Self-Directed Learning: An Essential Learning Skill for the

Amelioration of 21

Century Learners

Yogesh Pachauri and Gobind Singh Gure

Central University of Rajasthan, India

Keywords: Self-Directed Learning (SDL), 21st-Century Learners & Learning Skills, Higher Education.

Abstract: The increase in accessibility of information has changed the way we acquire and use information significantly

in the recent era. This has challenged both the absolute and correct nature of information and the belief that

information cannot be changed. The aim of education has its paradigm shift from the content of learning to

the process of learning, from what we learn to how we learn. This skill is known as Self-Directed Learning.

The learner of the 21st century is expected to have various skills such as personal skills, interpersonal skills

& professional skills, but the foundational skills are learning skills. Self-Directed Learning has a positive

impact on the development and expertise of various other skills required to excel in any profession. The New

Education Policy 2020 also emphasizes professional development in higher education for which Professional

Standard Setting Bodies (PSSBs) will be established for the development of professional standards. This paper

attempts to describe how SDL is related to the enhancement of learning at higher education & also describes

SDL’s need and effect in producing better professionals in higher education.

1 INTRODUCTION

“The only person who is educated is the one who

has learned how to learn and change.”

- Carl Rogers (Carl Rogers Quote)

1.1 Role of Digital Technology and

SDL for 21st Century Learner

Learning in the 21st century has its goal of

developing learners who can initiate their own

learning. The vast availability of information and

learning opportunities in this digital age requires

nothing but mindful urge and action of learning for

self-development and skills enhancement. Learners

of the 21st century need the perspective of active

learning; hence Self-directed learning opens the

space of taking charge of their own learning. To find

answers to questions such as what to learn, why to

learn, and its importance for their respective goals

and development, Self-directed learning paves the

way. Learning in the 21st century in relation to

higher education is having its paradigm shift from

‘what to learn’ to ‘learning how to learn’. This

paradigm shift of learning emerges due to the

requirement of learners and the utilization of

available technology. 21st-century learning is a term

used to denote three major components which are 21st-

century learning goals, 21st-century learning skills, and

traits of a successful 21st-century learner. Some crucial

21st-century skills as mentioned in various literature

are creativity, critical thinking, thinking skills,

innovation skills, and technological skills, if we see the

foundation of these skills, self-directed learning can be

found.

Further, in the digital technology era, learning at a

higher level has few to no boundaries or dependencies

apart from the learners themselves. Technology has

revolutionized the learning process like never before.

The learners of the 21st century are more likely to learn

through their own efforts and under their own

circumstances, unlike the learners before them. As a

result of increased learner autonomy and accessibility

of learning, learning skills in this dynamic world of

technology are not the same as they were previously.

The main emphasis of education has now shifted from

what to learn to how to learn. Realizing this paradigm

shift to the process of learning is known by different

terms for various learning approaches such as active

learning, experiential learning, learning by doing, etc.

And these learning approaches have their roots in self-

directed learning. (Self-Directed Learning Strategies in

724

Pachauri, Y. and Gure, G.

Self-Directed Learning: An Essential Learning Skill for the Amelioration of 21st Century Learners.

DOI: 10.5220/0012502500003792

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies (PAMIR 2023), pages 724-728

ISBN: 978-989-758-687-3

Adult Educational Contexts - UNESCO Digital

Library, n.d.)

2 SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

OVERVIEW

2.1 SDL as Skill & Process

Self-directed learning skills are not specific to any

particular domain. They are prerequisites for

gaining any knowledge specific to any domain,

which means that these skills are prior requirements

for developing skills specific to any domain

(Taminiau et al., 2015).

To know what Self-Directed Learning is, we need

to look into our own example whenever we do or

initiate a task out of our own curiosity’s sake, and

we complete that task with or without taking the

help of others we follow Self-Directed Learning

approach. We do it unknowingly in our day-to-day

tasks, but when we consciously apply this skill for

our professional and academic growth and

ameliorate this process we eventually get better at

our respective fields. Adult learners learn this

process gradually as they get the responsibility at

different levels, but learners of young age should be

taught to become self-directed learners. The answer

to the question of “why self-directed learning is

required for young learners?’’ is in synchronicity in

the emergence of various digital learning

approaches such as digital pedagogy, Cybergogy, or

autodidactism. Learning in the technological era has

reduced the dependency on other factors than the

learning self-directedness of the learners. The

millennial and gen z learners are thriving on this

Self-directed learning is an understanding of

“learning how to learn.” From a broader

perspective, it can be defined as a process in which

individuals, with or without the assistance of others,

take the initiative in diagnosing their learning needs,

developing learning goals, identifying human and

material resources for learning, selecting and

implementing appropriate learning strategies, and

evaluating learning outcomes.

In the words of Malcolm Knowles “In its broadest

meaning, ‘self-directed learning’ describes a

process by which individuals take the initiative,

with or without the assistance of others, in

diagnosing their learning needs, formulating

learning goals, identify human and material

resources for learning, choosing and implement

appropriate learning strategies, and evaluating learning

outcomes” (Knowles 1975).

