Students Encouraged to Embrace Self-Directed Learning

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education and Youth, Dr. Kasan Troupe, is encouraging students, parents and teachers to embrace self-directed learning.

Emphasising that learning resources are available on the Ministry’s website and on other educational platforms, she said students need to organise access and take responsibility for their learning.

Dr. Troupe was addressing Monday’s (August 26) press conference to provide a report on Jamaica’s performance in the May/June 2024 CSEC and CAPE examinations, at the Ministry’s offices in Kingston.

“Not everything is about what happens in the classroom. You know from the history of education that a lot of extra work goes into students who do very well. So, your daughter, your son, you will have to provide some support to ensure that self-directed learning is taking place, whether or not a teacher is there. That child needs to put in some additional support and practice and mastery. That’s what will make the difference,” she said.

Dr. Troupe further shared that in the upcoming school year, the Ministry will be working with 100 schools to implement a virtual school platform.

In instances where a school does not have a particular subject teacher, the school will be able to tap into live and recorded lessons.

“There is always something to access to support learning on the ground. The provider indicated last year that they are way down the wicket with providing the technical setup in these schools, and that gives access to expert teachers everywhere,” Dr. Troupe said.

Self-directed learning (SDL) is an instructional strategy where the students, with guidance from the teacher, decide what and how they will learn.

It can be done individually or with group learning, but the overall concept is that students take ownership of their learning.