Abstract. Adult-learning theory challenges faculty to adapt their teaching to certain characteristics of adult learners, including self-direction: if adults direct the bulk of their lives outside of school, they should be permitted to direct their own educational experiences. To what extent is self-directed learning an optimal, or even realistic, methodology for seminary teaching? Does it matter what subjects we are teaching? This essay details an experiment with self-directed learning in a seminary ministry class: what worked, what might be improved, and how it challenges our view of ourselves as faculty to teach in this way. Student feedback from the course in question enhances our understanding of the best (and most challenging) features of the experiment.
I found this a fascinating article about how one professor took to heart what we have been learning about how adults learn to redesign a course she was teaching in seminary. It’s a good example of how we can get adults (even young adults?) to take more responsibility for their own learning (self-directed learning). The students basically were given options about what they were going to learn/study and how. They drew up their own learning plan (if they so chose or they could go with the traditional syllabus). She even had them suggest how much each part of it should be weighed in terms of assessment/evaluation.
I also liked how she both introduced once again the groundbreaking work of Malcolm Knowles in adult learning, but how his theories have been refined and expanded upon since then. I especially found the following chart very helpful in that it reminded me that every adult is also unique and learns in different ways:
| Stage | Student | Teacher | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 | Dependent | Authority, coach | Coaching with immediate feedback. Drill. Informational lecture. Overcoming deficiencies and resistance. |
| Stage 2 | Interested | Motivator, guide | Inspiring lecture plus guided discussion. Goal-setting and learning strategies. |
| Stage 3 | Involved | Facilitator | Discussion facilitated by teacher who participates as equal. Seminar. Group projects. |
| Stage 4 | Self-Directed | Consultant, delegator | Internship, dissertation, individual work, or self-directed study group. |
Here’s a summary of what she learned:
If I had to distill my discoveries to a set of principles on self-directed learning, here is what I would say:
- 1
When students are permitted some choice in what they will study, they almost invariably bring more passion to their work than if I assign it (although, as C.S. Lewis writes, there is value in the “journey into foreign lands” found when one pursues an assignment given by someone else, as opposed to doing simply what we want to do). Even in a course where much of the curriculum is set by the instructor, specific assignments can often be customized to allow a student to explore an area of particular passion; at minimum, it may be valuable to include a statement in the syllabus encouraging students to propose alternative assignments if they can make a solid case for doing so.
- 2
It is important to provide a certain level of structure within which to experiment with self-directed learning, so the stage-one learners can find ways to succeed (now, all of my self-directed learning attempts begin with something like “choose one of these three assignments . . .” and allow students who prefer more initiative to propose more creative learning plans for themselves).
- 3
In-class presentations are not the only way students can share their expertise with one another, and may not be practical in larger classes.
- 4
It remains important to use required readings and integrative/summative assignments to provide some consistent exposure to and grappling with the basic body of information in a field (a new course I am designing for this fall will have resource sections on our course website for each major topic the course covers – I can post resources there, as can any student who may be exploring that topic in more depth).
- 5
And finally, in courses and institutions small enough for us to know our students reasonably well, we might incorporate what we know of a given student in choosing how much latitude to give him or her in customizing a learning plan (for example, if I know a student has a tendency toward laziness, I might encourage that we not include a classroom presentation as part of the learning plan and/or encourage self-directed learning for only part of the course, and completion of required assignments for the rest)
The complete article can be found at
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.mutex.gmu.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9647.2007.00305.x/full
This article sounds very interesting and useful to me because I also work with a lot of adult learners as a community college instructor, but I also agree with you that these same principles of making a course more learner-directed and giving students more say could also be applied to other, younger students as well. Thanks for the article.