Nursr Eduraaon Today (1987) 7, 222-227

0 Longman Group UK Ltd 1987 l-ii& IWORK

The role of the teacher

Carroll L lwasiw

in self-directed learning

Self-directed learning is being used in both basic and post-basic nursing education because of its association with both problem solving and nursing process. The teacher plays a key role in helping students make a smooth transition from teacher-

directed to self-directed learning. The teacher must assess the students’ readiness for the method, establish the boundaries of the students’ decisions about their learning

and teach about the methodology. Once the students are using the method, the teacher assists them through teaching behaviours that are similar to traditional

teaching methods, but that vest more responsibility in the students. Important aspects of the teacher’s role are the maintenance of educational standards, teaching about objective-writing and evaluation, and availability to the students.

Self-directed learning has increasingly attracted

the attention of nurse educators as people have

come to realise that constant learning and change is necessary to function effectively in

society. Enrollment in formal courses is not a

practical method of keeping abreast of new

developments in nursing; therefore nurses have

become successful self-directed learners. The

ability to assume responsibility for one’s learn-

ing is essential to ongoing professional

development.

Self-directed learning is a process whereby

the student identities his own learning needs,

determines his learning objectives, formulates

his criteria for evaluation, identifies and pur-

sues learning resources and strategies, and then

evaluates his own learning (Knowles 1975).

The process may be formalised through the use

of a written learning contract which has been

negotiated with the teacher (Knowles 1975).

The teacher retains institutional accountability

for evaluation and grading.

C L lwasiw RN BN MScN Associate Professor and Coordinator MScN Program, Faculty of Nursing, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5Cl Manuscript accepted January 1987

222

SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING AND NURSING

Self-directed learning has been accepted as a

suitable methodology for both basic and post-

basic nursing programs (Martens 198 1. Price et

al 1983) and for orientation and continuing

education programs for nurses (Clark 1986,

DeSilets 1986). Nurses educators are attracted

to the self-directed approach to learning because of its humanistic orientation (respect

for others’ decisions), its association with pro-

fessional autonomy and its congruence with the

methodology of nursing practice i nursing process).

Both self-directed learning and nursing pro-

cess are rooted in a systematic problem solving

approach to dealing with a real-life difficulty.

The cognitive processes are the same, although

different terminology is employed I see Fig. I 1. Teachers who wish their students to be ,srlfl

directed learners are advised to be a ‘facilitator

of learning’ (Knowles 1970, 1975), to be a

‘resource person’ (Neufeld & Barrows 1974 I. to be an ‘animator of learning’ fKidd 1973).

Problem solving Nursing process Self-directed learning

Perception of

discomfort: ‘Something is wrong’

1 inventory of

situation

1 Problem identification

1 Description of

desired situation (standard/criteria

for evaluation)

1 Generatlon of

alternatives

1 Selection and

testing of

alternative(s)

1 Evaluation

Perception that

something about the

patient is unusual

1 Data collection

1 Nursing diagnosis

1 Statement of expected

outcomes, which include the criteria

for evaluation

1 Generation of possible nursing interventions

1 Selection and

implementation

of nursing

intervention(s)

I Evaluation

Feeling of personal

discomfort, inadequacy

1 Inventory of personal

situation

1 Diagnosis of learning

needs

1 Description of

learning objectives

and criteria for

evaluation

1 Identification of possible learning

resources and

strategies

1 Selection and use

of resources and strategies

L Evaluation

Fig 1 Comparison of problem-solving, nursing process and self-directed learning

IIcn~ever, the bchaviours implicit in thrsr roles

h;lvr not heen Mly described. \Vhat does it

rc3ll) nwm to bc a ‘facilitator of learning’?

How dorm the nursing teacher hrlp students to

t)ccome confident and suc~cssful sclr-dirrcted

It~;Lriic~rs?

Transition to self-directed learning

;\loat studriits, IK they novicrs to nursing 01

qaduatc nurses, have rspcrienccd teachrr-

dirrctcd learning. The teacher has had the

rc%sponsibility for making decisions about ap-

propriate objectives, suitable learning cx-

I)rricnccas and evaluation methods. Student

I)artic,ipation in such matters has been mini-

anal. In xeKdirrcted learning, thr rcsponsibilit)-

li)r thosr decisions rests with the students either

solcl>-, or in negotiation with thr teacher. The

in1pac.t on the student of’ this change in rr-

sponsibility cannot be undercstimatrd. It is the

tc.achcr’s role to make this transition as smooth

and productive as possible.

