Exploring Student Skill Learning: A Case for Investigating Subjective Experience

Abstract

Current approaches to student skill learning have not specifically addressed the meaning of student experience within the situated context of the teaching/ learning environment. This paper advances the value of research on the student's subjective experience during the evolution of skill learning. Following an overview of conventional approaches, the advantages of an interpretive paradigm for the study of skill learning are presented. Although a number of analytic procedures may adequately render subjective experience, narrative is offered as a preferred tool for analyzing and interpreting this experience. Pertinent research questions on subjective experience are posed to expand our understanding of the multidimensional process of skill learning.