The use of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) in higher education institutions is not a new tendency. Although this is an innovative way of implementing e-learning in the educational process, there are a few problems concerning these systems. Educators tend to apply traditional classroom ideas and pedagogy in computer-supported e-learning environments, assuming that because these environments allow the interaction that we see in the classroom, traditional pedagogy can be used. Although most of the pedagogical principles that apply to the traditional classroom-delivery method also apply to e-learning, the e-environment supports such interactions in a different manner. Traditional pedagogical principles should be adapted to accommodate the e-learning environment and should form the very basis for inclusion of features in LMSs. These principles should be integrated into the LMS where every feature included is accompanied by explicit guidelines on how to use the feature in such a way that it will effect pedagogically sound instruction. The aim of this study is to determine how an LMS could be used in order to enhance self-directed learning. In order to reach this aim a brief history of SDL was given and a number of SDL models were discussed. These models were analyzed in order to compile a list of guidelines to foster SDL. The first set of guidelines didn’t focus on any specific learning environment and it was necessary to refine these guidelines for an online environment. To be able to refine the guidelines for an online environment, LMSs in general were discussed and a few models for SDL in an online environment were reviewed. The SDL guidelines were further refined for implementation in eFundiTM. eFundiTM is the LMS used at the North-West University, Potchefstroom campus, South Africa. The nature of the AGLE 121 module (a literacy module for all first year students) and the specific functionalities of eFundiTM were discussed and taken in consideration when the final set of guidelines was compiled. The researcher did an empirical study to gather valid and reliable data. A mixed methods inquiry approach was used to obtain reliable evidence. The population consisted of all the students that were enrolled for the AGLE modules over 2 years. These students were divided into 2 groups, the AGLE 121 in 2010 (237 students) and the AGLE 121 (287 students) in 2011. The questionnaire that was used for the quantitative research in this study was based on the Fisher, King and Taque (2001) SDL readiness scale for nursing education. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven participants from each group in order get a better understanding of the data collected from the quantitative research, and to elaborate further on the students’ development of SDL. Findings indicated that the students from the second year of the study did not necessarily improve their SDL-skills. Most of the results from the quantitative data showed small practical significant differences. However, the qualitative data indicated that the SDL skills of the students improved in two of the three factors after they used the newly developed eFundiTM site, in the second year of the study and therefore the researcher is of opinion that the intervention had a positive impact on the students’ SDL skills. / Thesis (MEd (Computer Science Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

This thesis is an autoethnography of an elementary art teacher who has transitioned from a traditional, teacher-led curriculum to a choice-based model where more freedom and responsibilities are given to the students. It is an account of the challenges and obstacles faced during the implementation of a choice-based curriculum and offers possible solutions, teaching strategies, and tips utilized to navigate the transition.

The aim of the thesis was to explore the magnitude of inequity in accessibility to initial formal education, continuing adult education, and work-related informal learning for the workplace. The two main issues that the thesis attempted to determine is whether social background characteristics that affect initial educational attainment continue to influence participation in adult education and work-related informal learning. More specifically, this research focused on three main questions: First, to what extent does parents’ social background influence educational attainment levels for Canadians from different generations? Second, to what extent does parents’ social background influencing participation in adult education for their offspring beyond the effects of an individual’s own social background? And, third, to what extent does parents' social background have on their offspring’s participation in informal learning for the workplace beyond the effects of an individual's own social class background? A secondary data quantitative analysis was carried out on the data collected in the 2004 Work and Lifelong Learning (WALL) survey. Both crosstab analysis and structural equation analysis were used to obtain an overview of inequities in participation in formal education and informal learning and to test the applicability of Bourdieu’s social reproduction theory. Overall, the findings of this thesis indicate that social reproduction occurs not only through the formal education system, but also through the adult education system. More specifically, parents’ education continues to be a good predictor of the level of education attained by offspring. Moreover, one’s level of education continued to be a predictor of participation in adult education. Social reproduction was not present for work-related informal learning. In fact, those from low incomes were more likely to engage in informal learning than those from high incomes. These findings indicate that despite level of cultural and economic capital, the majority of Canadians engage in a learning activity. It is apparent that structures that are present in our formal education system continue to advantage students with high cultural and economic capital; however, work-related informal learning is accessible to all.

