Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2023 - 37

Self-directed learning has been
garnering significant attention over the
last few years. There is an old saying
that goes, " Everything old is new
again. " Case in point: While growing
up in rural Jamaica in the 1950s, miles
away from established, big city learning
institutions, my mother did her studies
via " correspondence courses, " aka
" distance learning programs. " She
registered by mail for the courses she
needed and was sent textbooks and
lessons by return mail. She studied
when she found the time between
caring for younger siblings and doing
household chores.
Today, it comes under the guise of
" independent learning, " independent
study, " " lifelong learning " and a collection
of similar terms, often defined as the
ability of individuals to be responsible
for their learning process. Malcolm
Knowles described it as " a process in
which individuals take the initiative,
with or without the help of others,
in diagnosing their
learning needs,
formulating learning goals, identifying
human and material
resources
for
learning, choosing and implementing
appropriate learning strategies, and
evaluating the learning outcomes. "
A self-directed learning strategy allows
learners to choose what they want
to learn, how they want to learn and
how deeply they want to learn a topic.
Therein lies a power: The power of
flexibility
to
structure one's learning
path, the ability to take charge of the
learning process and the power of
taking responsibility to make decisions
about the outcome. In corporate
America, however, this power is often
denied to learners.
Why is Self-directed
Learning so Powerful?
Here is a conversation I had with my
millennial son the other day:
Me: Hon, ever heard of self-directed
learning?
Son: Well yeah, learn on your own. I do
that every day, learning how to code
and stuff.
Me: Do you find you learn better or
worse than in college?
Son: Better
Me: Why?
Son: I am not bored; I only learn what I
want to learn, how I want to, and when.
That conversation reveals the secret
sauce, where the self-directed learner
has the option and opportunity only to
learn what they are interested in at that
time and how. The power of interest
drives self-directed learners, making
them highly motivated. The self-directed
learner already connects to the topic and
is more willing to engage in the content
and spend more time on the subject. The
self-directed learner will obtain content
from various sources and resources.
In my son's case, his resources were
YouTube, Vimeo and several other video
sources and websites. If it is the case
that the self-directed learner is part
of a standard training program, it can
be more challenging. The traditional
mode dictates work that should be
completed in a particular way and by
a specific date. However, with selfdirected
learning, since it is based on
and driven by interest, the self-directed
learner determines how long they will
take, identifies additional resources to
support education and decides how
and when they will learn. The learner
is responsible for their education and
all the following activities. According to
Ilkay Askin Tekkol and Melek Demirel,
the self-directed learner is linked with
more upper-level thinking. Additionally,
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https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-esc-educationalplanning/chapter/self-directed-learning/ https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02324/full https://www.trainingindustry.com/magazine

Training Industry Magazine - Winter 2023

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