Self-directed learning is a process of learning that is

personalized, progressive, and purposeful. The focus of

individualized learning is on self-actualization, choice,

and autonomy. It is believed that students are

independent and capable of making intelligent

judgments, that they have a feeling of responsibility for

both themselves and others, that they are inherently

compassionate, that they are driven to achieve self-

actualization, and that they are special and have

limitless potential (Elias & Merriam 1995; Morris,

2019). As a result of self-direction, these learners can

take responsibility for their meaning-making, choosing

how they will use information. This is very important

for a teacher to utilize and address this feeling of

understanding a subject and discipline of learners, if it

does not use and promoted it creates a hurdle in

initiating the learning. appropriate facilitation can

induce the self-directed learning skills of learners.

2.2 Significance of Self-Directed

Learning for 21st-Century Learners

John Dewey affirmed that everyone has an unbounded

capacity for growth and development from birth. He

described education as the mechanism that promotes

this growth and cautioned that the role of the teacher

should be of guidance rather than interference or

control over the learning process (Dewey, 1916,1938).

Much of the world continues to use the obsolete

transmission model of education, in which teachers

teach students factual knowledge using lectures and

textbooks (OECD, 2009). Self-directed learning is a

type of learning which enables the learner’s control and

lead in the learning process. The term "self-directed

learning" is most famously defined by Knowles, who

defined it as a process where a person takes the

initiative with guidance or without it, to independently

control their learning experience with regard to needs,

defining learning goals, identifying learning resources,

choosing proper learning plan, and self-reflection on

their performance and learning. As a learner grows and

gain insight into a discipline or field, they also gain

interest and curiosity, this curiosity pushes them to

make their learning goals, finalize their resources and

simultaneously find ways to evaluate their learning

(Knowles 1975).

Self-Directed Learning: An Essential Learning Skill for the Amelioration of 21st Century Learners

725

3 SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING

& DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Importance of SDL in Personal

and Professional Development

Self-directed learning skills are found to be

associated with lifelong learning, which will enable

the learner’s continuous development in their

various roles as successful professionals and

enthusiastic individuals. The information and

communication society of the 21st century expects

humans to adapt to their way of life by updating

their knowledge in accordance with their needs,

keeping up with global change and innovation, and

developing into qualified individuals (Şentürk &

Zeybek, 2019). In today’s dynamic world,

everything is transforming at a fast pace, which

makes it imperative for learners to become self-

directed learners in order to sustain themselves.

People's lifelong learning abilities must be

developed if they are to create learning chances for

themselves in terms of personal development and

job development. The qualities and skills that

people are expected to possess have changed

concurrently with the information age's rapid

changes and conversions in information and

communication technologies.

3.2 Teachers’ Role in SDL

Teacher holds an important role in establishing self-

directed learning among learners at the higher

education level. The term coined for this approach

to teaching and learning is andragogy. This process

requires a self-directed learner to take facilitative

guidance from a teacher or mentor in gaining

mastery or learning something new. The choice of

taking the guidance of a teacher for a particular

learning experience enables learners’ sense of self-

directed learning (Gerard et al., 2022). Promoting

SDL among learners is undoubtedly a big challenge

for educators, it requires a change in perspective

from teaching the learners to facilitating the

learning process. Teachers teaching at the senior

secondary level can integrate such teaching

strategies that can help students understand the

process of self-directed learning and gain the skills

required for it on an initial level.

The teacher plays an important role in helping the

students to motivate the students for self-directed

learning. First of all, teachers need to be self-

directed learners and present themselves as a role

model for it. These SDL skills can be learned through

a supportive environment where self-directed learning

is a passion for others. Therefore, observation and

guided practices played a significant role in the SDL.

The teacher needs to develop learner autonomy, assess

the student’s readiness for learning, give them ample

opportunities to organize their learning by themselves,

motivate the learners to taking decisions for their own

learning, self-study habits, library visits, recommended

computer/mobile-assisted learning, enhancing

reflective dialogue; and let them understand the

methodology. Teachers need to motivate the learners

for autonomy, self-discipline, self-assessment, and

self-reflection skills among the learners. Researchers

suggested that at preschool learners should be ready,

aware, and motivated cognitively, socially, and

emotionally for self-directed learning. And these skills

should be continued nurturing at secondary and higher

education levels. SDL should be taken as a core skill in

higher education. Teachers should always provide

ample opportunity for self-directed learning. And all

the Institution practices must emphasize on

personalized & individualized learning, project-based

and challenge-based learning, open learning,

independent learning, etc. Overall teacher needs to play

a mediating in self-directed learning. In their teaching,

teachers must have to implement metacognitive

strategies so that learners get a deeper understanding of

how to learn them in an effective manner. A teacher

must have to involve in all teaching-learning activities

that shape self-directed learners.

3.3 Student’s Role in SDL

Now a day, self-directed learning is highly helpful to

develop the problem-solving skills of learners.

