There are two schools of thought in self-directed learning. The most prevalent assumption is that learners (and in particular adult learners) are autonomous, independent individual who choose to undertake learning for personal growth. They tend to have individualistic attitudes and values”. The other school of thought in self-directed learning is that individual “seek and learn by social construction of knowledge. The process may involve group learning and communal learning. Noah Adam’s life-long interest in all aspects of the piano led him to seek knowledge about various aspects related to the piano. In the process of learning he undertook self-directed learning in the context of an autonomous independent learner and also as a self-directed learner in its social context.

 

            Noah had a deep passion for anything related to the piano, and his knowledge of all things piano was vast and varied, in terms of pursuing self-directed learning (in the context of independent and autonomous learning); he had read numerous biographies about pianists, books about the history of pianos, books that remotely mention pianos or a pianist, and material about learning how to play the piano, which included reading a masters thesis on playing the piano without paddles. It is possible that all of his independent pursuits of piano knowledge helped kindle his decision to buy a $30.000 Steinway and learn how to play it. Noah set out to learn how to play the piano without a teacher.” He had taken a couple of piano classes when he was a child, yet he did not learn much. As an adult he began the process of learning how to play the piano by buying The Miracle Piano Teaching System (Mac software and keyboard), this teaching technology developed for children allowed him to learn some chords and simple songs by himself. This process wasn’t always fun he sometimes got frustrated by the software and learning activities. The computer wasn’t enough, so he looked for another way of learning faster. The advertisement stated “David Sudnow has found a faster way with an exciting two day course, learn to play your favorite songs by ear, with a full professional sound, in months, not years. For beginners and those with training, the results are astounding.” Noah originally reserved a seat for a workshop by David Sudnow, but after losing the reservation. He ended up watching the video recordings of the workshop; this was another example of technology being used in independent self-directed learning. Noah could watch and learn when he wanted and as many times as he wanted. As a busy person he seemed to be avoiding formal learning he said, “I know that some weeks I’d have to skip most of the practicing and the lessons would be wasted, or I’d be out of town on the day of the lesson.”

 

            Before Noah Adams gave in and attended more formal piano lessons, I believe he had been learning how to play the piano in the social context of self-directed-learning for many years. As the host of his own nationally broadcasted radio show called All Things Considered, Noah had the unique opportunity to interview many pianists, the communicative learning process happened while interviewing pianist, he gained lots of insight about pianists; more importantly in his pursuit of learning the piano he would regularly ask his guests about playing methods. He learned a lot of tips on how to play the piano.

 

            Noah’s choice to attend a piano camp was his first attempt at formal piano lessons as an adult. The autumn sonata piano camp was actually an excellent example of self-directed learning in a social context. The students at the camp often could choose; who taught them, what song to play, what piano to play on and when to play. The teachers served as facilitators when Noah made a mistake they would instantly give him feedback. The setting itself was communal; all participants were like minded in their appreciation of the piano. I believe the atmosphere was conducive for Noah learning how to play Traumerei. After the camp, Noah had a renewed vigor to continue learning and actually sought out a privet piano teacher. Noah chose Ned as his piano teacher, and they could sometimes chat about the piano, this class was closest to formal learning. After several classes, Noah finally felt he was learning something.

 

            Noah may have thought that he could learn the piano by himself in a short period of time, but the process ended up involving many methods of learning and the learning method he tried to avoid the most ended up being the most useful.