunity to gradually practice independent and self-responsible work allow the learners to shape the learning process completely or partially themselves. With complete self-determination, the learner independently sets learning goals and carries out learning activities in order to achieve the learning goals. Which learning activities the learner carries out when, where and in which order is determined by himself.

If the students themselves teach the other participants or set educational goals, this is called learning through teaching . The self-control takes place here within somewhat narrower limits. The material (i.e. the learning objective) is usually given. The path to the learning goal, however, can largely be organized by the participants themselves. Often this is done on the basis of advice from the teacher regarding appropriate methods of presentation. The learners therefore do not work autodidactically , but acquire accompanied methodological competence , from a generic point of view information competence (cf. in this context also the discussion about “ informal learning ”).

Even more far-reaching approaches that affect the self-control of the entire school operation are known as the Democratic School (e.g. Summerhill ) (see below).

Teaching procedures and methods

Concrete procedures for self-directed learning from the repertoire of teaching methods can be found across the board in school operations , in basic and advanced training , in specialist studies and in adult education. The proportion of self-experience and self-determination are consistently higher here than in receptive processes such as lectures , frontal teaching or courses . It also becomes clear that the discussion of learning concepts is not (must) limited to students.

Self-organized learning offers the teacher a wide range of options for creating interesting and varied lessons. These procedures are broken down into:

a) Developing procedures:

  • Station learning → Pupils have to work on elective and compulsory tasks in stations in any order and in any social form
  • Moderation → group discussion taking into account all group members
  • Group puzzle → School groups work on sub-topics of an overall topic and then have to present their topic in new groups
  • Project work → Students work on a jointly selected topic over a longer period of time

b) performing procedures:

  • Presentation → processed topics are presented in front of the class
  • Visualization → illustration of abstract subjects
  • Presentation → Students present a topic they have worked on in a lecture to the class (individually or in small groups)
  • Thesis paper → brief summary of a topic (often in connection with presentations)
  • Role play / business game → complex topics are simulated in simplified situations

c) Procedure for deepening:

  • Sorting tasks → serve to review the content learned for the subsequent consolidation
  • Structuring → complex topics are presented in simplified form in a clear structure
  • Domino → matching questions and answers have to be put together like in dominoes

d) Networking of content:

e) Integrating method:

  • Learning through teaching (LdL) → Small groups of pupils are given the task of conveying a section of the new material to the whole class. All processes mentioned under a) to d) are integrated.

f) Instruments for self-organization:

  • Goal planning → to organize free learning phases
  • Learning diary → for the documentation of the learning process
  • Reflection methods → as a way of optimizing the learning process; flow into new target planning

Other methods and approaches are BarCamp , coaching , evaluation , free work , action- oriented teaching , collegial case advice , open teaching / open learning , supervision , scenario technology , training , workshop or future workshop .

Special characteristics

The concept of self-determined learning with its differentiations is currently of great importance in the discourses of school education , adult education and educational psychology . The conceptual definitions are correspondingly varied from author to author.

Parts of the teaching-learning methods or teaching techniques of the Göttingen catalog contain various forms of self-directed learning with methodological and didactic deviations from classic frontal teaching :

The various forms in which the participant himself makes methodical and didactic decisions for acquiring knowledge are roughly divided into three levels of abstraction:

  1. The student / participant penetrates the material alone or with colleagues in order to organize it, prioritize the teaching material and make a decision about what is important and where. Receptive learning still takes place at this level, i. H. self-control is not yet possible. External suggestions come in or benchmarking takes place.
  2. The student / participant thinks about a suitable approach to the material. To do this, he either uses his own stories, examples or quotations (see "from the known to the unknown"), discusses the material with other learners in order to understand it, or uses points of reference that are given or found on the Internet. This process greatly deepens the understanding of active students / participants. Weak or socially excluded learners quickly lose touch here.
  3. The student / participant occurs e.g. Sometimes out of the small group or self-study and in front of the group, in order to convey his or her topic or thesis to his small group to the rest of the class or the critics (learning through teaching). As a rule, the discussion is expected or allowed at one point, so that a teaching discussion or a disputation ensues.

need

One reason for the topicality of self-organized or self-directed learning lies in the change in the scientific perspective, away from the model of behavioristic learning towards cognitivistic and constructivist learning, which emphasize the active role of the learner. The image of the human being of the active knowledge owner has already shaped the reform pedagogy and is underpinned in its modern form (in the sense of an operationally closed system) by numerous neuroscientific studies on learning factors like attention, previous experiences and emotions .

