Creating ideal conditions for

self-directed learning
As they embark on their learning journeys, employees will
need a support crew to prevent them from running adrift.

• One of the great feats of athleticism and tenacity is solo sailing on the
open ocean.
• This is not a journey to be taken lightly; a sailor needs sharply honed
skills, a state-of-the-art boat, reliable equipment, and a will to harness
the elements. 
• Success depends on a well-considered float plan, practiced execution
of sailing maneuvers, strategic course corrections, and no small
amount of drive.
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• But as much as we celebrate such solo achievements, each sailor is
not really alone.
• They are each backed by people who help them to design and outfit
their sailboats; strategize their course; provide them information on
weather, tide, and current; advise them on repairs; and cheer them
on the journey—not to mention the individuals who taught and
coached them sailing techniques in the first place.
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• Such it is with self-directed learning.
• Self-directed learners are a hardy and persistent breed.
• But they receive aid from people who help to shape goals, locate
resources, plan their efforts, and free up time.
• That support crew makes it possible for self-directed learners to
succeed, and crew members actively engage in conversation, act as
role models, teach, and coach.
• How to support SDL?
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• Organizations that rely on employees to keep their skills up to date
and to reskill for future roles should actively support employees in
their self-directed learning quests.
Help learners on their journey
• Decades of research on self-directed learning reveals what employers
can do to bolster employee self-development.
• Just as a solo sailor's land-bound crew must understand the details of
sailing in the open ocean, those who want to strengthen self-directed
learners should grasp the nuances of self-directed learning and the
qualities and skills it takes for individuals to be effective.
• The process and skills go well beyond simple search and learn.
Although there are times when a learner only needs a quick article or
video that gives just enough guidance to continue their work,
complex learning needs require a more robust effort and a longer-
term development plan.
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• For those complex, deeper development plans, successful self-directed
learners need to define goals, research and curate resources, and
consciously execute a learning strategy—a process that can be described as
orientating, wayfinding, and journeying.
• At each stage, learners benefit from being shored up by managers and
organizational systems that scaffold their development.
• What is scaffolding?
• Scaffolding refers to a method where teachers offer a particular kind of
support to students as they learn and develop a new concept or skill. In
the instructional scaffolding model, a teacher may share new information or
demonstrate how to solve a problem.
1. Orientating
• The first step of any journey, whether circumnavigating or learning, is
to choose a destination.
• In self-directed learning projects, learners define their goals, guided
by questions and curiosity about a topic or a deep desire to
strengthen a skill.
• At the orientating phase, learners identify a specific knowledge base
or capability, assess where they are and where they want to be on the
continuum of novice to expert, clarify the questions for which they
seek answers, and visualize the contexts in which they want to apply
what they develop on the journey.
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• To support orientating, managers and L&D leaders can be clear about
the knowledge and skills needed for specific roles and provide self-
assessment tools so employees can check themselves.
• Workers often don't know what they need to know to be successful in
a role and are unaware of the scope and nuance of necessary skill
sets. Managers, mentors, and peers can help learners to get a better
sense of the subtleties of the skill set they are developing by providing
clear and timely feedback.
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• Beyond defining a destination, learners need to have a clear sense of
their motivation and purpose for engaging in those efforts.
• They must see how development will benefit them both in terms of
performance and recognition for skill advancement.
• Organization leaders can make those connections clear. By providing
overt advocacy for self-directed learning, leaders communicate their
approval and encouragement.
2. Wayfinding
• Mapping out the best path to the destination is the task of
wayfinding.
• In a learning journey, wayfinding comprises numerous tasks: finding
an array of possible learning resources and activities, identifying
people who may be of assistance, vetting and curating the best of the
options, devising learning activities and application projects, and
compiling a comprehensive study plan.
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• Managers and L&D professionals can encourage and aid in wayfinding
in many ways.
• Finding the right resources can be daunting and frustrating because of
the abundance of choice and the uneven quality in what learners can
uncover.
• Therefore, managers and L&D staff can relieve the burden by curating
specific resources that are right, relevant, and rich as well as varied in
format (for example, courses, podcasts, videos, books, articles, and
topical websites).
• Supporters likewise can introduce learners to individuals inside and
outside the organization who may be subject matter experts, co-
learners, coaches, or mentors.
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• Because most learners have little experience in designing learning and
application activities, L&D can provide advice on the kinds of activities
that solidify learning.
• The suggestions can be quite varied—such as keeping a notebook or
reflective journal, holding regular conversations with a mentor or co-
learner, engaging in practice activities, conducting informational
interviews with SMEs, collaborating on a project, or taking on
responsibility for a small deliverable.
• Offering learning plan templates also can be beneficial for learners.
Continue…
• In all this, managers and L&D professionals should act more like a
support crew than captains, providing light advice without taking
