Self-Regulation of Learning

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Self-Regulation of Learning

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Chapter 10 Self-Regulated Learning

Kim Danola, a high school sophomore, is meeting with her counselor, Connie Smith. Kim is struggling in school, making Cs and Ds in her courses. Connie knows that Kim can do better in school. Kim’s home is full of distractions, and she has a hard time studying there. The two are meeting to discuss a plan to help Kim academically.

Kim:

I don’t know; my classes are all so different. Algebra, chemistry, history: they don’t have anything in common.

Connie:

Well, I agree they are different subjects. But let’s think about it. Do you have a textbook in each class?

Kim:

Sure.

Connie:

So then, in all of them you have to do what?

Kim:

Read?

Connie:

Sure, read. They all involve reading right?

Kim:

Yeah, but the readings are so different. It’s like you have to read and study one way in math, a different way in chemistry, and another different way in history.

Connie:

Yes, I understand. Kim, there are lots of students in our school who have trouble in these classes. We have student tutors at the school. I’m going to set you up with a tutor for each subject. That student will teach you learning strategies for each subject. But let’s go back to what they all have in common. I’m taking a class at the university, and I’ve learned some general study strategies that you can use in all subjects. So I’m going to help you with those.

Kim:

Such as?

Connie:

Such as checking yourself when you read something to make sure you understood what you read. Then there are some other strategies, such as setting goals, taking notes, and summarizing information. These are general skills. You learn them and how to adapt them to the subject you’re studying. I’ll help you with those.

Kim:

Do you think there’s hope for me? My parents are really mad about my grades.

Connie:

If I didn’t think there was hope, I wouldn’t be talking with you. Now let’s get started!

The preceding chapters discuss learning processes that are applicable to diverse content in varied settings. For example, processes such as modeling, encoding, and metacognition apply to many types of learning; they are not unique to certain learners or a few content areas. This is what Connie says in the above scenario.

These and other learning processes are integral components of  self-regulation , or individuals’ self-generated cognitions, affects, and behaviors that are systematically oriented toward attainment of their goals (Sitzmann & Ely,  2011 ; B. Zimmerman,  2000 ). Self-regulation includes such processes as setting goals, applying and adjusting strategies to attain them, monitoring performance and progress, maintaining motivation and positive affects and beliefs about learning, and utilizing social and environmental resources to attain goals (Lord, Diefendorff, Schmidt, & Hall,  2010 ; B. Zimmerman,  2000 ). The focus of this chapter is  self-regulated learning , or self-regulation processes applied during a learning experience, where the goal is a desired level of achievement (Sitzmann & Ely,  2011 ).

Research on self-regulation during learning began as an outgrowth of psychological investigations into the development of self-control by adults and children (Zimmerman,  2001 ). Much early research was conducted in clinical contexts, where researchers taught participants to alter such dysfunctional behaviors as aggression, addictions, sexual disorders, interpersonal conflicts, and behavioral problems at home and in school (Mace & West,  1986 ). Theory and research on self-regulation has expanded to address academic learning and achievement (Zimmerman & Schunk,  2001 ).

Self-regulated learning is a dynamic process that is ever changing as students are engaged in learning (Sitzmann & Ely,  2011 ). This chapter makes it clear that self-regulated learning can take many forms. Most notably, it involves behaviors, as individuals regulate these to stay focused on goal attainment. But self-regulated learning also involves cognitive, motivational, and affective variables. Thus, it is helpful for learners to maintain a sense of self-efficacy for learning, value the learning, believe that positive outcomes will result, and maintain a positive emotional climate (e.g., enjoy what they are doing).

The self-regulatory processes and strategies that learners apply vary in whether they are general (apply to many types of learning) or specific (apply only to a particular type of learning). This distinction is highlighted in the opening scenario. Some self-regulatory processes, such as setting goals and evaluating goal progress, can be employed generally, whereas others pertain only to specific tasks (e.g., applying the quadratic formula to solve quadratic equations).

Self-regulated learning has been addressed by theories covered in earlier chapters, and different perspectives on self-regulated learning are explained in this chapter. In recent years, researchers have increasingly been concerned with the self-regulation of motivation, and that topic also is addressed, as well as with self-regulated learning in various domains such as reading, writing, mathematics, science, physical education, and music (Bembenutty, Cleary, & Kitsantas,  2013 ).

· When you finish studying this chapter, you should be able to do the following:

· ■ Discuss the assumptions common to theories of self-regulated learning.

· ■ Define and exemplify the key behavioral processes of self-monitoring, self-instruction, and self-reinforcement.

· ■ Discuss the various processes that operate during the social cognitive phases of self-regulation: forethought, performance/volitional control, and self-reflection.

· ■ Explain self-regulated learning from an information processing perspective, and give examples of self-regulatory strategies used by proficient learners.

· ■ Discuss self-regulated learning from a constructivist perspective to include the role of students’ implicit theories.

· ■ Discuss the link between motivation and self-regulated learning and explain how different motivational variables (e.g., self-efficacy, goals, values) relate to self-regulation.

· ■ Devise a plan that students might use to improve their academic studying.

· ■ Explain how self-regulated learning relates to writing and how technology may affect self-regulated learning.

ASSUMPTIONS

Theory and research on self-regulated learning in academic settings have been influenced by various disciplines including management, education, and psychology (e.g., organizational, clinical, cognitive). Theories of self-regulated learning differ in many ways but share common assumptions. One is that self-regulated learning involves being behaviorally, cognitively, metacognitively, and motivationally active in one’s learning and performance (Zimmerman,  2001 ). A second assumption is that self-regulated learning is a dynamic and cyclical process comprising feedback loops (Lord et al.,  2010 ). Self-regulated learners set goals and metacognitively monitor their progress toward them. They respond to their monitoring, as well as to external feedback, in different ways to attain their goals, such as by working harder or changing their strategy. Attained accomplishments lead them to set new goals.

Third, goal setting triggers self-regulated learning by guiding individuals’ focus on goal-directed activities and use of task-relevant strategies (Sitzmann & Ely,  2011 ). Goals that include learning skills and improving competencies result in better self-regulated learning than those oriented toward performing tasks (Schunk & Swartz,  1993a ). Lastly is an emphasis on motivation, or why persons choose to self-regulate and sustain their efforts. Motivational variables are critical for learning (Schunk & Zimmerman,  2008 ).

Based on theories and research, Sitzmann and Ely ( 2011 ) formulated a framework of constructs that constitute self-regulated learning, identifying three major types. Regulatory agents initiate self-regulated learning toward its objective, regulatory mechanisms help promote goal progress in an effective manner, and regulatory appraisals provide evaluative information on progress and influence continued goal striving. Sitzmann and Ely’s framework identified one regulatory agent (goal level), six regulatory mechanisms (attention, metacognitive strategies, time management, environmental structuring, motivation, and effort), and two regulatory appraisals (attributions and self-efficacy). These and other self-regulatory processes discussed in this chapter should be viewed as representative of a broader domain of potentially relevant processes.

In recent years, investigators have begun to address the development of self-regulation in groups (Hadwin, Järvelä, & Miller,  2011 ; Järvelä & Hadwin,  2013 ). Co-regulation refers to the coordination of self-regulation competencies among people in social contexts (Hadwin et al.,  2011 ; Volet, Vauras, & Salonen,  2009 ). Learners jointly use their skills and strategies to develop new or expanded self-regulatory capabilities considered useful in group or individual contexts. Participants influence one another’s self-regulated learning. Although the context and learning dynamics are social, the outcome is individual learning.

Socially shared regulation refers to interdependent regulatory processes aimed at attaining a mutual outcome (Hadwin et al.,  2011 ). In collaborative settings learners contribute their skills toward the goal of developing a self-regulated learning group. Although this chapter focuses on individual self-regulated learning, many of the principles discussed seem appropriate for co-regulated and socially shared regulated learning, both of which could occur in educational learning environments.

BEHAVIORAL SELF-REGULATION

A behavior theory perspective on self-regulated learning derives largely from the work of Skinner (Mace, Belfiore, & Hutchinson,  2001 Chapter 3 ). Researchers working within the framework of his operant conditioning theory apply operant principles in diverse settings (e.g., clinical, academic) with adults and children. The aim of these studies is to reduce dysfunctional behaviors and replace them with more adaptive behaviors (Zimmerman,  2001 ).

Much behavioral research has been characterized by certain design features. Studies typically use few participants and sometimes only one. Participants are followed over time to determine behavioral changes resulting from interventions. The outcome measures are frequency and duration of the dysfunctional behaviors and the behaviors to be conditioned.

Behavior theory postulates that self-regulation involves choosing among different behaviors and deferring immediate reinforcement in favor of delayed (and usually greater) reinforcement. People self-regulate their behaviors by initially deciding which behaviors to regulate. They then establish discriminative stimuli for their occurrence, provide self-instruction as needed, and monitor their performances to determine whether the desired behavior occurs. This phase often involves self-recording the frequency or duration of behavior. When desirable behavior occurs, people administer self-reinforcement. These three key processes of self-monitoring, self-instruction, and self-reinforcement are discussed next.

Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring  refers to deliberate attention to some aspect of one’s behavior and often is accompanied by recording its frequency or intensity (Mace et al.,  2001 ; Mace & Kratochwill,  1988 ). People can regulate their actions only if they are aware of what they do. Behaviors can be assessed on such dimensions as quality, rate, quantity, and originality. While writing a term paper, students may periodically assess their work to determine whether it states important ideas, whether they will finish it by the due date, whether it will be too long or too short, and whether it integrates their ideas. One can engage in self-monitoring in such diverse areas as motor skills (e.g., how fast one runs the 100-meter dash), art (e.g., how original one’s pen-and-ink drawings are), and social behavior (e.g., how much one interacts at social functions).

APPLICATION 10.1 Self-Monitoring

Self-monitoring helps students become aware of their behaviors and assists them in evaluating and improving those behaviors. In a special education self-contained or resource class, self-monitoring could help students improve on-task behavior, particularly if it is coupled with goal setting. The teacher might create individual charts divided into small blocks representing a short time period (e.g., 10 minutes). Once students are working independently at their seats or in centers, a signal could be given every 10 minutes. When the signal occurs, students could record on their charts what they are doing—writing, reading, daydreaming, talking with others, and so forth. The teacher could help each student set individual goals related to the number of on-task behaviors expected in a day, which should increase as the student’s behavior improves.

It is important that teachers be careful about how they indicate time periods to self-monitoring students. Using a bell might disrupt other students and draw embarrassing attention to the students having difficulty. Teachers might seat their self-monitoring students close to them so that they can gently tap the students’ desks at the end of each time period or otherwise quietly indicate its end.