In order to promote self-organized learning, self-directed learning processes must be initiated, e.g. For example, learning tasks that are solved in groups or in individual work can stimulate learning activities and thus set learning processes in motion.

Another reason lies in the short half-life that knowledge has in many parts of today's society. Braner and Lackmann (1993) found that the half-life of knowledge in the banking industry is around five years, that of knowledge in the IT sector is only two years.

The developments in the IT area not only force constant learning, but also make this possible through the development of new technologies. For example, the Internet makes it easier to find information on your own. Learning programs offered on electronic storage media or online enable the learner to learn at any time and from any location. As a result, e- learning is becoming increasingly important, which in turn is often used in the context of self-directed learning phases (e.g. in distance learning, in informal learning or in free learning and practice phases).

Last but not least, the promotion and reflection of self-directed, responsible or self-organized learning is required in several state regulations and guidelines for quality development in schools. B. in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Berlin.

performance evaluation

When grading to be taken into consideration of the self-organized learning must to several factors. On the one hand, it must be possible to objectively determine the performance in the respective subject; on the other hand, it is important that only that which can be learned is graded. There are a few important factors to consider:

  • Transparency (the composition of the grades must be clear to the student)
  • Equal opportunities (equal rights for students)
  • Individuality (each student is graded individually)

The pedagogical portfolio is a possible instrument for assessing performance in self-organized learning .

Individual requirements

In order to organize the learning process successfully, the learner must have some skills or competencies. In institutions in which self-organized learning processes are demanded and encouraged, practicing the relevant skills becomes a subject of learning itself.

Competencies

  1. Expertise : Certain technical relationships must be known.
  2. Social skills: ability to work and communicate with classmates.
  3. Methodological competence: Ability to independently obtain the information required.
  4. Moral competence: Every action must be checked for its moral justifiability.
  5. Cooperation skills: see social skills.
  6. Communication skills: see social skills.
  7. Media literacy : The ability to handle many different media. In the last few years it has become topical: Web 2.0

Only when these competencies are present can the learner use his learning strategies. In addition, the learner must have the ability to reflect and metacognition so that he can evaluate and improve his learning process after his work.

Cognitive aspects

In order to learn successfully in a self-organized manner, knowledge of learning strategies is required. These strategies make it easier for the learner to understand, store and retrieve knowledge.

Repetition strategies

Repeat strategies serve knowledge to be learned, in literal form in the working memory to keep active and to create the conditions for that information in the long-term memory can be transferred. Examples of this are copying texts and repeating them.

Elaboration strategies

Through elaboration , the attempt should be made to activate existing prior knowledge about a subject area and to link new knowledge with it. Typical elaboration strategies are examples to consider and what has been learned to be formulated in your own words.

Organizational strategies

These should help to work out relationships within a new area of ​​knowledge in order to build up a coherent picture of the topic. Organizational strategies are, for example, writing summaries of texts or creating mind maps on a topic.

Areas of application

Use beyond the institutions

The ideal of self-determined or self-directed learning is most likely to be realized in areas of life that are outside the training and work area. There the learner has the opportunity to decide for himself about the goals and content, the forms and paths, results and times as well as the places of his learning. He can decide to work with others and evaluate his performance according to criteria of his own choosing. Visiting a teacher to support one's own learning processes would also be part of this self-determined learning process.

If children and adolescents learn entirely without the school as an institution, this is also known as unschooling .

Especially in the Scandinavian countries, study circles have been widespread as a democratic and participatory form of learning for more than 100 years . There people meet and acquire knowledge on a topic of their own choosing. Experts are invited as well as moderators to support the work. Some countries promote these groups and discuss them as a “third pillar” alongside school and company training.