control of defining the plan.
3. Journeying
• Journeying is what all the preparation has been about, whether
sailing out on the open seas or getting down to the business of
learning.
• A successful learning journey is action-filled, steadily advancing, and
generally on course.
• And the support crew remains critical to guide, provide in-process
feedback, and encourage persistence.
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• Learning leaders assist journeying by providing resources to scaffold
and strengthen learning skills, and it's advantageous to develop those
skills in the context of using them to achieve learning goals.
• Managers can ensure that learners have a positive environment for
learning by valuing learning, ensuring psychological safety, providing
feedback and coaching as needed, and encouraging and supporting
self-direction.
• L&D can fortify learners by ensuring they understand the most
effective strategies for learning.
Why Metacognition is a vital life skill that
everyone should learn?
• Metacognition is simply explained as the awareness and
understanding of one’s thought process. In other words, it’s the
process of thinking about thinking. And one’s self-reflection on their
present as well as their future choices and goals. 
• When you come to think of it metacognition is a basic survival
strategy. A strategy that humans have unconsciously been
implementing since day 1 as a regulatory system. And that helps them
understand and control their thought processes and cognitive
 performance.
• Scientists have even discovered that metacognition is present in rats.
How does This work?
• Several pieces of research and studies have been able to break down
the skills of metacognition. It is in two complementary processes that
simplify it and make it easier to remember.
• According to researchers, metacognition’s constituents are the
knowledge of cognition and the regulation of cognition,
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Knowledge of cognition has three components: 
• knowledge of the factors that influence one’s performance. 
• knowing different types of strategies to use for learning.
•  knowing what strategy to use for a specific learning situation.
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As for Regulation of cognition, it involves: 
•  Goal orientation and planning.
•  monitoring and controlling learning. 
• evaluating one’s regulation (assessing results and strategies used).
What is the importance of metacognition?
• Consider people who have developed metacognition. They can assess
their thought processes and reframe the way they think to adapt to
new situations. This not only helps you achieve your goals but also
strengthens your personality making you more flexible to change.
•  When using metacognition, people gain an understanding of the
situations, processes, and methods that work best for them. Through
trial and error, they begin to come to an understanding with
themselves regarding which technique works for them best.
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• Perhaps the most vital reason for heightening metacognition is that it
can improve the application of knowledge. It also improves skills, and
character qualities in realms beyond the immediate context in which
they were learned.
• And lastly, extensive studies have shown that adults whose
metacognitive skills are well developed are better problem-solvers.
They are better decision-makers and critical thinkers. They are also
able and more motivated to learn. And are more likely to be able to
regulate their emotions (even in difficult situations). They can handle
complexity, and cope with conflict.
Metacognition and learning 
• As humans, we learn something every day no matter how
insubstantial it is. Our life revolves around learning and gathering
knowledge. Whether it is in a school, university, workplace, or even
reading a book we constantly learn.
• Research shows metacognition increases people’s motivation because
people feel more in control of their learning. People who learn
metacognitive strategies are more aware of their thinking. And more
likely to be active learners who learn more deeply.
• Improved metacognition can aid both formal and informal learning. It
can improve the performance of new tasks on the job.
Continue…
• Metacognition allows people to take charge of their learning. Because
it involves awareness of how they learn.
• It helps in the evaluation of their learning needs, generating strategies
to meet these needs, and then implementing the strategies. Learners
often show an increase in self-confidence when they build
metacognitive skills. 
Getting back to 3. Journeying
• Most importantly, organizational leaders must allocate time to engage
in the journey.
• An underappreciated truth about journeying is that it must be
savored.
• Taking shortcuts may seem to get journeyers to a destination more
quickly, but they likely miss out on a lot of rich exploration along the
way.
• The fact is that learning takes time. Learners and their managers
should figure out how to dedicate time and how to protect learning
from getting thrown off course by delays and detours.
4. Completing the journey
• Remaining true to a determined path requires regular check-ins on
progress.
• Learners need to have designated waypoints at which they step back
to assess activities and results.
• Managers can be sounding boards for those evaluations and coaches
in deciding next steps. If a learner is making insufficient progress on
learning goals, that individual and their manager can analyze the
barriers and issues driving the lack of results so the learner can craft a
better plan for the journey forward.
Smoothing the waters for self-directed
learning
• A sailor's support crew can do nothing to tame the weather and the tides,
but those who want to bolster self-directed learning can actively create an
environment conducive to development.
• Research shows that organizations should generate the following
conditions to enable self-directed learning.
• 1. Allow employees to have control. 
• 2. Demonstrate management engagement. 
• 3. Provide curated resources. 
• 4. Make interpersonal connections.
• 5. Offer learn-to-learn resources. 
• 6. Allocate time for learning. 
1. Allow employees to have control. 
As much as possible, leaders need to turn over to employees the
determination of learning goals, selection of learning resources,
development and execution of a learning plan, and assessment of
progress on knowledge and skill development.