This study investigated a number of important research questions that were prompted by the existing literature relating to the concept of responsibility for learning. Such literature has highlighted the importance of promoting personal responsibility for learning to not only students as individuals but also to the direction of education and pedagogy in general. The literature has also shown a broad concern over students’ apparent lack of responsibility as well as a lack of consensus over the precise meaning of this concept. The present study addresses gaps in the literature by exploring the following specific issues: firstly, What are students’ understandings of the concept of responsibility for learning?; secondly, How have students reported their own learning related attitudes and behaviours?; and thirdly, What are the associations between students’ understandings and their self-reports? It was also intended that data collected for the first two research questions would enable the investigation of year level and gender differences. With a methodology based on a written survey design, this study collected data from a sample of some 286 students from Australian schools in both the Primary and Secondary sectors (comprising Years 5, 7, 9 and 11). The process of data collection involved participants completing one open-ended question and two newly developed Likert-type response questionnaires that incorporated 40 individual descriptive items that were associated with six distinct subscales (i.e., Orientation Towards Schools and Learning; Active Participation in Learning Activities; Autonomy and Personal Control of Learning; Initiative; Management of Learning Resources; and Cooperation and Control of Classroom Behaviour). One scale (the SURLQ), along with the open-ended question, measured students’ understandings of Responsibility For Learning and the other scale (the SRLABQ) measured students’ perceptions of their own learning related attitudes and behaviours. The data pertaining to the first research question was analysed in two distinct ways. Firstly, students’ responses to the open-ended question were analysed qualitatively by sorting and tallying their original responses according to a determination of the themes and descriptors offered. Secondly, the responses to the SURLQ were analysed quantitatively by calculating the mean and standard deviation scores for all 40 descriptive items and hence the six subscales. Similar quantitative statistical analysis procedures were applied to the data pertaining to students’ self-reported learning attitudes and behaviours (i.e., the SRLABQ). Reliability coefficients for the SURLQ and the SRLABQ were also calculated. Descriptive data for the subscales of these two measures were cross-tabulated by year level and gender to determine whether statistically significant differences were evident. Cohen’s Effect Size calculations were applied to such differences. Statistically significant interactions between these independent variables were determined by Multivariate analysis of variance techniques. The third research question was investigated by applying correlation analysis to the mean scores of corresponding subscales and by calculating the differences between the same sets of mean scores. With respect to the first research question, it was found that according to both sets of data, students’ understandings of responsibility for learning generally supported a primarily behavioural perspective that emphasised a high degree of application to learning and relating sociably with others in the classroom. Although the SURLQ data also showed a greater acknowledgement of attitudinal components, it was noted that according to data from the two questionnaires, students did not readily associate responsible learners with being autonomous and having personal control of learning (as does the literature). With respect to the second research question, it was found that students reported themselves to be reasonably responsible learners as evidenced by the moderately high scores collected in all of the six responsibility for learning subscales. This finding led to the conclusion that the concerns expressed in the literature over students’ lack of responsibility in the classroom are not perceived by the students themselves. As the data pertaining to the third research question showed a reasonable correlation between students’ understandings of responsibility for learning and their self-reported learning attitudes and behaviours, it was concluded that students were likely to view themselves as responsible learners in a way that reflects their understandings of the concept. It was concluded that this research has important implications for all stakeholders in education. Although this study makes a major contribution to defining and describing responsibility for learning, it is evident that a lack of consensus in understanding between key stakeholders groups (i.e., researchers, educators and students) still exists. The divergence of outlook between students and various elements of the literature reinforces the need for further research to be conducted to determine the relative acceptance of behavioural compliance (and/or prudence) in the classroom versus personal control and accountability with respect to learning. It is also argued that such work would be integral to educators having a clear and unambiguous understanding of responsibility for learning so that the enhancement of this quality in students may take place in classrooms of the future.