Use in school

Self-determined learning can only be meaningfully spoken of in school if the students can (co-) determine and decide on relevant decision-making areas that are otherwise incumbent on the institution or the teachers. In self-determined learning, the students determine and take responsibility for what is meaningful and important to them.

In the reality of state schools, only approximations to the ideal described above seem to be possible. In station learning, for example, the students learn independently, in a self-organized and self-directed manner. You do not learn independently, as the tasks to be worked on are essentially given by the teacher and the decision on how to organize these learning processes is rarely made together with the students. The weekly schedule lessons can be both, depending on the degree of openness the teacher allows. However, there are, for example, teaching concepts in primary schools in which the children decide on topics for themselves and search for suitable materials independently (cf. Bannach 2002).

Reform schools such as the Laborschule Bielefeld or the Helene-Lange-Schule in Wiesbaden and teaching attempts at “normal” schools prove that first approaches to self-determined learning are possible.

A distinction must be made between open lessons , in which children not only “decide on topics for themselves”, but rather the lessons are systematically geared towards making the topic-finding by the children themselves a central element of the lesson.

In contrast, in the case of free work on self-selected topics, self-determination, in particular about the content and goals of learning, takes up a political-pedagogical claim ( maturity ) of didactic action.

The self-determination of the students about their topics on the one hand contributes to the democratization of school structures - students help determine the school curriculum - and on the other hand enables the students to take responsibility for their school learning and to further develop their ability to act (cf. Bannach 2002).

Open learning differs from self-determined learning in that not only the learning processes, but also the social processes within the learning group are democratically designed by the children and, moreover, the interaction with the learning environment (e.g. other classes in school, Institutions and groups outside the school) is in their hands.

These principles are observed, for example, in free alternative schools or in democratic schools . Well-known democratic schools are z. B. Sudbury Valley School in the USA or Summerhill in England.

There are currently attempts in various cities in Germany to found Sudbury schools , which have so far failed in part due to resistance from the school authorities.

Application in professional development

Increasingly, approaches to self-directed learning can also be found in professional training. Research into this has been carried out in model tests since the late 1990s. These experiences are slowly moving into the educational landscape.

The first providers of vocational training or adult education centers offer individualized further training in self-learning centers that do not require a fixed group size. In addition, the concepts are finding their way into professional development and retraining .

If the quality of the offers is assured, then these self-learning centers can represent a part of the infrastructure for lifelong learning that has so far been missing.

Willingness and ability for self-directed learning

Self-directed learning has become important as information acquisition in the context of lifelong learning, especially in informal learning contexts . In the course of a worsening labor market situation, further training for the individual becomes necessary for employability. This form of learning is required by many, but cannot be assumed to the same extent by all.

It is a self-learning skills demands, but their successful acquisition depends on many factors such as familial promotion, age and education. Metacognition is of particular importance . A pronounced ability to use these in a targeted manner facilitates many processes in self-directed learning. However, studies also show that this ability cannot be demanded without preconditions. Just a third of the respondents in a study by Kaiser and Kaiser showed a pronounced competence in applying metacognitive strategies to difficult thinking requirements.

Educationally disadvantaged groups of the population, so-called “further education distanced”, can be pushed further into the margins of education when they demand self-directed learning. They are not without preconditions and, without professional support, capable of organizing their learning independently in order to be able to participate in lifelong learning. It is even more to be feared that existing educational disadvantages will be exacerbated rather than abolished.