High school teachers typically have a few students who have difficulty completing assignments and reading all required material. Teachers may need to meet with these students individually to help them establish realistic goals for developing productive study habits and evaluate goal progress. Students can be taught to record how much reading (by pages), note studying, writing, and so forth, they accomplish in a set time period. Using the goals and a timer, students can monitor their progress toward achieving the goals.

Some college students in Dr. Traut’s class had difficulty completing their first paper. Although he provided considerable guidance, it was clear that these students were not working in sequential steps to complete the paper by the deadline. For the next paper, he initially met individually with each of these students and created a checklist of items and timetable necessary for completing the paper. He then met with them weekly, at which time they shared their progress on the checklist and completion of the assignment. This helped the students develop a tool that they could use to self-monitor progress toward completing assignments in any course.

Often students must be taught self-monitoring methods (Belfiore & Hornyak,  1998 ; Lan,  1998 ; Ollendick & Hersen,  1984 Application 10.1 ). Methods include narrations, frequency counts, duration measures, time-sampling measures, behavior ratings, and behavioral traces and archival records (Mace, Belfiore, & Shea,  1989 ).  Narrations  are written accounts of behavior and the context in which it occurs. Narrations can range from detailed to open-ended.  Frequency counts  are used to self-record instances of specific behaviors during a given period (e.g., number of times a student turns around in his or her seat during a 30-minute seat work exercise).  Duration measures  record the amount of time a behavior occurs during a given period (e.g., number of minutes a student studies during 30 minutes).  Time-sampling measures divide a period into shorter intervals and record how often a behavior occurs during each interval. A 30-minute study period might be divided into six 5-minute periods; for each 5-minute period, students record whether they studied the entire time.  Behavior ratings  require estimates of how often a behavior occurs during a given time (e.g., always, sometimes, never). Behavioral traces and archival records are permanent records that exist independently of other assessments (e.g., number of Internet pages accessed, number of problems solved correctly).

In the absence of self-recording, selective memory of successes and failures can occur. Our beliefs about outcomes often do not faithfully reflect our actual outcomes (e.g., we may think we performed better than we actually did). Self-recording can yield surprising results. Students having difficulties studying who keep a written record of their activities may learn they are wasting more than half of their study time on nonacademic tasks.

There are two important criteria for self-monitoring: regularity and proximity (Bandura,  1986 ). Regularitymeans monitoring behavior on a continual basis instead of intermittently; for example, keeping a daily record rather than recording behavior one day per week. Nonregular observation often yields misleading results. Proximity means that behavior is monitored close in time to its occurrence rather than long afterward. It is better to write down what we do at the time it occurs, rather than to wait until the end of the day to reconstruct events.

Self-monitoring methods place responsibility for behavioral assessment on the student (Belfiore & Hornyak,  1998 ). These methods often lead to significant behavioral improvements, known as reactive effects. Self-monitored responses are consequences of behaviors, and like other consequences, they affect future responding. Self-recordings are immediate responses that serve to mediate the relationship between preceding behavior and longer-term consequences (Mace & West,  1986 ). Students who monitor their completion of problems during seat work provide themselves with immediate reinforcers that mediate the link between seat work and such distant consequences as teacher praise and good grades.

Research supports the benefits of self-monitoring on achievement outcomes. Sagotsky, Patterson, and Lepper ( 1978 ) had children periodically monitor their performances during mathematics sessions and record whether they were working on the appropriate instructional material. Other students set daily performance goals, and students in a third condition received self-monitoring and goal setting. Self-monitoring increased time on task and mathematical achievement; goal setting had minimal effects. For goal setting to affect performance, students initially may need to learn how to set challenging but attainable goals.

Schunk ( 1983d ) provided subtraction instruction and practice to children who failed to master subtraction operations in their classrooms. One group (self-monitoring) reviewed their work at the end of each instructional session and recorded the number of workbook pages they completed. A second group (external monitoring) had their work reviewed at the end of each session by an adult who recorded the number of pages completed. No-monitoring children received the instructional program, but were not monitored or told to monitor their work.

Self- and external-monitoring conditions led to higher self-efficacy, skill, and persistence, compared with no monitoring. The effects of the two monitoring conditions were comparable. The benefits of monitoring did not depend on children’s performances during the instructional sessions, because the three treatment conditions did not result in different amounts of work completed. Monitoring progress, rather than who evaluated it, enhanced children’s perceptions of their learning progress and self-efficacy.

Reid, Trout, and Schartz ( 2005 ) reviewed the literature on self-regulation interventions to promote on-task behavior and academic performance and reduce disruptive behaviors among children with attention deficits and hyperactivity. Self-monitoring, alone and in combination with self-reinforcement, often was a component in effective interventions.

Self-Instruction

Self-instruction  refers to establishing discriminative stimuli that set the occasion for self-regulatory responses leading to reinforcement (Mace et al.,  1989 ). As used here, self-instruction is not the same as self-instructional training (Meichenbaum,  1977 Chapter 4 ). One type of self-instruction involves arranging the environment to produce discriminative stimuli. Students who realize they need to review class notes the next day might write themselves a reminder before going to bed. The written reminder serves as a cue to review, which makes reinforcement (i.e., a good grade on a quiz) more likely. Another type of self-instruction takes the form of statements (rules) that serve as discriminative stimuli to guide behavior. This type of self-instruction is included in the self-instructional training procedure.

Strategy instruction is an effective means of enhancing comprehension and self-efficacy among poor readers. Schunk and Rice ( 1986 1987 ) taught remedial readers to use the following self-instruction strategy while reading comprehension passages:

·  What do I have to do? (1) Read the questions. (2) Read the passage to find out what it is mostly about. (3) Think about what the details have in common. (4) Think about what would make a good title. (5) Reread the story if I don’t know the answer to a question. (Schunk & Rice,  1987 , pp. 290–291)

Children verbalized the individual steps prior to applying them to passages.

Self-instructional statements have been used to teach a variety of academic, social, and motor skills. These statements are especially helpful for students with learning disabilities or attention deficits. Verbalizing statements keeps learners focused on a task. A self-instruction procedure used to improve the handwriting of a student with learning disabilities is as follows (Kosiewicz, Hallahan, Lloyd, & Graves,  1982 ):

·  (1) Say aloud the word to be written. (2) Say the first syllable. (3) Name each of the letters in that syllable three times. (4) Repeat each letter as it is written down. (5) Repeat steps 2 through 4 for each succeeding syllable.

This sequence appeared on a card on the student’s desk. During training, the student was praised for completing the steps. Once the student learned the procedure, praise was discontinued and the sequence was maintained by the consequence of better handwriting.

Self-Reinforcement

Self-reinforcement  refers to the process whereby individuals reinforce themselves contingent on their performing a desired response, which increases the likelihood of future responding (Mace et al.,  1989 ). As discussed in  Chapter 3 , a reinforcer is defined on the basis of its effects. To illustrate, assume that Mitch is on a point system: He awards himself one point for each page he reads in his geography book. He keeps a record each week, and if his week’s points exceed his previous week’s points by 5%, he earns 30 minutes of free time on Friday. Whether this arrangement functions as self-reinforcement cannot be determined until it is known whether he regularly earns the free time. If he does (i.e., his average performance increases as the semester proceeds), then the reinforcement contingency is regulating his academic behaviors.

Much research shows that reinforcement contingencies improve academic performance (Bandura,  1986 ), but it is unclear whether self-reinforcement is more effective than externally administered reinforcement (such as given by the teacher). Studies investigating self-reinforcement often contain problems (Brigham,  1982 ). In academic settings, the reinforcement contingency typically occurs in a context that includes instruction and rules. Students usually do not work on materials when they choose but rather when told to do so by the teacher. Students may stay on task primarily because of the teacher’s classroom control and fear of punishment rather than because of reinforcement.

Self-reinforcement is hypothesized to be an effective component of self-regulated behavior, but the reinforcement may be more important than the agent of reinforcement (self or others). Although self-reinforcement may enhance maintenance of behavior over time, explicitly providing reinforcement may be more important while self-regulatory skills are being learned.

Behavior theory has been widely applied to teach self-regulated behaviors. Self-monitoring, self-instruction, and self-reinforcement are self-regulatory processes that can be taught to students. At the same time, the behavioral position does not take cognitive and affective factors into consideration. This limits its applicability to self-regulated learning, because learning requires self-regulating more than just behaviors; for example, students must set goals and maintain a sense of self-efficacy for learning. These variables are considered critical in a social cognitive theoretical perspective on self-regulation, as discussed next.

SOCIAL COGNITIVE INFLUENCES

Conceptual Framework

Social cognitive theory has been applied extensively to self-regulated learning (Bandura,  1997 2001 ; Pintrich,  2004 ; Pintrich & Zusho,  2002 ; Schunk,  2012 ; B. Zimmerman,  2000 ; Zimmerman & Schunk,  2004 ). A critical ingredient is learner choice (Zimmerman,  1994 1998 2000 Table 10.1 ). This does not mean that learners always take advantage of the available choices, especially when they are uncertain about what to do and ask the teacher. When all task aspects are controlled, however, it is accurate to speak of learning being “externally controlled” or “controlled by others.” This type of situation results when a teacher gives students no latitude in methods, outcomes, and other conditions. The potential for self-regulation varies depending on choices available to learners.

Table 10.1 Learner choices and self-regulatory processes.

Choice

Self-Regulatory Processes

Choose to participate

Goals, self-efficacy, values

Choose method

Strategy use, relaxation

Choose outcomes

Self-monitoring, self-judgment

Choose social and physical setting

Environmental structuring, help seeking

Table 10.1  shows choices potentially available to learners and some corresponding self-regulatory processes. One choice is whether to participate. This depends on such processes as learners’ goals, values, and self-efficacy. Learners also may choose the methods they use while learning; for example, which strategies they employ and which relaxation techniques they use if they become anxious. A third type of choice involves outcomes: Which outcomes do learners desire? As they work on the task they monitor their performances and judge whether their performances are moving them toward outcome attainment. Finally, learners may be able to choose the social and physical settings they use to work on the task. This may require that they structure their environments to make them conducive to learning and seek help when they need it.

In some classrooms, little self-regulation is possible. Suppose that a teacher tells students to write a 10-page typewritten, double-spaced paper on an assigned topic, containing at least 10 references, completed in 3 weeks, and written individually in the media center and at home. Assuming the teacher further specifies the paper format, the teacher is directing most of this assignment.

In contrast, assume Jim wants to learn to play the guitar. He chooses to engage in this task. The method he chooses is to take lessons from a teacher. He takes one 45-minute lesson per week and practices 1 hour per day. His goal is to be proficient enough to play in public. He practices the guitar at home at night. Besides his teacher, he enlists the aid of a friend who plays the guitar and asks him technical questions about finger positions and tuning. Jim has almost complete control over the situation, so it allows for maximum self-regulation.