The complex social phenomenon of leadership has been of interest for thousands of years and the subject of formal scientific research for over a century. The individual (sole) leader has been the focus of majority of the studies and leader-follower dyads have featured prominently in the identification of leader behaviours The paradigm has shifted, from the early quantitative approach to the most recent 'new leadership' perspectives which include theories such as transformational, charismatic and visionary leadership. Non-leaders (labelled followers and sometimes subordinates) have received little research attention despite being in the majority in teams. This study examined the research question, 'How do followers exercise leadership?' Approaching the question using grounded theory research methodology, leadership behaviours were studied in 48 seven- to nine-person teams of Year 11 male students attending an outdoor leadership program in one of two consecutive years in South Africa. The qualitative research was based on (1) data collected and analysed from observations in the field, including an extensive video record; (2) semi-structured interviews with course participants and staff; and (3) in-course leadership review documents. This research extends the existing theory of distributed leadership by defining and clarifying particular processes and skills of how followers in this study exercised leadership. Influence is central to leadership and also the core category in this study. In the context of the substantive field, theoretical propositions generated by the research include that team members are generally concerned about contributing and belonging and, when leading, focus on initiating or taking charge of influencing. Instead of being limited to a single leader, the leading role is distributed amongst team members, though not necessarily in equal proportion. In all teams, more than one member exercised leadership, and in most teams every member exercised some leadership behaviour during the four day program. Depending on context, followers exercised leadership by employing one or more of eight influencing behaviours and switching from following to leading roles. Communicating and listening emerged as core leadership behaviours, vital to team processes and most frequently used. Coordinating and motivating were identified as key influencing behaviours, regularly used and important to team processes. Risking, anchoring, mediating and channelling were categorised as situational influencing behaviours, used less frequently, based on context. This research articulates the mechanism whereby team members switch between leading, following and sometimes nominal member roles. Insights are provided of how individuals in a team may, for a period of time, occupy a leading role and then, at other times, occupy a following role. Occupying these roles is not related to formal assignment of roles. This study not only shows that followers play a greater role in leadership than existing literature on research indicates, but it also defines eight influencing behaviours used to exercise leadership. The study has important implications which can help managers and leaders in formal roles maximise the contributions of their followers. This study can also contribute to the design of leadership training and help build more effective teams and organisations.

L’accélération des changements techniques et l’intégration des TIC dans la vie quotidienne renouvellent la problématique de la formation à l’ère du numérique. Il est largement admis aujourd’hui que les technologies transforment les pratiques sociales à un rythme exponentiel, mais il est cependant moins reconnu que ce sont les personnes elles-mêmes qui façonnent les usages en fonction de leurs goûts ou leurs intérêts. Or la logique de l’usager et les pratiques de détournement des outils techniques confirment cette place centrale de l’acteur dans l’exploitation finale des ressources (Perriault, 2008). Parallèlement un mouvement de recherche dévoile le fait que les personnes n’apprennent pas que dans les lieux formels de formation (Brougère & Ulmann, 2010 ; Carre & Charbonnier, 2003). Ces mutations ouvrent des perspectives de transformation radicale des pratiques d’apprentissage qui nous ont amenée à réfléchir à la question centrale des usages des ressources numériques chez les jeunes en partant du « comment » des usages (De Certeau, 1980 ; Perriault, 1989 ; Proulx, 2005) pour essayer de comprendre le « pourquoi » des pratiques (Lahire, 2012). Notre recherche utilise le principe de la triangulation des méthodes : une première démarche de nature web documentaire a permis d'établir une synthèse du rapport des jeunes au numérique. La seconde, qualitative, menée auprès de 12 jeunes de 15, 20 et 25 ans, nous a permis d’établir, des portraits numériques et de les confronter à l’observation de pratiques : recherche sur le web, Serious Game, module e-Learning et jeu vidéo. La troisième démarche, quantitative, repose sur deux études conduites à partir de questionnaires numériques. L’un a réuni un corpus de 845 répondants de 15 à 78 ans, de toutes origines sociales et l’autre, 51 jeunes de 18 à 24 ans sortis du système éducatif intégrés dans des Ecoles de la deuxième chance. Les conclusions de ce travail de recherche portent sur le rôle des contextes numériques familiaux, des dynamiques personnelles d’usage et des pratiques d’autoformation numérique, dans l’essor de conduites d’apprenance tout au long de la vie. / The acceleration of technical change and integration of information and communication technologies in everyday life renew the issue of learning and training in the digital age. Although it is now widely accepted that technology is changing social practice at an exponential rate, it is less known that the people themselves play an essential role in shaping the uses of such tools according to their tastes or interests. However the notion of “user’s logic” and practices of diverting technological tools from their original purpose both confirm the actor’s essential role in the final use of the resource (Perriault, 2008). Simultaneously, a consistent research trend on both sides of the Atlantic confirms that people do not learn only in formal training situations (Brougère & Ulmann, 2010 ; Carre & Charbonnier, 2003). These changes provide opportunities for a radical transformation of training and learning practice that led us to investigate the central question of the uses of digital resources among young people by starting with the "how" of uses (De Certeau, 1980 ; Perriault, 1989 et Proulx, 2005) in order to understand the “why” of social practice (Lahire, 2012). Our research uses the principle of methodological triangulation: first, a web-based documentary search allowed us to draw an initial picture of young people’s relation to digital resources. The second, qualitative enquiry was conducted with 12 young people of 15, 20 and 25 years of age. It has enabled us to establish “digital portraits” and link them to the observation of actual practice, using 4 artifacts (web search, serious game, e-learning program and digital game). The third approach was based on two quantitative studies conducted with Internet-based questionnaires. The first study gathered a corpus of 845 people from 15 to 78 years from all social backgrounds and the second, a group of 51 underprivileged respondents from 18 to 24 years of age, enrolled in “Second Chance Schools”. The findings of this research underline the role of family contexts with regard to technology, the personal dynamics of digital uses and the growing importance of digital self-directed learning in promoting learning readiness in today’s society.

Submitted by HERALDO VERIDIANO DOS SANTOS null (heraldoguitar@hotmail.com) on 2016-08-22T17:06:41Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO DE MESTRADO - HERALDO PAARMANN - VERSÃO DIGITAL.pdf: 4220163 bytes, checksum: 7ef6883b01524af17741f5353fcd9cd1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-08-23T20:00:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 santos_hv_me_ia.pdf: 4220163 bytes, checksum: 7ef6883b01524af17741f5353fcd9cd1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-23T20:00:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 santos_hv_me_ia.pdf: 4220163 bytes, checksum: 7ef6883b01524af17741f5353fcd9cd1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-06-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O autoaprendizado de música é uma prática comum entre jovens que desenvolvem processos personalizados de construção de conhecimento a partir dos seus interesses musicais. Por meio desses processos alcançam seus objetivos imediatos, o que torna essa forma de aprendizado uma opção tentadora. A guitarra elétrica é um