Arbeitsschutz erzielt dann seine größte Wirksamkeit, wenn er bereits im Rahmen der Konzeption und Planung von Maschinen vollumfänglich berücksichtigt wird. Etwaige Versäumnisse hinsichtlich einer sicheren Produktgestaltung in diesem Stadium können unzureichend sichere Produkte und kostenintensive Nacharbeiten zur Folge haben (Klein, 2013). Deshalb benötigen künftige Maschinenbauer und Produktdesigner für ihre spätere berufliche Praxis Fachwissen zur proaktiven sicheren und gesundheitsgerechten Gestaltung von Maschinen. Die voranschreitende digitale Transformation führt jedoch in Wechselwirkung mit weiteren Faktoren dazu, dass sich derartiges Wissen heutzutage ständig entwickelt und erweitert (Korunka & Kubicek, 2013). Fachkräfte sind entsprechend gefordert, ihr Fachwissen im Rahmen ihrer Arbeitsprozesse fortlaufend zu aktualisieren. Dabei wird der Betrieb mehr denn je zum Lernort und setzt zunehmend technologieunterstützte Lernformen ein, die Mitarbeitenden einen selbstgesteuerten Wissenserwerb nach individuellem Bedarf ermöglichen sollen (BMAS, 2017). Selbstgesteuerte Lernprozesse setzen jedoch spezifische Kompetenzen voraus, die zunächst entwickelt und gefördert werden müssen. Zu diesem Zwecke entwickeln die Autoren derzeit ein Lehrkonzept, das es angehenden Produktgestaltenden ermöglichen soll, bereits im Rahmen der universitären Ausbildung sicherheitstechnisches Fachwissen zu erwerben und dabei auch in der heutigen Informationsgesellschaft essentielle Erfahrungen mit selbstgesteuertem Lernen zu sammeln.

Professionals need to learn throughout their entire career due to the rapid changes in technology (Zander, Boustedt, Eckerdal, McCartney, Sanders, Moström, & Thomas, 2012). Professional development is a need for professionals to remain updated in their profession (Murphy, 2008). One way professional development occurs is through e-learning, which provides an environment that supports self-directed learning. It is also cost-effective (Hadwen & Galloway, 2008). The authors indicate the importance of professional development and e-learning. However, there is a lack of insight into understanding what motivates persons to engage in these activities. This study thus aims to understand the motivation for self-directed e-learning for professional development.       A qualitative approach occurred via semi-structured interview questions, and findings show that people were the top motivator for this type of learning. Results also show that successful e-learning is applying the knowledge or skills learned, and accomplishing the learning goal. The top influential factors include positive emotions, popular search engines, and freedom of choice. Furthermore, persistence and critical thinking support the process, and hindrances had to do with access and disruptions. This thesis argues that autonomous extrinsic motivation is essential for understanding self-directed e-learning for professional development. Additionally, due to the many factors that influence social context, encouraging this form of professional development may be complicated, yet beneficial.

Knowledge of how gender affects learning is scarcely understood in the realm of nursing education. Prior studies have indicated certain learning styles are predictors of passing board examinations. Pinpointing specific learning styles could improve educational outcomes and produce thoroughly equipped nurses. Previous researchers have studied the differences in learning preferences according to gender; however, no studies have solely concentrated on gender specific learning preferences among undergraduate nursing students. Learning Interest, as well as Goal Orientation, were found to be statistically significant between genders.

Sustainability and environmental responsibility is increasingly growing in importance. Solving the environmental problems of the planet will one day become the responsibility of future scientists. For this reason, and with the introduction of new chemical legislation (REACH) driving change it is essential that current students are given a broad introduction to sustainability and environmental responsibility in order to equip them as graduates for future practice in the chemical sciences. At the University of Bradford the aim is to teach sustainability and environmental responsibility by embedding it throughout the entire chemistry curriculum rather than teaching it in standalone lectures. Once this has been established within chemistry it is expected that this will potentially provide a template for other areas of laboratory science within the university. In order to achieve the aim of this project, students, staff and potential employers tookpart in surveys with a view to inform curriculum development. Examples of best practice were sought and used as guidance for the development of directed learning activities for use as post lab questions and utilisation of the twelve principles of green chemistry. Green chemistry metrics were applied to undergraduate experiments to test how well they would work in terms of ease of use, applicability and judging ¿greenness¿. It was found that these were not very effective for use within an undergraduate laboratory due to applicability and judging ¿greenness¿, however this work highlighted other areas for improvement. As a result of this work an environmental assessment metric system was developed for use within an undergraduate setting. / Ecoversity at the University of Bradford