Many situations lie somewhere between these extremes. Teachers may give a term paper assignment but allow students to choose from several topics. Students also may be able to decide on the resources they use, where they write, and how long the paper will be. High school senior graduation projects typically specify some elements (e.g., research paper, oral presentation), but give students choices with other elements (e.g., topic, props). It thus makes more sense to ask to what degree one engages in self-regulation rather than whether one is self-regulated.

Table 10.2 Processes of self-regulation.

Self-Observation

Self-Judgment

Self-Reaction

Regularity

Types of standards

Evaluative motivators

Proximity

Goal properties

Tangible motivators

Self-recording

Goal importance

 

 

Attributions

 

Interventions designed to enhance self-regulation in students often focus on one or more self-regulatory processes and provide students with instruction and practice on those processes. A wealth of evidence shows that self-regulatory competencies can be enhanced through educational interventions (Schunk & Ertmer,  2000 ; Schunk & Zimmerman,  1994 1998 2008 ).

Self-Regulatory Processes

Early applications of social cognitive theoretical principles of self-regulation involved investigating the operation of three processes: self-observation (or self-monitoring), self-judgment, and self-reaction (Bandura,  1986 Table 10.2 ). Notice the similarity of these to the three processes espoused by behavior theory: self-monitoring, self-instruction, and self-reinforcement.

Students enter learning activities with such goals as acquiring knowledge and problem-solving strategies, finishing assignments, and performing experiments. With these goals in mind, students observe, judge, and react to their perceived progress. These processes are not mutually exclusive, but rather interact with one another.

Self-Observation.

Self-observation  involves judging observed aspects of one’s behavior against standards and reacting positively or negatively. People’s evaluations and reactions set the stage for additional observations of the same behavioral aspects or others. These processes also do not operate independently of the environment (Zimmerman,  1989 1990 2000 ). Students who judge their learning progress as inadequate may react by asking for teacher assistance, which alters their environment. In turn, teachers may instruct students in a more efficient strategy, which students then use to promote their learning. That environmental influences (e.g., teachers) can assist the development of self-regulation is important, because educators advocate that students be taught self-regulatory skills (Schunk & Zimmerman,  1994 1998 2008 ).

Self-observation is conceptually similar to self-monitoring and is commonly taught as part of self-regulatory instruction (Lan,  1998 ; Zimmerman, Bonner, & Kovach,  1996 ); however, by itself self-observation usually is insufficient to self-regulate behavior over time. Standards of goal attainment and criteria in assessing goal progress are necessary.

Self-Judgment.

Self-judgment  refers to comparing present performance level with one’s goal. Self-judgments depend on the type of self-evaluative standards employed, properties of the goal, importance of goal attainment, and attributions.

Self-evaluative standards  may be absolute or normative. Absolute standards are fixed; normative standards are based on performances of others. Students whose goal is to read six pages in 30 minutes gauge their progress against this absolute standard. Grading systems often reflect absolute standards (e.g., A = 90–100, B = 80–89).

Normative standards frequently are acquired by observing models (Bandura,  1986 ). Socially comparing one’s performances with those of others is an important way to determine the appropriateness of behaviors and self-evaluate performances. Social comparison becomes more probable when absolute standards are nonexistent or ambiguous (Festinger,  1954 ). Students have numerous opportunities to compare their work with that of their peers. Absolute and normative standards often are employed in concert, as when students have 30 minutes to read six pages and compare their progress with peers to gauge who will be the first to finish.

Standards inform and motivate. Comparing performance with standards indicates goal progress. Students who read three pages in 10 minutes realize they have finished half of the reading in less than half of the time. The belief that they are making progress enhances their self-efficacy, which sustains their motivation to complete the task. Similar others, rather than those much higher or lower in ability, offer the best basis for comparison (Schunk,  1987 ).

Schunk ( 1983b ) compared the effects of social comparative information with those of goal setting during a division training program. Half of the children were given performance goals during each instructional session; the other half were advised to work productively. Within each goal condition, half of the students were told the number of problems other similar children had completed (which matched the session goal) to convey that goals were attainable; the other half were not given comparative information. Goals enhanced self-efficacy; comparative information promoted motivation. Children who received both goals and comparative information demonstrated the highest skill acquisition.

Davidson and Smith ( 1982 ) had children observe a superior adult, equal peer, or inferior younger child set stringent or lenient task standards. Children who observed a lenient model rewarded themselves more often for lower scores than those who observed a stringent model. Children’s self-reward standards were lower than those of the adult, equal to those of the peer, and higher than those of the younger child. Model–observer similarity in age might have led children to believe that what was appropriate for the peer was appropriate for them.

Observation of models affects self-efficacy and achievement behaviors ( Chapter 4 ). Zimmerman and Ringle ( 1981 ) exposed children to an adult model who unsuccessfully attempted to solve a wire puzzle for a long or short period and who verbalized statements of confidence or pessimism. Children who observed a pessimistic model persist for a long time lowered their efficacy judgments. Perceived similarity to models is especially influential when observers experience difficulties and possess self-doubts about performing well (Schunk & Hanson,  1985 ; Schunk, Hanson, & Cox,  1987 ).

APPLICATION 10.2 Goal Setting and Self-Regulation

Goal setting is a useful strategy for completing long-term tasks. Many students have doubts about finishing a project that includes a display and a research paper. Teachers can assist their students by breaking the assignment into short-term goals. If students have a 6-week period to complete the project, their first task (one week) might be to choose a topic after researching various topics. The second week can be spent on more research and to develop a paper outline. After the outlines are submitted and feedback received, students have 2 weeks to work on the initial drafts of their papers and to draw a sketch of the items to be included in their displays. Teachers can review their progress and provide feedback. Students then revise papers and develop displays during the final 2 weeks.

Law students can become overwhelmed when trying to learn and analyze numerous landmark cases in preparing for moot court. Law professors can help throughout the semester by having students set realistic goals and by helping students organize their studying. Students might begin by establishing goals to learn the cases for major categories (e.g., family, business, private, and international law) in a set time period. Within each major goal category subgoals can be created; for example, for the major goal category of private law, subgoals can be established for ownership and use of property, contracts between individuals, and redress by way of compensation for harm inflicted on one person by another.

Goal properties—specificity, proximity, difficulty—are especially influential with long-term tasks ( Chapter 4 ). Teachers can assist students who have doubts about writing a good term paper by breaking the task into short-term goals (e.g., selecting a topic, conducting background research, writing an outline). Learners are apt to believe they can accomplish the subtasks, and completing each subtask develops their self-efficacy for producing a good term paper. Examples are given in  Application 10.2 .

Allowing students to set learning goals enhances goal commitment (Locke & Latham,  1990 2002 ) and promotes self-efficacy (Schunk,  1990 ). Schunk ( 1985 ) found support for this in a study with children with learning disabilities. Some children set mathematical subtraction problem-solving goals for themselves each session, others were assigned comparable goals by a teacher, and others received instruction but no goals. Self-set goals led to higher expectancies of goal attainment compared with goals set by others. Relative to the other two conditions, self-set goals produced the highest self-efficacy and greatest skill acquisition.

Self-judgments reflect in part the importance of goal attainment. When individuals care little about how they perform, they may not assess their performance or expend effort to improve it (Bandura,  1986 ). People judge their progress in learning for goals they value. Sometimes goals that originally hold little value become more important when people receive feedback indicating they are becoming skillful. Novice piano players initially may hold ill-defined goals for themselves (e.g., play better). As their skills develop, they begin to set specific goals (e.g., learn to play a particular piece) and judge progress relative to these goals.

Attributions  (perceived causes of outcomes;  Chapter 9 ), along with goal progress judgments, can affect self-efficacy, motivation, achievement, and affective reactions (Schunk,  2001 2008 ). Students who believe they are not making good progress toward their goals may attribute their performances to low ability, which negatively impacts expectancies and behaviors. Students who attribute poor progress to lackadaisical effort or an inadequate learning strategy may believe they will perform better if they work harder or switch to a different strategy (Schunk,  2008 ). Learners take greater pride in their accomplishments when they attribute them to ability and effort than to external causes (Weiner,  1985 ). They are more self-critical when they believe that they failed due to personal reasons rather than to circumstances beyond their control.

Attributional feedback can enhance self-regulated learning (Schunk,  2008 ). Being told that one can achieve better results through harder work can motivate one to do so, because the feedback conveys that one is capable (Andrews & Debus,  1978 ; Dweck,  1975 ; Schunk,  2008 ). Providing effort feedback for prior successes supports students’ perceptions of their progress, sustains their motivation, and increases their efficacy for further learning (Schunk,  1982a ; Schunk & Cox,  1986 ).

The timing of attributional feedback is important. Early successes constitute a prominent cue for forming ability attributions. Feedback linking early successes with ability (e.g., “That’s correct; you’re good at this”) should enhance learning efficacy. Many times, however, effort feedback for early successes is more credible, because when students lack skills they have to expend effort to succeed. As students develop skills, ability feedback better enhances self-efficacy (Schunk,  1983a ).

Self-Reaction.

Self-reactions  to goal progress motivate behavior (Bandura,  1986 ; Zimmerman & Schunk,  2004 ). The belief that one is making acceptable progress, along with the anticipated satisfaction of accomplishing the goal, enhances self-efficacy and sustains motivation. Negative evaluations do not decrease motivation if individuals believe they are capable of improving (Schunk,  1995 ). If students believe they have been lackadaisical but can progress with enhanced effort, they are apt to feel efficacious and redouble their efforts. Motivation does not improve if students believe they lack the ability and will not succeed no matter how hard they try (Schunk,  1982a 2008 ).

Instructions to people to respond evaluatively to their performances promote motivation; people who think they can perform better persist longer and expend greater effort (Kanfer & Gaelick,  1986 ). Perceived progress is relative to one’s goals; the same level of performance can be evaluated differently. Some students are content with a B in a course, whereas others will be dissatisfied with a B because they want an A. Assuming that people feel capable of improving, higher goals lead to greater effort and persistence than lower goals (Bandura & Cervone,  1983 ).

People routinely reward themselves tangibly with work breaks, new clothes, and evenings out with friends, contingent on their making progress toward goal attainment. The anticipated consequences of behavior, rather than the actual consequences, enhance motivation (Bandura,  1986 ). Grades are given at the end of courses, yet students typically set subgoals for accomplishing their work and reward and punish themselves accordingly.

Tangible consequences also affect self-efficacy. External rewards that are given based on actual accomplishments enhance efficacy. Telling students that they will earn rewards based on what they accomplish instills a sense of self-efficacy for learning (Schunk,  1995 ). Self-efficacy is validated as students work on a task and note their progress. Receipt of the reward further validates efficacy, because it symbolizes progress. Rewards not tied to performances (e.g., given for spending time on the task regardless of what one accomplishes) may convey negative self-efficacy information; students might infer they are not expected to learn much because they are not capable (Schunk,  1983e ).