instrumento frequentemente sujeito ao autoaprendizado. Para validar essa assertiva, apresento ao leitor nove jovens autoaprendizes de guitarra, que participam desta pesquisa qualitativa, um estudo de caso múltiplo. Observa-se que, nos últimos quinze anos, muito se investigou acerca de como esses processos são vividos pelos autoaprendizes, produzindo, inclusive, uma legitimação das práticas de aprendizado informais na música popular. Porém pouca atenção foi dada para as dificuldades que surgem no decorrer dessa trajetória e à consequente motivação por uma orientação musical de professores, seja presencialmente ou à distância. Sendo assim, o objetivo desta investigação é compreender por que alguns jovens autoaprendizes desejam uma orientação musical. Para ter êxito nesse processo investigativo, foi feito um levantamento de dados no meio digital, por intermédio de entrevistas semiestruturadas individuais, realizadas por videoconferência, criação de grupo de discussão no Facebook da pesquisa, observação e análise de vídeos dos jovens guitarristas postados no Youtube e registro em um caderno de pesquisa. Para análise e interpretação dos dados, recorri ao conceito de Aprendizagem Autodirecionada (Self-Directed Learning - SDL), inicialmente estruturado pelo educador americano Malcom Knowles. Este conceito foi adaptado para o contexto de aprendizagem musical a partir do modelo tridimensional SDL criado por Liyan Song e Janette R. Hill, que originalmente desenvolveram-no para a investigação do aprendizado em ambiente on-line. Os resultados desta pesquisa demonstraram que todos os jovens alcançaram limites temporários no autoaprendizado e buscaram orientação musical. Mas, um perfil singular de aprendiz foi identificado, caracterizado pela alternância e simultaneidade entre a autoaprendizagem e a orientação. Este perfil indica que os jovens participantes da pesquisa estão, quer em uma situação ou outra, autodirecionando seu aprendizado. As implicações desta pesquisa para a Educação Musical estão voltadas para que professores de música reflitam a respeito de suas metodologias de ensino, aperfeiçoando-as para um melhor atendimento a este tipo de aprendiz. / Music self-directed learning is a common practice among young people who develop custom processes to build knowledge from their musical interests. Through these processes they reach their immediate goal which makes this form of learning a tempting option. The electric guitar can be considered one of the instruments that could lead to a self-learning. To validate this assertion, I present the reader nine young guitar self-learners who participated in this qualitative research, a multiple study case. It is observed that, in the last fifteen years, plenty of investigations have been made regarding to how these processes are experienced by self-learners, but little attention has been given to the difficulties that emerge in the course of this path and a consequent motivation for a musical orientation. Therefore, the objective of this research is to understand why some young self-learners seek for musical orientation. To succeed in this investigative process, data collection was made in the digital environment, through semi-structured individual interviews conducted by videoconference, debate groups on Facebook, observation and analysis of the young guitarists’ videos posted on Youtube, and records in a fieldnotes. For the data analysis and interpretation, I resorted to the concept of Self-directed Learning (SDL), initially structured by the American educator Malcolm Knowles. This concept was adapted for the context of musical learning from the SDL three-dimensional model created by Liyan Song and Janette R. Hill that originally developed it to the investigation of the online learning environment. The results of this research have shown that all young people have achieved temporary limits in self-learning and sought for musical orientation. But a singular apprentice profile was identified, characterized by the interchange and simultaneity between self-learning and orientation. This profile indicates that the young participants of the research, either in one situation or in the other, are self-directing their learning. The implications of this research for music education are aimed for music teacher to reflect about their teaching methodologies, optimizing them for a better orientation to this kind of learner.

