A study of self-directed learning at an Ontario college of applied arts and technology

Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology (CAATs) are currently in the process of restructuring to ensure quality, accountability, and accessibility of college education. References to learner involvement and self-directed learning are prevalent. "Alternative delivery" and "paradigm shift" are current buzzwords within the Ontario CAAT system as an environment is created supportive of change. Instability of funding has also dictated a need for change. Therefore, a focus has become quality of learning with less demand on public resources. This qualitative case study was conducted at an Ontario CAAT to gather descriptive, perceptual data from post-secondary community college educators who were identified as supportive of self-directed learning and from post-secondary, traditional-aged college students who were perceived by their educators to be selfdirected learners. This college was selected because of initiatives to modify its academic paradigm to encourage what was reputed in the Ontario CAAT system to be self-directed learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate how postsecondary, traditional-aged college students and their educators perceive self-directed learning as part of the teaching-learning experience within a community college setting. Educator participants of the study were selected based on the results of a teaching and learning survey intended to identify educators supportive of self-directed learning. A total of 317 surveys were distributed to every full-time educator at the sample college; 192 completed surveys were returned for a return rate of 61 %. Of these, 8% indicated instructional beliefs and values supportive of self-directed learning. A purposive sample of six educators was selected using a maximulp variation sampling strategy. A network selection sampling strategy was used to select a purposive sample of seven post-secondary students who were identified by the sample educators as selfdirected learners. The results of the study show that students and educators have similar perspectives and operating definitions of self-directed learning and all participants believe they either practice or facilitate self-directed learning. However, their perspectives and practices are not consistent with the literature which emphasizes learner autonomy or control in course structure and content. A central characteristic of the participants represented in this study is the service-oriented professions with which each is associated. Experientiallearning opportunities were highly valued for the options provided in increasing learner independence and competencies in reflective practice. Although there were discrepancies between espoused theory and theory in practice in terms of course structure, the process of self-directed learning was being practiced and supported outside the classroom structure in clinical settings, labs and related experiences.

The antecedents to participation in learning activities among support staff at a college in Ontario

Les tendances de la participation à la formation des adultes au Canada n’ont pas évolué depuis des décennies, malgré les nouvelles influences économiques qui ont stimulé l’augmentation et la diversification permanente de la formation des employés et malgré les initiatives plus nombreuses en faveur de l’apprentissage des employés en milieu de travail. Il est donc nécessaire de ne plus se contenter d’étudier les prédicteurs de la formation déjà connus dans les profils des employés et des employeurs. Il est, en revanche, indispensable d’étudier les antécédents de la participation des employés à la formation, y compris les aspects et les étapes du processus qui la précède. Cette étude porte sur les antécédents de la participation des employés aux formations dans un important collège communautaire urbain en Ontario. Afin de préparer le recueil des données, un cadre théorique a été élaboré à partir du concept d’expression de la demande. Ce cadre implique l’existence d’un processus qui comporte plusieurs étapes, au cours desquelles plusieurs intervenants interagissent et dont la formation est susceptible d’être le résultat. Les résultats de l’enquête sur le profil d’apprentissage ont permis de conclure que le comportement des employés et de l’employeur est conforme aux modèles de prédicteurs existants et que les taux et les types de participation étaient similaires aux tendances nationales et internationales. L’analyse des entrevues d’un groupe d’employés atypiques, de leurs superviseurs, ainsi que de représentants du collège et du syndicat, a révélé d’importants thèmes clés : l’expression de la demande n’est pas structurée et elle est communiquée par plusieurs canaux, en excluant parfois les superviseurs. De plus, la place de l’auto évaluation est importante, ainsi que la phase de prise de décision. Ces thèmes ont souligné l’interaction de plusieurs intervenants dans le processus d’expression de la demande d’apprentissage et pendant la prise de décision. L’examen des attentes de chacun de ces intervenants au cours de ce processus nous a permis de découvrir un désir tacite chez les superviseurs et les employés, à savoir que la conversation soit à l’initiative de « l’autre ». Ces thèmes clés ont été ensuite abordés dans une discussion qui a révélé une discordance entre le profil de l’employeur et les profils des employés. Celle-ci se prête à la correction par l’employeur de son profil institutionnel pour l’harmoniser avec le profil dispositionnel des employés et optimiser ainsi vraisemblablement son offre de formation. Ils doivent, pour cela, appliquer un processus plus systématique et plus structuré, doté de meilleurs outils. La discussion a porté finalement sur les effets des motivations économiques sur la participation des employés et a permis de conclure que, bien que les employés ne semblent pas se méfier de l’offre de formation de l’employeur et que celle ci ne semble pas non plus les décourager, des questions de pouvoir sont bel et bien en jeu. Elles se sont principalement manifestées pendant le processus de prise de décision et, à cet égard, les superviseurs comme les employés reconnaissent qu’un processus plus structuré serait bénéfique, puisqu’il atténuerait les problèmes d’asymétrie et d’ambiguïté. Les constatations de cette étude sont pertinentes pour le secteur de la formation des adultes et de la formation en milieu de travail et, plus particulièrement, pour la méthodologie de recherche. Nous avons constaté l’avantage d’une méthodologie à deux volets, à l’écoute de l’employeur et des employés, afin de mieux comprendre la relation entre l’offre de formation et la participation à la formation. La définition des antécédents de la participation sous la forme d’un processus dans lequel plusieurs intervenants remplissent plusieurs rôles a permis de créer un modèle plus détaillé qui servira à la recherche future. Ce dernier a démontré qu’il est indispensable de reconnaître que la prise de décision constitue une étape à part entière, située entre l’expression de la demande et la participation à la formation. Ces constatations ont également révélé qu’il est véritablement indispensable que le secteur de la formation des adultes continue à traiter les questions reliées à la reconnaissance de la formation informelle. Ces conclusions et la discussion sur les constatations clés nous ont inspiré des recommandations à appliquer pour modifier les retombées du processus précédant la participation des employés à la formation. La majorité de ces recommandations ont trait à l’infrastructure de ce processus et ciblent donc principalement l’employeur. Certaines recommandations sont cependant destinées aux syndicats, aux superviseurs et aux employés qui peuvent aider l’employeur à remplir son rôle et favoriser la participation efficace de tous à ce processus. Les recommandations qui précédent impliquent que ce sont les antécédents de la formation qui gagneraient à être plus structurés et non la formation elle même. La structuration de l’infrastructure de l’apprentissage présente cependant des risques à elle seule. En liaison avec ce phénomène, une étude spécifique des effets de la nature, de la qualité et de l’asymétrie de la relation superviseur employé sur la participation des employés à la formation serait bénéfique. Mots clés : formation en entreprise, formation professionnelle continue, antécédents à la participation, employés de soutien

