Further studies in Self-Directed Learning in Physics at the University of Limerick, Ireland

This article reports on two SDL studies of undergraduate physics students and postgraduate science students at the University of Limerick, Ireland. Initial studies (McCauley and McClelland, 2001) indicated that the majority of undergraduate physics students are average and below in their readiness to self-direct their learning. Our further investigations lend credence and further support these findings. Results also indicate that small interventions of the nature described here are not successful in evoking large changes, yet they are successful in the exploration of change. The authors propose that an intervention on a much greater scale is warranted, throughout not only the full course, but, in time, across all courses, which all play a part in forming students models of learning.