The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction
Arlington, Texas
Contact:
Michael L. Wehneyer, Ph.D.
Director, Bill Stackter Center on Self-Determination
The Arc of the United States
500 E. Border Street, Suite 300
Arlington, Texas 76010
Phone: 817-261-6003
Fax: 817-277-3491
Email: mwehmeye@metronet.com
Website: www.TheArc.org/welcome
www.BillStackterCenter.org
Martin Agran, Ph.D.
Professor
Utah State University
Department of Special Educaiton
2865 University Blvd.
Logan, UT 84322-2865
Phone: 435-797-2381
Fax: 435-797-3572
Email: powder@cc.usu.edu
Mission
The purpose of the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction, a joint activity conducted by The Arc of the United States, Utah State University, Columbia University Teacher’s College and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, is to provide teachers with a model of teaching that enables them to teach their students to become causal agents in their lives and become self-regulated problem solvers.
Organization
Organization Type: National Headquarters of The Arc of the United States; University
Geographical Area: State or commonwealth, National
Primary Setting : Middle or junior high school, High School, Community college, Regular education class, Resource room, Self-contained class in public school, Competitive employment worksite, Supported employment worksite
Funding: External funding source - Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) - Project # H02340126; Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) - Project #H158Q970014-98
Consumers
Target Population: Secondary education students with disabilities Teachers or faculty - Secondary education, Postsecondary education
Disability Areas: Mental retardation(Mild, Moderate, Severe), Multi-disabled, Severe emotional disturbance/emotional disability/behavior disorder, Specific learning disability
NTA Framework Categories
Description
The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction was developed under the auspices of a Field-Initiated Project awarded to The Arc of the United States (Research in Self-Determination, PR #HO23C40126, Michael Wehmeyer, Ph.D. Principal Investigator, Susan Palmer, Ph.D., Project Director; Martin Agran, Ph.D., Utah State University, Dennis Mithaug, Ph.D., Columbia University Teachers’ College and James Martin, Ph.D., University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Project Consultants). The model was designed to enable educators to teach students to become causal agents in their own lives and to teach them to self-direct learning. Through implementation of the model, teachers can enable students to become self-regulated problem solvers and learn to set their own transition goals, take action on those goals, and self-evaluate and adjust their goals or plans as needed; in effect, to assume primary responsibility for transition and content area choices, decisions, and actions. The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction provides teachers with a teaching model that supports them in their efforts to promote their students’ self-determination. Instruction using the model provides students with a goal-setting and problem-solving strategy to achieve student-directed outcomes.
Implementation of the model consists of a three-phase instructional process: (a) set a goal, (b) take action, and (c) adjust the goal or plan. The model revolves around a set of four student questions in each phase which students’ learn, modify to make their own, and apply to reach self-selected goals. There are teacher objectives linked to each student question, and educational supports identified for each instructional phase that teachers can use to enable students to self-direct learning. The model is based on a universal problem-solving strategy and can be used across multiple content areas. In each instructional phase, the student is the primary agent for choices, decisions, and actions, even when eventual actions are teacher-directed. A detailed description of the model is available from Mithaug, Wehmeyer, Agran, Martin and Palmer (1998) or from the Teacher’s Guide, described subsequently. The model serves as the operational structure for the following transition-related projects:
Research in Self-Determination: A Field-Initiated Research Project (PR #HO23C40126; Michael Wehmeyer, Ph.D. Principal Investigator, Susan Palmer, Ph.D., Project Director)
The objective of the self-determination research project awarded to The Arc was to conduct research to describe the development of self-determination, to examine the impact of self-determination on student outcomes, and to develop a model of instruction to promote self-determination. To achieve the latter objective, project staff built on two theoretical foundations. First, research conducted at The Arc’s Bill Sackter Center on Self-Determination has resulted in a Functional Model of Self-Determination (Wehmeyer, in press) describing the essential characteristics and component elements of self-determined behavior, the development of self-determination across the life span and providing a theoretical framework within which to describe the emergence of self-determination. The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction is based on this theoretical foundation. Second, the model is a revision and extension of an earlier instructional model, the Adaptability Model, proposed by Mithaug, Martin, and Agran (1987). The Adaptability model proposed a four-step process for students to select and obtain employment outcomes (decision making, independent performance, evaluation, and adjustment). The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction modified these steps to incorporate additional components of self-determination and student-directed learning.
Through activities conducted by this project, we have field-tested the model with teachers working with more than forty students with cognitive disabilities in Texas and Wisconsin. Each teacher implemented the model to enable students to self-direct learning related to one or more transition-related goal or objectives. Teachers using the model enabled students to take a more active role in selecting, implementing and evaluating transition goals. Pre and post-instruction assessments indicated that students receiving instruction using the model showed enhanced self-determination, goal-setting skills and a more adaptive locus of control. Evaluation of the model’s educational efficacy using a goal attainment scaling process indicated that more than 80% of students progressed satisfactorily toward the attainment of educationally valued goals, with more than 50% of students achieving the goals they selected. Project activities continue to evaluate the efficacy and utility of the model.
Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction: A National Outreach Project (PR #H158Q70014; Martin Agran, Ph.D. & Michael Wehmeyer, Ph.D., Co-Principal Investigators).
