Reflective Entry 6

Reflective Entry 6: Describe the data you have collected so far and how you are analysing it.
Question: What does SDL teaching look like at One School Global? and what needs to be changed to ensure that the SDL model works more effectively? To start the inquiry students given a survey to complete anonymously using an online tool called Educator Impact. From the inquiry question many small questions were developed and rate on a scale from 1-5, 5 being best. Most of the questions asked were developed around the self-directed model that my school was using. There was a strong focus around assignment design, availability of learning resource, whether or not the content was engaging and on how the teacher interacted digitally with students as a facilitator of learning. The data collected showed that on the surface students were self-directing but not as powerfully as the model suggests.

They second part of the data was achieved by way of comparing the school provided SDL model to that of Grow (1990). As Grow points out in his 1990 study there are four stages of SDL. This differed from the school provided as the schools’ model only has 3 stages and the, Teacher concepts are not added. The information gathered was powerful for reflection as the model I followed only gave a guide, as to the learning behaviours and outcomes for students. In reflecting on my pedagogy, the reality of unpreparedness and a shortage of know how was evident. As I pride myself in being a great teacher, SDL was completely new to me and the tools provided, (training, resource, literature) was inadequate.

In further analysing and research, a line between SDL and working independently had become blurred. I was setting student tasks, still controlling every aspect of their learning, however, each student was given a set of tasks to follow as prescribe by me, there was very little room for student input or agency over their learning. In observations of other courses created by fellow practitioners a pattern of Teacher lead content was still at the basis of our school culture. The parameters set by the schools’ community had again landed us in a box of Teach Lead content and classrooms. We were asked to provide an SDL culture of learning but the freedom to deliver such a programme was out of limits. (Siriwongs, 2015)



                                             Figure 1: Grows SDL Model (1990)


References:
Grow, G. O. (1990). SELF-DIRECTED by. Adult Education Quarterly, 41(3), 125–149.

Siriwongs, P. (2015). Developing Students’ Learning Ability by Dint of Self-Directed Learning. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 197(February), 2074–2079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.577

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