That doesn't mean, however, that leaders have no influence on those

decisions.

Managers can show interest, provide requested guidance, and gently

encourage while still giving learners the final say in the plan. 
2. Demonstrate management engagement. 
• Having a management team that is actively invested in individual
development goes a long way to providing a strong learning
environment.
• Engagement takes the form of giving encouragement, ensuring quality
resources, initiating conversations, removing barriers, providing
feedback, offering coaching (if appropriate), and supporting learning
with a light touch.
3. Provide curated resources. 
• Anyone who has ever sorted through search engine results
understands that finding the right resources is not that easy.
• L&D has a role in curating resources to save employees time and
effort in finding relevant and high-quality materials and activities, but
that can be difficult to scale when employee needs are so varied.
• A more strategic approach is for L&D to identify high-priority
knowledge bases and skill sets and to make a full set of curated
resources available in each of those areas. They likewise should make
it easy for staff to get recommendations from managers, peers, and
L&D for whatever their unique learning goals may be.
4. Make interpersonal connections.
• Learning is highly relational, and self-directed learning does not
happen in isolation.
• Employers can facilitate access to people by cultivating a culture of
generous mutual support, providing directories of SMEs, and
developing connector managers who are adept at introducing people
to others who are in positions to help.
• Offering mentoring and peer development programs in which
employees can voluntarily engage can also be important for some
learners. 
5. Offer learn-to-learn resources. 
• Most employees are not experts in learning processes, which is
partially why they depend on structured training rather than informal
and self-directed learning.
• To bolster self-directed learning confidence, some companies have
gone so far as to provide training or short-form pointers on how
people learn.
• But it is also useful to have scaffolds available at the point of need,
such as discussion or reflection questions for recommended books or
videos, templates for creating practice exercises, and informational
interview guides.
6. Allocate time for learning. 
• Time is the most precious and necessary commodity in enabling self-
directed learning, and finding ways to give workers needed time is the
most important thing that employers can do.
• Organizations have found a variety of creative ways to accomplish that:
scheduling blocks of time for teams to engage in learning activities (for
example, a library day or half-day sabbatical), allocating a specific number
of hours to be used as needed, or planning learning time into project
schedules.
• Specific strategies are usually worked out at the team or role level, while
recognizing the time needed for learning is part of organizational learning
culture.
7. Ease the way
• Self-directed learning has been in practice since the dawn of time. It
comes naturally to every human being as we learn to navigate the
world. But there are times when it is complicated and challenging and
requires more thought and planning.
• Managers and L&D professionals can ease the way for effective and
efficient learning without taking control of designing the approach.
When managers and L&D teams partner with employees, they can
accelerate the development of crucial capabilities and ensure that the
organization is ready to sail into the future.
Individual Wherewithal for Self-Directing
Learning
• Research shows that successful self-directed learners demonstrate certain
characteristics and skills. Organizations enable self-directed learning by
scaffolding the development of these qualities and capabilities:
• Motivation to learn—intrinsic motivation that drives engagement and
persistence
• Self-efficacy—the belief that one can learn and that learning will result in a
desired outcome
• Capability for self-assessment—the ability to accurately judge what to
develop and to evaluate the degree to which that desired knowledge and
skill is demonstrated
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• Resourcefulness—savviness in finding and vetting learning resources
and networking skill to find people who can support a learning
journey
• Planning skills—the ability to make a plan for development that
unfolds over time and to arrange a calendar to invest time in learning
activities
• Learning skills—facility with a range of learning skills, such as
reflection, dialogue, inquiry, recall, and other metacognitive skills
Quizz
• 1. This knowledge involves an awareness by learners of their learning
behaviors.
A. Metacognition
B. Metacognitive skills
C. Cognitive skills
D. Language abilities
Quiz
2. Is the fact or condition of knowing something gained through
experience is association
A. Goals
B. Knowledge
C. Experience
D. Behavior
Quiz
3. Is a tool used by students to evaluate the quality of their work,
measure their performance with the stated goals and learning
objectives?
A. self-assessment
B. Self-confidence
C. Self-learning
Quiz
4. Is the following statement True or False?
Metacognitive knowledge has to do with learners’ capacity to monitor and
control their cognitive process.
A. True
B. False