The intent of this project is to develop a Teacher’s Guide to the Use of the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (Wehmeyer, Agran, Palmer & Blanchard, 1998), which is presently being field tested in Texas and Utah, then to replicate the model nationally in at least 15 states. Teachers employing the model can "teach" students to use a self-regulated problem-solving process to identify preferred transition goals, create action plans to achieve those goals, and then to self-evaluate their progress toward attaining their self-directed goals based on information obtained from the Teacher’s Guide. A primary emphasis of the project is to provide further validation of the efficacy of the instructional model and to evaluate the efficacy and utility of the Teacher’s Guide. Educators working with project personnel are providing feedback concerning the usability and clarity of the Guide. We are also collecting data regarding the model’s effectiveness to enable students to attain educationally relevant goals.
To date, positive effects of the model have been reported across natural work, community, and inclusive settings and across a variety of work, social, and academic skills for the majority of participants who have varying types and severity levels of disabling conditions.
References
Mithaug, D. E., Martin, J. E., & Agran, M. (1987).Adaptability instruction: The goal of transitional programming. Exceptional Children, 53, 500 - 505.
Mithaug, D., Wehmeyer, M.L., Agran, M., Martin, J., & Palmer, S., (1998). The self-determined learning model of instruction: Engaging students to solve their learning problems. In M.L. Wehmeyer & D.J. Sands (Eds.), Making it Happen: Student Involvement in Educational Planning, Decision-Making and Instruction (pp. 299 - 328). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishers.
Wehmeyer, M.L. (in press). A functional model of self-determination. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities.
Wehmeyer, M.L., Agran, M., & Hughes, C. (1998). Teaching self-determination to students with disabilities: Basic skills for successful transition. Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Evidence of Success
Success Story
To use the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction, students identify an area in which they would like to be successful, by setting a goal, or deciding what it is they wish to learn. One high school student, Ann, age 17, with significant learning disabilities and poor self-esteem, initially set a goal related to getting better grades in the three subjects classes in which she was included with general education students. When Ann completed the first phase of the model to answer the problem, "What is my goal?", she realized that in two of the three classes the teachers did not always remember to use the accommodations included in her IEP. For example, in History class, the instructor did not allow Ann extra time to take the exams, so that her difficulty with decoding and reading large words often resulted in failing grades. In English class Ann needed extra time to read the comprehension selections that the whole class was required to work on. In general, Ann worked with her special education teacher to identify that Ann should learn to ask for accommodations when necessary. They rehearsed what Ann might say during some role-play. The second phase of the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction solves the problem, "What is my plan?" In this phase, Ann decided that in order to get better grades in each of the three subjects, she had to manage her study time better, remember to ask the teacher for appropriate accommodations, and develop some self-assertive behavior in order to meet her goal. Her teacher worked with her to enable Ann to become more empowered in the general education settings, to determine when and how to talk with the teachers, and to set up a self-management plan for study time. By the end of the next grading period, Ann had begun to show some improvement in two of her three subjects. Ann and her teacher continued to meet occasionally throughout the semester to work on difficulties and get extra help. Near the end of the year, Ann needed to complete an oral report to her Child Development class. Her special education teacher discussed this with her and gave her some assistance with how to prepare. Ann was unsure if she could do this or not, but when she remembered that her goal was to pass all her classes, she presented her report and got a passing grade for Child Development. Discussion with her teacher concerning Phase 3 of the model "What have I learned?" focused on the emerging skills in self-advocacy that Ann had developed. Also, her management of study behaviors was a success for her. Through use of the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction , this student and her teacher used a problem solving and goal-setting model to enable Ann to become a more effective learner. At the end of the school year, Ann was very pleased to have passed the three classes and to have learned to talk with her teachers to ask for help when needed.
Another student who benefitted from instruction from a teacher implementing the model was Paul, an 11th grade Hispanic male who was classified under Utah special education guidelines as having multiple disabilities. He was 18-years-old, blind, had orthopedic impairments, and had moderate mental retardation. Paul lived with his mother and her boyfriend in an environment that has been described as unstable. Paul was gregarious, eager to learn, and enjoyed getting out into the community. Using the process described in the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction, Paul and his teacher, Tammy, used a goal-setting worksheet to identify a target goal he would like to achieve. Given his interest in getting out into the community for work, recreation, and social activities, Paul chose the goal of making arrangements for specialized transportation services ( Utah Handi-Trans system). Paul participated in every phase of the instructional model, and used the learning strategy of self-instruction to memorize all of the steps he identified as necessary to make transportation arrangements. He practiced making a call for transportation on a daily basis doing mock calls on a dead phone in the classroom. Once a week, he made an actual call to Handi-Trans to schedule an actual appointment. Using the model, Paul was able to learn how to arrange for transportation in a self-directed manner. He reported, "I have been practicing doing the calling. I went over the steps out loud." He expressed the fact that he was glad he could make the calls on his own without assistance. He concluded by saying, "I said I could do it on my own, and I am!" Paul now wants to tackle learning the regular bus system in his city and expressed confidence that with his newly acquired strategies, he will be successful in that endeavor as well.
Products
A teacher’s guide to implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction: Adolescent version • Wehmeyer, M., Agran, M., Palmer, S., Mithaug, D., & Blanchard, C. • Arlington, TX: The Arc of the United States • (1998)
A teacher’s guide to implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction: Early elementary version • Palmer, S., & Wehmeyer, M. • Arlington, TX: The Arc of the United States • (1998)
The Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction: Engaging students to solve their learning problems • Mithaug, D., Wehmeyer, M., Agran, M., Martin, J., & Palmer, S. (1998) • In M.L. Wehmeyer & D.J. Sands (Eds). Making it happen: Student involvement in education planning, decision making and instruction (pp. 299 - 328) • Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes