Independent study is actually a range of strategies involving student participation in selecting topics to investigate; designing investigative plans, procedures, and products; establishing and employing evaluative criteria; conducting the investigation; and sharing its findings. This article shows how to gauge student readiness for structured- or…

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…

Directions in self-directed learning for adults and perspectives for the future are discussed. The following five movements in self-directed learning are considered: the Knowles Group Learning Stream, the Tough Adult Learning Projects Stream, individualized programmed instruction, nontraditional institutional arrangements, and heuristic life…

A library-based, individualized approach to teaching Freshman English in a junior college is described. (PF)

This self-instructional package designed for art students in Grades 5 and 6 enables students to decide which set of lines in a group of lines are parallel, to show the vanishing points of several boxes by extending parallel lines, and to increase their desire to draw objects in perspective. Total time involved for the student is approximately…

This paper presents a brief overview of current research on learner-centered curricular reform and of some of the issues attendant to its character and quality. Seven groupings of learner-centered reform are discussed in relation to current research and findings: performance and competency-based programs, personalized instruction, cooperative…

Explains how videotape technology has been used in physics instruction, and that the original design which was intended for independent and self-paced instruction has been broadened to include other areas. (GA)

Describes the use of "Personalized System of Instruction" (P.S.I.) in the second semester of a first-year high school Chinese class that contained students of widely divergent ability levels. (KM)

Fills the cells of a 3 X 3 matrix with individualized tasks. One dimension is based on Bruner's three modes of learning, the other on Bloom's recall, application, and creativity levels of abstraction. Using the grill, a self-instruction approach to learning is described. (CP)

The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center has conducted workshops in instructional technology as they relate to the teaching of foreign language through individualization. The content and scope of the workshops on instructional technology and criterion-referenced instruction are discussed. (SW)

The development of the Individualized Study System (ISS) in The Netherlands from 1970 to 1975 is reviewed and a case study for first-year engineering is described. A classification of ISS courses illustrates the complexity of the system, with advice offered on the management of individualized study systems. (Author/LBH)

Describes two studies which evaluated procedures supplemental to instructor-set and student-set deadlines in a self-paced psychology course. One procedure required students to report their progress on quizzes, while the other required them to meet all deadlines. Concludes that both measures reduced procrastination through increased pacing rates…

The case for the student's taking full responsibility for his own learning is discussed. The analysis briefly refers to the literature and research efforts, but also proposes a more comprehensive study model, behavioral indexes and implications for professional action in higher education. (LBH)

The Independent Study Program (ISP) at Ohio State University College of Medicine involves students in a self-paced, individual learning experience that intersperses primary learning from books, journal articles, films, slides, and tapes with periodic tutorial self-evaluation at computer terminals. (Author)