Thoughts on Self-Directed Learning

Thoughts on Self-Directed Learning in Medical Schools: Making Students More Responsible
by K.Ramnarayan and Shyamala Hande

Self-directed learning (SDL) has been identified as an important skill for medical graduates. To meet the challenges in today's healthcare environment, self-directed learning is most essential. Several health care institutions have made SDLs a part of the curriculum. In self-directed learning, learners take the initiative in making use of resources rather than simply react to transmissions from resources, thus helping learners to learn more and learn better. The main purpose of education must now be to develop the skills of inquiry, and more importantly to go on acquiring new knowledge easily and skilfully the rest of his or her life.

The concept of self-directedness in learning was first discussed in educational literature as early as 1926 (Brookfield, 1984). From these writings, a preliminary description of self-directed learning emerged. Self-directed learning, in its broadest meaning, describes a process in which individuals take the initiative with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying resources for learning, choosing and implementing learning strategies and evaluating learning outcomes (Knowles, 1975). It is no longer practical to define the purpose of education as transmitting what is known. In a world in which the half-life of many facts and skills may be ten years or less, half of what a person has acquired at the age of twenty may be obsolete by the time the person is thirty. Thus it is important attain new knowledge easily and skillfully the rest of his or her life. Lifelong, self-directed learning (SDL) has been identified as an important ability for medical graduates (Harvey , 2003)

Why Self-Directed Learning ?
One reason is that there is convincing evidence that people who take the initiative in learning, learn more things and learn better than people who sit at the feet of teachers passively waiting to be taught. The second reason is that self-directed learning is more in tune with our natural processes of psychological development; an essential aspect of maturing is developing the ability to take increasing responsibility of our own lives to become increasingly self-directed. The third reason is that many of the new developments in education put a heavy responsibility on the learners to take a good deal of initiative in their own learning. To meet the challenges in today's healthcare environment , self-directed learning is most essential. Several health care institutions have made SDLs a part of the curriculum (Peplow 1990; Majumdar, Roberts, Knechtel, Noesgaard, Campbell and Tkachuk , 1998; Trevena and Clarke , 2002; Shokar , Shokar, Romero and Bulik, 2003).

The main characteristic of such learning is that students take some significant responsibility for their own learning over and above responding to instruction (Boud, 1981) . Educators have an important role to play in assisting students to acquire the skills for self-directed learning, and to do this they need to understand the concept of self-directed learning.

An important benefit of the self directed approach is that it can tackle one of the most enduring problems in medical education: the exponential growth in knowledge. It is a fact that the course cannot teach everything that doctors consider relevant, and continued additions can lead to what Abrahamson (1978) describes as "curriculum hypertrophy." Educators have been trying to accommodate the extra knowledge, including lengthening the course and introducing postgraduate and continuing medical education, but none has solved the problem.

In addition, the obsolescence of knowledge means that much of what is important today may be irrelevant tomorrow. Given this, teaching today's facts seems less important than ensuring that students have the skills to learn and relearn as knowledge develops. This has led to an emphasis on "lifelong learning skills." These include the ability to analyze problems, define what needs to be learnt, know how and where to access information, evaluate information, and be aware of the one's own limitations. The rationale is that students who develop such skills will be equipped for whatever the future holds and will keep up to date when they are no longer on formal training programs. Self-directed learning (SDL) skills are thought to be associated with lifelong learning and students in an integrated medical curriculum had scores on the self-directed learning readiness scale SDLRS that correlated with clinical performance and probably represented a readiness for SDL (Shokar, Shokar , Romero and Bulik , 2003) .

The results of a qualitative study that explored faculty and student perceptions of self-directed learning (SDL) and investigated factors that facilitate or impede it. The themes that emerged provide insight into the educational strategy of self-directed learning and can be summarized by the following major points: (1) commitment to SDL requires students and faculty to understand the value of empowering learners to take increased responsibility for decisions related to learning; (2) students engaged in self-directed learning undergo a transformation that begins with negative feelings (i.e., confusion, frustration, and dissatisfaction) and ends with confidence and skills for lifelong learning; and (3) faculty development is important to ensure high levels of competency in facilitating self-directed learning (Lunyk-Child, Crooks, Ellis, Ofosu, O'Mara. and Rideout, 2001)

Self-Directed Learning Strategies For the learner:
'Learning to learn' is a crucial skill. SDL starts with learners becoming aware of some need for learning. Through self-directed learning you can control what you want to learn, how you want to learn and when you want to learn. The following skills help you succeed at being a self-directed learner. Study them and think of your own abilities. Are you able to question, inquire and solve problems, keep an open mind to others' points of view, scan data and quickly choose relevant resources, collect data on your performance through self-observation and feedback from others, assess your present performance using that data, set goals to improve your personal performance, observe and model others' performance to improve your own, make a firm commitment to working on your goals, move through the full learning cycle, continually motivate yourself ? Take note of the skills that you feel comfortable with and also note which ones you would like to strengthen. Think of how you can work on them and improve them. Then make a conscious effort to do it.

