Normal practice in course and text book construction is to provide learners with pre-selected material chosen by the authors to illustrate a pre-determined grammar, content or teaching syllabus. This paper will discuss the effect of the reversal of this process at a pilot workshop session in which learners themselves were invited to select the…

The achievement of adolescent literacy learners has become a significant topic of research and policy. This review of literature links current literacy learning theories, research that addresses the individualized nature of adolescent readers, and the literature delineating adolescent literacy policy. Researchers using naturalistic inquiry have…

This article argues for the use of teacher-generated corpora in content-based courses. Using a content course for engineering and architecture students as an example, the article explains how a corpus consisting of texts from textbooks and journal articles helped students learn grammar, vocabulary, and writing. The article explains how the corpus…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the blended learning preferences under which adult students study mathematics, electronics and industry certificate examinations like project management and e-SAP (systems, applications and products). Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on four case studies in mathematics,…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional methodology placing primary emphasis on students solving realistic problems in a team-oriented environment. In this article, authors discuss using PBL to integrate a language for specific purposes (LSP) track into an undergraduate biological engineering curriculum as a way to prepare students for an…

This paper is informed by one clear guiding principle: collaborative learning provides the platform on which independent learning is nurtured. The nature of collaborative learning in musicology as well as performance is considered. The focus is on learning rather than achievement, on process rather than presentation, on how students are encouraged…

This full-color, kid-pleasing collection of language-arts activities is ideal for K-2 children of all ability levels--and for English language learners too. The practical and easy-to-implement lessons also are convenient for substitute teachers, classroom assistants, and volunteers. Flexible and versatile, these unique cards can be used for guided…

The present study combines a standardized diary approach with time-series analysis methods to investigate the process of self-regulated learning. Based on a process-focused adaptation of Zimmerman's (2000) learning model, an intervention (consisting of four weekly training sessions) to increase self-regulated learning was developed. The diaries…

"How" do adults learn from self-paced, technology-based corporate training, which they select based on its relevance to their current employment responsibilities? Specifically, "how" do adults use the following learning strategies: prior experience, reflection, metacognition, conversations, generative learning strategies, and authentic…

The "independent learner" is a key construct within discourses of educational policy and practice in the UK. Government policy statements stress the importance of developing learner independence, and higher education pedagogical practices tend to rest on the assumption that students are independent learners. This paper draws on research…

This qualitative research study investigates the uses of an American college library by ESL students in improving their language skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Language learning activities in the library are identified, described, and placed in a framework of self-directed language learning and language learner autonomy.

In 2002-03, a qualitative study examined the experiences of 70 stakeholders connected to two community-based adult literacy programs in Manitoba, Canada. Self-directed learning was one of several elements that these research participants considered essential to the learning process. These literacy stakeholders defined self-directed learning as a…

Incorporating information literacy exercises into the science curriculum will help students to navigate through the myriad of information available in different formats, and to become better scientific thinkers and writers. Here we describe how we incorporated such exercises in introductory biology and evaluate their effectiveness in achieving our…

Contextualised and ubiquitous learning are relatively new research areas that combine the latest developments in ubiquitous and context aware computing with educational approaches in order to provide structure to more situated and context aware learning. The majority of recent activities in contextualised and ubiquitous learning focus on mobile…

This study investigated the differences between demographic, enrollment, academic, and self-directed learning characteristics of completers and noncompleters in online courses at one community college. The study also obtained students' self-reported reasons for not completing their coursework. No significant differences were found in the…