Introduction
The autonomous learning concepts are considered as the effective means of enhancing the academic performance of the students, however, these concepts are required to be practiced and analyzed in accordance with their effectiveness in the learning outcomes. The study conducted by Kristmanson et al. (2013) focuses on the conceptualization of the most effective methods for installing the autonomous learning methods in the classroom settings in order to promote learning environment. In this manner, the author has proposed the notion in which the students are allowed experiment with different methods of learning in order to determine the effective learning practices so that they can be implemented and practiced by the students to achieve their academic objectives.
The acquisition and implementation of the learning practices effect the performance outcomes of the students due to which it is essential to analyze the scholar work in order to ensure the consistency of the proposed learning practices in the multidimensional concepts. Moreover, the absence of the empirical findings to support the proposed learning concepts require the detailed critique of the scholar work in order to ensure that the scholar work meets the required criteria and provides with the holistic learning practices that can be implemented in order to acquire the desired learning outcomes. The students who belong from different background and attributes may not perform at the desired level in the autonomous learning or may require assistance in becoming dependent in their learning activities. Therefore, the present critique in this respect helps the educational practitioners to assess the functionality and significance of the proposed learning practices in the multidimensional context. In this paper, the study conducted by Kristmanson et al. (2013) is critiqued in order to examine the author’s proposed notions in a broader perspective.
Precis of the Article
Kristmanson et al. (2013) aim to analyze the impact that an autonomous learning environment has on classroom students in real time by rationalizing the idea of helping the researchers to understand the extent to which students from different backgrounds succeed at learning new languages in an autonomous environment. The author has enlightened that the complex nature of language in particular makes it difficult to promote learning in a traditional teacher-student context, in which the educator is dictating the information to the student. The research is focused on determining the experiences of the learners in learning the second language and enlightening the role of autonomous learning incorporated by the learners.
Therefore, the intended purpose of the study was to provide educators with the tools necessary to promote the autonomy of their students in the acquisition of the second language. The study calls for the use of qualitative research in order to derive data from various sources. The study involves the collection and analysis of sources by teachers, often with the help of Grade 12 students. The purposeful sampling technique was used and the sample size was comprised of 12 students and the students were familiarized with the self-assessment grid in order to ensure the integrity of their responses with the objectives of the study.
The results of the study indicated the extent to which they felt connected with the learning material due to their perceived ownership and were inclined towards the personalization due to their state of independence in learning. The students indicated their adherence towards goal setting and self-assessment of their learning extent. The implications of the study indicated that the most effective way to prioritize autonomous learning in students is through the careful consideration of their personal needs and desires.
Critique
The education practitioners can incorporate the implications of the current study by incorporating the autonomous learning method to enhance the extent of learning. For this reason, in order to implement the autonomous learning methods, it is important for the education practitioners to understand the basic requirements for the establishment of autonomous learning in the classroom setting. In this way, the paper provides the practical sense to its findings because it provides the teachers with the systematic direction to adapt their traditional teaching style and comprehend the practice of autonomous learning.
However, the findings of the study are based on a complex research design that is rooted in the view that it is essential to account for the relationship between the individual students and their personal development goals. In this way, the education practitioners or teachers can ascertain the idea of developing healthy teacher-student relation in order to provide with the adequate learning environment by means of utilization their extent of personalization in order to achieve the predetermined academic objectives. The autonomous learning methods provide the students with the opportunity to express their experiences and hence, the education practitioners can learn the experiences that students face during the learning activities and can analyze these experiences from student’s point of views.
Holec (1979) has inferred that the effective implementation of the autonomous learning requires the students to comprehend the positive attitude, reflection capacity and proactivity in managing the self-learning activities. Therefore, the education practitioners can assess these attributes in their students by means of determining their attitude towards the learning activities, their ability to engage in the self-reflection activities and ability to manage their learning activities in accordance with their learning objectives. In this manner, if education practitioners believe that their students are able to align their learning activities with their learning objectives then the practice of autonomous learning can be applied in an effective manner.