literature

Books

  • Federal-State Commission for Educational Planning and Research Promotion (BLK) (2001): Lifelong learning. Program description and presentation of the country projects. Bonn: Bund-Länder-Komm. for educational planning and research funding.
  • Martin Baethge; Volker Baethge-Kinsky (2004): The unequal struggle for lifelong learning. Münster: Waxmann.
  • Michael Bannach: Self-determined learning. Free work on topics of your choice . Schneider-Verlag, Baltmannsweiler 2002, ISBN 3-89676-525-6 (Basics of school education; 41).
  • Armin Beeler: The student is himself. Reflections and practical suggestions for learning to learn in primary school . 4th modified edition. Klett & Balmer, Zug 1990, ISBN 3-264-83020-5 .
  • Manfred Bönsch (ed.): Self-directed learning in school. Practical examples from different types of schools . Westermann, Braunschweig 2006, ISBN 3-14-162080-6 .
  • Franz Deitering: Self-directed learning (series of publications "Psychology and innovative management"). 2nd edition Hogrefe, Göttingen 2001, ISBN 3-8017-0827-6 .
  • Maria Erhart: Self-directed learning in biology classes. Development and testing of a method concept on the subject of "birds" for the 5th grade of secondary school with the aim of promoting technical, methodological, social and personal skills . GCA-Verlag, Herdecke 2005, ISBN 3-89863-188-5 .
  • Michael Felten: Only learning guides? Nonsense, teacher !: Praise the direction of teaching . Cornelsen Verlag, Berlin, ISBN 978-3-589-15847-8 .
  • Hermann J. Forneck, Ulla Klingovsky, Peter Kossack (eds.): Self-learning environments . On the didactics of self-sufficient learning and its practice . Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, Baltmannsweiler 2005, ISBN 3-8340-0009-4 .
  • Eugen Füner: Can the school still be saved? Ideas and suggestions for a completely different educational concept . Becker Verlag, Kirchhain 2006, ISBN 978-3-929480-08-5 .
  • Elisabeth Gierlinger-Czerny (Ed.): On the way to self-organization. An encouragement to break new ground in teaching . LIT-Verlag, Münster 2002, ISBN 3-8258-6179-1 (Didactics; 7).
  • Siegfried Greif , Hans-Jürgen Kurtz (Ed.): Handbook of self-organized learning . 2nd edition. Verlag für angewandte Psychologie, Göttingen 1996, ISBN 3-8017-0837-3 .
  • Titus Guldimann: Independent learning. Through metacognitive awareness and expansion of the cognitive and metacognitive strategy repertoire . Haupt-Verlag, Bern 1996, ISBN 3-258-05432-0 (also dissertation, University of Bern 1995).
  • Thomas Häcker: Portfolio, a development tool for self-determined learning. An exploratory study of working with portfolios in lower secondary education . 2. revised Aufl. Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, Baltmannsweiler 2007, ISBN 978-3-8340-0255-6 (school and teaching research; 3).
  • Alfons Heuermann, Marita Krützkamp: Self, method and social skills. Building blocks for secondary level II . 2nd edition Cornelsen Scriptor Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-589-21698-7 .
  • Hermann Holstein: Schoolchildren learn independently. Situations of independent learning in school lessons . Ehrenwirth Verlag, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-431-02620-6 .
  • Klaus Holzkamp: Learning. Subject-scientific foundation . Campus-Verlag, Frankfurt / M. 1995, ISBN 3-593-35317-2 .
  • Maiko Kahler (2014): Children organize their own learning paths . Cornelsen, ISBN 978-3-589-16291-8 .
  • Maiko Kahler (eds.), Falko Peschel, Boris Pfeiffer: Self-organized learning as a form of work in elementary school: Situational fresh food after 40 years of worksheet didactics . Norderstedt, 2012, ISBN 978-3-8448-0847-6 .
  • Olivier Keller: Because my life is learning . Arbor Verlag, Freiburg / B. 1999, ISBN 3-924195-44-7 .
  • Edmund Kösel: The modeling of learning worlds, Vol. 1: Theory of Subjective Didactics. The book for self-organized learning and teaching . SD-Verlag, Bahlingen 2002, ISBN 3-8311-3224-0 .
  • Klaus Moegling (Ed.): Didactics of independent learning. Foundations and models for secondary levels I and II . Klinkhardt-Verlag, Bad Heilbrunn 2004, ISBN 3-7815-1370-X .
  • Wilhelm H. Peterßen: Small lexicon of methods . 2nd edition Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-486-03443-X .
  • Rolf Robischon: "Learning is like spinning webs". The primary school workbook . AOL-Verlag, Lichtenau 2002, ISBN 3-89111-330-7 .
  • Christiane Schiersmann (2006): Profiles of Lifelong Learning. Further training experience and willingness to learn of the working population. Bielefeld: Bertelsmann.
  • Horst Siebert: Self-directed learning and learning advice . Luchterhand Verlag, Neuwied 2001, ISBN 3-937210-55-5 .
  • Christoph Türcke : Teachers' twilight: What the new learning culture does in schools . CH Beck, Munich 2016, ISBN 3-406-688829 .
  • Martin Wilke (arr.): The Sudbury Valley School. A new way of looking at learning . tologo Verlag, Leipzig 2005, ISBN 3-9810444-0-1 .
  • Daniel Wrana: Write the subject. Reflective practices in continuing education; a discourse analysis . Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, Baltmannsweiler 2006, ISBN 3-8340-0064-7 (plus dissertation, University of Giessen 2004).