Report on the study of community college professional development programs and activities in Illinois spublic community colleges.

"September 1988."

Teaching techniques for part-time community college instructors.

"OLAC19D."

A speculative systems model of the dynamic interaction among students, faculty and administration in the community college, with particular reference to intrinsic motivation and the teacher-administrator interface

The challenge the community college faces in helping meet the needs of the living open system of society is examined in this study. It is postulated that internalization student outcomes are required by society to reduce entropy and remain self-renewing. Such behavior is characterized as having an intrinsically motivated energy source and displays the seeking and conquering of challenge, the development of reflective knowledge and skill, full use of all capabilities, internal control, growth orientation, high self-esteem, relativistic thinking and competence. The development of a conceptual systems model that suggests how transactions among students, faculty and administration might occur to best meet the needs of internalization outcomes in students, and intrinsic motivation in faculty is a major purpose of this study. It is a speculative model that is based on a synthesis of a wide variety of variables. Empirical evidence, theoretical considerations, and speculative ideas are gathered together from researchers and theoretici.ans who are working on separate answers to questions of intrinsic motivation, internal control and environments that encourage their development. The model considers the effect administrators·have on faculty anq the corresponding effect faculty may have on students. The major concentration is on the administrator--teacher interface.For administrators the model may serve as a guide in planning effective transactions, and establishing system goals. The teacher is offered a means to coordinate actions toward a specific overall objective, and the administrator, teacher and researcher are invited to use the model to experiment, innovate, verify the assumptions on which the model is based, and raise additional hypotheses. Goals and history of the community colleges in Ontario are examined against current problems, previous progress and open system thinking. The nature of the person as a five part system is explored with emphasis on intrinsic motivation. The nature, operation, conceptualization, and value of this internal energy source is reviewed in detail. The current state of society, education and management theory are considered and the value of intrinsically motivating teaching tasks together with "system four" leadership style are featured. Evidence is reviewed that suggests intrinsically motivated faculty are needed, and "system four" leadership style is the kind of interaction-influence system needed to nurture intrinsic motivation in faculty.

The impact of meaningfulness of and responsibility for work on the relationships among work values, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction for part- time faculty in a community college

One hundred and thirty four subjects participated in this survey. Quantitative data were obtained and correlational analyses were used to test a model to study the relationships among the achievement of work values and organizational commitment and job satisfaction and to identify the moderating effects of the meaningfulness of work and responsibility for work on these relationships. Part-time faculty in the Faculty of Continuing Education of a community college were mailed a questionnaire on all the variables of the model. Several reliable, valid instruments were used to test the variables. Data analysis through Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that the achievement of the work values of recognition and satisfaction with promotions did predict organizational commitment and job satisfaction, although the moderating effects of the meaningfulness of work and responsibility for work was not supported in this study. This study suggests that the revised model may be used for determining the relationships between the achievement of work values and organizational commitment and job satisfaction in a community college setting.

