Self-directed Learning

 In recent years, quite a number of schools have continued to set SDL as one of their major concerns, which is to tie in with the curriculum development, with the aim of developing students’ ability of learning to learn. Capitalising on the achievements previously attained in promoting SDL, schools sustain or strengthen the relevant development. For example, plans of fostering students’ SDL abilities are devised in a more systematic manner, and SDL elements are embedded into the school-based curricula; or cross-curricular collaboration is gradually enhanced to promote SDL in different subjects. Schools generally take cultivating students’ SDL abilities as an entry point to creating successful learning experiences for students and, subsequently, developing students’ learning habits and positive learning attitudes. A few schools make an effort to develop students’ ability to self-evaluate their learning effectiveness by helping them set personal goals and conduct self-reflection and evaluation, which increases their sense of ownership in learning and

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enables them to master their own learning progress and make self-adjustments. A small number of schools are short of clear and holistic planning. Their subject panels have different interpretations of SDL and, without collaboration, their direction and pace of promoting SDL vary, which in turn largely undermines the overall work effectiveness.

 Schools employ various means, including pre-lesson preparation, online platforms, e-learning, note-taking, the promotion of reading, the teaching of learning strategies, and the facilitation of self-reflection, to enhance SDL among students. Among the above measures, pre-lesson preparation is the main strategy that most schools adopt to help students develop the habit of self-learning. Students are generally able to complete their pre-lesson preparation tasks as instructed by their teachers. Some teachers can make use of the outcomes of students’ pre-lesson preparation to facilitate learning in class. For example, QR codes are provided for students to do online reading before lessons to assist and deepen their learning in class. Apart from pre-lesson preparation, most schools require students to take notes. Students generally manage to jot down key learning points under teachers’ instructions. The more able students are capable of using concept maps appropriately to organise lesson content. Some schools focus on helping students set their personal learning goals, understand their own strengths and weaknesses, and devise action plans for learning. Some schools emphasise students’ self-reflection during the learning and teaching process. They let students review their own learning progress or their performance in service learning, thereby strengthening their reflective abilities. Some schools teach self-learning strategies, such as thinking and reading skills, and encourage students to apply relevant strategies to their assignments or project learning tasks.

However, there are still schools which fail to consider students’ learning ability when teaching them self-learning strategies and are unable to guide students to apply their self-learning strategies learnt in the learning process. As a result, students’ motivation to take their own initiative to extend learning after class is dampened and their learning performance is affected.

 Students’ self-learning is facilitated mainly through e-learning. The majority of schools employ e-learning platforms to disseminate learning and teaching materials; and encourage students to collect information from the Internet, read online, participate in after-class online discussions or do extended reading, etc. outside classroom to develop students’

self-learning abilities. Some schools make use of e-learning to enhance interaction in class, in which students carry out self-assessment and peer assessment to obtain immediate feedback and foster peer learning. These schools capitalise on the advantages of e-learning to enable students to review their learning outcomes instantly, and evaluate and reflect on their own learning process as well as the strategies adopted, so that their self-regulation and self-management abilities are strengthened. Teachers also use e-learning platforms to collect data about students’ learning, identify the difficulties they

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have in learning, as well as take follow-up actions and give timely feedback to improve teaching effectiveness. During the suspension of face-to-face classes, most schools are able to expedite the development of e-learning gradually according to the school context.

In the past, schools developed e-learning mainly for facilitating classroom teaching, aiding the learning and teaching activities for teachers and students. Amid the pandemic, e-learning gradually becomes a major mode for supporting students to conduct online learning at home. Teachers, students and parents need time to adapt to such a change in the mode of learning and teaching. Building on the present foundation, schools could make use of their online learning and teaching experiences accumulated in this period to plan and map out the future development work for e-learning to further foster students’ SDL capabilities. Moreover, schools could adopt a blended mode of learning and teaching by integrating classroom teaching with online teaching, and arrange different kinds of learning activities flexibly. Schools could also set up an e-learning and teaching resource bank to consolidate and extend the achievements made during the suspension of face-to-face classes.

 Schools have been emphasising the importance of cultivating students’ “Reading to Learn”

skills for the purpose of developing their self-learning abilities. Through arranging various reading activities such as online reading, book recommendation and extended reading materials, schools help students connect reading to their learning of different subjects and encourage students to widen their scope of reading as well as master reading strategies to enhance SDL. Some schools strengthen the promotion of “Reading to Learn” during the suspension of face-to-face classes and encourage students to read extensively, including e-books and webpages, to facilitate self-learning. A few schools that promote RaC can integrate reading with the content and materials of various KLAs, allowing students to make use of reading strategies to connect the reading activities, reflect on their life experiences as well as integrate knowledge across different KLAs, and cultivating students’

attitude and ability for active learning through reading.