Metacognitive knowledge refers to what learners know about learning. This

includes – the learner’s knowledge of their own cognitive abilities, the learner’s
knowledge of particular tasks, the learner’s knowledge of different strategies
that are available to them and when they are appropriate to the tasks
Quiz
5. Re-reading a paragraph or reading slower to ensure better
comprehension are actions proper of metacognitive regulation.
A. True
B. False
6. Metacognition helps students to become independent learners.
A. True
B. False
7. Metacognitive skills can be developed only by the most skilful
learners.
A. True
B. False
8. To keep students motivated to learning, learning must constantly
show instant results.
A. True
B. False
9. Students should be independent learners from the very beginning of
a learning process.
A. True
B. False
10. What metacognitive strategy is the best one to start with?
A. Inferencing
B. Skimming the text
C. Summary
D. Visualizing
11. What metacognitive strategy are you using if you say “probably” or
“maybe” to come up with an idea?
A. Inferencing
B. Summary
C. Marking the text
D. Asking questions
12. What are examples of marking the text?
A. Marking through obviously wrong answers
B. Looking up a word and writing a synonym above it
C. Underlining lists, proper nouns, and numbers
D. All the above
13. As a 5 year old kid, Sasha writes her name every morning and
before going to bed.
A. Learning is relatively permanent change
B. Learning is growth and development
C. Learning comes as a result of practice
D. Learning results in change in behavior
14. Everyone learns.
A. Learning is from all sides.
B. Learning is an adjustment
C. Learning is continuous
D. Learning is universal
15. As he faced the reality of being an orphan, Manny has matured at
an early age and is ready to face more challenges in life.
A. Learning is not directly observable
B. Learning is an adjustment
C. Learning as growth and development
D. Learning is continuous
16. Which one is not a characteristic of adult learning theory?
A. Adults like independence
B. Adults prefer problem solving
C. Adults focus on collaboration
D. Adults prefer intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
17. Identify the learning domain for the given objective:
Interpret basic laboratory data and investigations relevant to the
preoperative assessment.
A. Cognitive
B. Affective
C. Psychomotor
D. I don’t know
18. Identify the learning domain for the given objective:
Demonstrate respect to peers, teachers and other staff members of all
disciplines.
A. Cognitive
B. Affective
C. Psychomotoe