Essays

  • Arnim Kaiser (2003): Self-learning skills, metacognition and further training. In: Arnim Kaiser (ed.): Self-learning competence. Metacognitive foundations of self-regulated learning and their practical implementation. Munich: Luchterhand, pp. 11–34.
  • Arnim Kaiser; Ruth Kaiser (2011): Successful learning through metacognition. In: Fundamentals of Continuing Education (3), pp. 14-17.
  • Wilhelm Braner, J. Lackmann: Key qualifications, seen from the employment system . In: Information on work, business, technology and pre-vocational education in schools , 12 (1), pp. 17-20.
  • Jean-Pol Martin : Learning through teaching (LdL) . In: The school management. Journal for educational leadership and training in Bavaria . Vol. 4 (2002), pp. 3-9.
  • Claire E. Weinstein, RE Mayer: The teaching of learning strategies . In: Merlin C. Wittrock (Ed.): Handbook of research on teaching . 3rd Ed. Macmillan, New York 1986, ISBN 0-02-900310-5 , pp. 315-327.
  • Claire E. Weinstein, Jenefer Husman, Douglas R. Dierking: Self-regulation interventions with a focus on learning strategies . In: Monique Boekaerts, Paul Pintrich, Moshe Zeidner (eds.): Handbook of self-regulation . Academic Press, San Diego 2000, ISBN 0-12-109890-7 , pp. 727-747.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Evaluated specialist literature (selection): Roy F. Baumeister & Kathleen D. Vohs (Eds.): Handbook of self-regulation, research, theory and applications . New York: Guilford Publications, 2004; Joseph P. Forgas et al. a. (Ed.): Psychology of Self-Regulation . New York 2009; Rick H. Hoyle (Ed.): Handbook of Personality and Self-Regulation , Blackwell Publishing: 2010
  2. ↑ Marzita Puteh and Mahani Ibrahim, The Usage of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies among Form Four Students in the Mathematical Problem-Solving Context, in: Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 8 (2010), pp. 446 ff.
  3. ↑ Albert Bandura, Social learning theory, New York 1977 and the same, Social cognitive theory of self-regulation, in: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Vol. 50 (1991), Issue 2
  4. ↑ Schulz-Wensky, Schabungs- und Hochbegabtenförderung, Project of the Comprehensive School Cologne-Holweide, October 2005 ( Memento of the original from November 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.igs-holweide.de
  5. ↑ Barry Zimmerman, Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: Which Are the Key Subprocesses? In: Contemporary Educational Psychology, Vol. 11 (1986)
  6. ↑ cf. Bannach 2002, p. 87
  7. ↑ Manfred Spitzer: Learning. Brain research and the school of life. Spectrum, Heidelberg 2002, ISBN 978-3827413963
  8. ↑ Quality framework for external evaluation at general education schools - Baden-Württemberg  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 454 kB). Retrieved January 4, 2012.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.schule-bw.de  
  9. ↑ Quality area of ​​process quality teaching and education for external evaluations - Bavaria  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved February 4, 2012@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.isb.bayern.de  
  10. ↑ Framework for action for school quality - Berlin  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved January 4, 2012.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.berlin.de  
  11. ↑ Weinstein, Mayer 1986; Weinstein, Husman, Dierking 2000
  12. ↑ cf. Schiersmann 2007, p. 76
  13. ↑ 2011, p. 15f.
  14. ↑ Schiersmann 2007, p. 76
  15. ↑ see ibid., P. 76