Opportunities for self-determined online professional development (OPD) are emerging, but their potential for increasing adult learners' agency is not yet fully realised. Faced with the problem of successfully designing a self-determined comprehensive evidence-based online numeracy resource for educators who are often time poor and do not engage…

'Web-based and Interactive Italian' is a detailed and progressive programme developed by the author for the Maastricht University Language Centre. The course started in 2013, with the intention of catering for the variability in the number of students following the regular courses, as well as broadening the language offer using blended learning.…

In first-year engineering students, a common teacher-centred, passive learning and deficient secondary educational backgrounds are often observed. However, there is a problematic difference whether the individual background is vocational education and training (VAT) or baccalaureate. This implies an educational need to level up these backgrounds,…

This book takes a holistic approach to pedagogy and argues that the purpose of education is to educate the student's whole personality including cognitive, social, and moral domains. The four sections and twelve chapters address the current pedagogical challenges in basic and higher education in international contexts. The authors describe the…

Promoting learner autonomy is relevant in the field of applied linguistics due to the multiple benefits it brings to the process of learning a new language. However, despite the vast array of research on how to foster autonomy in the language classroom, it is difficult to find step-by-step processes to design syllabi and curricula focused on the…

This article offers an overview of research strategies currently in use at the Language Centre of the University of Calabria and aimed at observing university students' learning habits when they are asked to use the European Language Portfolio during language courses. We present evidence of how experimental groups of students belonging to…

Based on a case study in Swedish municipal basic adult education this article addresses current policies for providing individualized and flexible learning, which have been reinforced in recent adult education reforms. Concepts from the organization theory of "action nets" have been used. Institutionalized procedures and a number of…

This study examines the effectiveness of handbook preparation as a method in the self-directed learning process of student teachers in teaching endocrine glands, and increasing their levels of knowledge. Thirty student teachers were selected from a biology department. A pencil and paper test and a clinical interview procedure were used to collect…

The dissertation is still seen as the pinnacle of studies for an undergraduate program of studies in most geography, earth and environmental sciences (GEES) departments in the UK, yet how do we prepare students to undertake the work and what do students think of the experience? This paper examines the student perspective of the dissertation…

This document is one of a series of guides to self-evaluation. It builds on the advice given in "How good is our school?" (revised edition 2002) and, more specifically, "Taking a Closer Look at the School Library Resource Centre" published in 1999. This guidance is intended for use in the primary, special and secondary sectors.…

This guide to studying at the Open University concerns the problems of independent learning for the adult student. Working effectively as a student requires clear and realistic goals, support from close contacts at home and work, a business-like approach, and a desire to learn. Study techniques covered are when and where to study, how to read…