 Schools are capable of using different self-assessment tools such as questionnaires and teachers’ observations to evaluate the implementation of SDL, but the effectiveness of evaluation varies among schools. Individual schools are able to conduct evaluation based on students’ learning effectiveness and put forward concrete plans for deepening SDL, such as incorporating e-learning as a core element in the school-based curriculum to facilitate learning and teaching, with a view to motivating students to become self-directed learners.

Some schools rely heavily on using quantitative data to analyse students’ learning progress, but fall short of adopting qualitative tools, like teachers’ observations, to further understand students’ needs and the factors hindering their SDL. Schools have to integrate various types of evaluation data to review the work effectiveness and adjust the strategies for overall planning.

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 Generally speaking, schools have already gained some experience in promoting the development of SDL and in nurturing students’ self-learning abilities. However, students’

initiatives and their sense of ownership in learning are still insufficient. With a view to promoting students’ SDL holistically, schools could further strengthen their curriculum planning by connecting learning and teaching to the area of support for student development or the major renewed emphases in curriculum, etc., through cross-subject collaboration.

Regarding the design of learning activities, it is desirable for schools to continuously provide students with more opportunities to interact with peers and reflect. Schools could make good use of strategies like e-learning to further enhance interaction among teachers and students; encourage students to share their learning outcomes; and motivate them to feedback and enhance learning through self-evaluation, peer assessment and teacher feedback. Schools could also boost students’ enthusiasm and motivation towards learning, and create more opportunities for students to realise their potential as well as formulate their learning plans, or choose learning activities by themselves.

Exemplars

Formulating the school-based curriculum holistically with collaboration among subject panels to cultivate students’ capability and attitude on SDL

In accordance with students’ development at different key stages, the school successfully creates a SDL framework and appropriately maps out the study skills, thinking tools and reading strategies that students need to master. Most subject panels are able to address subject-specific needs in promoting SDL. For example, the lesson design requires students to set their own learning goals, and encourages students to use graphic organisers in pre-lesson preparation. A number of students are able to choose the appropriate thinking tools as needed to organise content of their writing, express opinions, sort out and analyse information.

Furthermore, the school-based curriculum is closely connected to e-learning, STEM or cross-subject project learning activities, providing students with the opportunities of setting project themes, collecting information, coding and designing experiments, etc., on their own.

In these activities, students are able to apply the knowledge attained from different subjects and share learning experiences with their peers throughout the learning process. They are confident in sharing, displaying and reviewing the learning outcomes with others, demonstrating their good reflective ability, interest in learning as well as ownership of learning.

In response to students’ needs, the school integrates “mindfulness” with positive education and arranges for students to practise mindfulness during personal growth lessons, morning assemblies and lunchtime to strengthen students’ attentiveness, emotion management, self-reflection, etc., and develop a positive learning attitude. These measures are able to

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enhance students’ mental readiness for SDL. Moreover, the school also revises its school-based reward scheme to enhance students’ reflection on SDL, “mindfulness” and appreciation, and invites class teachers and parents to participate in the evaluation. During the process, students are able to understand and reflect on their own learning and developmental needs from different perspectives, and make improvement accordingly, demonstrating their capacity of self-understanding and attitude towards active learning.

Adopting multiple strategies to encourage students to develop self-learning habits at various levels

The school employs strategies like e-learning, note-taking and the “junior teachers” scheme to enable students to bring into play their SDL capabilities in the three areas of knowledge enrichment, organisation of what is learnt and peer learning. Regarding knowledge enrichment, e-learning platforms are effectively employed in the subjects of Science and Biology to help students prepare for lessons and consolidate their prior knowledge. Examples include uploading of videos and provision of websites to facilitate students’ better understanding of the topics. For Physics, short videos about students’ common misunderstanding of the subject content are uploaded to help students clarify concepts and revise what has been learnt. Through e-learning, students effectively prepare for lessons, extend what they have learnt in lessons, and gradually develop SDL habits. In the aspect of organising what is learnt, JS students use learning tools, such as concept maps, charts and tables, to organise the key learning points in class, and then compile their personalised notes.

As for peer learning, teachers assign students as “junior teachers” to explain some topics to their fellow schoolmates in Physics lessons, and, through the use of daily life examples and important concepts of Physics, to elucidate the learning content. Teachers also arrange peer assessment for students to comment on the performance of the “junior teachers”, thereby helping students improve their learning through peer assessment and exerting their abilities in SDL.