Everyone fell about laughing and many wrote my comment down. I was a little puzzled by the degree of mirth it caused. Yet, despite the difficulty of keeping up with the rate of movement of knowledge in the world many lecturers still have their egos linked into this view of the world. Changing styles can be confusing to both the lecturer and the participants. Yet at times a lecturer needs to take a more hierarchical mode to keep things on track or perhaps needs to work in a cooperative mode with students to make meaning or to confront inappropriate group behaviour.
Learner autonomy requires a didactic lecturer also to become a facilitator of learning.
It has also taught me that group dynamics can swing quickly both within a meeting and between weekly meetings. It taught me to expect the unexpected. Of course students' reactions to leaner autonomy vary. Some rush off and work totally alone, others seek guidance and support from the lecturer. I think the most difficult part is when some students have an unrealistically high expectation of their work and have not sought lecturer guidance.