Higher Education Observer

This is a second excerpt from my longer paper.  The references will be given separately.  This should help someone trying to get a handle on the basics of Self-Directed Learning theory.             It is interesting to read the primary works of theorists after reading their interpretations in secondary works.   To understand self-directed learning theory, I consulted Malcolm Knowles’   The Adult Learner (1998), Tough’s qualitative study of Adult Learning Projects (1979), and Candy’s (1991) exhaustive treatment of the subject.   I also read several of Hiemstra’s and Brockett’s collaborations on self-direction as well as some empirical studies.   A concept that would seem self-defining is far from being so.   The works on self-directed learning can, in my thinking, be divided into three groups: those that seek to define the parameters of self-directed learning (as in Knowles’ and Candy’s wri...

The following is an excerpt from a paper I wrote that will be part of my dissertation.  I will post another part separately.  This portion should help someone who is trying to get a grasp on the literature on college faculty development. Methodology             The search for relevant literature began in the Adult Education database of the UGA library, i.e., GALILEO.   “Faculty development,” “self-directed learning,” “assessment,” “professional development,” “higher education,” “college,” “university,” and “reflection/reflective practice” were the search terms (or variations of those words).   The names of prominent authors in these topics were also used, such as Candy, Knowles, and Cranton.   The GIL database was also consulted to obtain the primary texts needed, such as Kolb and Tough.   Occasionally Google Scholar was used, but only for leads.   What I could not find in GALILEO I was ab...