Assessing readiness for self-directed

learning

:\sscssing students’ readiness fi)r assuming re-

sponsibility fbr their learning activities is the

first step. A general discussion focussing cm the

theme of‘ professional rrsponsibility \vill ofirn

providr the tracher with insights into students’

willingness to be active participants in thcit

Irarnin,~. Studrnts who hold the opinion that it

is solely the domain of’ the doctor, the brad

nurse, or somr othrr authority tigurv to make

patirnt care decisions will likcl) also belir\rr

that it is solely the tcachrr’s drcision to makr

decisions about Icarning. Convrrsvly. studcuts

who speak of’ collaboration and ,joint decision

makirlg with patirnts and ottlrr health pro-

fyssionals arc likely to bc more accepting of

participation in decisions about their learning.

Direct questioning about the nature of’ stu-

drnts’ past Irarning expcriencrs may (‘licit un-

rccognisrd cxamplrs of’ self-dirrcted Irarning.

\‘Vhat has been the naturr of‘ the studrnts’

tinma schooling? What kinds of’ choicrs were

224 NURSE: l3UCA’I‘ION ‘I’ODAY

they allowed to make about their education?

How do the), learn best? What factors COII-

tribute to a succrssful learning exprrirncc foi

them? How have thry learned the many tasks

of‘ everyday lifr? When they have decidrd to

learn somrthing new in their personal lives,

how hair thy set about doing so? Helping

students to rrcognisr the many ways in which

thry are already sell-directrd may hrlp them to

be morr accepting of‘ the idra of’ taking IT-

sponsihility f‘or their Icarning.

Knowlrs i 1975) provides a rating instrument

fin- students to assrss their self-directed learning

coniprtrncirs. Cbmpletion of the scalr ciui pro-

\idr a uarM hasis tbr discussion about the

learning skills rrquirrd in all learning situa-

tions, as well as Iratling into a discussion alx)ut

the methodology of sclfldirrcled learning:-.

Teaching about self-direct learning

General education Iitctxturr and nursitq rdu-

cation litrratut-t arr silent on the c~mc~p~ 01’

traching explicitly. about srll~directrtl Icarnimg.

‘I’hrrc is an rsprctation lhal oncr the trachrr

has established ;I c.lima(c k)r lrartiittg the s(~I-

drnts will, in some undrfincd, magical w;ty,

hrcomc self-directed learners. Howrver, morr is

rrquirrd of the trachcr than tncrrlv establish-

ing a warm respectful atmosphrrr in thr ~~I;is,s-

room. The trachrr ~1~151 drscrilx and c.xplaitl

the purposrs and mrthodology of‘ srlfAir_rc,tcd

lrarnin,g. Students rrquirc a cqnitivr untlrr-

standing of the self-dircctrd lrarning process

b&n-r they can hr cspectrd to rngayr in it.

Otherwise, frustration and anxiety may IX* so

o\Trrwhelming that lrarning will not occur.

Didactic instruction about self-directrd lrarnitlg

is nrcessarj

Sitter srlf-directecl learning is a problctn-

based approach to learning, it is oficn hrIpLi~1

IO begin with a review of problem solving ;IIKI

then to relate problem solving to srlfldirr~~trd

learning. With experienced nursrs. thr link 10

thr nursing prorrss (‘ail also br illustrated.

Since all studrnts ha\,c c~tic~ounterecl and \()I\ (.(I

problems. thry arc‘ grnrrally ahlr to 11nd~~

stand that thr procrssrs involved in proi)l~~t~~

solving and sell~dircctrd learning arr thr WI~C’.

although diff‘rrrnt trrminolo,qy is used 10 cIr.-

scribe rach process.

Helping students to achirvr a cognil i\ t’

undrrstanding of the self-directed learning ~IYJ-

ccss is a mandatory prc-requisite to their actt~al

use of the mrthod. ‘I’his strp can includr grou11

work, pe~~haps with Irading qurstiolls by LIIC.

trachcr, as the students drscrihr thr proc4~ttx~~

they would Mow when confkontecl with :I

learning nerd. Feelittg cottlident about Lhr pro-

cess in a hypothetical situatiotl will help stud-

nrts feel confidrnt as they first USC’ thr mrrhod

in their rducation.