For the teacher (the facilitator of learning):
In most courses, teachers are concerned about helping students in a life-long learning process, so that the student develops an interest in further learning and provide base for concepts and skills that will facilitate further learning and thinking. Modern teachers need to provide a variety of learning experiences for students. In the first place, the concept should change from that of 'teacher' to that of 'facilitator of learning', 'motivator' and 'designer of the learning situation' and sometimes join the students honestly as a continuing co-learner. Creating an environment in which students can learn effectively and efficiently is the core managerial role of teachers. The following skills will help one succeed at being a 'facilitator of learning' (Knowles, 1975).

Climate setting: Get learners to become acquainted with one another as persons and as mutual resources for learning. Help them to understand the concept of self-directed learning, provide simple practicing skills and above all create an atmosphere characterized by both mutual caring and support and intellectual rigor. SDL can flourish only when learners and teachers see one another as mutually helpful human beings.
Planning: Develop 'your' model of competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes and values) regarding the content of the course namely: a. The list of 'given' objectives of the course , b. List of references containing information relevant to these objectives, c. A list of 'inquiry units' specifying the kinds of questions with which the course deals. Organize the contents needed to be covered into manageable units, arrange these units in a logical sequence and introduce the most efficient means of transmitting each unit (by assigned reading, audio-visual presentation etc.). Decide about the procedures to be used, invite learners' suggestions at certain points, involve them in the decision-making process, and delegate responsibilities to subgroups or elected committees.
Diagnosing needs for learning: Start with a model of the competencies the particular learning experience should be concerned with. Present it in such a way that the learners will feel free to change it or build upon it, realistically and non-threateningly assess gaps between their present level of development of the competencies and the level required by the model.
Setting goals: Translate the diagnosed needs into learning objectives that are clear, feasible, meaningful and appropriate by suggesting changes constructively.
Designing a learning plan: Propose guidelines for designing a learning plan, expose them to resources and strategies, for using resources that they may not know about, suggest mechanisms (e.g. Consultation teams) to facilitate their helping one another in designing their plans.
Engaging in learning activities: Make yourself available to subgroups and individuals as a consultant and resource as they plan and carry out their learning activities. Take up the responsibility of assuring quality performance of the learning activities.
Evaluating learning outcomes: Evaluation is done not primarily by the teacher but by mutual assessment of self-controlled evidence. Make the right judgments about the adequacy of the evi

ผลลัพธ์ (ไทย) 1:

