Exploring university teachers’ self-directed use of web-based learning in complementing students’ needs: a case study

ABSTRACT

This study explores an instructor’s self-directed use of web-based learning to complement his students’ learning needs. The study drew on qualitative analyses of a Chinese university English reading instructor’s reflections and interviews, his students’ reflections, and his field notes of the students’ learning. The study shows that although the instructor did not receive any training on web use, he was able to empower himself to complement his in-class teaching through the web platform outside the classroom and meet his students’ diverse learning needs that may not be gratified in class due to time constraints. Meanwhile, the study shows that the route of the instructor’s self-directed initiative to web-based teaching was complex and challenging, and it dynamically interacted with the extent to which students’ learning needs were met. It also interacted with his emotional regulation and his workload. The complexity and challenges of the process were mitigated and mediated by the instructor’s relentless self-agency in improving students’ experiences with their web-based learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Web-based learning
• self-directed instruction
• students’ learning needs
• reading instruction
• curriculum innovation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Social Science Foundation of China [grant number 17CYY019].