Setting the boundaries

‘I‘he many fin-m> 0f’srlfXrrctrd lrarnin~ (‘;(II tjc

conceptualisrd on a c.ontinuum acxx)rdirig to

tlir amount of formal structure ittvolvrd I 5~3‘ I:ig. 2). In nursinCg, srlf-dirrctrd learttittg must

occur within thr houndaries imposrd tq pro-

fcssional, curricular, Icgal and institution;11

requirements. ‘Freedom bit hin t)oundarir~’

generally describes self-dirrctrd learning ac.tic.itit,s

in nursing.

It is the teacher’s rrspclttsibility to driine thr

houndarics of‘ the Irarning decisions rsplit~itly

to thr students. In any formal, organis~~d

program, the learning objectives will not likrI>,

I)r nrgotiablr. Teachers retain their accou~~~a-

hilit); for addressing specified learning objrc-t-

Casual Informal

reading discussion Individual learning

Learning

contracts Credit

certification projects

__I I -- courses

Less structure * More structure

Fig 2 Forms of self-directed learning

SI.KSL F,l)l.c:‘Yl ION ‘l‘Ol).\\i 225

ivcs and fbr assigning grades that reflect the

audents’ success in achieving those objectives.

In order to define the non-negotiable aspects

of the learning process to the students, the

teacher must have prr-determined the response

lo ([uestions such as:

I. How c-an curricular requirements be M-

anccd with the philosophical basis of. self-

directed learning?

:!. b’ill students be allowed to assign some

courst’ wci,qht to additional, personal

ohjcctives?

C. ‘\re there particular learning cspericncrs

that will IX required arid whose corn-

pletion will not be ttcgotiablr?

i. \I%at will constitute ;tcceptat,lr cvidrttrc

to demonxtratr achievement of‘ the

ohjrctives!

fi. \lW the rvaluation be conducted by thr

students. I,). the teacher. or jointly?

‘l‘hou,ghtful consideration and consistent rc-

yponsr> II>, the teacher to questions suc~ll ax

t ht%se are nc~ccssary to the students’ acccptanc~

01‘ sell~dirccted Irarnirq. Honest>- about the

sc’clpc of‘ the students’ responsihilit)~ and Lht

teachrr’s involvement will do much to Allah

an\-irties. Reducittg uncrrtaint). about what is

txprc.trd 01‘ them will ;tllou th<x student5 to

fi)c.us on the process of Irarniq rathrr than

waxtittg energy trying to discern the unspokrn

rt1Irs.

Responding to objections

Students being introduced to the concept 01‘

self-directed lcarttin,g may terl ittsrcurr about

their ability to he succrsstul. ‘I‘hrir anxiet!. ma!

be expressed as hostility toward the teacher

through statements such as, ‘You’re the expert;

I c‘atne to learn f’rom you‘, or, ‘If’ I‘m doing all

thr \vork, what are you going to do?‘. It is

us&t1 to allow ;L limited time fbr these feelings

IO bt. expressed and acknowledged. Prolonged

~ittcrttiott to frelings of anger illa); serve to

reinforce the anger.

,\ calm reiteration of the prrsonal and pro-

fessional advantages of the mrthodology may

br helpful. In addition, rrferrttcr to the fac.t

that previous students initially rxperirnccd

similar frclings, hut overrame them and wet-r

successful, may introduce a note of optimism. If

possible, a more senior student could relate bet

successful cspericnces with sell-directed Irarn-

ing. Feelings of Ii-ustration, anger or atixicty

may ~vell occur throughout self-directed learn-

ing experiences. Reminding students that the

xame frclings occur in teacher-rlir~c,tt~d CK-

pwirnccs may help thrm to put thaw li.eIitty:x

iIlt(J [XTS[wt‘ti\Y’.

Facilitating learning

‘I-he \‘agucnrss 01‘ terms suc,h ax ‘fitcilitator’ ot

‘resource pwsort‘ leads many tcac,hcrh to ask

thcmsrlws ‘b’hat do I doI’ HOM. do I tircilitatr

Icarrtitig? .Irr thrrr spcc-ial skills which a lacili-

tator possc~sscs, I)uC il teacher does ttot.“. It is

importattt to rrmcm\)rr that c’v(‘r)’ tt.;tt,hitt,q-

lrarnirig interaction is ;m attrtript to t:icAlit;itc>

learning. Ol,jc‘ctivez are tlc~~rloped iilld c,Ir-

ricula arc platinrd to cwatta Irartiitig opportuti-

itirs that arr logically src~ueiit~d, intt.rrstittg.

and gear-cd to thtb ablitirs of thr Iwrncrs.