Cyclical Nature of Self-Regulated Learning

Social cognitive theorists emphasize the dynamic interaction of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors (Bandura,  1986 1997 ; Pintrich & Zusho,  2002 ; B. Zimmerman,  2000 2001 ; Zimmerman & Schunk,  2004 Chapter 4 ). Self-regulated learning is a cyclical process because these factors typically change during learning and must be monitored. Such monitoring leads to changes in an individual’s strategies, cognitions, affects, and behaviors.

This cyclical nature is captured in Zimmerman’s ( 1998 2000 ) three-phase model of self-regulated learning ( Figure 10.1 ). This model also expands the classical view, which covers task engagement, because it includes self-regulatory processes performed before and after engagement. The forethought phase precedes actual performance and refers to processes that set the stage for action. The performance (volitional) control phase involves processes that occur during learning and affect attention and action. During the self-reflection phase, which occurs after performance, people respond to their efforts (Zimmerman & Schunk,  2004 ).

image1

Figure 10.1 Model of self-regulated learning.

Source: From “Developing Self-Fulfilling Cycles of Academic Regulation: An Analysis of Exemplary Instructional Models,” by B. J. Zimmerman, 1998 in D. H. Schunk and B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.)., Self-Regulating Learning: From Teaching to Self Reflective Practice (pp. 3) New York: Guilford Press

Various self-regulatory processes come into play during the different phases. In the forethought phase, learners set goals, engage in strategic planning, and hold a sense of self-efficacy for attaining their goals. Performance control involves implementing learning strategies that affect motivation and learning, as well as observing and recording one’s performances. During periods of self-reflection, learners engage in self-evaluation (addressed next) and make attributions for their performances, after which they return to either the forethought or performance control phase. There is evidence that teaching students to engage in self-regulation in all three phases has desirable effects on strategic thinking and attributions (Cleary, Zimmerman, & Keating,  2006 ; DiBenedetto & Zimmerman,  2010 ).

Pintrich’s ( 2000b ) social cognitive model comprises four phases: forethought, planning and activation; monitoring; control; and reaction and reflection. Within each phase, possible areas for self-regulation are cognition, motivation, affect, behavior, and context. During the forethought phase, learners set goals and activate content and metacognitive knowledge. Motivational variables during this phase are goal orientations, self-efficacy, and perceptions of task difficulty, task value, and interest. The monitoring and control phases during task engagement involve metacognitive awareness and monitoring of cognition, motivation, and affect; behavior (e.g., effort, time management); and context (e.g., changes in conditions); along with strategies for learning, managing motivation, exerting behavioral self-control, and changing the task or context. Following task engagement, learners make cognitive judgments and attributions of their performance and evaluate the task and context, after which they may return to the forethought phase.

Self-Evaluation.

Effective self-regulation requires goals and motivation (Bandura,  1986 ; B. Zimmerman,  2000 ). Students must regulate their actions and underlying achievement cognitions, beliefs, intentions, and affects. Research substantiates the prediction that self-monitoring of achievement beliefs sustains learning and promotes achievement (Schunk & Zimmerman,  1994 2008 ; B. Zimmerman,  2000 ; Zimmerman et al.,  1996 ; Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons,  1992 ).

Effective self-regulators develop self-efficacy for self-regulating their learning and performance (Caprara et al.,  2008 ; Pajares,  2008 ; Schunk,  2012 ; Zimmerman, Bandura, & Martinez-Pons,  1992 ). Research shows that self-efficacy for self-regulated learning bears a significant and positive relation to students’ academic achievement and grades (Caprara et al.,  2008 ).

Of critical importance is self-evaluation of capabilities and progress in skill acquisition.  Self-evaluation comprises self-judgments of present performance by comparing one’s goal and self-reactions to those judgments by deeming performance noteworthy, unacceptable, and so forth. Positive self-evaluations lead students to feel efficacious about learning and motivated to continue to work diligently because they believe they are capable of making further progress (Schunk & Pajares,  2009 ). Low self-judgments of progress and negative self-reactions will not necessarily diminish self-efficacy and motivation if students believe they are capable of succeeding but that their present approach is ineffective (Bandura,  1986 ). Such students may alter their self-regulatory processes by working harder, persisting longer, adopting what they believe is a better strategy, or seeking help from teachers and peers (Schunk,  2001 ; Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons,  1992 ).

Research substantiates the hypothesis that self-evaluations of capabilities and progress in skill acquisition affect achievement outcomes (Schunk & Ertmer,  2000 ). Investigations with children during learning of mathematical skills (Schunk & Hanson,  1985 ; Schunk et al.,  1987 ) and writing skills (Schunk & Swartz,  1993a 1993b ) show that self-efficacy for learning or improving skills assessed prior to instruction predict motivation and skill acquisition.

Bandura and Cervone ( 1983 ) obtained benefits of goals and self-evaluative feedback among college students on motor-skill performance. A similar study showed that the greater the students’ dissatisfaction with their performances and the higher their self-efficacy for performing well, the stronger was their subsequent effort expenditure (Bandura & Cervone,  1986 ). Cervone, Jiwani, and Wood ( 1991 ) found that providing individuals with a specific goal enhanced the effects of self-efficacy and self-evaluation on performance.

Students may not spontaneously self-evaluate their capabilities. One means of highlighting progress is to have them periodically assess their progress. Explicit capability self-evaluations constitute a type of self-monitoring because students must attend to their present performance and compare it with their prior performance to note progress. By making performance improvements salient, such self-monitoring is apt to raise self-efficacy, sustain self-regulatory activities, and promote skills. White, Kjelgaard, and Harkins ( 1995 ) noted that self-evaluation enhances the effects of goals on performance.

Schunk ( 1996 ) conducted two studies investigating how goals and self-evaluation affect achievement outcomes. Fourth graders received instruction and practice on fractions over several sessions. Students worked under conditions involving either a goal of learning how to solve problems (process goal) or a goal of merely solving them (product goal). In Study 1, half of the students in each goal condition evaluated their problem-solving capabilities. The process goal (with or without self-evaluation) and the product goal with self-evaluation led to higher self-efficacy, skill, self-directed performance, and task orientation than did the product goal without self-evaluation. In Study 2, all students in each goal condition evaluated their progress in skill acquisition. The process goal led to higher motivation and achievement outcomes than did the product goal.

Schunk and Ertmer ( 1999 ) examined how goals and self-evaluation affected self-efficacy, achievement, and self-reported competence and use of self-regulatory strategies. College undergraduates worked on computer projects over three sessions. Students received a process goal of learning computer applications or a product goal of performing them. In the first study, half of the students in each goal condition evaluated their progress in learning after the second session. The process goal led to higher self-efficacy, self-judged learning progress, and self-regulatory competence and strategy use; the opportunity for self-evaluation promoted self-efficacy. In the second study, self-evaluation students assessed their progress after each session. Frequent self-evaluation produced comparable results when coupled with a process or product goal. Collectively, these results suggest that infrequent self-evaluation complements learning process goals, but that multiple self-evaluations outweigh the benefits of process goals and raise achievement outcomes for all students.

Having students self-monitor their performance and evaluate their capabilities or progress in learning makes it clear that they have become more competent, and this perception strengthens self-efficacy and enhances self-regulated learning efforts. Given that students are not normally in the habit of evaluating their skills or learning progress, they may require instruction in self-evaluation and frequent opportunities to practice it. Suggestions for incorporating self-evaluation in learning settings are given in  Application 10.3 .

Learning Strategies.

The opening scenario underscores the importance of learning strategies. Self-regulated learners believe acquisition of proficiency is a strategically controllable process and accept responsibility for their achievement outcomes (Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons,  1992 ). According to social cognitive theory, self-regulated strategy use is influenced by students’ self-belief systems. Self-regulated learners are metacognitively aware of strategic relations between self-regulatory processes and learning outcomes, feel self-efficacious about using strategies, have academic goals of learning, have control over debilitating thoughts and anxiety, and believe that strategy use will help them attain goals at higher levels (Zimmerman,  1989 1990 2000 2001 2008 ; Zimmerman & Cleary,  2009 ). Students who feel efficacious about learning select what they believe are useful learning strategies, monitor their performances, and alter their task approach when their present methods do not appear to function properly.

APPLICATION 10.3 Incorporating Self-Evaluation into Learning

Teaching students to evaluate their progress and learning can begin as early as pre-school and kindergarten. Teachers initially might use simple self-checking. Children might be asked to assemble various shaped blocks to form a larger shape (rectangle, square, triangle, hexagon). Samples of various ways to combine the smaller blocks to make the shape can be drawn on cards and placed in an envelope at an activity center. Older elementary students might be given an activity sheet that accompanies a hands-on task with the answers for the sheet listed on the back so they can check their work.

For older students, self-checking can be integrated into daily activities. They also can be taught to evaluate their learning by utilizing pretests and practice tests; for example, with the learning of spelling words and mathematical facts. More complicated and thorough practice tests can be used with middle school and high school students, allowing them to determine how much studying to do and what activities they need to complete to master the unit goals.

Research shows that self-efficacy relates positively to productive use of self-regulatory strategies (Pajares,  2008 ; Pintrich & Zusho,  2002 ; Zimmerman et al.,  1992 ; Zimmerman & Cleary,  2009 ; Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons,  1990 ). Results from a series of studies support the notion that altering goals and strategies is adaptive during learning (Kitsantas & Zimmerman,  1998 ; Zimmerman & Kitsantas,  1996 1997 ). In particular, self-regulated learning is enhanced by shifting from process (strategies) to product (outcomes) goals as learning improves. Learning strategies are discussed in greater depth in the next section.

Social-Self Interaction

The dynamic nature of self-regulated learning is further highlighted in the interaction of social and self variables (Schunk,  1999 ; Schunk & Zimmerman,  1997 Table 10.3 ). Initial learning often proceeds best when learners observe social models. They then become able to perform skills in rudimentary fashion with appropriate guidance and feedback. As learners develop competence, they enter a self-control phase where they can match their actions with internal representations of the skill. At the final level, learners develop self-regulatory processes that they employ to further refine skills and select new goals.

Table 10.3 Influence of social and self variables on self-regulated learning.

Level of Development

Social Influences

Self Influences

Observation

Modeling, verbal description

 

Emulation

Social guidance and feedback

 

Self-control

 

Internal standards, self-reinforcement

Self-regulation

 

Self-regulatory processes, self-efficacy beliefs

The interaction of social and self variables helps promote internalization of self-regulatory processes.  Internalization  means that learners have these processes as part of their self-regulatory systems. They use them when they deem them necessary and can adapt them to changing task and environmental demands. Although it is possible that learners could skip early phases if they enter with some skills, this sequence is a useful instructional strategy to help learners develop skills and self-regulatory competence (Zimmerman & Kitsantas,  2005 ).

