In Our Own Words: The Triumphs, Trials and Tribulations of our Self-directed Learning Experience

As long as technological and social innovation and change continue at the current rapid pace, the profile of the ideal IS graduate and perfect undergraduate IS curriculum will remain open for debate. What is, however, gaining more general acceptance across many professions and disciplines including IS, is the need for university graduates who are ready and able to embrace and succeed in self-directed lifelong learning. In support of this, many undergraduate programs now include self-directed learning (SDL) projects as an integral part of their teaching and assessment. This paper presents the students’ own experience of a SDL experience undertaken in conjunction with a team-based systems analysis project in their second year of study. Using extracts from learning journals, learning contracts, portfolios of evidence and reflective writing pieces, I aim to present a student account of their successes and challenges in undertaking SDL, as one evaluation of the experience.