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Self-Directed Learning Skills: Strategies to Support Student Learning in Online STEM Courses

By Ellen Wasserman, Susan Bickerstaff & Nikki Edgecombe

The Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative (the Collaborative) is currently researching the obstacles students face in online STEM courses and the ways that institutions and instructors can better support these students. As part of this research program, the authors conducted qualitative research in partnership with six community colleges and two broad-access universities to learn if, when, and how instructors support self-directed learning (SDL) skill development in their online courses. SDL skills can be understood as motivational, metacognitive, and applied learning processes—in other words, the ways that students maintain motivation, reflect and think about their learning, plan and set goals, and adjust their study strategies. In spring 2022, the authors surveyed 141 STEM instructors online and conducted 12 virtual “course tours” with STEM instructors who shared their screens and walked researchers through their course structure and content in the learning management system.

Instructors in the sample perceived online courses as learning environments where it is more difficult to engage students and help them stay on track with their coursework. According to faculty, students in online courses are less likely than those in in-person courses to experience the excitement and motivation of being part of a community of learners because of the lack of opportunities to engage with peers. Instructors also described fewer opportunities to learn about and build connections with their students through informal conversations, and they emphasized a number of barriers to incorporating SDL skills into instruction. Despite this, the authors provide a variety of examples of strategies and activities instructors indicated they use to support the processes that are theorized—according to the Collaborative’s SDL framework—to lead to SDL skill development, as well as three case examples of SDL instruction that faculty incorporated into their STEM course teaching. The brief concludes with an overview of the types of instructional strategies that support SDL skill development and how they can be used throughout a course.

A Collaborative report on teaching and designing online STEM courses to support SDL skills is also available.

Download brief
April 2024
View related blog post
April 2024
  • Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative

Related Publications

November 2024

Supporting Faculty to Meet the Needs of Adult Students in Online Learning

July 2024

Technology-Based Instructional Strategies Show Promise in Improving Self-Regulated Learning Skills at Broad-Access Postsecondary Institutions

April 2024

Supporting Learning Online: Perspectives of Faculty and Staff at Broad-Access Institutions During COVID-19

Related Presentations

April 2024

Developing Self-Directed Learning Skills in the Online Classroom: Importance and Strategies

November 2023

A Framework for Designing Online Courses to Support Student Success

November 2022

Creative Strategies to Support SDL in Online Intro STEM Courses

Additional Resources

For more policy briefs and fact sheets, visit CCRC’s Policy Resources page.

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