Learning Through Self-Direction: The Influence of Task Design on Team- Based Professional Knowledge Building in an Online Environment

There is a growing emphasis in tertiary education that students should develop professional and work related skills within the course of their education. In order to learn these skills effectively, students must be able to learn in a self-regulated way, which means having the capacity to plan, set goals and analyse tasks to achieve particular outcomes. Often referred to as self-directed or metacognitive skills, these abilities characterise learners who are equipped with a range of personal transferable skills. Designing learning activities that support self-direction must become one of the core concerns of tertiary educators if enduring learning outcomes are to be achieved. This paper takes as its focus a professional learning context where students learn project management and work related skills in the final year of their studies. In this study, students were required to submit solutions to an on-line discussion space, where other teams provided peer assessment and constructive feedback. Analysis of verbal transactions informed by socio-cultural theory showed that successful learning took place, the evidence for which was the quality of group processes, problem solving and verbal interaction, together with personal reflections on task and self-reports of skills developed. Several important issues emerge from this research that have implications for the design of online courses for professional learning at tertiary level. These include task design that enables team-based problem solving, feedback processes, autonomy in student learning and support for reflection.