Supporting College Student Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness: Insights From Evaluating a Learning-to-Learn Course

Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.

Self-determination theory posits that instructors can promote students’ learning and development by supporting three psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The learning-to-learn context is an area where supporting students’ personal and academic growth may be particularly important. In this qualitative study, our purpose was to identify effective instructional practices in a learning-to-learn course to inform practical applications. In addition, we sought to advance scholarly understanding of how students themselves describe support for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Using practice-based methodology, we investigated responses from 176 college students to 10 open-ended questions on an anonymous learning-to-learn course evaluation. The findings highlighted how instructional features, intellectual experiences, and teaching practices supported students’ autonomy, competence, and relatedness.