Transcript LEARNER AUTONOMY

The Gozo College
LEARNER AUTONOMY
Autonomy is the ability to take charge of
one’s own learning. (Holec)
Autonomy is essentially a matter of the
learner’s psychological relation to the
process and content of learning. (Little)
Autonomy is a situation in which learners
are totally responsible for all the decisions
concerned with their learning and the
implementation of these decisions.
(Dickenson)
Definitions (contd)
Learner autonomy means that learners
are given the time and opportunity to
think about how they want to go about
learning (techniques, resources
needed, location and pacing); which
criteria will be used, and in what ways
to determine whether the learning
experience was satisfactory and
worthwhile. (Bocket and Hiemstra)
In simpler terms
…
Students take responsibility for their learning
and work in partnership with tutors and other
students;
It is about learning to learn and developing
assessment for learning;
Students reflect on their experience and are
able to create their own meanings;
It requires tutors to trust students’
abilities and promote the use of student
directed learning.
Why learner autonomy?
The only (person) who is educated is the person who has
learned how to learn; the person who has realised that
no knowledge is secure, that only the process of seeking
knowledge gives a basis for security.
(Karl Rogers)
Why learner autonomy?
1.
If they are actively engaged with their learning, it is
likely to be more efficient and effective, because
more personal and more focused than otherwise;
2.
If learners are proactively committed to their
learning, the problem of motivation is by definition
solved;
3.
Learners are different: theory of multiple
intelligences, different learning styles, left and
right brain …;
4.
Life-long learning.
Facilitating Learner Autonomy
The teacher’s role is to create and maintain a learnng
environment in which learners can be autonomous in
order to become even more autonomous.
Vygotsky emphasizes the interdependence of the cognitive and
social-interactive dimensions of the learning process
Facilitating learner autonomy
Adoption of bottom-up approaches implying the element of
discovery through personal work instead of the distribution of
ready-made input;
Pedagogy of choice: different approaches, different activities
to address different learning styles and intelligences;
Pedagogy of time: giving learners time to answer questions,
to solve problems, to understand new input in an atmosphere
of tolerance of error;
Pedagogy of cooperation: exchange of ideas, opinions,
information with other learners; pair-work and group-work are
forms of social organisation that lead to autonomy;
Pedagogy of resources: training learners to be able to use
available resources independently.
Philosophies of learning
Constructivism: the basic idea is that knowledge
cannot be instructed by a teacher, it can only be
constructed by the learner. Knowledge cannot be
taught but only learned (constructed);
Humanist views: these advocate respect for the
learner; giving learners opportunities of taking
decisions about their own learning; cooperation
among learners; the teacher as facilitator of
learning;
Cognitive views: the learner’s active involvement in
the process of learning; the constant use of
strategies for processing information.
Promoting learner autonomy (General)
Fostering teachers’ autonomy;
Pre-planning: learners identify their objectives and
determine/negotiate how they will achieve them;
Planning-in-action: here, learners may change their
objectives and reconsider the ways in which they will go
about achieving them;
Training in cognitive strategies: resourcing (ex:
dictionaries), note-taking, questioning for clarification,
inferencing, deduction …;
Training in metacognitive strategies: concentrating on
general or specific aspects of a task, self-monitoring
(observing and checking one’s performance), selfevaluation ( appraising one’s performance in relation to
one’s own), self-re-inforcement (rewarding oneself for
success)…;
Training in social and affective strategies:
cooperating in a group, group dynamics, self-esteem
(evaluation the learner makes of himself with regard to
learning a subject a learning in general).
Promoting learner autonomy (specific)
Introspective self-reports: assigning a task and
have learners report what they are thinking while
they are performing it;
Retrospective self-reports: learners are asked to
think back on their own learning;
Diaries;
Well-planned group-work;
Well-planned project work;
Portfolios: example: ELP: (a) passport:
summarises the owner’s linguistic identity; (b)
language biography: helps reflects on the
process of learning; (c) dossier: in which the
owner collects evidence of his proficiency in
language learning;
Using ICT: on-line communication…;
Resource (class)rooms plus subject selfevaluation learning kits…
TEACHER WORK-SHOPS
1.
2.
3.
Which elements of the presentation have you found most
interesting?
At present, how is learner autonomy being promoted in your
subject area?
Following the ideas put forward in this presentation, what
concrete steps might be taken to enhance learner autonomy
in your subject area?
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Please elect
a chairperson,
a time-keeper, and
a rapporteur
Please hand in a legible copy of your report to the College Coordinator
WORK-SHOP (Head & Ass. Heads)
Which elements of the presentation have
you found most interesting?
2. How can you, as administrators and
curriculum managers, help, concretely, in
the implementation of learner autonomy in
your school?
3. What extra resources are needed to
enhance learner autonomy in your school?
1.