This paper reports on the development of a self-access center (SAC) within a university context, and focuses on the kind of support mechanisms provided to learners to enhance their self-directed learning (SDL) skills. After providing background information on the center and its counseling service, the paper shows how changes in the university…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine how students from foundation degrees (FDs) run at local further education colleges coped (academically and to a lesser extent psychologically) with the transition to a final year honours degree at a university. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on the experience of FD graduates who joined the…

This study examined the effects of a work system on the independent work and play skills of students with autism. Work systems, an element of structured teaching developed by Division TEACCH, are organized sets of visual information that inform a student about participation in work or play areas. A single subject withdrawal of treatment design,…

Several practitioners and researchers consider interactivity as the essential mechanism for effective and successful self-regulated learning within web-based learning environments. Even so, there are few studies that address the question of how students deal with the interactivity provided and how this may be related to their achievement. To…

This article reports the findings from a secondary analysis of the data from two qualitative studies conducted by the researcher regarding the self-directed learning experiences of prostate and breast cancer patients. Of interest were possible differences in the descriptions of the participants' experiences that appear to relate to gender.…

Teachers at an urban elementary school developed and implemented a literacy instructional framework based on a gradual release of responsibility model. The framework included: (1) focus lessons; (2) guided instruction; (3) collaborative learning; and (4) independent learning. Over six years, literacy and math achievement at this school increased…

This study represents an effort to construct a learning framework for knowledge building and collective wisdom advancement in a virtual learning community (VLC) from the perspectives of system wholeness, intelligence wholeness and dynamics, learning models, and knowledge management. It also tries to construct the zone of proximal development (ZPD)…

Students are often faced with the temptation of attractive activities, which may interfere with the learning task and result in detrimental effects on experience and performance. Seventy-seven students (50 girls, 27 boys; M age = 15.9 years; SD = 1.65 years) participated in an experiment that reflected the typical situation of students having to…

This article explores the nature of self-study of teacher education practices by examining what self-study is and how it might be conducted and reported. In working through these ideas, the article makes an argument for the need for learning through self-study to be documented in ways that might not only be accessible to others but also meaningful…

In pursuit of quality education in Bhutan there has been a desire to shift from teacher-dominant class teaching to students taking initiative in their own learning. This paper investigated the issue of moving teaching and learning from teacher-centered classes to independent learning of students. The research was carried out at Samtse College of…

The purpose of the study was to determine applicability of e-learning in problem based learning (PBL) by investigating its usage and acceptability among students and its effect on academic achievement. The study was carried out among first year medical students of Akdeniz University, Turkey. A web-based learning environment (WBLE) including…

In 1997 the British Columbia Open University (BCOU) adopted a virtualization strategy based primarily on twinning off-line independent study distance education courses (textbook-based with study guide and telephone and e-mail tutor support) with alternate online versions (textbook-based with integrated conferencing and communications provided…

This study investigated the effects of self and cooperative-instructional strategies on senior secondary school students' attitude towards Mathematics. The moderating effects of locus of control and gender were also investigated. The study adopted pre-test and post-test, control group quasi-experimental design using a 3 x 2 x 2 factorial matrix…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the Bartlett-Kotrlik Inventory of Self-Learning score and demographic variables such as GPA, gender, and grade-level within a Korean university context. The results suggest that GPA is significantly related to self-directedness among college students, and grade-level is another…

The effect of irregular English orthography (spelling) on foundation literacy, and in particular on alphabetic decoding, is discussed within the context of the orthographic depth hypothesis. A method for circumventing the retarding effects of traditional English orthography, based on the support provided for Chinese pupils learning their…