Learner Autonomy

Learner independence - mature dependence - learner autonomy

Develop the exercise of independence of mind, and a readiness to challenge and criticise accepted opinion.

The study of a foreign culture develops an awareness of contrasts with our native
culture. Learning strategies may be designed to inculcate independence of thought, most particularly the vigorous argument that we seek to encourage in regular tutorials. Students are expected to acquire familiarity with different and sometimes conflicting approaches and interpretations, and to develop their own views through critical engagement with the work of others.

They will also have regular contact, through tutorials and lectures, with postholders at the forefront of new research whose own work is likely to challenge certain aspects of the status quo within their particular fields.


One study found that researchers argue that success at university is associated with personal confidence and competence, emotional stability, a tendency to introversion, acceptance of extra-curricular work demands, and independence from teachers. Failure is associated with learning anxiety (in both lack of confidence and incompetence), and overdependence on teachers. The key factors determining success or failure that staff-student relationships can actively control are, therefore, independence or overdependence. (Raaheim and Wankowski, 1981). Ramsden (1992: 111-6) presents three main theories of teaching in higher education. The first, a notion of teaching as transmission, assumes a traditional didactic approach, with the teacher as an undisputed source of information and the students as passive recipients. It is modelled on the idea that input equals output: as long as students attend and regurgitate lectures they will succeed. The second, a transitional stage, sees teaching as organising student activity. Authoritative knowledge recedes into the background, and learning becomes a process of active supervision. Finally, there is teaching as a means of making learning possible. This theory incorporates and develops aspects of the first two, but has a different pedagogical approach. Instead of the teacher organising the learning, the relationship between learner and teacher is a cooperative one of instruction and interaction combined. Knowledge of the subject content is actively constituted by the learner, and courses are structured around an awareness of student learning Gibbs (1995). Assessment, Gibbs argues, should incorporate a wider range of activities. This includes an emphasis of group activities; peer and self-assessment; diaries, logs, and journals; learning contracts and negotiated assignments; and achievement profiles. These assessment elements not only encourage ‘learner independence’ but also teach and develop transferable skills that benefit the learner in the outside world. This third view mirrors the notion of ‘mature dependency’ introduced by Fairbairn (1952), i.e. one which in the context of university education would mean a considered and appropriate recourse to tutor or peer support. Indeed, the term ‘mature dependency’ may be less prone to misunderstanding than the more popular ‘learner independence’, encapsulating as it does the recognition that successful scholars seldom work in isolation.

Gibbs, G. (1995) Assessing Student Centred Courses, Oxford: Oxford Centre for Staff Development.
http://www.humanities.bham.ac.uk/handbook/shared/committees/ltg/Colloquia/LrnrIndependence/LIReport2.pdf








One subject for research is about the impact of IT in independence learning:


A qualitative study of experienced high school teachers’ perceptions of learning technologies is reported. Underlying the study was a research-based theoretical background that highlighted the importance of appropriate perceptions to successful integration of learning technologies into classrooms. The transcripts of 31 semi-structured, open-ended interviews with a group of teachers were combined to form a pool of decontextualized statements about learning technologies. The pool of statements was analyzed using a phenomenographic research approach. A limited number of qualitatively different perceptions of learning technologies were identified. The perceptions varied with respect to “what” and “how” components. The “what” component concerned perception of what constitutes a technology. The “how” component concerned perception of how the technology impacted on learning. Some of the perceptions were considered inappropriate with regard to the “how” component and unlikely to lead to successful integration.

For teachers holding these perceptions professional development is proposed in how learning technologies can be used to encourage enhanced learning outcomes.

Enhanced learning outcomes resulting from the use of learning technologies require grasping meaning; better learning techniques and strategies; skill in using the technology; assistance and motivation from the technology; and more effective presentation of the learning outcomes.

Teachers conceptualise and approach teaching in a limited number of qualitatively different but related ways. Broadly, teachers who perceive learning as the accumulation of information are more likely to view teaching as the transfer of information. Such teachers are more likely to use a teacher centred approach where the teacher imparts information to students and uses assessment techniques which encourage and test rote learning. In contrast, teachers who view learning as conceptual change are more likely to view teaching as facilitating conceptual change. Such teachers are more likely to use a student centred teaching approach where independence in learning is encouraged through discussion, debate and questioning among students, and assessment which reveals conceptual change (Prosser & Trigwell, 1999).

Students' approaches to learning are related to their teachers' approaches to teaching (Trigwell, Prosser & Waterhouse, 1999). Teachers who describe using a conceptual change/student focussed teaching approach are more likely to be teaching students who report using a deep approach to learning. Deep learning approaches have an intention to seek meaning in learning situations through linking aspects of the content. With a deep learning approach there is the possibility of the conceptual change and deeper understanding which is assumed in this paper to constitute an enhanced learning outcome (Cope, 2000; Marton & Booth, 1997). Indeed, in many empirical studies deep learning approaches have been found to be strongly associated with conceptual change learning outcomes (e.g., Marton & Säljö, 1976; Prosser & Millar, 1989). In contrast, teachers who describe using an information transfer/teacher centred teaching approach are more likely to be teaching students who report using surface learning approaches. Surface learning approaches focus on memorising aspects of the content in isolation with the intention of recalling the content in assessment situations. There is little intention to seek meaning in the content, and little likelihood of significant conceptual change (Ramsden, 1988).

An explanation of the association between teacher and student approaches has been proposed and supported empirically by Prosser & Trigwell (1999). The learning context provided by a teacher is the practical implementation of the teacher’s perceptions of learning and teaching, and approach to teaching. Students have been found to vary their learning approach in response to certain factors they perceive in the learning context. Students using deep learning approaches are more likely to value independence in learning, good teaching and clear learning goals, factors consistent with a student-centred teaching approach. Students using surface learning approaches are more likely to have different values, and, consequently different perceptions.

Source: http://www.education.ox.ac.uk/uploaded/cope_ward2002.pdf

Trigwell, K., Prosser, M., & Waterhouse, F. (1999). Relations between teachers’ approaches to teaching and students’ approaches to learning. Higher Education, 37, 57-70.