INFORMATION PROCESSING

Self-regulated learning has been addressed by information processing theories, which have evolved from their original formulations to incorporate cognitive and motivational self-regulatory processes. This section presents an information processing model of self-regulated learning and discusses research on and applications of learning strategies—a key feature of self-regulation from an information processing perspective.

Model of Self-Regulated Learning

Information processing theories view learning as the encoding of information in long-term memory (LTM;  Chapters 5  and  6 ). Learners activate relevant portions of LTM and relate new knowledge to existing information in working memory (WM). Organized and meaningful information is easier to integrate with existing knowledge and more likely to be remembered.

Self-regulated learning is roughly equivalent to  metacognitive awareness  or  metacognition  (Gitomer & Glaser,  1987 ), where individuals monitor, direct, and regulate actions toward goals (Paris & Paris,  2001 ). This awareness includes knowledge of the task (e.g., what is to be learned, when and how it is to be learned), as well as self-knowledge of personal capabilities, interests, and attitudes. Self-regulated learning requires learners to have a sound knowledge base comprising task demands, personal qualities, and strategies for completing the task.

Metacognitive awareness also includes procedural knowledge or productions that regulate learning by monitoring one’s level of learning, deciding when to take a different task approach, and assessing readiness for a test. Self-regulatory (metacognitive) activities are under the learner’s direction. They facilitate the construction and processing of knowledge.

The basic (superordinate) unit of self-regulation may be a problem-solving production system, in which the problem is to reach the goal and the monitoring serves to ascertain whether the learner is making progress. This system compares the present situation against a standard and attempts to reduce discrepancies.

An early formulation of this system was Miller, Galanter, and Pribham’s ( 1960 Test-Operate-Test-Exit(TOTE) model. The initial test phase compares the present situation against a standard. If they are the same, no further action is required. If they do not match, control is switched to the operate function to change behavior to resolve the discrepancy. One perceives a new state of affairs that is compared to the standard during the second test phase. Assuming that these match, one exits the model. If they do not match, further behavioral changes and comparisons are necessary.

This process can be illustrated with Lisa, who is reading her economics text and stops periodically to summarize what she has read. She recalls information from LTM pertaining to what she has read and compares the information to her internal standard of an adequate summary. This standard may be characterized by rules (e.g., be precise, include information on all topics covered, be accurate) developed through experiences in summarizing. Assuming that her summary matches her standard, she continues reading. If they do not match, Lisa evaluates where the problem lies (in her understanding of the second paragraph) and executes a correction strategy (rereads the second paragraph).

Winne and Hadwin ( 1998 2008 ; Winne,  2001 2011 ) developed an information processing model of self-regulated learning that is highly relevant to education (Greene & Azevedo,  2007 ). This model comprises three necessary phases (definition of task, goals and plans, studying tactics) and one optional phase (adaptations).

In the first phase, learners process information about the conditions that characterize the task in order to clearly define it (Winne,  2001 ). There are two main sources of information. Task conditions include information about the task that learners interpret based on the external environment (e.g., teacher’s directions for an assignment). Cognitive conditions are those that learners retrieve from long-term memory. These include information about how they did on prior work, as well as motivational variables (e.g., perceived competence, attributions). In the second phase, learners decide on a goal and a plan for attaining it. The plan will include relevant learning strategies. As they begin to apply these strategies, they move into the third phase (studying tactics). In phase four students make adaptations to their plans based on their evaluations of how successful they are. This phase is optional; if the original plan is successful there is no need to adapt it.

Within each phase, information processing occurs and constructs information products (new information). Information processes work on existing information and are characterized by the acronym SMART: searching, monitoring, assembling, rehearsing, translating. Working on a task requires using a  schema , or  script , and each script has five possible slots to fill characterized by the acronym COPES: conditions, operations, products, evaluations, standards. Figuratively speaking, these are the elements a student “copes with” to learn (Winne,  2001 ). Information processing outcomes are judged against standards, and these evaluations (e.g., on target, too high) serve as the basis for bringing new conditions to bear on the student’s learning activities.

The importance of this model for education derives heavily from its development and use with learning content and on its inclusion of motivational variables. These motivational variables are combined with cognitive variables to determine the usefulness of a particular self-regulatory schema, or script. This model represents an advance over traditional and contemporary information processing models that emphasize cognitive components ( Chapters 5  and  6 ). Much research supports the idea that motivational variables are important during self-regulated learning (Zimmerman & Schunk,  2001 ).

There are other information processing models of self-regulation (e.g., Carver & Scheier,  1998 ), but they are in agreement in their emphasis on learning strategies. These are discussed next.

Learning Strategies

Learning strategies  are cognitive plans oriented toward successful task performance (Pressley et al.,  1990 ; Weinstein & Mayer,  1986 ). Strategies include methods such as selecting and organizing information, rehearsing material to be learned, relating new material to information in memory, and enhancing meaningfulness of material. Strategies also include techniques that create and maintain a positive learning climate—for example, ways to overcome test anxiety, enhance self-efficacy, appreciate the value of learning, and develop positive outcome expectations and attitudes (Weinstein & Mayer,  1986 ). Use of strategies is an integral part of self-regulated learning because strategies give learners better control over information processing (Winne,  2001 ). In the opening vignette, Connie stresses the importance of Kim using learning strategies in her courses.

Learning strategies assist encoding in each of its phases. Thus, learners initially attend to relevant task information and transfer it from the sensory register to WM. Learners also activate related knowledge in LTM. In WM, learners build connections (links) between new information and prior knowledge and integrate these links into LTM networks.

In formulating a learning strategy, learners initially might analyze an activity or situation in terms of the goal, aspects of the situation relevant to that goal, personal characteristics that seem to be important, and potentially useful self-regulated learning methods. Learners then might develop a strategy, implement the methods, monitor their goal progress, and modify the strategy when the methods are not producing goal progress. Guiding the implementation of these methods is metacognitive knowledge, which involves knowing that one must carry out the methods, why they are important, and when and how to perform them.

Self-regulated learning methods are specific procedures or techniques included in strategies to attain goals. These methods are discussed next and are shown in  Table 10.4 . Learning methods are interdependent (Weinstein & Mayer,  1986 ). For example, procedures that elaborate information also often rehearse and organize it. Methods that organize information may relieve one’s stress about learning and help one cope with anxiety. Methods are not equally appropriate with all types of tasks. Rehearsal may be the method of choice when one must memorize simple facts, but organization is more appropriate for comprehension (see  Application 10.4 ).

Rehearsal.

Repeating information verbatim, underlining, and summarizing are forms of  rehearsal . Repeating information to oneself—aloud, subvocally (whispering), or covertly—is an effective method for tasks requiring rote memorization. For example, to learn the names of the 50 state capitals, Janna might say the name of each state followed by the name of its capital. Rehearsal also can help learners memorize lines to a song or poem and learn English translations of foreign-language words.

Table 10.4 Learning methods.

Method

Examples

Rehearsal

Repeating information verbatim

Underlining

Summarizing

Elaboration

Using imagery

Using mnemonics: acronym, sentence, narrative story, pegword, method of loci, keyword

Questioning

Note taking

Organization

Using mnemonics

Grouping

Outlining

Mapping

Monitoring

Self-questioning

Rereading

Checking consistencies

Paraphrasing

Affective

Coping with anxiety

Holding positive beliefs: self-efficacy, outcome expectations, attitudes

Creating a positive environment

Managing time

Rehearsal that rotely repeats information does not link information with what one already knows. Nor does rehearsal organize information in hierarchical or other fashion. As a consequence, LTM does not store rehearsed information in any meaningful sense, and retrieval after some time is often difficult.

Rehearsal can be useful for complex learning, but it must involve more than merely repeating information. One useful rehearsal procedure is underlining (highlighting). This method, which is popular among students, improves learning if employed judiciously (Snowman,  1986 ). When too much material is underlined, underlining loses its effectiveness because less important material is underlined along with more important ideas. Underlined material should represent points most relevant to learning goals.

In summarizing—another popular rehearsal procedure—students put into their own words (orally or in writing) the main ideas expressed in the text. As with underlining, summarizing loses its effectiveness if it includes too much information (Snowman,  1986 ). Limiting the length of students’ summaries forces them to identify main ideas.

The  reciprocal teaching  method of Palincsar and Brown ( 1984 ) includes summarization as a means for promoting reading comprehension ( Chapter 7 ). Reciprocal teaching is based on Vygotsky’s ( 1978 zone of proximal development (ZPD) , or the amount a student can learn given the proper instructional conditions ( Chapter 8 ). Instruction begins with the teacher performing the activity, after which students and teacher perform together. Students gradually assume more responsibility and teach one another.

APPLICATION 10.4 Learning Methods

Learning methods are useful at all educational levels. Elementary teachers might use rhyming schemes or catchy songs to teach the alphabet (the “ABC Song”). They might employ familiar words to assist children in learning the directions north, south, east, and west (e.g., learn to draw a line connecting north-east-west-south, this spells “news”). Teachers of older students can show them ways to organize material to be studied—the text, class notes, and Internet readings—as well as how to create new notes that integrate material from various sources.

In medical school, acronyms and pictures can help students memorize the terminology for parts of the body. When students learn the appropriate drugs to prescribe for various conditions, having them place the names of drugs, their uses, and their side effects into categories may assist with the learning.

Track coaches may help their broad jump and pole vault team members by asking them to close their eyes and slowly visualize every movement their bodies must make to accomplish the jumps. By visualizing their movements, team members can focus on specific positions they need to work on. Executing the actual jump happens so quickly that focusing on what one is doing is difficult, whereas the use of imagery helps to slow the action down.

College instructors could use a memory technique with students to group psychologists who have similar views by developing a catchy phrase or acronym. For example, the major behavioral theorists can be remembered with the phrase: “The (Thorn-dike) Sisters (Skinner) Won’t (Watson) Play (Pavlov) Together (Tolman).” Students first recall the sentence, then add the names.

Palincsar and Brown taught children to summarize, question, clarify, and predict. Children periodically summarized what they read in the passage, asked teacher-type questions about main ideas, clarified unclear portions of text, and predicted what would happen next. Readers should note that these procedures are not unique to reading comprehension instruction; they are good problem-solving methods that can be used with effective results across domains (e.g., science, mathematics, social studies).

Elaboration.

Elaboration  procedures (imagery, mnemonics, questioning, and note taking) expand information by adding something to make learning more meaningful. Imagery ( Chapters 5  and  6 ) adds a mental picture. Consider the definition of a turnip: a biennial plant of the mustard family with edible hairy leaves and a roundish, light-colored fleshy root used as a vegetable. One could memorize this definition through rote rehearsal or elaborate it by looking at a picture of a turnip and forming a mental image to link with the definition.

