The traditional teacher-centered teaching style limits students' curiosity and motivation to learn. With the advancement of technology, self-directed learning has become a rising trend. To avoid passive learning for students, schools and teachers need to change teaching methods, allowing students to take control of the learning process. They should encourage students to actively explore knowledge and manage their own pace of learning to become masters of their own learning. Promoting self-directed learning is an ongoing process. How can schools implement it? What's the key?
First, schools can create a pleasant learning atmosphere that provides students with support and encouragement so that they feel capable of managing the learning content. Deci and Ryan (1985) have proposed the self-determination theory, stating that providing students with support for their autonomy, relatedness and sense of competence can promote their self-directed learning behavior. When students are interested in a topic, teachers can ask students several questions related to daily life for their research. Teachers can provide positive feedback and suggestions to gradually help students build confidence and enthusiasm. Therefore, schools should create an open, respectful and interactive learning environment to encourage students to actively participate in and share their learning experiences.
Furthermore, schools should provide students with more learning opportunities and promote diversified development to help them establish clear learning goals and realize the value of learning. Knowles (1980) believes that self-directed learning is a process where learners actively analyze their learning needs, plan learning goals, evaluate learning resources, select suitable learning strategies, and assess their learning outcomes. Schools can provide students with a variety of learning activities and resources, allowing them to make choices based on their own interests and learning styles. Also, schools can guide them to choose appropriate learning strategies and provide them to evaluate and reflect on their learning outcomes, ultimately setting personal learning goals for themselves. Besides, teachers can teach different learning strategies such as goal setting, learning planning, self-monitoring and evaluation to improve their self-directed learning abilities. This not only increases students' engagement and motivation but also promotes their self-directed learning behavior.
Schools need to inspire students to explore more and cultivate their curiosity to learn actively. Teachers can provide challenging learning tasks using daily life situations to encourage students to analyse from multiple perspectives and develop higher-order thinking skills. Lave and Wenger (1991) both emphasize that learning should be conducted in real and meaningful situations in order to apply learning to real-life situations. Teachers can design practical learning tasks and situations, guiding them to engage in in-depth thinking and discussion. Therefore, teachers can inspire students to explore actively through learning within scenarios and allow them to demonstrate their self-directed learning abilities while carrying out practical tasks
The power of self-directed learning is infinite. It can inspire students' potential, broaden their horizons, and enable them to succeed in a world full of challenges and opportunities. Promoting self-directed learning is one of the important tasks for teachers. It can cultivate students' proactivity, sense of responsibility, and learning abilities. As educators, let us work together to encourage and support students to embark on the journey of exploring self-directed learning.
References
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior. New York: Plenum Press.
Knowles, M. S. (1980). The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Cambridge Adult Education.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.