Marge Dawe, a teacher at Richard Elementary School in Detroit, Michigan, describes how she works to build personal confidence in the minds of her students. In some situations, students may require extra guidance from teachers in order to self-direct their learning. Types of guidance include helping students develop an awareness of their beliefs about their abilities and about their role in choosing to learn or choosing not to learn. The implications for assessment in classrooms where students are self-directed are obvious. In both the during and after stages of instruction, students continuously monitor and evaluate their own learning processes.
Administrators commit to students taking more ownership of their learning.
School districts commit to informing parents about the nature of student self-direction and personal efficacy, especially as it pertains to areas of curricular revision. School districts work to increase the community's level of concern about student self-regulation and efficacy as educational goals and their support for the corresponding curricular revision. Teachers give students opportunities to share control of learning through understanding and mastering specific strategies. Teachers provide students with ample opportunities to set goals and monitor progress, both individually and collaboratively, in school and at home. Students assume responsibility for learning strategies and working toward their implementation, reflecting on their own performance and setting goals for self-development.