Causes

Why Might a Student Not Exhibit Self Regulated Learning?

It may be easy to label students as lazy or blame their character, but there is likely an explanation for why a student has not developed Self Regulated Learning skills.

• Student not explicitly taught how to self regulate learning.

Self regulating learning is a skill like any other, which needs to be developed. Without this skill, students are more likely to give up early, direct attention elsewhere, or not give a task any effort. To develop this skill, it helps to teach the student what self regulated learning looks like using the forethought, performance, and reflection phases of self regulated learning. Then, in conjunction with coaching and practice, the skill can develop.

• Learned Helplessness from failure.

When a student experiences consistent failure in math, the student may convince themselves that they are simply bad at math, which leads to the student not putting forth effort and not asking for help. In this situation, the student will stop self regulating their learning. This can be exacerbated by an education environment that emphasizes high performance and avoiding mistakes. This is why allowing student failure and then supporting students through that failure can be so important.

• Emotional Dysregulation.

When a student is experiencing high levels of stress or has trouble managing emotions, it may be more difficult for a student to be able to self regulate their learning. This can be caused by a wide variety of emotional such as Anxiety, Stress, Impulsivity, or Frustration. Whether a temporary or long term issue, Emotional Dysregulation makes it much more likely for a student to give up prematurely or refrain from setting goals

A Way for Training SRL

—–The Development of Motivation from External to Internal

Learners’ motivations are not fixed but gradually deepen and mature with SRL training. A sustainable learning motivation should be a self-belief of “I can and I know how to manage my learning to achieve my goals.”

•  Observation and Emulation: Learners acquire skills by observing social models and replicating them on corresponding tasks. This model can be someone who is proficient in the skill they are trying to learn, which allows them to get a clear idea of the direction they should move in and can serve as a positive example. Motivation at this stage depends on external role models and positive feedback.

Example: A student learns to write essays by observing a teacher’s writing process and then replicating it on similar assignments.

•  Self-Control: Learners master the use of a skill in structured settings outside the presence of models (Zimmerman, 140). Learners are able to correct themselves without a reference present to further hone their skill. Motivation begins to internalize, learning becomes automated, and learners rely on internal standards for self-guidance and self-reinforcement.

Example: A student practices writing essays independently, following a structured routine learned from the teacher, and self-reinforces by meeting these internal standards.

•  Self-Regulation: Learners can systematically adapt their performance to changing personal and contextual conditions that are present in naturalistic settings but not in practice settings (Zimmerman, 141). This means they should be able to generate new standards to hold and adjust their skill to as they apply it in new and different scenarios. Motivation is primarily driven by self-efficacy, manifested as achieving personal goals and autonomous control over the learning process.

Example: A student adjusts their writing strategies based on feedback from different audiences and contexts, demonstrating self-regulation.

"Grit"

Grit leans into the ideas of Persistence and Perseverance, but it goes a bit deeper. Someone that is keeps trying the same task over and over again may be persistent, but they are not showing Grit. To show Grit, someone must keep trying in the face of failure, and adjust strategy based on the reflection of that failure in order to achieve a long term goal, even if progress is slow or there is no immediate reward for effort. This also means that as frustrating as failure may be, you cannot allow that frustration to deter you from achieving the goal, and be willing to continually engage with the task.

Grit is not something that can be learned and immediately applied, but must be practiced and developed consistently. Specifically practicing focused and consistent effort, adjusting strategy based on feedback and reflection, and becoming comfortable with struggle and failure will go a long way.