Mnemonics  are popular elaboration methods. A mnemonic makes information meaningful by relating it to what one knows. Mnemonics take various forms ( Table 10.4 ). Acronyms combine the first letters of the material to be remembered into a meaningful word. “HOMES” is an acronym for the five Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior); “ROY G. BIV” for the colors of the spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet). Sentence mnemonics use the first letters of the material to be learned as the first letters of words in a sentence. For example, “Every Good Boy Does Fine” is a sentence mnemonic for the notes on the treble clef staff (E, G, B, D, F), and “My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nectarines” for the order of the planets from the sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune).

Also possible is combining material to be remembered into a paragraph or narrative story. This type of mnemonic might be useful when long lists have to be remembered (e.g., 50 state capitals). Student-generated acronyms, sentences, and stories are as effective as those supplied by others (Snowman,  1986 ).

The  pegword method  requires that learners first memorize a set of objects rhyming with integer names; for example, one-bun, two-shoe, three-tree, four-door, five-hive, six-sticks, seven-heaven, eight-gate, nine-wine, ten-hen. Then the learner generates an image of each item to be learned and links it with the corresponding object image. Thus, if Joan needs to buy some items at the grocery store (butter, milk, apples), she might imagine a buttered bun, milk in a shoe, and apples growing on a tree. To recall the shopping list, she recalls the rhyming scheme and its paired associates. Successful use of this technique requires that learners first learn the rhyming scheme.

To use the  method of loci , learners imagine a familiar scene, such as a room in their home, after which they take a mental walk around the room and stop at each prominent object. Each new item to be learned is paired mentally with one object in the room. Assuming that the room contains (in order) a table, a lamp, and a television, and using the previous grocery list example, Joan might first imagine butter on the table, a milky-colored lamp, and apples on top of the television. To recall the grocery list, she mentally retraces the path around the room and recalls the appropriate object at each stop.

Atkinson ( 1975 ; Atkinson & Raugh,  1975 ) developed the  keyword method  for learning foreign language vocabulary words. For example, pato (pronounced “pot-o”) is a Spanish word meaning “duck.” Learners initially think of an English word (pot) that sounds like the foreign word (pato). Then they link an image of a pot with the English translation of the foreign word (“duck”); for example, a duck with a pot on its head. When the learners encounter pato, they recall the image of a duck with a pot on its head. Although the keyword method has been shown to improve self-regulated learning among children and adolescents (de Bruin, Thiede, Camp, & Redford,  2011 ), its success with young children often requires supplying them with the keyword and the picture incorporating the keyword and its response.

Mnemonic techniques incorporate several valid learning principles including rehearsal and relating new information to prior knowledge. Informal evidence indicates that most students have favorite memorization techniques, many of which employ mnemonics. Experiments that compare recall of students instructed in a mnemonic with recall of students not given a memory technique generally indicate that learning benefits from mnemonics instruction (Weinstein & Mayer,  1986 ). Students must understand how to use the technique, which generally entails instruction.

Elaboration methods also are useful with complex learning tasks. For example, questioning requires that learners stop periodically as they read text and ask themselves questions. To address higher-order learning outcomes, learners might ask, “How does this information relate to what the author discussed in the preceding section?” (synthesis) or, “How can this idea be applied in a school setting?” (application).

We might assume that questioning should improve comprehension, but research has not yielded strong support for this correlation (Snowman,  1986 ). To be effective, questions must reflect the types of desired learning outcomes. Questioning will not aid comprehension if questions address low-level, factual knowledge. Unfortunately, most research studies have used relatively brief passages of fewer than 1,500 words. With older students, questioning is most useful with longer passages. Among elementary children, rereading or reviewing (rehearsing) material is equally effective. This may be due to children’s limited knowledge of how to construct good questions.

Note taking, another elaboration technique, requires learners to construct meaningful paraphrases of the most important ideas expressed in text. Note taking is similar to summarizing except that the former is not limited to immediately available information. While taking notes, students might integrate new textual material with other information in meaningful ways. To be effective, notes must not reflect verbatim textual information. Rote copying of material is a form of rehearsal and may improve recall, but it is not elaboration. The intent of note taking is to elaborate (integrate and apply) information. Students generally need instruction in how to take good notes for this method to be effective. Note taking works best when the notes include content relevant to the learning goals.

Organization.

Organization techniques include mnemonics, grouping, outlining, and mapping. Mnemonics elaborate information and organize it in meaningful fashion. Acronyms, for example, organize information into a meaningful word. Information can be organized by grouping it before using rehearsal or mnemonics. If students are learning mammal names, they might first group the names into common families (apes, cats, etc.) and then rehearse or use a mnemonic. Organization imposed by learners is an effective aid to recall; learners first recall the organizational scheme and then the individual components (Weinstein & Mayer,  1986 ).

Organization techniques are useful with complex material. A popular one is outlining, which requires that learners establish headings. Outlining improves comprehension, but as with other learning methods, students usually require instruction in how to construct a good outline. One way to teach outlining is to use a text with headings that are set off from the text or that appear in the margins, along with embedded (boldface or italic) headings interspersed throughout the text. Another way is to have students identify topic sentences and points that relate to each sentence. Simply telling students to outline a passage does not facilitate learning if students do not understand the procedure.

· Mapping  is an organizational technique that improves learners’ awareness of text structure. Mapping involves identifying important ideas and specifying their interrelationship. Concepts or ideas are identified, categorized, and related to one another. The exact nature of the map varies depending on the content and types of relationships to be specified. The following steps are useful in teaching mapping (McNeil,  1987 ):

· ■ Discuss how different sentences in a paragraph relate to one another by giving the categories into which sentences will fit: main idea, example, comparison/contrast, temporal relationship, and inference.

· ■ Model the application of this categorization with sample paragraphs.

· ■ Give students guided practice on categorizing sentences and on explaining the reasons for their choices.

· ■ Have students practice independently on paragraphs. Once students acquire these basic skills, more complex textual material can be used (multiple paragraphs, short sections of stories or chapters) with new categories introduced as needed (e.g., transition).

map  is similar to a  propositional network  because mapping involves creating a hierarchy, with main ideas, or superordinate concepts, listed at the top, followed by supporting points, examples, and subordinate concepts. Branching off from the main hierarchy are lines to related points, such as might be used if a concept is being contrasted with related concepts.  Figure 10.2  shows a sample cognitive concept map.

Research indicates differential effectiveness for mapping as a means of improving comprehension (Snowman,  1986 ). The skill to discern some relationships is learned easily (main idea–example), but the skill to discern others is more difficult to acquire (cause-effect). Students often have difficulty linking ideas between sections or paragraphs. In teaching students to construct maps, having them first map each section or paragraph separately and then link the maps is helpful. Mapping is especially effective with students who experience difficulty integrating ideas (Holley, Dansereau, McDonald, Garland, & Collins,  1979 ).

image2

Figure 10.2 Cognitive map for “city.”

Monitoring.

Monitoring helps learners determine whether they are properly applying declarative and procedural knowledge to material to be learned, evaluate whether they understand the material, decide whether their strategy is effective or whether a better strategy is needed, and know why strategy use will improve learning. Teaching students comprehension monitoring is a central component of strategy-instruction programs (Baker & Brown,  1984 ; Borkowski & Cavanaugh,  1979 ; Paris, Lipson, & Wixson,  1983 ). Self-questioning, rereading, checking consistencies, and paraphrasing are monitoring processes. Using a hypermedia learning environment with middle- and high-school students, Greene and Azevedo ( 2009 ) found that monitoring activities (e.g., self-questioning) significantly enhanced students’ understanding of complex science topics.

Some textual material periodically provides students with questions about content. Students who answer these questions as they read the material are engaging in self-questioning. When questions are not provided, students need to generate their own. As a means of training students to ask questions, teachers can instruct students to stop periodically while reading and ask themselves a series of questions (i.e., who, what, when, where, why, how).

Rereading is often accomplished in conjunction with self-questioning; when students cannot answer questions about the text or otherwise doubt their understanding, these cues prompt them to reread. Checking for consistencies involves determining whether the text is internally consistent, that is, whether parts of the text contradict others and whether conclusions that are drawn follow from what has been discussed. A belief that textual material is inconsistent serves as a cue for rereading to determine whether the author is inconsistent or whether the reader has failed to comprehend the content. Students who periodically stop and paraphrase material are checking their level of understanding. Being able to paraphrase is a cue that rereading is unnecessary (Paris & Oka,  1986 ).

A useful method to teach monitoring is Meichenbaum’s ( 1986 self-instructional training  ( Chapter 4 ). Cognitive modeling portrays a systematic approach to comprehension along with statements to self-check understanding and take corrective action as necessary. While presenting instruction to remedial readers, a teacher might verbalize the following (Meichenbaum & Asarnow,  1979 ):

·  Well, I’ve learned three big things to keep in mind before I read a story and while I read it. One is to ask myself what the main idea of the story is. What is the story about? A second is to learn important details of the story as I go along. The order of the main events or their sequence is an especially important detail. A third is to know how the characters feel and why. So, get the main idea. Watch sequences. And learn how the characters feel and why. (p. 17)

Students learn to verbalize such statements and internalize them by gradually fading them to a covert level. To remind learners what to think about, teachers might display key ideas on a poster board (e.g., get the main idea, watch sequences, learn how the characters feel and why). Winsler and Naglieri ( 2003 ) found that between the ages of 5 and 17, children’s verbal problem-solving strategies moved from overt (aloud) to partially covert (whispers) to fully covert (silent), which supports the progression in self-instructional training.

Affective Methods.

Affective methods create a favorable psychological climate for learning (Weinstein & Mayer,  1986 ). These methods help one cope with anxiety, develop positive beliefs (e.g., self-efficacy, outcome expectations, attitudes), set goals, establish a regular time and place for studying, and minimize distractions (e.g., setting such rules as no talking on the phone and no watching television).

Affective techniques help learners focus and maintain attention on important task aspects, manage time effectively, and minimize anxiety. Self-verbalization helps keep students’ attention on the academic task. At the outset of an academic activity, students might think to themselves, “This might be tough. I need to pay close attention to the teacher.” If they notice their attention is waning, they might think, “Stop thinking about _____. I need to concentrate on what the teacher is saying.”

Goal setting  is an effective time-management strategy ( Chapter 4 ). Learners who set overall learning goals, subdivide them into short-term goals, and periodically evaluate their goal progress are self-regulating their academic performances. The belief that they are making progress strengthens students’ self-efficacy for continued learning (Schunk,  1995 ).