ความคิดในการเรียนรู้ในโรงเรียนแพทย์ด้วยตนเอง: ทำให้นักเรียนรับผิดชอบมากขึ้นโดยอากาศยาน Shyamala และ K.Ramnarayanระบุการเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเอง (SDL) เป็นทักษะสำคัญสำหรับบัณฑิตแพทย์ เพื่อตอบสนองความท้าทายในสภาพแวดล้อมสุขภาพวันนี้ เรียนรู้ด้วยตนเองเป็นสิ่งสำคัญที่สุด สุขภาพหลายสถาบันได้ทำ SDLs เป็นส่วนหนึ่งของหลักสูตร เรียนรู้ด้วยตนเอง ผู้เรียนมีความคิดริเริ่มในการทำใช้ทรัพยากรมากกว่าที่ตอบสนองเพียงการส่งจากทรัพยากร จึง ช่วยให้ผู้เรียนไปเรียนรู้เพิ่มเติม และเรียนรู้ดีขึ้น ตอนนี้ต้องจุดประสงค์หลักของการศึกษาเพื่อ พัฒนาทักษะของการสอบถาม และอื่น ๆ ที่สำคัญไปหาความรู้ใหม่ได้อย่างง่ายดายและ skilfully ส่วนเหลือของชีวิตของเขา หรือเธอThe concept of self-directedness in learning was first discussed in educational literature as early as 1926 (Brookfield, 1984). From these writings, a preliminary description of self-directed learning emerged. Self-directed learning, in its broadest meaning, describes a process in which individuals take the initiative with or without the help of others, in diagnosing their learning needs, formulating learning goals, identifying resources for learning, choosing and implementing learning strategies and evaluating learning outcomes (Knowles, 1975). It is no longer practical to define the purpose of education as transmitting what is known. In a world in which the half-life of many facts and skills may be ten years or less, half of what a person has acquired at the age of twenty may be obsolete by the time the person is thirty. Thus it is important attain new knowledge easily and skillfully the rest of his or her life. Lifelong, self-directed learning (SDL) has been identified as an important ability for medical graduates (Harvey , 2003)Why Self-Directed Learning ?One reason is that there is convincing evidence that people who take the initiative in learning, learn more things and learn better than people who sit at the feet of teachers passively waiting to be taught. The second reason is that self-directed learning is more in tune with our natural processes of psychological development; an essential aspect of maturing is developing the ability to take increasing responsibility of our own lives to become increasingly self-directed. The third reason is that many of the new developments in education put a heavy responsibility on the learners to take a good deal of initiative in their own learning. To meet the challenges in today's healthcare environment , self-directed learning is most essential. Several health care institutions have made SDLs a part of the curriculum (Peplow 1990; Majumdar, Roberts, Knechtel, Noesgaard, Campbell and Tkachuk , 1998; Trevena and Clarke , 2002; Shokar , Shokar, Romero and Bulik, 2003).The main characteristic of such learning is that students take some significant responsibility for their own learning over and above responding to instruction (Boud, 1981) . Educators have an important role to play in assisting students to acquire the skills for self-directed learning, and to do this they need to understand the concept of self-directed learning.An important benefit of the self directed approach is that it can tackle one of the most enduring problems in medical education: the exponential growth in knowledge. It is a fact that the course cannot teach everything that doctors consider relevant, and continued additions can lead to what Abrahamson (1978) describes as "curriculum hypertrophy." Educators have been trying to accommodate the extra knowledge, including lengthening the course and introducing postgraduate and continuing medical education, but none has solved the problem.In addition, the obsolescence of knowledge means that much of what is important today may be irrelevant tomorrow. Given this, teaching today's facts seems less important than ensuring that students have the skills to learn and relearn as knowledge develops. This has led to an emphasis on "lifelong learning skills." These include the ability to analyze problems, define what needs to be learnt, know how and where to access information, evaluate information, and be aware of the one's own limitations. The rationale is that students who develop such skills will be equipped for whatever the future holds and will keep up to date when they are no longer on formal training programs. Self-directed learning (SDL) skills are thought to be associated with lifelong learning and students in an integrated medical curriculum had scores on the self-directed learning readiness scale SDLRS that correlated with clinical performance and probably represented a readiness for SDL (Shokar, Shokar , Romero and Bulik , 2003) .The results of a qualitative study that explored faculty and student perceptions of self-directed learning (SDL) and investigated factors that facilitate or impede it. The themes that emerged provide insight into the educational strategy of self-directed learning and can be summarized by the following major points: (1) commitment to SDL requires students and faculty to understand the value of empowering learners to take increased responsibility for decisions related to learning; (2) students engaged in self-directed learning undergo a transformation that begins with negative feelings (i.e., confusion, frustration, and dissatisfaction) and ends with confidence and skills for lifelong learning; and (3) faculty development is important to ensure high levels of competency in facilitating self-directed learning (Lunyk-Child, Crooks, Ellis, Ofosu, O'Mara. and Rideout, 2001)Self-Directed Learning Strategies For the learner:'Learning to learn' is a crucial skill. SDL starts with learners becoming aware of some need for learning. Through self-directed learning you can control what you want to learn, how you want to learn and when you want to learn. The following skills help you succeed at being a self-directed learner. Study them and think of your own abilities. Are you able to question, inquire and solve problems, keep an open mind to others' points of view, scan data and quickly choose relevant resources, collect data on your performance through self-observation and feedback from others, assess your present performance using that data, set goals to improve your personal performance, observe and model others' performance to improve your own, make a firm commitment to working on your goals, move through the full learning cycle, continually motivate yourself ? Take note of the skills that you feel comfortable with and also note which ones you would like to strengthen. Think of how you can work on them and improve them. Then make a conscious effort to do it.For the teacher (the facilitator of learning):In most courses, teachers are concerned about helping students in a life-long learning process, so that the student develops an interest in further learning and provide base for concepts and skills that will facilitate further learning and thinking. Modern teachers need to provide a variety of learning experiences for students. In the first place, the concept should change from that of 'teacher' to that of 'facilitator of learning', 'motivator' and 'designer of the learning situation' and sometimes join the students honestly as a continuing co-learner. Creating an environment in which students can learn effectively and efficiently is the core managerial role of teachers. The following skills will help one succeed at being a 'facilitator of learning' (Knowles, 1975).
Climate setting: Get learners to become acquainted with one another as persons and as mutual resources for learning. Help them to understand the concept of self-directed learning, provide simple practicing skills and above all create an atmosphere characterized by both mutual caring and support and intellectual rigor. SDL can flourish only when learners and teachers see one another as mutually helpful human beings.
Planning: Develop 'your' model of competencies (knowledge, skills, attitudes and values) regarding the content of the course namely: a. The list of 'given' objectives of the course , b. List of references containing information relevant to these objectives, c. A list of 'inquiry units' specifying the kinds of questions with which the course deals. Organize the contents needed to be covered into manageable units, arrange these units in a logical sequence and introduce the most efficient means of transmitting each unit (by assigned reading, audio-visual presentation etc.). Decide about the procedures to be used, invite learners' suggestions at certain points, involve them in the decision-making process, and delegate responsibilities to subgroups or elected committees.
Diagnosing needs for learning: Start with a model of the competencies the particular learning experience should be concerned with. Present it in such a way that the learners will feel free to change it or build upon it, realistically and non-threateningly assess gaps between their present level of development of the competencies and the level required by the model.
Setting goals: Translate the diagnosed needs into learning objectives that are clear, feasible, meaningful and appropriate by suggesting changes constructively.
Designing a learning plan: Propose guidelines for designing a learning plan, expose them to resources and strategies, for using resources that they may not know about, suggest mechanisms (e.g. Consultation teams) to facilitate their helping one another in designing their plans.
Engaging in learning activities: Make yourself available to subgroups and individuals as a consultant and resource as they plan and carry out their learning activities. Take up the responsibility of assuring quality performance of the learning activities.
Evaluating learning outcomes: Evaluation is done not primarily by the teacher but by mutual assessment of self-controlled evidence. Make the right judgments about the adequacy of the evi