Therefore, it becomes an essential learning skill,

although, yet no more emphasis is given to it in the

various institutions. Because, it is not considered an

easy job to regulate own learning, and take

responsibility of own learning. To be a self–directed

learner, a learner needs to work on himself personally.

Firstly he/she has to work on his/her personal level; to

be ready for learning set the goals of learning, engage

in learning as well as assess own learning.

The center of self-directed learning is

individuals/learners themselves. As they themselves

have to be curious about learning, set their goals for

learning, be self-motivation, self-regulated, self-

discipline, etc. All of the learning requirements are to

be curious. To start their own learning learners, need to

ask these basic questions to themself:

● Why do they want to learn? (Learning

Motivation/Goals)

PAMIR 2023 - The First Pamir Transboundary Conference for Sustainable Societies- | PAMIR

726

● What do they want to learn?

(Subject/Content/Skill)

● How they will learn it? (Engage Yourself

in Learning)

● How they will assess your own learning?

(Self-Assessment)

3.3.1 Steps Involved in Organizing Self-

Directed Learning

In the initial phase, Students need to know what they

want to learn in order to initiate their self-learning

experience. Teachers can facilitate in this step by

discussing and associating the need of their

respective courses and the student’s interest. Further

in this step learners will decide what skills and

subjects they want to focus on and they’ll create

their learning goals accordingly. After knowing

what they want to learn the next step is digging into

the why of learning, why you want to learn. In this

step, learners need to decide their own motivation,

reason, and learning milestones they want to

achieve.

Then learners have to ponder on the question of

deciding how will they learn, and what they have

decided to learn. He/she will decide their learning

methods and activities. At last, learners should also

know about assessing their own learning. this step

is about self-reflection of own performance and

skills. As it is a continuous process students can

monitor their learning process with some practices

such as keeping a diary of learning events and

maintaining a personal portfolio and journal.

Maintaining a personal portfolio will help in

identifying strengths and weaknesses, tracking

performance, and self-evaluation.

3.3.2 Role & Responsibilities of Learners

in Self-Directed Learning

For the first step of deciding what they want to learn,

learners must keep some roles and responsibilities

in their attention, such as being aware to curious

about learning. to do a Self-assessment of their

learning readiness. Describe their learning goals and

develop a plan of learning. Decide on learning

resources. Take mindful action for the sequence of

stages of the learning process & be intrinsically

motivated. outline long-term and short-term goals.

identify tasks that will build towards goals. Utilizing

computer and mobile-assisted learning.

For the second step of this process, a student must

go through the purpose of the unit of study and

should have an overview of the activities and their

sequence. A timeline for completing the activities.

Material requirements for each goal. Specifics about

the grading procedure. The completion of each goal is

followed by feedback and evaluation. Schedule a

meeting with the advising facilitator. contract on unit

policies, such as a policy for late submission of

assignments.

Then learners will Assess their Learning Resources.

Engage in a Learning Process. Apply What They

Learn. Collaborate With Other Learners. Share their

knowledge. Determine a schedule. Determine your

learning style. Study in a positive environment. Find

educational media. Take notes while you study.

Review materials on the same day. Organize

information. Apply your knowledge. Collaborate with

others. For the last step learners need to do self-

evaluation, regular consultation with the instructor,

take feedback responses, and do self-reflection on their

achievements, which means, asking self some

questions such as: How do they know that they’ve

learned? Are they having the scope to redesign and use

the learning? Do they have confidence in explaining

content/concepts? When do they know that they’ve

learned properly? To know when is it the time for self-

reflection and when to go for consulting with the

teacher? Re-evaluate and redesign the goals as required

during your unit of study. Consult with your facilitator

from time to time as required. These are the steps and

responsibilities of a self-directed learner.

4 CONCLUSION

The role of digital technology and web-based material

is undeniable for the enhancement of self-directed

learning for higher education learners (Gerard et al.,

2022). Self-directed learning is not specific to any

domain of subject, discipline, or profession. In context

to courses that aim to produce professionals, Self-

directed learning becomes very crucial to be developed

and promoted for learners at higher education. NEP

2020 also emphasizes on learning “how to learn” and

“self-learning”. It discusses the importance of

education as a medium for the development of human

potential. It focuses on the importance of learning how

to learn and its need for 21st-century learners. To

improve their performance, they must have the ability

to learn on their own (Alotaibi & Alanazi, 2021).

Students' abilities to learn independently are a key

result of the instructional strategy and can improve

other outcomes including academic mindset, rational

reasoning, and problem-solving abilities (Mahata and

Fine 2015, Fullan et al. 2017, Berger et al. 2016).

People need to be able to manage their learning, plan,

develop, adapt, and change in a digital, interactive, and

Self-Directed Learning: An Essential Learning Skill for the Amelioration of 21st Century Learners

727

global environment if they want to flourish in the

workforce of today (Brandt, 2020). These learning

skills should be the main aim of higher education

learning mindset.

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