Teaching Methods

Research shows that teaching self-regulation has long-term benefits in students' lives. These benefits include higher high school graduation rates, lower rates of incarceration, and higher salaries later in life (Goodwin, B. & Miller, K., 2013). Self-regulated can be identified in the classroom as those who find a way to succeed regardless of challenging situations or people (Zimmerman, B.J., 1990).

We know that self-regulation is proven to help learners in the classroom, but how can we teach self-regulation in the classroom? 

Some teaching methods to promote self-regulated learning include teaching students "grit", minimizing objective tests, and teaching with open-ended instructional activities (Paris & Paris, 2001). Teachers can also promote Zimmerman's three-phase model of self-regulation.

Zimmerman's Model

Zimmerman's three-phase model of self-regulation is a cyclical model that includes forethought, performance, and self-reflection. Since the model is cyclic, the starting point can be in any of the three phases.

The forethought phase can be thought of as a "planning" phase. This phase is made up of two main areas, task analysis and self-motivation. Task analysis has to do with a learner's ability to break the task into smaller parts, and self-motivation is required to do task analysis. Learners with high levels of self-motivation are more likely to succeed in breaking down a task because they have more motivation to do so. 

The performance phase can be thought of as the "doing" phase. This phase includes two processes, self-control and self-observation. Self-control is the ability of a student to direct their own learning, and self-observation is the ability of a student to monitor their own progress. Students who were successful in planning during the forethought phase are more likely to experience success while they are working on an activity or task.

The self-reflection phase can be thought of as the "reflection" phase. The two main components of this phase are self-judgments and self-reactions. Students exhibit positive self-judgment when they are able to evaluate how effective they were on a task and their outcome. Self-reaction is where students judge their level of satisfaction with a task (Zimmerman, B.J., 2013)

Grit and Grades

"Grit" is the quality that allows individuals to work hard and stick to their long-term goals. Grit consists of two different elements. The first element is resilience, to be "gritty" you must be able to continue working toward your goals despite difficulties. This is similar to the element of perseverance in the self-regulation theory. The second element is consistent passions and interests over a long period of time (Perkins-Gough, D., 2013).

These two elements combined create grit, a trait that is correlated with success. To build grit, individuals must overcome failure (Tough, P., 2011). To teach students to self-regulate and become gritty, adults must teach children that failure is a part of the learning process. Students have to learn how to fail and how to overcome failure. This creates an environment where learners are allowed to self-assess after failure, create a plan for how to do better, and execute that plan. Grit relates to the forethought phase of Zimmerman's model because it requires students to be motivated to create their own goals and stick to them. If students are effective in planning, they are more likely to reach their goals aligned with their passions.

One way to implement this is to create lower-stakes assignments for students. These assignments typically have low, or no, point values associated with them. This creates an environment where students do not have to worry about their grades dropping because of failure. Students are able to learn from their failures instead of avoiding failure increasing grit. Lower-stakes assignments relate to the self-reflection phase of Zimmerman's model because students are able to reflect on their thinking and process rather than on the grade they received. This also promotes more positive self-reactions because students do not judge themselves based on a grade. They are able to judge themselves based on the learning that comes out of the assessment.

Learning Activities

Another way to promote self-regulated learning is by designing open-ended instructional activities in classrooms. Open-ended activities are activities that have no predetermined answer or limitations. These activities give students more room to explore and be curious about different content areas.

Open-ended activities are also considered "low-floor, high-ceiling". This means that any student can access the activity and scaffolds can be built in as needed, and they are very rich activities that continue to expand further on the content for students who get bored easily. These instructional activities promote self-regulated learning because the teacher does not need to give much guidance and learners regulate their own learning.

Open-ended activities relate to the performance phase of Zimmerman's model because these activities encourage students to use self-control and self-observation skills. Due to the student-centered nature of these activities, students must be able to monitor their progress, determine where they are at, and ask for help if they are struggling. This promotes self-regulated learning because students will not succeed without developing these skills.