Motivational Patterns

For self-regulated learning to be successful, students need to have several motivational patterns: Self-efficacy, self-attributions, and intrinsic task interest (Zimmerman, 1990).

• Self-efficacy is the belief in one’s ability to complete a task successfully.

• Self-attributions are the belief that one’s actions are the causes of outcomes both positive and negative.

• Intrinsic task interest is the interest in a task that is caused by internal factors and not external pressures.

Motivation comes from an awareness that actions help to achieve goals. However, these goals must be specific and achievable in order for self-regulation to be utilized. Setting time aside for goal setting and making sure that steps to reach your goals are included in your plan will help to create specific goals for a task. This is all accomplished in the forethought phase.

Some motivational strategies to start a task include orienting oneself before starting an assignment, collecting relevant source material, integrating different theoretical viewpoints, monitoring for comprehension, assessing one’s progress, and planning how to deal with obstacles on the way to approach one’s goals (Boekaerts, 2006). However, this can not be controlled completely by outside forces, such as teachers. If the process of motivation becomes too structured then it actually causes a decrease in intrinsic motivation because students feel like they are separated from the process. For example, if a teacher starts an assignment by forcing every student to create three learning goals before they can begin the project, students will feel like the goals they have created have no meaning. This would mean that students are less motivated to complete those goals and the overarching task as a whole.

But motivation can also be fostered by finding a way to connect tasks to everyday life or to one’s intrinsic interests. In classrooms, this can include finding personally meaningful objectives for students to pursue or choosing topics that they find interesting or helpful for their future. This isn’t possible for all students or tasks, unfortunately. Luckily, there is a strategy that will increase motivation in all situations: increasing self-efficacy.

Learning builds on thoughts about self as well as the interaction with the subject (Boekaerts, 2006). This means that you need to believe in your own capacity and knowledge about concepts and strategies for a certain subject in order to work at your fullest potential. You can increase self-efficacy by setting intermediate goals and self-evaluating. Setting smaller goals as part of a larger goal can help because it can separate the task into meaningful steps and provide a sense of completion every time a goal is met which encourages work to complete the overall goal. Completing these goals, and therefore working to complete the task, is the performance phase.

Self-evaluation, and the self-reflection phase, are trickier. You have to evaluate your performance based on the fulfillment of your own personal goals and your previous performances and not others. Focusing on personal growth allows you to see how much you have learned and improved which improves your opinion of yourself while comparing yourself to others ignores what you have accomplished and can decrease self-efficacy. This is the concept of self-satisfaction or how satisfied you are with your past actions, tasks, and accomplishments (Zimmerman, 2013). High self-satisfaction leads to increased self-motivation and low satisfaction leads to reduced motivation as well as reduced future learning. It is also important to focus on the factors that lead to the different results. When one blames outside factors such as a roommate being too loud to study, they have an external locus of control that prevents them from finding ways to increase their performance. An internal locus of control improves self-evaluation because it focuses on the results of actions taken which can be changed by the individual. For example, if instead of blaming their roommate, they decide that they didn’t find an appropriate space to focus they can change their focus to be on what they can do next time, which is study elsewhere like at a library, which is in their control.

When students are motivated, and motivational strategies have been implemented successfully, students are focused on increasing their own learning and no longer need to be either forced or coerced by outside forces. They are more mindful of the learning process as a whole and have a greater willingness to complete difficult tasks. They take charge of their own learning and become self-regulated learners.

Cause of These Motivational Patterns

Studies on student self-regulation done by various researchers such as Zimmerman and Monique Boekaerts demonstrated that self-regulation in students is a skill that must be fostered over time through the development and strengthening of several skills and habits. In an article by Boekaerts, he presented the idea that “Students should be motivated to actively participate in the teaching-learning process, constructing their knowledge, and, in doing so, becoming gradually independent of their teachers.”(Boekaerts 101). The work done by teachers to foster this process of independent learning is the central aspect that makes up self-regulated learning.

The process of developing students' self-regulation skills takes a lot of time and effort from both the teachers and the students. As a result, Zimmerman developed the idea of a three-stage cycle that students go through when developing their own skills. He has defined the main stages as the forethought phase, the Performance phase, and the Self-reflection phase. (Zimmerman 2002)

• In the Forethought Phase, Zimmerman defines two goals for the students the first being task analysis where the students should work to set goals and come up with a strategy that will help them succeed in completing a task. The second goal should be to self-motivate by working to understand the meaning of learning and work to create a product that the student can be proud of.

• The Performance phase is considered to be the most important stage as students work to practice self-control and self-observation. Having students practice things such as self-instruction and reviewing the work and effort being put into their task builds several life skills needed to succeed in both schools and the rest of your life.

• In the Self-reflection phase, Zimmerman believes that students should work to pass self-judgment on the whole project and evaluate the whole process from their structuration at the start to the effort put into the project. It is believed that noticing progress will increase self-satisfaction and result in the students performing at higher skill levels.

As stated early the three stages given by Zimmerman is a process that must be taught to many students and will rarely ever emerge naturally. For many students, the methods stated in the Zimmerman model are not something students know how to do on their own and as a result need the help of a teacher. For example, the skill of planning out a project and managing time is a skill that some of the students may be able to figure out on their own but a majority will require the help of a teacher when it comes to breaking up projects and getting the work done at a steady pace. In order to foster self-regulated learning with the students teachers must first guide the students through many of the processes and work to build up the skills needed in order to plan and evaluate themselves. As the students continue to practice the skills and become more independent and motivated the teacher will be able to back off letting the students manage themselves without any help.