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Self Regulated Learning is a self-directed process by which learners transform mental ability into academic skills (Zimmerman, 65)
Refers to a metacognitive reflection process in which one establishes thoughts, feelings, and behaviors orientated towards attaining goals.
These skills are learned in an academic context, but are transferable outside the classroom and have life-long benefits
Motivational Patterns of SRL
Social learning psychologists view the structure of self-regulatory processes in terms of three cyclical phases (Zimmerman, 67):
Forethought Phase takes place before an individual attempts to learn. This phase involves two major components:
The first major component is task analysis which involves goal setting and strategic planning. Goal setting and strategic planning require an individual to consider things like resources they will need to accomplish a task, the time it will take to do it, and an appropriate work setting.
For example, if students live in a home that is often loud and disorganized, they may decide that the library is a better place to get work done. Or when considering resources, they may consider making a list of supplies they will need to complete the task (calculators, computers, text books, etc).
The second major component is self-motivation. Self-motivation stems from an individual's own beliefs about self-efficacy (personal capability to learn) and outcome expectations (expected consequences of learning, these can be either positive or negative). An important element of self-motivation is intrinsic interest, or, when an individual values a task for its own merit, and not for the external benefits gained from completing a task.
An example of intrinsic motivation can be found in students who love to read. Students who take pleasure in this activity are more motivated to read for their class than their peers who do not love to read.
Performance Phase takes place during an individual's effort to learn. This phase requires the involvement of two major components:
The first major component is self control when a individual deploys specific methods or strategies established during forethought phase.
So, if we continue our library example, students would show self-control by staying at the library after school to do homework instead of going immediately home.
The second major component is self-observation which requires an individual to self-record personal events or self-experimentation to determine the root of success or failure.
This can be as simple as a student acknowledging the fact that they got a lot done in the library and was therefore a good place to study. Or they could decide that the friend they were working with distracted them more than helped and that next time they would work better alone.
Self Reflection Phase happens after an individual's learning effort. This phase also involves two major components:
The first component is self-judgement/evaluation which refers to a comparisons between self-observed performances against some standard (i.e. grades, peers, personal goals). One's ability to effectively self-judge depends on their casual attribution, or, what they believe to have caused their errors or successes.
Attributing outcomes to a fixed ability implies that efforts to improve will not be effective and is damaging to one's self-esteem. This could look like someone deciding that they failed their math test because they are stupid/bad at math and cannot change that.
Attributing outcomes to a controllable ability implies a different strategy may lead to success which can improve motivation. This could look like someone deciding that they failed their math test because they did not study and so they set a goal to do so next time.
The second component is self-reaction which involves feelings of self-satisfaction or lack thereof. Out of one's feelings of satisfaction they are likely to develop either defensive or adaptive reactions.
Defensive reactions develop from the desire to protect one’s self-image through withdrawal or avoidance. This could look like someone feeling like they are bad at History and deciding that they will take as few History classes as they possibly can.
Adaptive reactions allow one to make adjustments designed to increase the effectiveness of one’s method of learning. These strategies may involve either discarding or modifying the ineffective learning strategy, so instead of refusing to take History classes, they reflect on why they are not doing well in that subject and set goals to improve their weaknesses.
Effective Teaching Methods For Fostering Productive Patterns
Teachers who hope to foster self-regulatory patterns in their students should incorporate self-reflection and goal setting activities in their curriculum. There are plenty of ways that we can do this.
Self-Assessment
Self-assessment is another strategy that we can teach students so that they are successful in their self-regulation. This can be done many different ways:
Have students analyze their own personal learning styles. Then have them compare them to others' learning styles (Paris, 97).
Have students figure out what they already know and what they want to know about the topic/task during the forethought phase. This will also facilitate student reflection and metacognition later on in the learning process (Paris, 97).
Self-Management Strategies
Teaching students self-management strategies is another way to help them to develop self-regulation skills. Some of these strategies might look like:
Having student set attainable (yet challenging) goals for themselves (Paris, 97). This could be something like a S.M.A.R.T. Goal.
Before students begin any project (forethought phase), teachers can have their class consider what they will need to accomplish the task. Having them set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound goals encourages students to be realistic about what their strengths and limitations are, and affective with the time they have.
An example of a SMART goal could look like this:
S: In order to finish my book, I will read every night before I go to sleep.
M: I want to read at least one chapter every night.
A: If I do this every night I will succeed.
R: This is realistic as I have two hours of time at night before I go to bed, I can spend at least one of them reading instead of watching TV.
T: I want to finish my book by the end of the month.
It is important for teachers to check back in with students about the goals they have set as this encourages reflection for what is and what is not working. A part of self-regulation is being objective and flexible if a plan needs modifying.