Benson (2001) has indicated that students can only take control of their learning activities when they are provided with the ability to control their learning pace and determine their learning direction. Considering this notion with the study of Kristmanson et al. (2013), the practical approach for directing the education practitioners is provided by means of enlightening them with the idea in which it is indicated that students can only become autonomous when they are provided with the opportunity of being autonomous. In this manner, this study provides the education practitioners with the idea taking the positive step towards the implementation of the autonomous learning activities in the new classroom setting.
Glense (2011) has indicated that the prevalence of the large number of resources being used the study indicate the dynamic nature of the research. It is evident that the study conducted by Kristmanson et al. (2013) is composed of the vast literature that supports the notions and phenomenon in the effectiveness of the autonomous learning methods. LeCompte (1993) infers the importance of the utilizing the data that is in accordance with the consent of the respondents and hence, Kristmanson et al. (2013) have ensured that the data acquired from the students is in accordance with their consent and the students were aware about their experiences to be articulated in the research since the initiation and implementation of the self-assessment grid. It eventually indicates the strength of the study but at the same time, it indicates the limitation of the study because the findings of the study are entirely based on the perceptions and experiences of the students and due to the small sample size, the study cannot account for the consistency in its results among the large population.
The use of the educators and students that were performing the study demonstrates the ability of the practitioners to prioritize the resources that were available to them in order to develop the most effective methods of analysis and inquiry (Rubin, 2005). However, the focus of the study on the interviews indicates the author’s strong inclination towards the qualitative design and hence, the overall research ensures the author’s predetermined research design. The data, comprising of the students’ experiences, comprises of the discussions in order address the notions for the effectiveness of the educational methods in a holistic manner.
The results are acquired by making the discussion left open for students rather than asking questions about the language experiences in particular so that a better picture of the overall experience could be achieved. In this instance, Spradley (1980) has inferred that the prevalence of the open ended questions in the research ensures the identification of the factors that effect the proposed notion in a holistic and broader perspective and hence, the participant based learning process is incorporated in the current study. In this way, rather than reflecting entirely on language learning, the availability of numerous subjects in the study were able to provide various insights about learning autonomy. Therefore, it eventually indicates that education practitioners can utilize the proposed autonomous learning method in bilingual and multidimensional setting.
The study also demonstrated the prevalence of the complex factors involved in the process of autonomous learning in students due to the utility of the qualitative research design. According to Wolcott (2009), the qualitative study provides the insights into the issues due to its capability of inquiring the proposed notions in a detailed manner and hence, the study conducted by Kristmanson et al. (2013) has indicated the prevalence of the factors that influence the emotional and psychological state of the student, as well as their motivation and intentions with respect to their educational goals. In this way, the education practitioners are provided with the insights related to the learning attitude of the students in which they need to understand that even the outcome of the autonomous learning can be effected due to the emotional disturbance of the student and hence, it eventually indicates that the effectiveness of the autonomous learning is somehow dependent on the emotional state of the student.
The finding of the research has indicated the the importance of providing choice so that students can learn about the things that interest them most and effectively develop the ability to enjoy the learning process. In this manner, the education practitioners can incorporate the factor of choice as an important aspect in the establishment of the effective programs in which students can be allowed learn in the way that they select and thus, the education practitioners can help the students to achieve their academic objectives in an effective manner.
The study has demonstrated the necessity of understanding the specific needs of the student in an educational setting. Considering the fact that Seidman (2013) considers interviews as the most adequate approach to conduct the detailed analysis and hence, the current study incorporated interviews in its data collection procedure due to which the major factor ‘choice’ is identified as a significant factor that can enhance the academic performance of the students in the multidimensional setting. The education practitioners in this instance, can be enlightened with the fact that some students require somewhat more focused attention in relation to their personal relationship with learning, however, some students may work better when given the choices necessary to feel as though they are able to have fun with the material.
In this way, the education practitioners can develop the customized and the preferred learning environment in order to foster the extent of learning among the students. Spradley (1980), being the pioneer of indicating the notion of customization in the educational setting indicated the need to establish an educational setting that is based on the idea of choice and dual participation by both the observers, or educators, and the subjects, or students. Therefore, the study conducted by Kristmanson et al. (2013) provides the strong ground for supporting the prior scholars.
