scholarly journals Needs Analysis: Investigating Students’ Self-directed Learning Needs Using Multiple Data Sources

2013 ◽  
pp. 208-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Takahashi ◽  
Jo Mynard ◽  
Junko Noguchi ◽  
Akiyuki Sakai ◽  
Katherine Thornton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Needs Analysis ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Student Needs ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Environment Analysis ◽  
Multiple Data ◽  
Directed Learning

As explained in the first installment of this report (Thornton, 2013), the learning advisor (LA) team at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) has engaged in redesigning a curriculum for the Self-Access Learning Centre (SALC) by following a framework adapted from the Nation and Macalister (2010) model. This framework, which is based on an investigation of student needs, aims to establish criteria in the shape of clear principles and goals. Following the Environment Analysis stage, detailed in the previous installment of this column (Thornton, 2013), this paper describes the needs analysis stage which was undertaken in 2012.

scholarly journals A Framework for Curriculum Reform: Re-designing a Curriculum for Self-directed Language Learning

2013 ◽  
pp. 142-153 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
The Self ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Environment Analysis ◽  
Design Project ◽  
Directed Learning

Welcome to this new SiSAL column, which will examine a long-term project conducted at one institution in depth over several issues. The focus of this column will be the curriculum design project currently being undertaken at the Self-Access Learning Centre (SALC) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) in Chiba, Japan. In my role as Academic Coordinator of the SALC from 2011-2013, I was in charge of leading this project in its initial stages, before I moved institution. As editor, it is from this perspective, as someone familiar but no longer directly involved in the project, that I hope to collate and introduce a number of columns from the learning advisors and teachers who are conducting the research and designing the new self-directed learning curriculum. In this first installment, a revision of an earlier article which first appeared in the IATEFL Learner Autonomy SIG newsletter, Independence, (Thornton, 2012) I present the background to the project, the framework used to guide it and the results of the first stage, the environment analysis.

scholarly journals Evaluating Self-directed Learning Skills in SALC Modules

2014 ◽  
pp. 153-172
Author(s):  
Junko Noguchi
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Needs Analysis ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Environment Analysis ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
International University ◽  
Curriculum Renewal ◽  
Renewal Project

The previous four installments of this column have explicated the redesign process of the Self-Access Learning Centre (SALC) curriculum conducted at Kanda University of International University (KUIS) by the Learning Advisor (LA) team. The topics of each installment are: framework and environment analysis (Thornton, 2013); needs analysis (Takahashi et al., 2013); principles and evaluation of the existing curriculum (Lammons, 2013); and piloting and evaluating the redesigned curriculum (Watkins, Curry, & Mynard, 2014) in accordance with the flow of the curriculum process which has been adapted from the design model of Nation and Macalister (2010). Although the assessment process employed in the pilot was mentioned in the previous installment (Watkins et al., 2014), this column installment will discuss assessment for self-directed learning (SDL) in more detail, focusing on the issue of assessment in SDL in general, what kind of assessment process had been implemented at the SALC curriculum previously, and what kinds of changes have been made as part of the ongoing curriculum renewal project.

Facilitating the Self-Directed Learning Efforts of Professional Meteorologists

2018 ◽  
Vol 99 (12) ◽  
pp. 2519-2527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daphne S. LaDue ◽  
Ariel E. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Professional Practice ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
The Self ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Climate Forecasting ◽  
Weather And Climate ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Over Time

AbstractProfessional meteorologists gain a great deal of knowledge through formal education, but two factors require ongoing learning throughout a career: professionals must apply their learning to the specific subdiscipline they practice, and the knowledge and technology they rely on becomes outdated over time. It is thus inherent in professional practice that much of the learning is more or less self-directed. While these principles apply to any aspect of meteorology, this paper applies concepts to weather and climate forecasting, for which a range of resources, from many to few, for learning exist. No matter what the subdiscipline, the responsibility for identifying and pursuing opportunities for professional, lifelong learning falls to the members of the subdiscipline. Thus, it is critical that meteorologists periodically assess their ongoing learning needs and develop the ability to reflectively practice. The construct of self-directed learning and how it has been implemented in similar professions provide visions for how individual meteorologists can pursue—and how the profession can facilitate—the ongoing, self-directed learning efforts of meteorologists.

scholarly journals “Still Sounds Quite a Lot to Me, But Try it And See”. Reflecting on my Non-Directive Advising Stance

Relay Journal ◽  
2018 ◽  
pp. 98-107
Author(s):  
Jo Mynard
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Learning Center ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
One To One

This reflective observation takes place at the self-access learning center (‘The SALC’) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) in Japan. The environment is supportive and there is a one-to-one professional advising service and also courses and modules on self-directed learning that students can take for credit.

scholarly journals Piloting and Evaluating a Redesigned Self-Directed Learning Curriculum

