Preparing Learners for Self-Regulation and Professional Practice through Web-based learning: Design Recommendations

Abstract

Self-regulation is arguably the most enduring and recognised outcome of learning,and is recognised to be so at secondary, tertiary and technical levels of the educationalsystem. Developing self-direction is also essential to success in professional world of work.At the University of New England (UNE), these principles are endorsed and articulated asoutcomes or generic attributes that undergraduates need to attain. In order to implement andfoster these attributes, design guidelines are specified in order to utilise particular attributesof online technologies to design a learning community characterised by peer support,investigation, collaboration and reflection. Design recommendations derived fromconstructivist and generative learning theories are applied to online units in area of E-commerceand Accounting Information Systems offered by UNE. Task design is linked topreparation for professional practice. Our experience suggests that in on-line learningsettings, development of self-regulation and independent learning requires a focus on social,experiential, propositional and process aspects of learning, rather than on purely cognitivelearning episodes.