Learner centered instructional environments are intended to foster learner responsibility and support self-monitoring, self-directed and self-regulated learning activities. This semester-long multiple case study examined four teams of undergraduate students enrolled in a Business Communications course designed by the instructors to include an extensive business simulation, collaborative teams and self-directed learning. A construct of ownership for learning was developed to evaluate the degree of ownership demonstrated by each student in this instructional environment.

Of the 20 students participating, six demonstrated a high degree of ownership, seven a moderate degree of ownership and seven a low degree of ownership for learning. Although behaviors indicating cognitive and metacognitive engagement with problems in the domain of instruction were evident with all students, behaviors in the other three quadrants of the construct appear to significantly influence the development of ownership for learning. Students with average or better ability who were intrinsically motivated, able to work effectively in collaborative teams and relate previous experiences to the current domain, were more likely to develop ownership for their learning in this instructional environment. In contrast, individuals who were highly teacher dependent, primarily extrinsically motivated by grades, unable to work effectively in collaborative groups and unable to relate previous experiences to the domain were unlikely to develop a similar degree of ownership for learning. Individuals working alone within a team might produce well-written responses to the problem situations, but highly verbal teams were more effective at negotiating alternative perspectives for the same writing assignment and the learning by all members of the team was improved.

The construct effectively identified the extremes of high and low ownership when students presented consistent behavior patterns, but was less effective when students demonstrated both high and low ownership characteristics in different quadrants. The construct requires further refinement to provide effective identification of this middle group. This study reinforces the need for instructors to address all aspects of a studentís learning experience to increase the development of ownership for learning.