Summer 2006 Doctoral Residency
Vail (1996) asserts “to be a human being is to be a continual learner in all of one’s life” (p. xvi)
Overview of Autonomous Learning
Points of Discussion
• Autonomous Learning
• Motivational Theories
• Self-Efficacy
• Confessore (1992) established that notion that “self-directed [autonomous] learning manifests itself in people who feel a need to learn something” (p.3).
• He additionally asserts that success is ultimately dependent upon the individual’s personal desire, initiative, resourcefulness, and persistence.
• This foundation became the underpinning for the
identification and explanation of the specific conates associated with desire, resourcefulness, initiative, and persistence in autonomous learning identified respectively by Meyer (2001), Carr (1999), Ponton (1999), and Derrick (2001).
Self-Directed Learning
Behaviors and Attitude Research
• Prediction of behaviors• Assumption that human beings are rational and
make systematic use of available information• Not controlled by unconscious motivation and
desires• People consider the implications of their actions
before they decide to engage or not engage in a given behavior
• Assumption was that actions are under volitional control and views a person’s intentions to perform (or not) a behavior as the immediate determinant of action.
• Person will usually act in accordance with their intentionTheory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein, 1967; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975)
Attitude
Spencer (1862) stated:
“Arriving at the correct judgments on disputed questions, much depends on the attitude of mind we preserve while listening to or taking part in, the controversy” (Vol. 1. p. 1).
A Simple Behavioral Model(Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975)
Attitude(Affection)
BehaviorsIntentions(Conation)
Beliefs(Cognition)
Conation: A self-motivated behavior --behavioral intentions
Initiative
Resourcefulness
Persistence
Desire
Autonomous Learning is an intentional learning process in which the conative factors of desire, resourcefulness, initiative and persistence are
manifest.
Desire(Meyer, 2001)
• Freedom• Power• Change
“[Meyer’s] work on desire to learn has been treated as an effort to understand the precursors to the development of intentions related to learning”
(Park & Confessore, 2002).
}Meyer’s instrument does not measure desire within the context of learning, but rather attempts to measure the degreeto which an agent can act intentionally.
Resourcefulness(Carr, 1999)
• Prioritizing learning activities over nonlearning activities
• Choosing to engage in learning activities as opposed to nonlearning activities
• Looking to the future benefits of present learning
• Solving problems that interfere with learning activities
Initiative(Ponton, 1999)
• Goal-directedness• Action-orientation• Persistence in overcoming obstacles• Active-approach to problem solving• Self-startedness
Persistence(Derrick, 2001)
• Volition• Self-regulation• Goal-directedness‡
‡Perseverance toward goal accomplishment
A Simple Behavioral Model(Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975)
Beliefs(Cognition)
Attitude(Affection)
BehaviorsIntentions(Conation)
Self-efficacy
Self-Efficacy
“…beliefs in one’s capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (p. 3).
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control.
Sources of Self-Efficacy Information
• Mastery experiences• Vicarious experiences
• Verbal persuasion• Physiological/Emotive
Arousals
Person
EnvironmentBehaviors
Cognitive Motivation
• Expectancy Value Theory
• Goal Theory
• Attribution Theory
Research
• Self-efficacy instrument development
• Path analysis of factors
• Demographic analysis
• Online and face-to-face
• Doctoral student longitudinal study
• Curiosity and other factors
Research• Learner autonomy of students enrolled in
academic and vocational programs• Community college environment and the
development of autonomous learners• Racial identity development and learner
autonomy of African-American students • Learner autonomy in East Asian graduate
students who study at institutions in the United States
• Learner autonomy in aerospace industry• Online and face-to-face comparison of learner
autonomy • Teacher professional development and student
achievement• Relationship of autonomy of Chinese students
and their score on English test• Autonomy in admittance to higher ed programs• Longitudinal studies of doctoral students
Where do we go from here…
Questions…..
Answers…..