Self Directed Learning In Nursing Education
What Is Self Directed Learning
Conceptualized almost five decades ago, self-directed learning (SDL) was developed by educational learning expert Rogers (1981) and subsequently revised by Tough (1971) and Knowles (1975). Rogers initially described the concept of self direction, which was then refined by Tough who noted that adult learners are self directed in their own personal learning needs and are motivated to seek out and gain the knowledge and skills required to meet those needs (O 'Shea, 2003), Knowles further defined the core principles required for SDL as being individually driven, formulated, conducted, and evaluated either with or without the support of others (Knowles, 1975).
Criticized in the literature for differing interpretations, primary elements led to years of debate and additional modifications. Today SDL, in contrast to teacher led instruction, identifies the core principle of SDL as learning, which is intrinsically and extrinsically derived, articulated, and executed by the individual. SDL has been embraced in higher education and health care in direct response to societal and technological changes. These changes have accelerated and accentuated the critical need to develop survival skills to adapt in these complex environments. O'Shea (2003) considers SDL, as an essential component in nursing today.
Benefits of Self Directed Learning In Nursing Education
SDL, is a process that empowers the learner to take personal responsibility for learning by establishing learning goals, identifying and accessing resources, adopting activities to facilitate learning, and evaluating learning performance. The use of SDL. in nursing can guide learners and educators to facilitate and develop skills and confidence for independent lifelong learning. In nursing education,it is no longer acceptable to prepare the learner by merely transferring knowledge; Educators must facilitate the student's ability to independently acquire new skills both today and in the future as current practices are likely to become obsolete.
Benefits of SDL in nursing literature include developing skills of inquiry and achieving new knowledge through increased learner confidence, adaptability in new situations, and personal autonomy. SDL minimizes the notion of curriculum hypertrophy created by the exponential growth of knowledge edge (Abrahamson, 1978). Students learn a process to define and analyze problems effectively to respond to whatever the future brings.Use of SDL compared to teacher directed learning has not always been successfully implemented in nursing education (White, 2006).
Assessing student and educator readiness along with appropriate and adequate preparation is critical for success. Students need to operate as self-directed learners and learn how to control what they want to learn; learn how to question; access resources; and motivate yourself. This process is often foreign to undergraduate students and can easily frustrate the learner, creating anxiety and distress (Hewitt Taylor, 2001; Lunyk Child, 2005). Educators of SDL are charged with creating a learning environment that can facilitate learning with mutual respect, maintain rigor, and support the development of knowledge, skills, and attitude (Kim, Oliman, Ryan, & Eryilmaz, 2014; O' Shea, 2003, Pryce Miller, 2010).
Multiple forms of SDL have been successfully used in nursing education including reflections, independent study, informal discussion or group work, distance or online learning modules, and teleconferencing (O'Shea, 2003).The purported benefits of SDL can be optimized by assessing readiness for SDL, preparing the learners and educators, and identifying learning styles. Furthermore, the student's motivation, learning style, and specific learning situations must be taken into account (Candy, 1991).
Requirements of Self Directed Learning In Nursing Education
There are three main factors required for understanding SDL. These are understanding of the different perspectives and framework works on SDL, shifting from traditional teaching to a more facilitated process, and assessing readiness of the individual learner. Historically, two main perspectives on implementation of SDL in education have existed. One perspective is that SDL is a process that takes into account the level of the learner and the organizational processes required to facilitate SDL.The second perspective identifies SDL as a personal attribute where the academic institution develops learners who possess intellectual autonomy ( Candy, 1991).
Recent works by Vonderwell and Turner (2005) support the blending of the two perspectives by identifying key personal characteristics that can be used to leverage the SDL process. Key characteristics of self directed learners are varied but generally include ability to work independently, ability to self-manage, a desire for learning, and a skill in problem solving (Candy, 1991; Knowles, 1975) Ultimately, the goal is to produce a self directed learner for life.Teaching methods for SDL are different from traditional teacher-directed instructions (White, 2006).
Faculty development that supports educators to learn and maintain the competency in facilitating SDL is essential Brown and Libberton (2007) discussed the need for educators to identify the learning needs of students and use a variety of teaching methodologies to support SDL. In addition, the school needs to embrace a culture of mutual respect and shared responsibility in which teachers facilitate SDL in the curriculum. Learning contracts and reflections have been ideal methods of teaching SDL (Hewitt Taylor, 2001).
Problem based learning has also assisted students to learn the skills required to identify measures to solve the problem.Readiness for SDL for the student is individualized and exists on a continuum. If student readiness is low when completing an SDL assignment, the result may be high anxiety. In contrast, if the student with high readiness is given a very structured assignment with numerous teacher instructions, his or her anxiety may also be high (Fisher, King, & Tague, 2001).
Several scales to assess readiness for SDL have been developed. One of the most recent scales was developed by Fisher and King (2010).SDL is important in nursing. Guiding students to inquire about and acquire new knowledge is necessary to meet the challenges in the complex, rapidly changing health care environment. SDL enables individuals to take initiative and responsibility for learning. There is a need for current research with SDL at all levels of nursing education.
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