Orientador: Olivio Novaski / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecanica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T10:07:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AvileisJunior_Laercio_M.pdf: 554942 bytes, checksum: e148a71286a974ebe2a37abf71d1189f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Resumo: Este trabalho desenvolveu um método para implantação de células de manufatura autogerenciáveis, que são formas de organização do trabalho onde os grupos são encarregados de uma seqüência completa no processo de produção de um bem ou serviço, destinado a clientes internos ou externos. O objetivo deste trabalho é adaptar uma metodologia que permita delegar o gerenciamento das atividades-padrão aos trabalhadores, organizados em células de manufatura, identificando os requisitos para aplicação e avaliação do conceito de autogestão em células. A contribuição desta pesquisa foi uma proposta de auditoria que formula o estado de autogestão da célula, identificando as oportunidades de melhoria necessárias para a correção de problemas. Como resultados houve mudanças de comportamento dos funcionários, aquisição de conhecimento e melhorias na motivação e interesse. Obteve-se melhorias na logística e redução de inventário de peças e de ferramentas de usinagem. O resultado financeiro das melhorias mostrou um retorno sobre o investimento em 8 meses. O monitoramento da implantação incluiu uma auditoria, feita após dois anos de implantação da célula autogerenciável. A metodologia foi implementada em uma empresa de autopeças. Isso ocorreu através da aplicação prática, de modo experimental em uma célula piloto, que foi validada e teve sua eficácia comprovada / Abstract: This work developed a methodology to implement self-management manufacturing cells that are a type of organization where employee groups are in charge of a complete sequence of work in the production process of goods and service intended for internal and external clients. The objective of this work is to adapt a methodology to allow the empowerment of the manufacturing cells workers, identifying the requirements for implementation and assessment of the self-management concept. The contribution of this search consisted in an audit proposal that formulates whether the cell is self-managed or not. Furthermore, the opportunities of necessary improvements for correction purposes are pointed out. The company achieved improvements in logistics and inventory reduction, both of parts and of machining tools. The financial consequences of these improvements showed a break-even of the invested amount within 8 months. The monitoring of the implementation included an audit that was held after about two years after the implementation of the pilot cell. The methodology was implemented in an automotive supplier company. This occurred through its practical application ¿ in an experimental basis through a pilot cell ¿ that was eventually validated and proved as being efficient / Mestrado / Materiais e Processos de Fabricação / Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

Der Weg hin zum kompetenzorientierten Lehren und Lernen und damit die Einführung von Bildungsstandards steht im Zentrum gegenwärtiger schultheoretischer Diskussionen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird dieser Diskurs aufgegriffen und gezeigt, dass die schulpraktische Umsetzung dieser „Outputorientierung“ eine vielschichtige und komplexe ist. Im Fokus der theoretischen Betrachtungen der Arbeit stehen die Themen Selbststeuerung und Selbstorganisation beim Lernen, Lernziele, Bildungsstandards und Kompetenzorientierung. Die empirische Studie analysiert, basierend auf den theoretischen Erörterungen, die Möglichkeiten der Steigerung der Fremdsprachenkompetenz von Schülerinnen und Schülern. Erforscht wird dies am Beispiel des webbasierten adaptiven Systems des Englisch-Assistenten bzw. Englisch.Digital. Es wurden fünf Explorationen auf Basis von drei Fragebogenuntersuchungen sowie Informelle Kompetenzmessungen (IKM) mit 75 Schüler/‑innen zweier österreichischer Hauptschulen der achten Schulstufe durchgeführt. Die Untersuchung richtete sich auf die hypothesentestende Exploration von vier Konstrukten (Allgemeine Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung – Selbsteinschätzung, Spezielle Selbstwirksamkeitserwartung im Unterrichtsfach Englisch im Bereich Lesen – Selbsteinschätzung, Selbstregulation – Selbsteinschätzung und spezielle Fremdsprachenkompetenz im Bereich Lesen – Selbsteinschätzung und Informelle Kompetenzmessung). Die Untersuchung zeigt ein differenziertes Bild in Bezug darauf, welche Schülergruppen vom digitalen Medienangebot des Englisch-Assistenten (Englisch.Digital) am stärksten profitieren, durchgehend signifikante Ergebnisse konnten in den fünf Explorationen nicht erzielt werden, was unterschiedliche Gründe haben kann (z. B. Unterschiede in den individuellen Wirkungen oder in den Unterrichtsprozessen oder auch Beschränkungen des Studiendesigns). Zusammenfassend kann festgestellt werden, dass die Frage nach den Wirkungen von digitalen Medien einer weiteren Ausdifferenzierung bedarf und keine allgemeingültigen Aussagen diesbezüglich getroffen werden können, dass