Fostering self-directed learning in blended learning environments: A constructivist perspective in Higher Education

Abstract

Higher education (HE) is considered to be the apex of all educational endeavours. Therefore, it is expected that student in various institutions of higher learning should be self-motivated for individualized synchronous and asynchronous learning. Lamentably, it seems that such expectation within the HE spaced is yet to be achieved. While stakeholders in HE are in search for an approach to ensure that students have sufficient self-directed learning (SDL) capacities needed for blended learning (BL), this article advance and propose the use of the constructivist framework to foster SDL to ensure that students develop their own understanding of learning, its meaning according to the context, and the ways to acquire it using BL as a mediator. Using the constructivist theory as a theoretical lens, we proposed the use of a three-ring-drag-in approach as a model to fostering SDL among students in various institutions of higher learning. We, therefore encourage the adoption or adaptability of the three-ring-drag-in approach as it promise to address and resolve the concerns and agitation of enthronement of SDL among students within the HE spaces.