Although the need for and importance of self-directed learning are well documented, studies reporting on the influence of teaching–learning strategies, fostering self-directed learning skills, are limited. The aim of this investigation was to determine and understand the impact of the implementation of cooperative base groups on the self-directed learning readiness of first-year Life Sciences students. In order to achieve the research aim, a mixed method approach was followed. During the quantitative phase, the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale, a cooperative base group perception questionnaire, a checklist for social skills, and the academic achievement of first-year Life Sciences students at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University were analysed. In the qualitative phase of the investigation, semi-structured interviews were conducted with randomly selected first-year Life Sciences students of the experimental group. The questions in the interviews were aimed at determining the students‟ perception of cooperative base groups, how this perception contributed to their self-directed learning competencies, as well as the role that active involvement, the cooperative base group folder and personal support play in the development of self-directed learning competencies. The results of the investigation contribute to the body of knowledge on cooperative learning as it provides insight into how students experience cooperative base groups. The implementation of cooperative base groups contributes to the development of the following characteristics and skills, which are vital for becoming self-directed in one‟s learning: viewing peers as resources; being able to give and receive help; developing good social skills; being motivated to learn; and taking initiative and responsibility for learning. / MEd (Natural Sciences Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Although the need for and importance of self-directed learning are well documented, studies reporting on the influence of teaching–learning strategies, fostering self-directed learning skills, are limited. The aim of this investigation was to determine and understand the impact of the implementation of cooperative base groups on the self-directed learning readiness of first-year Life Sciences students. In order to achieve the research aim, a mixed method approach was followed. During the quantitative phase, the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale, a cooperative base group perception questionnaire, a checklist for social skills, and the academic achievement of first-year Life Sciences students at the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University were analysed. In the qualitative phase of the investigation, semi-structured interviews were conducted with randomly selected first-year Life Sciences students of the experimental group. The questions in the interviews were aimed at determining the students‟ perception of cooperative base groups, how this perception contributed to their self-directed learning competencies, as well as the role that active involvement, the cooperative base group folder and personal support play in the development of self-directed learning competencies. The results of the investigation contribute to the body of knowledge on cooperative learning as it provides insight into how students experience cooperative base groups. The implementation of cooperative base groups contributes to the development of the following characteristics and skills, which are vital for becoming self-directed in one‟s learning: viewing peers as resources; being able to give and receive help; developing good social skills; being motivated to learn; and taking initiative and responsibility for learning. / MEd (Natural Sciences Education), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Cette thèse aborde la formation et l'accompagnement des acteurs de l'Education Populaire. L'enjeu est de stabiliser la qualité des services des associations, malgré les rapides évolutions de l’environnement. Le postulat d'une nécessaire continuité entre le projet associatif, la démarche éducative et la formation interne, nous a orientés vers une démarche de recherche-action. La récursivité des analyses, a conduit à interroger les conditions d'utilisation du modèle de l'apprenance (Carré 2005), inspiré par le capitalisme cognitif. Il en ressort un cadre éthique qui a orienté le développement d'un modèle d'association apprenante, intégrant un outil de gestion de la fonction « apprendre » inspiré des ingénieries de formation à visée autonomisante (Poisson 2009). Cette thèse propose en outre une réflexion épistémologique et la méthodologique sur la recherche-action qui conduit à établir des liens entre ses conditions de pratique et l'émergence de l'association apprenante. / This dissertation deals with the training and support of personnel in a not-for-profit association involved in education. At stake is the stabilization of the quality of their activities in order to perpetuate both their projects and their on-going operation. The author postulates a necessary continuity between the culture of the association – marked by its approach to education – and its in-house training. This continuity has led to the adoption of an action-research approach. The recursive analysis of the activities have led to a transposition of Carré’s (2005) “learning” model and produced an ethical framework which guided the design of a multidisciplinary learning model for associations. This model includes a tool adapted from instructional design, aimed at learner empowerment (Poisson 2009). The epistemological and methodological reflection aims at shedding light on action research and links its conditions for success to the emergence of associations as learning organizations.

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.