Little empirical evidence explains how engineering students’ self-directed learning abilities relate to their
learning achievements in the existing literature. To add knowledge base regarding self-directed learning to
current engineering educational research, this research attempted to employ two experimental studies to explore
the effect of self-directed learning on engineering students’ online learning. The research centers on the
correlation and cause-effect relationships between students’ self-directed learning abilities and learning
outcomes. Two experimental studies, one in a computer lab and one in an online environment, supply the data
which fulfills the study’s purpose. The results of the first study show that a positive relationship exists between
engineering students’ self-directed learning abilities and online learning performances (r=0.6; p