Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
Graduate Standard 1.2
“Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching” (AITSL, 2014).
Through the La Trobe University Master of Teaching (Secondary) course, I have investigated a breadth of educational theories and their implications for teaching. Fuelled by my personal pedagogical interests, the research has more recently taken me on a journey of further investigation into the conceptual theories of 'self-directed learning', as an educational strategy. This interest culminated in the preparation of a major research report on the theory and its implications for teaching, based on the observational data collected during my placement at Kruruanjang Secondary College.
In short, the theory of self-directed learning is based on the early research of Tough (1971, p.5) who identified “man as a self-directing organism with initiative, intentions, choices, freedom, energy, and responsibility”. Tough’s (1971) research concluded the average person acted on an intrinsic need to decide what they would like to learn, why they would like to learn it, and how they would like to go about learning it.
The subsequent research has identified four key teaching strategies, which encourage self-directed learning, and assist in the development of student capacity for it in their subsequent years of education and occupation (with positive implications for their performance both). The teaching strategies include the use of technology (Gabrielle, 2006), learning contracts (Kasworm, 1983), problem based learning (Litzinger, 2005), and cooperative learning (Strods, 2013).
With regard to 'Principles of Learning and Teaching', it can be said that self-directed learning strategies create opportunities for enhanced learning, by responding to the interests of individual students (DET, 2013); and supporting the students’ different ways of thinking and learning (DET, 2013).
During my time at Kuranjang Secondary College, I implemented each of of the aforementioned strategies into my teaching. That is, technology (Gabrielle, 2006), learning contracts (Kasworm, 1983), problem based learning (Litzinger, 2005), and cooperative learning (Strods, 2013).
By way of example, the following paragraphs describe the circumstances surrounding my use of technology and problem-based strategies, in combination.
Situation:
Year 10 Legal Studies at Kurunjang Secondary College.
Task:
A student role-play of a criminal jurisdiction hearing in a Magistrates' Court. The role-play was based on the Victoria Law Foundation's educational resource entitled 'Danielle come to judgement'.
Action:
Students were instructed that we would be participating in a role-play, that required the classroom's desks and chairs to be rearranged to resemble the layout of the Magistrates Court in a criminal proceeding. Students were asked to work together to:
investigate the courtroom layout of a criminal hearing in the Magistrates Court; and
rearrange the classroom accordingly, with complete freedom to research the problem using any resource at their disposal - electronic or otherwise.
The students were given 10 minutes to complete the task. Once complete, they would each be given a copy of the role-play handout (including a model courtroom layout).
Results:
The majority of students referred to electronic resources, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops. A minority of students referred to textbook resources, for the purpose of verifying the electronic content.
All students engaged with the activity and were visibly encouraged by the autonomy of directing their own learning (albeit to varying extent). The students successfully solved the problem.
Evidence of learning was reinforced by the results of a subsequent summative assessment in the form of a test (1 weeks later), whereby all students demonstrated an ability to identify the layout of a criminal hearing in the Magistrates Court.
Evidence:
Victoria Law Foundation resource extract (including front cover and page 1 contents), and student test extract.