ผลลัพธ์ (ไทย) 3:

ความคิดเกี่ยวกับการเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเอง ในโรงเรียนแพทย์ : ให้นักเรียนรับผิดชอบมากขึ้น
โดย K . ramnarayan shyamala hande

และการเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเอง ( SDL ) ได้รับการระบุว่าเป็นทักษะที่สำคัญสำหรับแพทย์ . เพื่อตอบสนองความท้าทายในสภาพแวดล้อมการดูแลสุขภาพวันนี้ การเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเองเป็นสิ่งสำคัญที่สุด สถาบันดูแลสุขภาพหลาย ได้ sdls เป็นส่วนหนึ่งของหลักสูตรในการเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเอง ผู้เรียนใช้ความคิดริเริ่มในการใช้ทรัพยากรมากกว่าเพียงแค่การตอบสนองการส่งสัญญาณจากทรัพยากร ดังนั้นจึง ช่วยให้ผู้เรียนสามารถเรียนรู้เพิ่มเติมและเรียนรู้ได้ดีขึ้น วัตถุประสงค์หลักของการศึกษา ขณะนี้ต้องพัฒนาทักษะการถาม และต้องไปแสวงหาความรู้ใหม่ได้อย่างง่ายดายและแดงที่เหลือของชีวิตของเขาหรือเธอ .

แนวคิดของ directedness ตนเองในการเรียนรู้เป็นครั้งแรกที่กล่าวถึงในวรรณคดีการศึกษาเป็นต้น 1926 ( Brookfield , 1984 ) จากงานเขียนเหล่านี้ รายละเอียดเบื้องต้นของการเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเอง เกิด การเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเองในศูนย์ความหมาย อธิบายถึงกระบวนการที่บุคคลใช้ความคิดริเริ่ม มีหรือไม่มีความช่วยเหลือของผู้อื่นในการวินิจฉัยความต้องการการเรียนรู้ของพวกเขาการกำหนดเป้าหมายในการเรียน , การระบุทรัพยากรเพื่อการเรียนรู้ การเลือกและการใช้กลยุทธ์การเรียนรู้และประเมินผลการเรียนรู้ ( Knowles , 1975 ) มันไม่ปฏิบัติเพื่อกำหนดวัตถุประสงค์ของการศึกษาที่ถ่ายทอดสิ่งที่เป็นที่รู้จักกัน ในโลกที่มีครึ่งชีวิตของข้อเท็จจริงมากมายและทักษะอาจจะสิบปีหรือน้อยกว่าครึ่งหนึ่งของสิ่งที่บุคคลได้มาตอนอายุยี่สิบอาจจะล้าสมัยโดยเวลาคนที่เป็นสามสิบ มันจึงสำคัญบรรลุความรู้ใหม่ได้อย่างง่ายดายและชำนาญในส่วนที่เหลือของชีวิตของเขา หรือเธอ ตลอดชีวิต การเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเอง ( SDL ) ได้รับการระบุว่ามีความสามารถที่สำคัญสำหรับแพทย์ฮาร์วีย์ , 2003 )

ทำไมการเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเอง ?
เหตุผลหนึ่งคือว่า มีหลักฐานที่น่าเชื่อว่า ผู้ที่ใช้ความคิดริเริ่มในการเรียนรู้ เรียนรู้สิ่งต่างๆมากขึ้นและเรียนรู้ได้มากกว่าคนที่นั่งที่เท้าของครูอยู่เฉยๆรอที่จะมีการสอน เหตุผลที่สองคือ การเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเองมีมากขึ้นสอดคล้องกับกระบวนการของเราธรรมชาติของพัฒนาการทางจิตวิทยามุมมองที่สำคัญของเศรษฐกิจ คือ พัฒนาความสามารถในการใช้เพิ่มความรับผิดชอบของชีวิตของเราเองที่จะกลายเป็นมากขึ้นด้วย . เหตุผลที่สามก็คือว่าหลายของการพัฒนาใหม่ในการศึกษาวางภาระหนักบน ผู้เรียนจะใช้เวลาจัดการที่ดีของการริเริ่มในการเรียนรู้ของตนเอง เพื่อตอบสนองความท้าทายในสภาพแวดล้อมการดูแลสุขภาพวันนี้การเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเองเป็นสิ่งสำคัญที่สุด สถาบันดูแลสุขภาพหลาย ได้ sdls เป็นส่วนหนึ่งของหลักสูตร ( peplow 1990 ; majumdar , โรเบิร์ต knechtel noesgaard แคมป์เบล , , , และ tkachuk , 1998 ; trevena และ คลาร์ก , 2002 ; shokar shokar Romero และ bulik , ,

, 2003 )ลักษณะของการเรียนรู้ดังกล่าวเป็นนักเรียนที่รับผิดชอบที่สำคัญสำหรับการเรียนรู้ของตนเองเหนือกว่าและการตอบสนองเพื่อการสอน ( boud , 1981 ) ครูมีบทบาทในการเล่นในการช่วยเหลือนักเรียนที่จะได้รับทักษะการเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเอง และต้องทำ พวกเขาต้องการที่จะเข้าใจแนวคิดของการเรียนรู้ด้วยตนเอง

ประโยชน์ที่สำคัญของวิธีการด้วยตนเอง นั้นคือ สามารถแก้ไขปัญหาที่ยั่งยืนที่สุด ปัญหาในการศึกษาทางการแพทย์ : การเจริญเติบโตในความรู้ มันเป็นความจริงที่ไม่สามารถหลักสูตรสอนทุกอย่างที่แพทย์พิจารณาที่เกี่ยวข้องต่อไป และเพิ่มเติมสามารถนำสิ่งที่เออแบรเฮิมสัน ( 1978 ) อธิบายว่า " การใช้หลักสูตร" นักการศึกษาได้พยายามที่จะรองรับความรู้พิเศษ รวมทั้ง lengthening หลักสูตรและแนะนำนักศึกษาและการศึกษาต่อเนื่องทางการแพทย์ แต่ไม่มีผู้ใดได้แก้ปัญหา

นอกจากนี้ ความเสื่อมถอยของความรู้วิธีการมากของสิ่งที่สำคัญในวันนี้อาจจะไม่เกี่ยวข้องในวันพรุ่งนี้ ได้รับนี้การสอนข้อเท็จจริงวันนี้ดูเหมือนว่าจะสำคัญน้อยกว่ามั่นใจว่านักเรียนมีทักษะในการเรียนรู้ และเรียนรู้ความรู้พัฒนา นี้ได้นำไปสู่การเน้นทักษะการเรียนรู้ตลอดชีวิต " เหล่านี้รวมถึงความสามารถในการวิเคราะห์ปัญหา การกำหนดสิ่งที่ต้องเรียนรู้ รู้วิธีการที่จะเข้าถึงข้อมูล ประเมินข้อมูล และตระหนักในกะลาหัว .