Perceptions of underprepared community college students regarding their educational achievement

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of underprepared college students who had participated in learning communities and who persisted to complete developmental classes and earned at least 30 college-level credit hours to graduate and the perceptions of their peers who had dropped out of college. The theories posed by Tinto, Astin, and Freire formed the framework for this case study. The 22 participants were graduates or transfer students now attending a public university, currently-enrolled sophomores, and students no longer enrolled at the time of the study. Semi-structured individual interviews and a group interview provided narrative data which were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to gain insights into the experiences and perspectives of the participants. The group interview provided a form of member checking to increase accuracy in interpreting themes. A peer reviewer provided feedback on the researcher’s data analysis procedures. The analysis yielded four themes and 14 sub-themes which captured the essence of the participants’ experiences. The pre-college characteristics/traits theme described the students’ internal values and attributes acquired prior to college. The external college support/community influence theme described the encouragement to attend college the students received from family, friends, and high school teachers. The social involvement theme described the students’ participation in campus activities and their interactions with other members of the campus. The academic integration theme described students’ use of campus resources and their contacts with the faculty. The persisters reported strong family and peer support, a sense of responsibility, appreciation for dedicated and caring faculty, and a belief that an education can be a liberatory means to achieve their goals. The non-persisters did not report having the same sense of purpose, goal orientation, determination, obligation to meet family expectations, peer support, campus involvement, positive faculty experiences, and time management skills. The researcher offers an emerging model for understanding factors associated with persistence and three recommendations for enhancing the academic experience of underprepared college students: (a) include a critical pedagogy perspective in coursework where possible, (b) integrate co-curricular activities with the academic disciplines, and (c) increase student-faculty interaction.

Perceptions of Underprepared Community College Students regarding their Educational Achievement

The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of underprepared college students who had participated in learning communities and who persisted to complete developmental classes and earned at least 30 college-level credit hours to graduate and the perceptions of their peers who had dropped out of college. The theories posed by Tinto, Astin, and Freire formed the framework for this case study. The 22 participants were graduates or transfer students now attending a public university, currently-enrolled sophomores, and students no longer enrolled at the time of the study. Semi-structured individual interviews and a group interview provided narrative data which were transcribed, coded, and analyzed to gain insights into the experiences and perspectives of the participants. The group interview provided a form of member checking to increase accuracy in interpreting themes. A peer reviewer provided feedback on the researcher’s data analysis procedures. The analysis yielded four themes and 14 sub-themes which captured the essence of the participants’ experiences. The pre-college characteristics/traits theme described the students’ internal values and attributes acquired prior to college. The external college support/community influence theme described the encouragement to attend college the students received from family, friends, and high school teachers. The social involvement theme described the students’ participation in campus activities and their interactions with other members of the campus. The academic integration theme described students’ use of campus resources and their contacts with the faculty. The persisters reported strong family and peer support, a sense of responsibility, appreciation for dedicated and caring faculty, and a belief that an education can be a liberatory means to achieve their goals. The non-persisters did not report having the same sense of purpose, goal orientation, determination, obligation to meet family expectations, peer support, campus involvement, positive faculty experiences, and time management skills. The researcher offers an emerging model for understanding factors associated with persistence and three recommendations for enhancing the academic experience of underprepared college students: (a) include a critical pedagogy perspective in coursework where possible, (b) integrate co-curricular activities with the academic disciplines, and (c) increase student-faculty interaction.

Indian Hills Community College, June 30, 2002

Community College Audit Report

Kirkwood Community College, June 30, 2002

Community College Audit Report

KCCK-FM Radio, A Public Telecommunications Entity Operated by Kirkwood Community College, Independent Auditor's Reports, Basic Financial Statements, June 30, 2006

Community College Audit Reports

KCCK-FM A Public Telecommunications Entity Owned and Operated by Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids Iowa, June 30, 2003

Community College Audit Reports

Indian Hills Community College, Ottumwa Iowa, June 30, 2003

Community College Audit Reports

Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids Iowa, June 30, 2003

Community College Audit Reports

KCCK-FM Radio, A Public Telecommunications Entity Operated by Kirkwood Community College, Independent Auditor's Reports and Basic Financial Statements, June 30, 2004

Community College Audit Reports