~l’racl1et.s I almost hy drlinitilltt ) tittwtiott in ;I

m;tttnrr that will etth;mcc the Ic.rrnittg ot’ thttir

5tudriil5.

In situations of self-directed Ir;uairtg, I tic students share the responsihilit) li)r finding

srtit;iblr Iearnitig rrsour(‘r5 and li)r dt3igtting

.md c~oniplrtiiig learning c3perieiit~rs. ‘I‘0 axbist

and support thr students in thcsc activities, tht

leachrr‘\ ititc.racTiotis with the studeiits will 1~

similar to her former Mia\iours. The major

diffrrcttc,e uill 1~. that det,ision-tnakittg will he

sharrd and will not rest with the tc%acht.r alone.

‘1’1~ following at-r some importail tcaclirr

behaviours that will quip students to be ~(4G

directed learners and that will fAcilitatc

learning.

‘Tmhing cthout o/~jectir~e writiq. Suwcsstd srlf- directed learners have cltaar Icarttinp; goals itt

mind and are able to focus their learning

activitirs to achieve their goals. Howe\ cr, at’tu-

226 NURSE EDLCA’I‘ION ‘I‘ODAI

ally articulating a learning goal may initially

he diffkult for students. Therefore, didactic

teaching and practice sessions in the writing of

hehavioural learning objectivrs should br a

part of introducing self-directed learning. Lear-

ning about the logical sequencing of objectivrs

is a component of this process. As students

learn to write achievable, measurable ob.ject-

ives, thrir frustration will drcrease and thrir

self-confidence will increase. Defining prrrisely

what is to bc learned will give the students a

sense of purpose and personal control over

their learning efrorts.

I,carning about the process of‘ objrcti\,e writ-

ing can be important c\‘cn in situations Lvhcrc

the objcctivrs are not negotiabk. ‘I‘he writirlg

of sub-objectives can help student5 to divide

their learning into managrablc units, and in

this way, they can ferl a sense of accomplish-

ment as they achieve smaller otj,jrctives which

they ha1.e defined.

Teach iq about c~~alzu~liof~. Following directI)

from traching about ol’jc’tive-writing is teach-

ing about the process of evaluation. Students

must learn about establishin,g suitable critrria

for evaluating their achicvrmrnt of the learning

objectives. The) need to learn to write c.ritrria

so they will havcx a basis for judging when an

objective has been satisfkrtorily achieved. Thc~

will then be able to make appropriate decision5

about whether or not a learnirlg rndcavour has

been suitably completed.

Limiting the .SCO/I~ qJ’ the learning a&i(y. S tudrn ts

oftrn develop estensive objec.ti\.cs whose

achievrment is virtually impossiblr. After a

period of di\.erse rrading, they will rrturn IO

the leachrr saying they are floundering in their

attempts to meet thr objrctivrs. ‘I‘hr teacher

should USC her questioning skills to detrrminr

precisely what the student wants to learn, what

nerds to be learned within the coursr context,

and to guide the student in deciding how much

is reasonable to learn in the time available. It

is important to help students difkrrntiatr be-

tween thr essentials and the extras and bc-

twern what is course-related and what is morr

appropriately a personal lcarnilig project.

Emuring aci.8 1.) to l~flmirig mourn \. i\ tTl;ljot

barrier to learning is xi inability to gain a~ccsx

to suitable learnitlg rrsourcrs. Schrdulrd Iib-

rarv tours and instruction about the use of‘ the

library services will equip the students IO USC'

their most significant, and at times most itl-

timidating, lrarning rcsourcr. Infhrmation

ahut available srrcices ~c.g. study skills or

esamination preparation workshops) as \\-cll ;I<

the names of other teaching or clinkal srafi

who are willing to assist thrm, should alzcl Ix,

provided. ‘l’he provision of ;I short, rrlt*\ at11

reading list will help studrnts grt star& with-

out rrmo\,ing thrir need to rsplorr 0lht.r

a\ ailablr learning rcsourccb.

