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Self-Directed Learning
© Julie Spears
Aug 14, 1999
Malcolm Knowles was known as the father of andragogy, or adult education. In "Self-Directed Learning: A Guide for Learners and Teachers, " published in 1975, he described self-directed learning as "a process in which individuals take the initiative, with or without the help of others." The processes in self-directed learning include diagnosing one’s own learning needs, setting personal goals, making decisions on resources and learning strategies and assessing the value of the outcomes.
Self-directed learning is the method used when a learner, rather than an institution, controls both the learning objectives and the means of learning. It is a continuous process, often informal, and an important factor in lifelong learning. Many adults engage in self-directed learning to improve their work performance. Others carry on self-directed learning in recreational arts and hobbies, matters of health, family and community, or simply to increase their intellectual resources. Informal Education's definition of informal education: a fulfillment of learning by mature adults, that deepens and broadens everyday experiences, in any setting, through a conversation process. The Knowledge Hound, free-ed and World Wide Learn have directories for locating both informal and formal education experiences. NEW RESEARCH TOOLS: The Congressional Research Service has a portion of the topics that the Library of Congress has researched for Congressional members. Providing excellent reports of a timely nature, CRS works exclusively as a nonpartisan analytical, research, and reference arm for Congress. The CRS mission is to support an informed national legislature. The Census Bureau's American FactFinder is a good source for statistics and marketing research, with sections on Community Facts, Population and Housing Facts, Reference and Quick Thematic Maps and Industry and Business Facts.
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The copyright of the article Self-Directed Learning in Adult Education is owned by Julie Spears. Permission to republish Self-Directed Learning in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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