Autonomy in online learning

Online learning has undergone a massive expansion in higher education in the last decade and it is expected that online enrolments will keep on growing faster than traditional face-to-face enrolments in the next years (Holder, 2007). This form of learning is very different from traditional models because the learner is fully in charge of his or her learning process (Deimann & Bastiaens, 2010) and is challenged by multiple goals that may jeopardize his or her intention to learn.  Successful online learners must not only be skilled in the use of learning technologies, but must also acquire self-regulated skills such as time management, keeping on track by avoiding distractions, or retaining their motivation and sense of self-efficacy. There is therefore a growing interest in students’ academic motivation and self-regulated learning (SRL) in the context of online courses (Artino & Stephens, 2009). SRL has been defined as an active process whereby students set goals, which they strive to attain by harnessing their motivation, cognition and affect (Pintrich, 2000, Zimmerman, 1989). Promoting self-regulation in online learning environments is a key issue in helping students become successful learners (Dabbagh and Kitsantas, 2010).

Note-taking

Notes are condensations of a source material that are generated by being written down as one listens, studies or observes (Piolat, Olive & Kellog, 2005). Note-taking serves two main functions: encoding - which it is viewed as a cognitive activity that helps learners understand and recall the material – and external storage, which focuses on note-taking as an aid to reviewing or revising material (Kauffmann, Zhao & Yang, 2011; Ramsay & Sperling, 2011 ; Van der Meer, 2012). Students take notes during lectures or whilst studying online materials. However, note-taking demands more autonomy in an online course than in a traditional course for two reasons. First, in a face-to-face context note-taking occurs during a scheduled class, so decisions about the timing of it are taken out of the learner’s hands, whereas in an online learning context the learner exercises control and choice over such matters. Second, the learner has to synthesize a great deal of information from multiple resources or websites identified by teachers. Both circumstances are potentially supportive or inhibitive of learning, depending on the learners’ characteristics. Some learners may develop new self-regulated skills borne of the autonomous nature of the learning environment; others may fail. The potential for failure raises questions about the kind of support teachers could provide to foster the development of self-regulated skills.

Research aim

This paper reports the first exploratory step of a research project focused on learners’ development of self-regulatory skills whilst taking note in an online learning context. The goal was to increase understanding about learners’ approaches to note-taking. The research questions were:  what are the specific features of note-taking in an online learning context compared to face-to-face learning?  What are the self-regulatory skills learners think they acquired when taking-note in an online course? What difficulties do they experience?

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