One of the major priorities for community colleges is to focus on the pedagogical tools that will allow students to achieve excellence and quality in curriculum and instruction to meet the changing societal needs (Shearon & Tollefson, 1989). Rapid demographic, social, and technological changes demand that community colleges produce self-directed lifelong learners (Closson, 1996). The study of student learning preferences for more teacher-directed or more self-directed learning is one of the concepts that is important in enhancing teaching and learning practices. The purpose of this study was to examine students' teacher-directed versus self-directed learning preferences in specific courses. The possible relationships among age, gender, and academic majors and the learning preferences (teacher-directed or self-directed) were also explored. The revised version of Learning Style Preference Questionnaire (LSPQ) originally designed by Hinkle (1990) was administered to 563 students at five selected community colleges in the southeast. The majority of the participants were female traditional students majoring in the natural sciences. The sample showed a preference for teacher-directed orientation in specific courses. Statistically significant differences were observed in the magnitude of the teacher-directed orientation between the mean scores of male and female students with male students scoring significantly higher than the female students. Traditional students obtained significantly higher mean scores on the items addressing the delivery of instruction than the nontraditional students. Nontraditional students obtained significantly higher mean scores on the items addressing the testing of learning. Gender had an impact on the magnitude of the teacher-directed learning preferences for evaluation and testing of learning. Academic majors had an impact on the magnitude of the teacher-directed learning preferences for evaluation of learning. Students in this study preferred a teacher-directed approach to learning. Follow-up research using a variety of instruments may investigate how this preference contributes to or affects academic achievement. It is recommended that the methods and procedures adopted in this study be replicated in other community colleges across the nation. Learning preference concepts and methods should be developed at the community college level to include professional development of instructors so that they may better provide learning opportunities for their students. Such studies may also be conducted in other parts of the world to determine how cultural differences may impact on learning preferences.

The increasingly ubiquitous nature of mobile devices among K-12 students has led many to argue for and against the inclusion of mobile devices in K-12 classrooms. Some have conjectured that access to mobile devices may enable student self-directed learning. This research used a mixed-method approach to explore the relationships between mobile devices and student achievement and self-directed learning during a Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) activity in a middle school Technology and Engineering Education classroom. In this study, 706 students from 18 classes worked in groups of 2-3 to complete an open-ended engineering design challenge. Students completed design portfolios and constructed prototypes. Classes were randomly divided with some receiving access to mobile devices during the study while others did not. Additionally, randomly assigned classes completed the design portfolio electronically while others completed the portfolio on paper. Final student portfolios and products were assessed using adaptive comparative judgment (ACJ). In ACJ, judges view two artifacts (portfolios or products) electronically and choose the better of the two. Repeating this process, a number of times produced a rank-order for the artifacts. The rank order for student portfolios and products represented student achievement. Statistical analyses of student access, portfolio type, student self-directed learning, and student achievement were conducted. Thirty student interviews and five teacher interviews were conducted and interviewees were asked questions regarding mobile devices, self-directed learning, and their experience during the study. Responses from the interviews were transcribed and coded using causation and thematic coding techniques. The resulting themes from the interviews helped clarify the quantitative findings. Findings from both the quantitative and qualitative analyses showed that student access to mobile devices was significantly correlated with higher scores on student design portfolios while student achievement on design products was independent of mobile device access. This suggests that mobile devices may improve student achievement in certain types of scenarios but not in others. Student self-directed learning was independent of mobile device access. Students and teachers both commented that mobile devices may be effective at increasing student self-directed learning or achievement but only through proper instruction and demonstration.

Most Kenyan high school dropouts do not have a school reentry option, and without a high school diploma, they lack access to tertiary or higher education institutions for training and career development. This case study was an investigation of how an adult learning center in Kenya educated high school dropouts and helped them to gain access to vocational training or higher education. The research questions addressed the pedagogy, learning experiences, and curriculum of the Baraka Adult Learning Center (BALC) and also focused on how the BALC met students' aspirations, needs, and goals based on the perceptions of teachers and adult learners. The conceptual framework was based on liberatory education theory, transformative learning theory, and andragogy. Data collected from classroom observation s, curriculum review, and interviews with 9 current students, 3 former students, 5 teachers, and the principal were analyzed inductively by sorting and coding to generate emergent themes. The results of the study indicated that instructors followed the regular high school curriculum with little adaptation and lacked training about teaching adult learners and self-directed learning approaches. The adult learners perceived returning to school as getting a second chance. A professional development project for BALC instructors was developed to address some of the needs identified in the study. This training could have an impact on the adult learners by better assisting them to gain access to vocational training and higher education.