Anxiety about tests, grades, and failure interferes with learning. Students who ruminate about potential failure waste time and strengthen doubts about their capabilities. Anxiety-reduction programs employ systematic desensitization, modeling, and guided self-talk. Models verbalize positive achievement beliefs (e.g., “I know that if I work hard, I can do well on the test”) rather than dysfunctional beliefs (e.g., “I can’t pass the test”). Coping models, who initially are anxious but use effective self-regulated learning methods and persist until they perform better, are important therapeutic agents of change (Schunk,  1987 ).

For students who have difficulties taking tests, a specific program to teach test-taking skills may prove beneficial (Kirkland & Hollandsworth,  1980 ). These programs typically teach students to subdivide the test, establish time limits for each part, and not spend too long on any one question. To conquer negative thoughts while taking a test, students are taught relaxation techniques and ways to refocus attention on test items. Test performance and beliefs exert reciprocal effects. Experiencing some test success creates a sense of self-efficacy for performing well, which leads to more productive studying and better performance.

Effectiveness of Strategy Instruction.

The research literature on strategy instruction has expanded dramatically in recent years (Corno,  2008 ). Hattie, Biggs, and Purdie ( 1996 ) conducted an extensive review of interventions aimed at improving student learning. They concluded that most interventions were effective, and they obtained evidence for near transfer. When transfer is a goal, it is imperative that students understand the conditions under which the strategy is effective. The best self-regulated strategy instruction programs are those that are integrated with academic content and implemented in classrooms that support students’ self-regulated learning (Butler,  1998a 1998b ; Perry,  1998 ; Winne & Hadwin,  2008 ).

As with other aspects of learning, strategy instruction is most effective when the methods are meaningful to students and they perceive them as valuable to use. The research literature contains many examples of strategy-instruction programs with immediate effects that did not endure over time or transfer beyond the learning context (Borkowski & Cavanaugh,  1979 ; Borkowski, Johnston, & Reid,  1987 ). Strategy instruction programs with children often have participants who demonstrate  production deficiencies  (i.e., they fail to use a strategy that is available to them) and  utilization deficiencies  (i.e., they use the strategy but it does not enhance their performances; Schwenck, Bjorklund, & Schneider,  2007 ).

Pressley and his colleagues (Harris & Pressley,  1991 ; Pressley, Harris, & Marks,  1992 ; Pressley et al.,  1990 ) contended that several factors should be taken into account when designing and implementing strategy-instruction programs. Strategies should not be foisted on students; teaching strategies in the hope that students will realize their benefits and use them is preferable.

·  Good strategy instruction sends the message that students can control how they do academically, with much gained by creatively applying the cognitive strategies that are taught to them. Good strategy instruction encourages student reflection, permitting powerful tools for reflective “meaning-getting” from texts, creation of reflective stances via writing, and reflective decision making about whether and how to use strategies they know to tackle new situations. (Pressley & McCormick,  1995 , p. 515)

Strategy instruction is likely to be most effective when the constructivist nature of the acquisition and use of strategies is stressed (Goldin-Meadow, Alibali, & Church,  1993 ; Paris & Paris,  2001 Chapter 8 ). A key point is that students are motivated to construct understanding from inputs they receive. Good teaching complements this process because it provides rich inputs and the context for constructions to take place. In the opening vignette, Connie hopes that eventually Kim will adapt strategies to be most effective for her.

Pressley et al. ( 1992 ) recommended several steps to follow in strategy instruction ( Table 10.5 ). Introducing a few strategies at a time does not overload students, and the strategies can be coalesced into a large package to show how they interrelate. The advantage of providing distributed practice on diverse tasks is to facilitate transfer and maintenance. The importance of teachers as models cannot be underestimated, and we must remember that the modeling is rule governed; students learn strategies and how to modify them rather than rotely copying the model’s actions (Rosenthal & Zimmerman,  1978 ). Stressing the value of strategies to students is necessary to encourage greater strategy use. Teachers can enhance perceived value with feedback showing how strategy use improves performance.

Table 10.5 Steps to follow in strategy instruction.

Introduce a few strategies at a time

Provide distributed practice on diverse tasks

Have teachers serve as models

Stress to students the value of strategy use

Personalize feedback and teaching

Determine opportunities for transfer

Sustain student motivation

Encourage habitual reflection and planning

The importance of feedback and personal teaching is highlighted; teachers tailor feedback to individual student needs and developmental differences, and teachers and students collaborate to work out understandings of strategies. For example, Cantrell, Almasi, Carter, Rintamaa, and Madden (2010) found that a reading strategy instruction program raised achievement for sixth graders but not for ninth graders, perhaps because the program focused on strategies to address deficiencies of immature readers. Azevedo, Greene, and Moos ( 2007 ) obtained benefits on college students’ self-regulated learning by having a human tutor facilitate their use of strategies (i.e., prompt students to activate prior knowledge, plan time, monitor goal progress, summarize, use mnemonics). Teachers and students also must determine opportunities for transfer through discussions, prompts to students, and opportunities to practice adapting strategies to new tasks. Sustaining student motivation, especially by highlighting empowerment that accompanies strategy learning, is necessary. Finally, teachers encourage habitual reflection and planning. They model reflection, provide opportunities for students to think through problems, and create an environment that values reflection more than simply completing assignments or arriving at correct answers.

CONSTRUCTIVISM

Constructivist researchers have addressed self-regulated learning, which seems natural given that a central constructivist assumption is that learners construct knowledge and ways for acquiring and applying it. There are various sources for constructivist accounts of self-regulation, including cognitive-developmental theories ( Chapter 8 ), precursors of contemporary cognitive theories (e.g., Gestalt psychology, memory;  Chapter 5 ), and Vygotsky’s theory (Paris & Byrnes,  1989 Chapter 8 ). Regardless of the source, constructivist views of self-regulation rest on certain assumptions, as shown in  Table 10.6  (Paris & Byrnes,  1989 ).

Two key points underlying these assumptions are that sociocultural influences are critical and that people form implicit theories about themselves, others, and how to best manage demands. These are discussed in turn.

· Table 10.6 Constructivist assumptions of self-regulated learning.

· ■ There is an intrinsic motivation to seek information.

· ■ Understanding goes beyond the information given.

· ■ Mental representations change with development.

· ■ There are progressive refinements in levels of understanding.

· ■ There are developmental constraints on learning.

· ■ Reflection and reconstruction stimulate learning.

Sociocultural Influences

Vygotsky’s ( 1978 ) constructivist theory of human development lends itself well to self-regulation ( Chapter 8 ). Recall that Vygotsky believed that people and their cultural environments constituted an interacting social system. Through their communications and actions, people in children’s environments taught children the tools (e.g., language, symbols, signs) they needed to acquire competence. Using these tools within the system, learners develop higher-level cognitive functions, such as concept acquisition and problem solving. As Vygotsky used the term higher mental function, he meant a consciously directed thought process. Self-regulated learning is a type of higher mental function (Henderson & Cunningham,  1994 ).

Self-regulated learning includes the coordination of such mental processes as memory, planning, synthesis, and evaluation (Henderson & Cunningham,  1994 ). These coordinated processes do not operate independently of the context in which they are formed. Indeed, the self-regulatory processes of an individual reflect those that are valued and taught within the person’s culture.

Vygotsky believed that people came to control their own deliberate actions (i.e., learned to self-regulate). The primary mechanisms affecting self-regulation are language and the zone of proximal development (ZPD; see  Chapter 8 ).

Kopp ( 1982 ) provided a useful framework for understanding the development of the self-regulatory function of speech. In her view, self-regulation involves a transition from responding to the commands of others to the use of speech and other cognitive tools to plan, monitor, and direct one’s activities.

Self-regulation also depends on learners being aware of socially approved behaviors (Henderson & Cunningham,  1994 ). The meaning of actions depends on both the context and the tools (language, signs, and symbols) used to describe the actions. Through interactions with adults in the ZPD, children make the transition from behaviors regulated by others to behaviors regulated by themselves (self-regulation).

Wertsch ( 1979 ) described four stages of intersubjectivity that correspond to the degrees of responsibility held by parties in a social context. Initially the child does not understand the adult’s words or gestures, so there is no intersubjectivity. With maturation of the child and greater sensitivity of the adult to the child’s situation, a shared understanding of the situation develops, although responsibility for regulating behavior still lies with the adult. In the third phase, the child learns the relation between speech and activity and takes responsibility for the task. During the third phase, private speech is commonly used to self-regulate behavior. As this speech is internalized to self-directed thought, intersubjectivity becomes complete and self-regulation occurs independently. Internalization becomes the key to use of self-regulatory processes (Schunk,  1999 ). Some examples of internalization are given in  Application 10.5 .

It is noteworthy that even after an adult or teacher is no longer present, the child’s self-regulatory activity still may reflect that person’s influence. Although the action is self-directed, it is the internalized regulation of the other’s influence. Often the child may repeat the same words used by the adult. In time, the child will construct his or her self-regulatory activity and it will become idiosyncratic.

Implicit Theories

Implicit theories  ( Chapters 8  and  9 ) are inherent features of constructivist accounts of learning, cognition, and motivation. Students also construct theories about self-regulated learning. These theories exist along with theories about others and their worlds, so self-regulated learning theories are highly contextualized (Paris, Byrnes, & Paris,  2001 ).

APPLICATION 10.5 Promoting Internalization

Many influences on students’ self-regulated learning originate in their social environments, such as when teachers explain and demonstrate specific strategies for students to use on academic content. But as the theories covered in this chapter make clear, these external inputs are not passively received by students but rather transformed by them into personal self-regulatory influences. As learners develop skills, the unidimensional social-to-self process becomes a bidirectional interactive process as learners modify their environments and enhance their learning. A key process is internalization of information. Self-regulatory processes that are internalized are under the learner’s control, whereas noninternalized processes are under the control of others. Internalized processes are represented mentally as thoughts, beliefs, procedures, strategies, and so forth. Although it is possible to learn without internalization (e.g., when teachers direct students’ actions), internalization is needed for skill improvement over time and beyond the present learning setting. The net result of internalization is a set of self-regulatory influences that learners employ to promote their motivation and learning.

Mr. Cauthen works with his students to help them internalize spelling rules. For example, he teaches them the rhyme, “I before E except after C or when sounded like A as in Neighbor or Weigh.” When he gives spelling words with ie or ei in them, he asks them to verbalize aloud the rhyme. Then once they regularly do this, he advises them to whisper the rhyme, and eventually to say it quietly to themselves (subvocally). He uses this same procedure with other spelling rules, teaching students to internalize rules so that they can generate them in response to various spelling words.

