SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

According to research, students must actively process new information in order to retain it. In doing so, they interact with other students, the teacher, and the content.

Students should be allowed to construct knowledge through their interactions, which an important step in moving up the ladder to self-directed learning. Gone are the days when teachers processed the information, shared it through lecture, and had students repeat it back on a test.

During lectures, teachers should identify critical information and let students know what information is important. It would also help to organize students to interact with new knowledge, as they learn better in small groups. Students should be able to understand the group processes needed to ensure the groups run successfully.

New content is always linked to an old one, so try linking new knowledge to previously learned ones through a preview activity. This is to activate prior knowledge and give teachers an idea of what students know so they can chunk the information appropriately.

Students usually balk when they are given chunks of information to digest. Why not give students the right amount and complexity of information? They need enough information so they can process it, but not so little that they lose interest.

In processing the new information, students should be able to analyze and synthesize each chunk of information so it will connect with previous knowledge and be stored in long term memory. They can use macro-strategies or combinations of thinking skills like questioning, clarifying, predicting, sequencing, and summarizing.