digitale Medien per se eine bestimmte Lernwirkung erzeugen. Es ist festzuhalten, dass es nicht ausreichen wird, neue Technologien zu den traditionellen Lehr- und Lernmethoden lediglich hinzuzufügen, es hat auch ein Wandel der Unterrichtsstruktur zu erfolgen (vgl. Dittler, 2003, S. 193 und Lembke & Leipner, 2015, S. 181). Eine Möglichkeit für dies und für die Umsetzung bzw. Anwendung von Informationskompetenz bietet der in dieser Arbeit analysierte Englisch-Assistent (Englisch.Digital). / The road to competency-based teaching and learning, and thus the introduction of educational standards, is at the heart of current educational debate. This doctoral dissertation takes up this discussion and shows that the practical implementation in schools is a multi-layered, multi-faceted and complex one. The focus of the theoretical discussion of the current paper is the fields of self-control and self-organization of learning, learning objectives, educational standards and competence orientation. The empirical study analyses, based on the theoretical considerations, the opportunities for developing pupils’ skills in the foreign language (English). This is explored using the web-based adaptive version of the “English Assistant” or “Englisch.Digital”. Five explorations based on three questionnaires and informal competence measurements (IKM) with 75 pupils (grade eight) were carried out at two Austrian secondary schools. The empirical study focused on (the hypothesis testing) exploration of four constructs (self-assessment of general self-efficacy, self-assessment of special self-efficacy in reading, self-assessment of self-regulation and self-assessment and informal competence measurements of specific skills in reading in the foreign language). The study shows a mixed picture with respect to which groups of students benefit the most from the digital media offer of Englisch.Digital. Consistent significant results in the five explorations could not be obtained, which may be due to any of a number of different reasons (e.g. differences in individual effects/reactions, the teaching processes or limitations of the study design). To summarise, it can be stated that the question of the effects of digital media requires further differentiation and no general conclusions can be drawn with respect to the supposition that digital media produce a certain learning effect per se. It should be noted that it will not suffice to merely add new technologies to the traditional teaching and learning methods, changes to teaching structures will also have to be made (cf. Dittler, 2003, p. 193 and Lembke & Leipner, 2015, p. 181). The English Assistant (Englisch.Digital) analysed in this dissertation offers one possible solution for this and also the problem of the transposition or implementation of information literacy.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / W. Franklin Spikes / Eduard Lindeman (1926) stated, “the approach to adult education will be via the route of situations” (p. 8, emphasis in original). Training professionals often face situations that require them to develop and present training programs on subjects for which they have limited or no previous content expertise. This occurs even though the literature stresses the need for trainers to be experts or masters on the material they present (Bernthal et al., 2004; Brookfield, 1990; Draves, 1984, 2000; Galbraith, 1990; Houle, 1984; Long, 2002; McArdle, 1993; McCain, 1999; Slusarski, 1994; Symonds, 1968; Wlodkowski, 1999). Although there is considerable literature on the roles and responsibilities of trainers (McLagan & Suhadolnik, 1989; Nadler & Nadler, 1989), self-directed learning (Candy, 1991; Knowles, 1975; Tough, 1979), and developing training programs (Caffarella, 2002; Long, 1983; McCain, 1999), very little links these areas with the knowledge acquisition process trainers use. This dissertation describes the phenomenological inquiry into the nature of the process trainers use to acquire the knowledge necessary to develop and present training programs for which they have little or no previous content expertise. The population was selected because of the researcher’s background in training and adult education. Criterion, snowball, convenience, and maximum variation purposeful sampling techniques were used to identify trainers who met the criterion of the study. Potential participants were contacted by the researcher and asked to participate in the study. Data was collected via semistructured interviews until thematic saturation was reached. Constant comparison was used to analyze the transcripts of the interviews. Twenty-six common themes were identified during the study and were categorized into six different categories. The six categories are self-directed learning, the training and development process becomes part of the trainer’s life, the needs assessment is part of knowledge acquisition, knowledge acquisition is a continuous part of the trainer’s life, understanding the importance of adult learning principles, and reflection. The results of this study have implications for the adult education, self-directed learning, program planning, human resource development, and training literature.