The Effects of Instructor-Led Learning Coaching on University Students' Self-Directed Learning Strategies, Academic Adjustment, and Collaborative Problem-Solving Skills

This study aimed to empirically analyze the effects of instructor-led learningcoaching interventions on university students’ self-directed learning strategies, academic adjustment, and collaborative problem-solving skills. The participants were 41 students enrolled in the liberal arts course Self-Understanding and Growth at J University in Jeonbuk Province during the first semester of 2025. A learning coaching program focused on self-directed learning strategies was designed and implemented within the course. Pre- and post-tests were conducted to measure changes in the self-directedness index (LQ), academic adjustment, and collaborative problem-solving skills, and the data were analyzed using paired-sample t-tests. The results were as follows. First, in self-directed learning strategies, the self-directedness index showed a significant improvement, along with a positive shift in learning strategy types (from stagnant type to diligent or proactive type) and an overall strengthening of strategic learning behaviors across behavioral characteristics. Second, in academic adjustment, significant improvements were observed in the “learning effort” and “learning behavior control” domains. Third, although collaborative problem-solving skills showed an overall upward trend, the change was not statistically significant, except for a significant improvement in the “group facilitation” subdomain. These findings demonstrate that instructor-led learning coaching within regular courses can effectively enhance students’ self-directedness, academic adjustment, and certain aspects of collaborative competence. Based on these results, it is recommended that first-year liberal arts courses institutionalize learning strategy-based instructor coaching interventions and incorporate long-term, structured collaborative activities and project-based learning (PBL) to further strengthen collaborative competencies.