2014 ◽  
pp. 58-78
Author(s):  
Satoko Watkins ◽  
Neil Curry ◽  
Jo Mynard
Keyword(s):  
Curriculum Development ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Development Project ◽  
The Self ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Freshmen Students ◽  
Self Study ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Insight Into

In the fourth installment of the column following the self-directed learning curriculum development project at Kanda University of International Studies, Japan, Satoko Watkins, Neil Curry and Jo Mynard detail the process of conducting a pilot of a possible self-directed learning curriculum for freshmen students, that would meet the needs and principles established in the previous two installments. This pilot represents quite a shift for the learning advisors (LAs), as it would bring what has up until now been a largely self-study course into the mainstream classroom environment, taught by LAs. The installment offers an insight into the strengths and potential weaknesses of such a course, and how students responded to it.

scholarly journals Promoting Learner Autonomy and Self-Directed Learning: The Evolution of a SALC Curriculum

2017 ◽  
pp. 169-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo Mynard ◽  
Rob Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
The Self ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Learning Center ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Technical Challenges ◽  
Gradual Approach

If key aims of a SALC are to support learners and promote language learner autonomy, then the curriculum is an important tool in order to ensure that this is being systematically addressed. After explaining the context of the Self-Access Learning Center (SALC) at Kanda University of International Studies in Japan, the authors will briefly describe the self-directed learning curriculum, its evolution, and approaches to its evaluation. The development, implementation, and evaluation of a SALC curriculum is not straightforward as there may be political, financial, and technical challenges. However, with planning, persistence, and a gradual approach, a SALC curriculum can eventually become an integral part of a university program. Although the journey of this particular SALC is far from complete, charting its development so far could provide encouragement for SALC managers elsewhere, whose SALC curriculum may be at different stages of development.

The self-directed learning of adult music students: A comparison of teacher approaches and student needs

2021 ◽  
pp. 025576142199159
Author(s):  
Kaitlyn S Leahy ◽  
Tawnya D Smith
Keyword(s):  
Adult Students ◽  
Technical Difficulty ◽  
The Self ◽  
Individual Student ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Teacher Student ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Theoretical Application ◽  
Student Relationship

Adult music learners may expect to be more independent and therefore more inclined to engage in self-directed learning than younger learners; however, adults may not feel encouraged or supported to self-direct. In this qualitative study, the relationships between six adult instrumentalists and their teachers were examined using Grow’s Staged Self-Directed Learning (SSDL) Model to determine if there was congruence or a mismatch between individual student learning needs and their teachers’ strategies. Teachers reported a willingness to accommodate the self-direction needs of their students. Even in cases of teacher–student mismatch, more direction from the teacher was welcomed when they encountered technical difficulty or an unfamiliar style. Students who reported that they had little experience playing were more inclined to have low to moderate levels of self-direction, whereas more advanced players reported intermediate to high levels of self-direction. Cultural expectations were found to play an important role in determining if students desire to be self-directed learners. The quality of the teacher–student relationship and communication were both found to be an important determinant of successful collaboration. These findings suggest that the theoretical application of the SSDL model could provide teachers a means to assess and discern their adult students’ learning needs.

scholarly journals Editorial

2013 ◽  
pp. 154-156
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Needs Analysis ◽  
Online Support ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
General Issue ◽  
Directed Learning

Welcome to a general issue of SiSAL Journal that features contributions from colleagues based in Turkey, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand and Japan. In this issue, we touch on a range of themes such as online support for self-access and writing, conducting a self-directed learning needs analysis, and uncovering the effects of intentional encouragement for self-access by instructors. We are also fortunate enough to feature reviews of two recent books that have implications for the field of self-access learning.

scholarly journals A Review of The Plenary Talks on Advising and Self-Directed Learning: Two Important Systems for Learner Autonomy

2021 ◽  
pp. 295-300
Author(s):  
Neslihan Atcan Altan
Keyword(s):  
Interest Group ◽  
Special Interest ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Education Conference

This paper presents a review of the plenary talks at the Self-Directed Learning and Advising in Language Education Conference, one primarily on advising by Jo Mynard of Kanda University of International Studies and the other on self-directed learning by Lawrie Moore-Walter and Christian Ludwig of IATEFL Learner Autonomy Special Interest Group. It offers a brief overview of both sessions as well as underlining the highlights and the takeaways.

scholarly journals Sharing Stories of Practice in Self-Access Facility Design and Management

2015 ◽  
pp. 216-218
Author(s):  
Katherine Thornton
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
The Self ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Learning Space ◽  
Learning Modules ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
The University ◽  
Access Services

Welcome to the new column in SiSAL Journal. So far, this regular column has followed two different institutions as they reconceptualised aspects of their self-access services, in the case of Kanda University of International Studies (Japan), the self-directed learning modules offered through their SALC, and, in the case of the University of Bradford (UK), the reinvention of the self-access facilities as a social learning space. The upcoming column is a much bigger project. It will run for seven volumes of SiSAL Journal. Each issue will address a different aspect of self-access management, through reflective case studies from professionals who work in language learning spaces.

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