Abstract
Learner autonomy describes the individual who exercises personal agency in his or her learning. Similar to an individual, groups—that is, collections of people with a defined purpose often represented by organizational subunits—also engage in intentional learning to support and improve existing processes or identify and pursue new opportunities. The purpose of this theoretical discussion is to characterize aspects of intentional group learning using the theoretical framework associated with learner autonomy. Applied to the group level, notions of agentic learning, modes through which agentic learning is exercised, and regulation will be discussed through this lens of autonomy. This discussion may prove useful in describing how organizational groups learn intentionally and in developing processes that improve such learning.
Highlights
The study of learner autonomy has been associated with the field of self-directed learning and used to describe the individual who shows desire (Meyer, 2001), resourcefulness (Carr, 1999), initiative (Ponton, 1999), persistence (Derrick, 2001), and self-efficacy (Ponton, Carr, Schuette, & Confessore, 2010) in intentional learning activities
Ponton & Carr, 2016), the organization of the present discussion includes (a) a discussion of the group as a learner, (b) learner autonomy theory, and (c) a conceptual framework of autonomous learning at the individual level projected onto the group level in order to better understand intentional group learning
Ponton (1999) defined autonomous learning as “an agentive learning process in which . . . conative factors . . . are manifest” (p. xiii) and wrote that “learner autonomy can be viewed as the psychological undergirding that leads to the behaviors associated with the process of autonomous learning” (p. 14)
Summary
The study of learner autonomy has been associated with the field of self-directed learning and used to describe the individual who shows desire (Meyer, 2001), resourcefulness (Carr, 1999), initiative (Ponton, 1999), persistence (Derrick, 2001), and self-efficacy (Ponton, Carr, Schuette, & Confessore, 2010) in intentional learning activities. As learner autonomy has been extensively discussed using an agentic perspective (cf Ponton & Carr, 2016), the organization of the present discussion includes (a) a discussion of the group as a learner, (b) learner autonomy theory, and (c) a conceptual framework of autonomous learning at the individual level projected onto the group level (i.e., group learner autonomy) in order to better understand intentional group learning (i.e., group autonomous learning) Note that this discussion is limited to the learning process, which may prove useful in describing how organizational groups learn intentionally and in developing processes that improve such learning; the mechanisms associated with interpersonal dynamics, communication, and the change management needed to implement learned findings are not part of this discussion
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