This study explores the application of wireless local area network (WLAN) in mobile learning. Although still in its infancy, Taiwan¡¦s government has devoted much resource on mobile learning as the extention of e-Taiwan project. National museums are among the key projects where the effectiveness of mobile learning can be soundly demonstrated. Taking national museums as observing objects, this study examines whether museum visitors appreciate WLAN environment within which personal digital assistants (PDA) operate as mobile educational tools. It further explores the key success factors that leads to successful deployment of mobile learning system. The researcher conducted a two-wave survey, firstly on museum visiters then on museum and e-learning experts for data gathering. Using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) as the research method, this study filters out the priority setting of those six categories as follows according to their significance: learning content, network connection, interface design, mareking and promotion, and business model. It also shows that the priority setting might change as a matter of time. As far as implication for education is concerned, the study suggests that, in the learning space of museum, PDA equipped with WLAN proves to be an appropriate mobile learning tool, notably useful in conducting blending learning and self-directed learning. Such finding should contribute to the understanding and further deployment of mobile learning activities in the context of museums. Keywords: wireless local area network (WLAN), mobile learning, blending learning, self-directed learning, personal digital assistant (PDA), fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), key success factors, museum

Most Kenyan high school dropouts do not have a school reentry option, and without a high school diploma, they lack access to tertiary or higher education institutions for training and career development. This case study was an investigation of how an adult learning center in Kenya educated high school dropouts and helped them to gain access to vocational training or higher education. The research questions addressed the pedagogy, learning experiences, and curriculum of the Baraka Adult Learning Center (BALC) and also focused on how the BALC met students' aspirations, needs, and goals based on the perceptions of teachers and adult learners. The conceptual framework was based on liberatory education theory, transformative learning theory, and andragogy. Data collected from classroom observation s, curriculum review, and interviews with 9 current students, 3 former students, 5 teachers, and the principal were analyzed inductively by sorting and coding to generate emergent themes. The results of the study indicated that instructors followed the regular high school curriculum with little adaptation and lacked training about teaching adult learners and self-directed learning approaches. The adult learners perceived returning to school as getting a second chance. A professional development project for BALC instructors was developed to address some of the needs identified in the study. This training could have an impact on the adult learners by better assisting them to gain access to vocational training and higher education.

Five cases of ‘non-musicians’ learning how to make music were used to explore the information practice of users in the domain of music to support the design of music information systems and platforms. In all five cases, the use of online music knowledge was situated within a larger process of self-directed learning, as well as the larger socio-musical world of the non-musicians. Effective access to and use of available resources is paradoxically predicated on a non-musician’s ability to articulate their information needs using terms with which they are not yet familiar. The findings articulate the information practice of non-musicians as being characterized by the emergent nature of their information needs and the exploratory nature of their information practice. In particular, the user’s socio-musical world, learning or knowledge trajectories, as well as their modes of learning offer an innovative approach to understanding and anticipating music information needs.

Five cases of ‘non-musicians’ learning how to make music were used to explore the information practice of users in the domain of music to support the design of music information systems and platforms. In all five cases, the use of online music knowledge was situated within a larger process of self-directed learning, as well as the larger socio-musical world of the non-musicians. Effective access to and use of available resources is paradoxically predicated on a non-musician’s ability to articulate their information needs using terms with which they are not yet familiar. The findings articulate the information practice of non-musicians as being characterized by the emergent nature of their information needs and the exploratory nature of their information practice. In particular, the user’s socio-musical world, learning or knowledge trajectories, as well as their modes of learning offer an innovative approach to understanding and anticipating music information needs.

Šio darbo tikslas – ištirti edukacinį filmo poveikį (per užslėptojo ugdymo/si bei savaiminio mokymo/si momentus). Tyrimo metu buvo analizuojamas Simpsonų filmas focus grupės metodu. Tyrimo duomenys nagrinėjami pagal autorės išskirtas kategorijas. Magistro darbe, remiantis lietuvių ir užsienio mokslinės literatūros analize, atskleistos edukacinės medijų plotmės: pristatyta neregimojo ugdymo/si bei savaiminio mokymo/si raiška animaciniuose filmuose; supažindinama su kino edukacija, kaip edukacinių plotmių sklaidos perspektyva animaciniuose filmuose. Tyrimas įrodo, kad animaciniai filmai (konkrečiai Simpsonų filmas) turi edukacinį poveikį paauglių atžvilgiu. / The aim of this work is to examine the effect of educational movie (through hidden curriculum and self-directed learning moments). During the research the Simpsons Movie was analysed by a focus group method. The research data is examined after authoress categories that she has excluded. This master‘s work is based on lithuanian and foreign nonfiction literature analysis, what is more the educational media planes are revealed: the hidden curriculum and informal learning expression in cartoon movies is introduced; the cinema education is introduced, like educational planes of scattered perspective in animated movies. The research proves that animated movies (The Simpsons Movie) have an educational impact on teenagers.

Mokyme plačiai naudojami informatikos mokslo pasiekimai, ryšiams tarp mokytojo ir besimokančiojo palaikyti yra naudojamos naujausios telekomunikacijų priemonės, taip pat vis svarbesnis tampa nuotolinis mokymas. E. mokymasis yra orientuotas į besimokantįjį, suteikia jam galimybę pasiekti mokomąją medžiagą bet kuriuo metu ir bet kurioje vietoje, kur tik prieinamas interneto ryšys, o taip pat pakeičia ir mokytojo vaidmenį. Technologijos iš esmės keičia tradicinį mokymosi būdą ir plačiai jas pradėjus naudoti švietime esminiu rodikliu, tobulinant pedagogų profesinio rengimo sistemą, tampa mokytojų bei dėstytojų technologinės kompetencijos. Pedagogai, kuriems trūksta žinių, kaip naudotis technologijomis, pristabdo inovatyvių mokymosi metodų plėtrą bei inovacijų pateikimą besimokantiesiems. Šiai problemai spręsti sukurtas savivaldaus mokytojų mokymosi modelis virtualioje erdvėje, kuris padės realizuoti turimas technologines žinias, efektyviai organizuoti mokymosi procesą, bei labiau įtraukti mokinius į inovatyvių mokymosi metodų naudojimo procesą, naudojant nuotolinio mokymosi technologijas. / The teachers training field in Lithuania’s education system is not really design for today needs because quickly evolving information and communication technologies are changing the teaching and learning situation. Recently the documents about education systems improvement of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Lithuania documents focuses attention on the teacher. The younger generation's future directly depends from the teacher, so there is a need to raise the prestige of the teaching profession, improve teacher training and to diversify their qualifications. There are many innovative computer technologies applied in the educational process which expands learning opportunities and transforms the traditional learning into e. learning which makes learning process more accessible, attractive and individualized, but not many teachers in Lithuania knows how to take the best of it. The self-directed teachers learning model in virtual space is implemented in the virtual learning environment Moodle supplemented with social networks interactions and synchronous communication which ensures convenient and smooth communication and collaboration. Also it gives opportunity to easier gather information on a specific topic or for a particular purpose. Using the model, teachers will be able to include emerging and constantly evolving ICT to the training process and will be able to apply not only traditional but also blended and distance learning methods and techniques in... [to full text]

Malcolm Shepherd Knowles was a key writer and theorist in the field of adult education in the United States. He died in 1997 and left a large legacy of books and journal articles. This thesis traced the development of his thinking over the 46-year period from 1950 to 1995. It examined the 25 works authored, co-authored, edited, reissued and revised by him during that period. The writings were scrutinised using a literature research methodology to expose the theoretical content, and a history of thought lens to identify and account for the development of major ideas. The methodology enabled a gradual unfolding of the history. A broadly-consistent and sequential pattern of thought focusing on the notion of andragogy emerged. The study revealed that after the initial phases of exploratory thinking, Knowles developed a practical-theoretical framework he believed could function as a comprehensive theory of adult learning. As his thinking progressed, his theory developed into a unified framework for human resource development and, later, into a model for the development of self-directed lifelong learners. The study traced the development of Knowles’ thinking through the phases of thought, identified the writings that belonged within each phase and produced a series of diagrammatic representations showing the evolution of his conceptual framework. The production of a history of the development of Knowles’ thought is the major outcome of the study. In addition to plotting the narrative sequence of thought-events, the history helps to explicate the factors and conditions that influenced Knowles’ thinking and to show the interrelationships between ideas. The study should help practitioners in their use and appreciation of Knowles’ works.