So, using the example above, say the student realizes that they are too sleepy to read before bed. Encourage them to think of a different time during the day when they might feel more awake and have spare time. Or suggest that they read before watching TV.
Teachers can also utilize weekly reflection journals that encourage students to think about their behavior and learning. Case Study B illustrates how such a journal might be used. Mr. Ward from the study asks his students to reflect on the following questions:
Q: "How well did you make use of class time this week?"
Q: "What plan did you use to complete your homework and how effective was it?"
Q: "How did group work go this week and what changes would make it better?'
These questions are directed towards student honesty and growth. Even if students did well in these areas, his questions point towards the fact that there is always room for improvement.
Teaching Self-Regulation In Diverse Ways
There are a ton of different strategies when it comes to teaching. In their article, Paris and Paris recommend some of the following ways:
Explicit direct instruction of SRL theories and guided metacognition and reflection.
Modeling self-regulated strategies and allowing the student to conduct their own reflection and analysis of their learning.
Having students keep track of their own growth using data and charts. Then, having students reflect on that growth.
How Do These Patterns Influence Learning?
Self-regulatory strategies are heavily based on an individual's willingness/capacity to engage in metacognitive thinking. When metacognitive reflection is reinforced with self-motivational practices, individuals' engage in SRL skills. Students who do engage in this self-directed thinking have the power to recognize and re-shape how they learn (Boekarts, 201).
Metacognition is thinking about one's thinking. This process involves recognizing individual strengths and limitations when it comes to learning. Establishing these parameters optimizes study habits and offers a clear direction towards growth (Boekarts, 200).
Metacognition has the power to shift one's thinking from a fixed to a malleable ability conception, or, growth mindset (Efklides, 17). With a fixed mindset, individual's believe that they are inherently good or inherently bad at something and that you are unlikely to improve.
An example of a fixed mindset would be if someone receives a bad grade and decides that they are therefore bad at that subject and would be better off avoiding it all together.
A growth mindset believes that intelligence and skill can be developed. In the case of a growth mindset, bad grades do not represent failure but rather an opportunity to improve.
Metacognitive thinking promotes a growth mindset. Students are encouraged to be objective with themselves and understand why they may not be succeeding, and how they may overcome cognitive hurdles.
A major component of SRL and metacognitive thinking is one's ability to set, evaluate, and attain goals. Goal setting takes place during the forethought phase before one makes an effort to learn, and should be evaluated for effectiveness during the process phase. Individuals who recognize their goals either unachievable or too easily accomplished and make adjustments are actively influencing their learning.
For example, if a student makes it their goal to practice the violin for 10 minutes a day, they may soon realize that they have not sufficiently challenged themselves as the goal has been accomplished with little effort on their part. With this knowledge, they can readjust and strive to practice for 30 minutes a day instead. Or, in the opposite case, the student who tries to practice for 2 hours a day may realize they have set an unrealistically long time goal. They too can readjust and be satisfied playing for one hour instead.
Employing self-motivational strategies is an important aspect of learning, especially with new and challenging content material. Motivated students are more likely to try an understand the content as they have developed habits of perseverance and task initiation (Zimmerman, 64).
One aspect of self-motivational strategies is assigning task value, or, the perception of usefulness or importance of a task. Students are more likely to learn and enjoy learning about a subject they consider important, interesting, or enriching.
For example, the student who feels like their chemistry lesson on covalent bonds has helped them understand the world around them feel enriched by the lesson. They would be more likely to continue studying the subject despite it being a difficult concept to grasp. The student who found the chemistry lesson challenging, boring, and without immediate benefit to their life are likely to have the opposite reaction and resist studying future studying of the subject.
What Factors Influence This Theory?
The factors that influence self-regulation theory are:
Motivation
Motivation influences the self-regulation theory because this theory relies on intrinsic motivation and intrinsic interest. If students are not intrinsically motivated, then they will struggle with self-regulation. Students will struggle specifically with the forethought phase and the performance phase.
Caregiver support
Caregiver support influences the self-regulation theory because there needs to be a balance between teacher-provided structure and students' self-regulation. If teachers provide too much structure, then students are not given the opportunity to practice self-regulation strategies. Students need to be provided with the opportunity to set goals, develop intrinisic interest, and practice self-reflection and metacognition. That being said, if students are not given enough structure or scaffolding surrounding self-regulation strategies, then the task or assignment may be too overwhelming and they will shut down. It is imperative that teachers balance structure with students' ability to work through the problem or task at hand.
Environmental context
The enviornment, much like caregiver support, plays a significant role in students' ability to practice self-regulation. It is important that students are provided a safe space for them to practice with self-regulation strategies.
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