Promoting staged self-directed learning (SSDL) among Malaysian tertiary learners through online discussion in completing group assignment

Developing self-directed learning skills among Malaysian university students has become one of the primary aims of adult education. However, we cannot assume that university students have already learned self-regulation, time management and project management upon entering campus. Neither have they learnt to be a self-directed learner by themselves. It is the teacher or instructor that must develop strategies that could support these students in becoming a self-directed learner by letting them to be responsible on their learning. To overcome this issue, Brockett and Hiemstra [3] suggest the use of online discussions to improve students' interactions and collaboration that would eventually help them to become a self-directed learner. Thus, the purpose of this study was to address the question of how the use of online forum could promote self-directed learning among Malaysian tertiary students based on a conceptual framework developed from the integration of the staged self-directed learning (SSDL) 181 with the community of Inquiry model [7]. A purposive sampling of 35 students taking a multimedia subject at a Malaysian government university was selected. These students were further divided into 8 small groups. The main instrument used in this study was the online forum that captured online conversations from 8 small groups. The transcripts derived from the online discussions among the students and the teacher/instructor were analysed using coding procedure developed from Garrison and Anderson's 171 interaction analysis model. The findings indicated that the use of online forum could foster the development of learners' skills of self-directed learning.