Recommendations
“young children play more with a toy after being shown confounded information about how it works, suggesting that one goal of exploratory play is to reduce uncertainty about causal structure.” (Gureckis and Markant, 2012, p. 467)
In this self-directed learning project, I was a beginner; and so I sourced resources which were designed for beginners, and then tackled the process in a step-by-step manner (although there were a lot of side steps involved!) This included step-by-step written tutorials, and accompanying videos. I consistently used terms like ‘beginner’ or ‘how to’ in my searches. I also paid attention to ‘suggested’ resources that accompanied the materials I was accessing. Once I found that WPBeginner had a whole suite of ‘how to’ tutorials and resources, I would search their website using appropriate search terms or describing the problem I was having.
I also looked at many WordPress theme demos and WordPress examples, and I took advantage of the opportunity to get some hands on experience and to do some ‘poking around’ in an existing WordPress website.
However, as time was a factor in such a big project, I started to work on the project at the same time as I started to do research and as I found suitable learning objects. Using my main instructional source: How to Start a WordPress Blog the Right Way in in 7 Easy Steps, I would follow along and as soon as a step was identified, and explained, then I would try it – I would play. If it did not work I revisited the instructional material and tried again. I needed to play with the platform almost in concert with the instructions I was accessing in the instructional resources. This was definitely a ‘hands on’ process based on modelling; thus I could not say that it was a true discovery process, as I was relying on and modelling procedures demonstrated in my instructional sources. It also was not really trial and error, as the general processes I followed were well documented. However, when I encountered something not covered in the instructional material I was referencing, I would have to source additional instructional resources, I would have to go and ‘discover’ them.
If I were asked which of the tools I used I would recommend to someone else that was planning to tackle a similar project, I feel that the WPBeginner tutorials and instructional materials were very useful. They are up to date, and there is a tutorial or blog post that supplied an answer to just about any question I had; they also had instructional materials that were targeted at the beginner level. If I felt I needed more ‘guidance’ then these materials offered, I could use the bluehost synchronous chat feature. WordPress also has a robust offering of instructional and information resources and supports at https://wordpress.org/support/ including:
- blogs
- WordPress TV – https://wordpress.tv/
- a facebook site with videos and other resources
- various levels of tutorials and forums
In her chapter titled “Andragogy and Self-Directed Learning: Pillars of Adult Learning Theory”, Sharan B. Merriam points to
“Grow’s Staged Self-Directed Learning (SSDL) model. Grow presents a matrix whereby learners can locate themselves in terms of their readiness for and comfort with being self-directed, and instructors can match the learner’s stage with appropriate instructional strategies. For example, whereas a dependent learner needs more introductory material and appreciates lecture, drill, and immediate correction, a self-directed learner can engage in independent projects, student-directed discussions, and discovery learning. (Sharan B. Merriam p.10)
I echo that – use an approach that matches the learner’s existing comfort level, their level of subject matter competency and knowledge, and their level of motivation. If the learner is not comfortable sourcing or curating their own learning or learning materials, then they should not. They should seek guidance or enrol in a prepared course (i.e. LinkedIn Learning offers a selection of WordPress courses). It is okay for self-directed learning to be guided. On this, Mayer offers:
“In many ways, guided discovery appears to offer the best method for promoting constructivist learning. The challenge of teaching by guided discovery is to know how much and what kind of guidance to provide and to know how to specify the desired outcome of learning. In some cases, direct instruction can promote the cognitive processing needed for constructivist learning, but in others, some mixture of guidance and exploration is needed.” (2004, p.17)