Metacognition, Self-Directed Learning, Online Learning

The study was conducted to verify if it was possible to predict the readiness levels of students for online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors researched the readiness levels by analyzing student metacognitive awareness, self-directed learning skills, and 21st-century skills and competencies.

It All Starts With The Teacher

Yurdugül and Demir (2017) state that an individual or institution should have the necessary prior

knowledge, skills, and affective characteristics such as attitude and motivation in order to experience online learning in the most effective way. Cooper et al. (2020) state that to meet the needs of their future students, teachers must be prepared to integrate technology into their teaching as well as to be prepared to teach online. If this is not the case, it is claimed that teachers who do not have online learning readiness will not be able to support their students sufficiently (Hung et al., 2010).

In traditional education, a ‘teacher’ was seen as the only source of knowledge. Today, sources of information have become very diverse. Therefore, as information has become easier to access, the nature of learning has also changed. Now it is important to gain skills related to where information can be accessed and how to learn it (Karatas & Basbay, 2014). To be more precise, people are expected to acquire the skills of learning to learn. Individuals who cannot learn to learn and who cannot organize their own learning processes fall behind in many areas in the globalizing world where technology is rapidly developing (Taskin, 2019).

Predictors of Readiness for Online Learning

A sample of 834 prospective teachers were recruited from a public university in Turkey, and scales were developed to measure each individual’s 21st-century skills and competencies, self-directed learning level, and metacognitive awareness. This study found a significant relationship between readiness for online learning and metacognitive awareness, self-directed learning skills, and 21st-century skills competency. At the same time, metacognitive awareness, self-directed learning skills, and 21st-century skills competency are found to be predictors of readiness for online learning. The researchers believe that important findings have been obtained on how student motivation can be built and sustained in online learning. 

Skills Should Be Taught to Prospective Teachers

It is important to ensure that all students, especially prospective teachers, are ready for online learning in a way that will support their autonomy and improve their motivation. Therefore, when the teacher becomes stronger pedagogically, this strength will be reflected in the student. As a result, in the process of training prospective teachers, a concerted effort should be made to raise each student’s 21st-century skills, metacognitive awareness, and self-directed skills in order to increase levels of readiness for online learning.

Notable Quotes: 

“Today’s teacher must be competent in information and communication technologies and have a high online learning capacity (Grande-de-Prado et al.)…”

“Teachers who have not gained 21st century skills, metacognitive awareness, and self-directed skills will be unable to pass on these skills to their students.”

“In the 21st century, knowledge itself is growing ever more specialized and extending exponentially. These changes also affect education systems, and the necessity to make needed changes in the acquisition of knowledge, skills and competencies of individuals (Arpaci, 2018).”

Personal Takeaway: 

I eagerly read this research article with the recent memory of online learning still very fresh in my mind. This study covered topics that I intrinsically knew but never thought of as vital skills necessary to have a positive and successful online learning experience. I appreciated the focus on these three skills and learned how they are necessary in the teacher, in order for them to be passed on to the student.—Shekufeh

Karatas, K., & Arpaci, I. (2021). The role of self-directed learning, metacognition, and 21st century skills predicting the readiness for online learning. Contemporary Educational Technology, 13(3).