The study conducted by Kristmanson et al. (2013) succeeds in demonstrating that applications of techniques that promote the assessment, promotion, and regulation of autonomous learning should be done so only in a situation in which the personal needs of the students can be heard. Dam (1995) has indicated the effectiveness of the learning practices when the needs of the students is being met and hence, the current study supports the prior notions and indicates its relevance to the prior concepts. In this way, it provides the education practitioners with the strong grounds to consider its implementation in the learning practices.
Kristmanson et al. (2013) have demonstrated the implementation of the autonomous learning method in the classroom setting due to which it can help educators implement this learning methodology in their classroom setting and identify the significant factors and learning outcomes. Fecho (2003) has indicated that the implementation of the proposed learning methodologies provide the educators with the opportunity to indulge in analyzing the exclusive learning techniques. In this way, a new paradigm for the research can take place due to the implementation of the autonomous learning by allowing the educators to utilize real world contexts of classroom setting in autonomous practices. Moreover, educators can help the learners to identify their learning strengths and utilize them in an effective manner so that they can meet their learning outcome. The provision of autonomy to the students enable the educators to develop students in such manner make their own decisions and to practice their skills in their preferred way, which eventually challenges the teaching skills of the educators and learning potential of learners. In this way, a step towards the development and implementation of the education framework can be developed under the dynamics of the successful educational strategies.
The study conducted by Kristmanson et al. (2013) enlightens the numerous factors that are required to be considered while establishing the autonomous learning environment in the classroom setting. It is considered that the establishment of autonomous learning environment will not be effective if the students are unable to establish their individual learning objectives and integrate their learning activities in order to achieve the self-developed learning objectives. In this manner, the educator's role in the autonomous classroom is required to be shifted from being the dictator of content towards the supportive individual who incorporate the personal relationship with his students. Therefore, the study provides the educators with the idea to adopt the conventional teaching practices by eradicating their traditional role in teaching in order to enhance the academic performance of the students.
However, the study conducted by Kristmanson et al. (2013) fails to determine the extent to which the educators are required to enhance their skills in order to implement the autonomous learning methods. It is obvious that without the adequate skills, the educators will not be able to implement the autonomous environment for students who are able to perform well in such environment. Moreover, the study is entirely focused on the language acquisition mechanism of the learner and hence, does not provide the concrete rational for the educators who want to implement the autonomous learning methodology in other educational fields. It is not possible for the educators to apply the autonomous learning methodology without any concrete scholar direction. This is due to the fact that it may not provide the desired outcomes and fail to provide the learning outcomes similar to the language acquisition class. Therefore, under the failure of this method, it can jeopardize the learning consistency among the students.
The implementation of autonomy in the learning practices require the educators to familiarize with the individual learning objectives and support every learner in accordance with their learning objectives, learning pace, motivation, choice and self-regulation. In this manner, the educators will have to consider number of factors while providing learning support to the students. The consideration of these factors require the enhanced skills, knowledge and abilities among the educators so that they can facilitate the students in an effective manner.
Moreover, considering the general strength of students in one classroom setting, it becomes impossible for educators to facilitate all the students in one session and hence, the students with the similar learning objectives and learning-pace will have to be grouped together or the number of learning sessions will have to be increased, which eventually requires the higher extent of efforts from the educators. The current study does not provide the systematic guidelines for the educators to meet the challenges in the implementation of the autonomous learning methods due to which it remains hindered for the educators to face the post-implementation challenges in the autonomous learning environment.
Conclusion
The study conducted by Kristmanson et al. (2013) has provided the detailed effects of the autonomous learning method in the second language acquisition, which eventually provides the new learning paradigms for the learners and educators. However, the study fails to address the issues that educators may face after the implementation of the autonomous learning environment. In this way, there exists a vast area for the future research for the scholars in order to determine the challenges that educators can face and the skills and capabilities that these educators require to meet these challenges.
References
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