Pm~ixion o/‘ iq/k77rntion. iZt time5 thr mosl

rfkctkrr mannrr of f‘acilitating Irarning ib I))

responding with a clear and direct rrsponsc~ to

a rrquest till- specific ilifi,rmation. If a srudcnl

hx searchrd scvrral appropriate articlch OI

books and has made an honest hut unsuc-ct4ill

efl’ort to find thy ans\vcr to ;i question, ir i5

unlikely that much will be gained I,!, sug,qcs~-

ing more reading. ‘l’hr tcachcr is ;I ~LI~$T~

expert and as such, is a learning rysourc(’ 10

the studrnc. Thr student’s rcqurst f‘or illl;)r-

mation and the teacher’s provision ot‘ ir. art’

appropriate within the c’ontcst 01‘ srlf-dirrc~lcd

learning.

Aaintmarwr o/’ .rtmdards. It is thr tc’achc.r’s

responsibility to ensure that srlfldirectrd Icarn-

in,g projects arc of a sropc and depth appro-

priatc to rach group of students and to [ht.

overall goals of‘ the institution. ‘Ike emphasis

on the nrrd fin- a supportive, open, trusting

climate in teacher-student interaction should

not br intrrpretrd to mean that any activity 01

le\,el of achievement is acceptahlc. Knowles

( 1984, p. 19) states unequivocally, ‘Students

contract with my to mrrt the requiremcnta of‘

thr university courses I teadl’. l’hc achie\,c-

mrnt of course rrquiremcnts at a particular

kvel is not negotiable. Gradrs assigned to each

student must, of course, bc an acc’uratc rrtlcc-

tion of the student’s achievement.

Aoailabili!y. The teacher’s availability is rssrn-

NURSE EDUCATION ‘I‘ODA\ 227

tial to the success of self-directed learning pro-

jects. ‘Self-directed’ does not imply isolated

activity by the students. They need to have

ready access to the teacher during the phase of

learning contract development (if contracts are

used), to obtain feedback about the appro-

priateness of their learning activities, and at

times to vent the discouragement and joys that

all students experience. Students new to self-

directed learning are often insecure about their

decisions and need a great deal of the teacher’s

time. Specified office hours let the students

know when they can seek help.

A4creptance of student differences. Initial and

ongoing assessment of student readiness for,

and comfort with, self-directed learning will

reveal many differences. Students who move

into the process easily need to be given the

freedom to do so. Students who resist or are

overwhelmed by the responsibility need en-

couragement and respect for their efforts. Not

all students will like or accept the metho-

dology; teachers need to accept the fact that

their own commitment to self-directed learning

will not ensure their students’ commitment.

Teachers have an obligation to support and

encourage all learning efforts, and for some

students, the provision of direction by the

teacher may be the most facilitative action

possible.

SUMMARY

The similarity in the cognitive processes of

problem-solving, nursing process and self-

directed learning have lead nurse educators to

adopt self-directed learning as a methodology

in many types of nursing education programs.

The teacher has a crucial and deliberate role to

play in helping students make a successful

transition from teacher-directed to self-directed

learning. The process involves teaching about

self-directed learning as well as defining the

non-negotiable aspects of the learning process.

As students become comfortable with the self-

directed learning process, the teacher can

continue to facilitate their learning through

activities that help the students to define and

ultimately meet the learning objectives, while

ensuring that appropriate standards are main-

tained. Helping students learn to use the

method and to become successful self-directed

learners requires planning and commitment to

the method by the teacher.

References Clark K 1986 Recent developments in self-directed

learning. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing 17 (3): 7680

DeSilets L 1986 Self-directed learning in voluntary and mandatory continuing education programs. *Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing 17 (3): 81-83

Kidd J R 1973 How adults learn. Association Press, New York

Knowles M 1970 The modern practice of adult rducation. Association Press, New York

Knowles M 1975 Self-directed learning. Follett Publishing, Chicago

Knowles M 1984 Andragogy in action. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco

Martens K 1981 Self-directed learning: an option for nursing education. Nursing Outlook 29 (8): 472-477

Neufeld V R, Barrows H S 1974 The ‘McMastrr philosophy’: an approach to medical education. Journal of Medical Education 49: 104~1050

Price M H, Swartz L M, Thurn K E 1983 The guided study: self-directed learning for nurses. Nursr Educator 8 (4): 27-31

N.E.T.-C