Ms. Deutrony does not want her students to think of history as the memorizing of facts. Instead, she wants them to develop skills of historical analysis. She teaches them questions to ask to analyze historical events, such as: What happened? Who were the influential people? What events led up to this event? How might this event have turned out differently if the events leading up to it had changed? Early in the course she has students write out the answers to these questions as they analyze events. As students develop skills of historical analysis, she asks them to formulate their own strategy that will capture the same type of information. They internalize this strategy as their own as they apply it to historical events, as well as to current events involving elections, the economy, and wars.

As part of her undergraduate educational psychology course, Dr. Mornoveny teaches her students self-regulated learning strategies to use when studying the course content. For example, she teaches them how to effectively underline and highlight information in text, how to summarize chapter content, how to budget their study time, and how to create an effective study environment. Each student formulates a study plan to use for the chapters. She provides feedback on these and asks the students to revise their plans as the semester progresses based on their evaluations of the plan’s effectiveness. By the end of the semester, the goal is for students to be using their study plans routinely and adapting them as needed based on study requirements (e.g., need to consult Internet sources).

A major type of implicit theory involves children’s beliefs about their academic abilities. Children who experience learning problems and who believe that these problems reflect poor ability are apt to demonstrate low motivation to succeed. The beliefs that effort leads to success and that learning produces higher ability are positively related to effective self-regulated learning. An incremental mindset (belief that abilities can be improved) predicts such self-regulatory processes as goal setting (learning goals), mastery-oriented strategies, and positive expectations (Burnette, O’Boyle, VanEpps, Pollack, & Finkel,  2013 ).

Children also develop theories about their competence relative to their peers. Through social comparisons with similar others, they formulate perceptions of ability and of their relative standing within their class. They also begin to differentiate their perceptions by subject area and to ascertain how smart they are in subjects such as reading and mathematics.

In line with these beliefs, children formulate theories about what contributes to success in different domains. Self-regulatory strategies may be general in nature, such as taking notes and rehearsing information to be learned, or they may be idiosyncratic to a particular area. Whether these strategies truly are useful is not the point. Because they are constructed, they may be misleading.

Learners also develop theories about agency and control that they have in academic situations. This power to act to obtain desired outcomes is central to social cognitive theory (Bandura,  1997 ) and to constructivist theories (Martin,  2004 ). Bandura contended that  self-efficacy  is a key influence on agency, whereas constructivist theories place greater emphasis on learners’ activities in their physical and sociocultural environments (Martin,  2004 ). With respect to learners’ theories, they may feel self-efficacious ( Chapter 4 ) and believe that they are capable of learning what is being taught in school. Conversely, they may entertain serious doubts about their learning capabilities. Again, these beliefs may or may not accurately capture reality. Research has shown, for example, that children often feel highly self-efficacious about successfully solving mathematical problems even after being given feedback showing that they had failed most or all of the problems they attempted to solve (Bandura & Schunk,  1981 ). The correspondence between self-efficacy judgments and actual performance can be affected by many factors (Bandura,  1997 ; Schunk & Pajares,  2009 ).

Another class of theories involves schooling and academic tasks (Paris et al.,  2001 ). These theories contain information about the content and skills taught in school and what is required to learn the content and skills. The goals that students formulate for schooling may not be consistent with those of teachers and parents. For example, teachers and parents may want students to perform well, but students’ goals might be to make friends and stay out of trouble. For a subject area (e.g., reading), students may have a goal of understanding the text or simply verbalizing the words on a page. A goal of writing may be to fill the lines on a page or create a short story.

Self-regulated learning, therefore, involves individuals constructing theories about themselves (e.g., abilities, capabilities, typical effort), others, and their environments. These theories are constructed partly through direct instruction from others (e.g., teachers, peers, and parents), but also largely through their personal reflections on their performances, environmental effects, and responses from others. Theories are constructed using the tools (language, signs, and symbols) and in social contexts, often through instruction in the ZPD.

The goal is for students to construct a self-identity as students. Their beliefs are influenced by parents, teachers, and peers and may include stereotypes associated with gender, culture, and ethnic background. Paris et al. ( 2001 ) contended that the separation of identity development and self-regulated learning is impossible because achievement behaviors are indicators of who students believe they are or who they want to become. Strategies cannot be taught independently of goals, roles, and identities of students. In other words, self-regulated learning is intimately linked with personal development.

Children are intrinsically motivated to construct explanatory frameworks and understand their educational experiences (Paris et al.,  2001 ). When they are successful, they construct theories of competence, tasks, and themselves, which aid learning and usage of adaptive learning strategies. But when they are not successful, they may construct inappropriate goals and strategies. In short, self-regulated learning is heavily dependent on how children perceive themselves and achievement tasks (Dweck & Master,  2008 ).

MOTIVATION AND SELF-REGULATED LEARNING

Motivation is intimately linked with self-regulated learning (Pintrich,  2003 ; Wolters,  2003 ). People motivated to attain a goal engage in self-regulatory activities they believe will help them (e.g., organize and rehearse material, monitor learning progress, and adjust strategies). In turn, students self-regulate their motivation to learn, and the perception that one is learning sustains motivation and self-regulation to attain new goals (Schunk & Ertmer,  2000 ). Thus, motivation and self-regulated learning influence each other.

The link between motivation and self-regulation is seen clearly in theoretical models (Pintrich,  2000b ; Vollmeyer & Rheinberg,  2006 ; B. Zimmerman,  2000 ). Pintrich’s model is heavily motivation dependent, since motivation underlies learners’ setting and pursuit of goals and also is a focus of their self-regulation as they engage in tasks. In Zimmerman’s model, motivation enters at all phases: forethought (e.g., self-efficacy, outcome expectations, interest, value, goal orientations), performance control (e.g., attention focusing, self-monitoring), and self-reflection (e.g., self-evaluation of goal progress, causal attributions).

Additional evidence of this link is seen in research by Wolters ( 1998 1999 ; Wolters, Yu, & Pintrich,  1996 ). In these studies, the researchers determined how various strategies designed to maintain optimal task motivation (e.g., expend effort, persist, make the task interesting, self-reward) related to self-regulatory strategy use during learning (e.g., rehearsal, elaboration, planning, monitoring, organization). The results showed that the motivation regulation activities that learners used predicted their self-regulation. Adopting a learning-goal orientation was associated with higher self-efficacy, task value, and achievement.

One aspect of self-regulated learning that is drawing increased research attention is  volition , which is discussed in the next section. Some researchers define volition as part of a larger self-regulatory system that includes motivation and other cognitive processes (Corno,  1993 2001 2008 ; Snow,  1989 ). Many other motivational components are receiving research attention for their role in self-regulated learning—for example, goal properties, goal orientations, self-efficacy, interest, attributions, values, self-schemas, and help seeking (Schunk & Zimmerman,  2008 ). We have examined the roles of goal properties (Zimmerman,  2008 ), goal orientations (Fryer & Elliot,  2008 ), self-efficacy (Schunk & Pajares,  2009 ), interest (Hidi & Ainley,  2008 ), and attributions (Schunk,  2008 ) in  Chapter 9 . This section discusses volition, values, self-schemas, and help seeking.

Volition

Volition  has been of interest for a long time. Early psychologists drew on the writings of Plato and Aristotle ( Chapter 1 ) and conceived of the mind as comprising knowing (cognition), feeling (emotion), and willing (motivation). The  will  reflected one’s desire, want, or purpose; volition was the act of using the will (Schunk, Meece, & Pintrich,  2014 ).

Philosophers and psychologists have debated whether volition was an independent process or a by-product of other mental processes (e.g., perceptions). Wundt ( Chapter 1 ) thought volition was a central, independent factor in human behavior, and that it accompanied such processes as attention and perception and helped translate thoughts and emotions into actions. James ( 1890 1892 ) also believed that volition was the process of translating intentions into actions and had its greatest effect when different intentions competed for action. Volition worked to execute intended actions by activating mental representations of them, which served as guides for behavior.

Ach ( 1910 ) pioneered the experimental study of volition. Ach considered volition the process of dealing with implementing actions designed to attain goals. This is a narrow view of motivation because it does not address the process whereby people formulate goals and commit themselves to attaining them (Heckhausen,  1991 ; Schunk et al.,  2014 ). Processes that allow goals to be translated into action are determining tendencies; they compete with previously learned association tendencies to produce action even when the action conflicts with prior associations.

The conceptual basis for contemporary work derives from  action control theory  by Heckhausen ( 1991 ) and Kuhl ( 1984 ). These theorists proposed differentiating  predecisional processing  (cognitive activities involved in making decisions and setting goals) from  postdecisional processing  (activities engaged in subsequent to goal setting). Predecisional analyses involve decision making and are motivational; postdecisional analyses deal with goal implementation and are volitional. Volition mediates the relation between goals and actions to accomplish them. Once students move from planning and goal setting to implementation of plans, they cross a metaphorical Rubicon that protects goals by self-regulatory activities rather than reconsidering or changing them (Corno,  1993 2001 2008 ).

Debate continues over whether motivation and volition are separate constructs or whether the latter is part of the former. Nonetheless, separating pre- from postdecisional processes seems worthwhile. Some motivational outcomes used in studies of performance are not useful in learning. Choice of activities is a common outcome, yet in school students often do not choose to engage in tasks. There often is little predecisional activity by students. In contrast, postdecisional activity offers more latitude, especially if multiple ways are available to accomplish tasks or deal with distractions. Choice is an integral component of self-regulated learning (Zimmerman,  1994 1998 2000 ), but students still can have many choices available even when they do not choose whether to work on a task. Volitional activities presumably direct and control information processing, affects, and behaviors directed toward accomplishing goals (Corno,  1993 ).

Corno and her colleagues ( 1989 1993 1994 2001 2008 ; Corno & Kanfer,  1993 ; Corno & Mandinach,  2004 ) have written extensively about the role of volition in self-regulation:

·  Volition can be characterized as a dynamic system of psychological control processes that protect concentration and directed effort in the face of personal and/or environmental distractions, and so aid learning and performance. (Corno,  1993 , p. 16)

It is useful to distinguish two aspects of volition with respect to self-regulated learning: action control and volitional style (Corno,  1994 ). The  action control  function refers to potentially modifiable regulatory skills or strategies. This function would include the focus of many interventions aimed at enhancing self-regulation, such as metacognitive monitoring (self-observation), self-arranged contingencies, redesign of tasks, strategies of emotion control, and management of environmental resources. Kuhl ( 1985 ) proposed a taxonomy of volitional strategies; Corno ( 1993 ) discussed strategies for motivation control and for emotion control. Many examples are available of successful training efforts for action control strategies (Corno,  1994 ).

A second function,  volitional style , refers to stable, individual differences in volition, as opposed to the specific skills and strategies involved in action control. Volitional style includes personality variables that should be less amenable to change through instruction—for example, impulsiveness, conscientiousness, and dependability (Snow,  1989 ). Corno ( 1994 ) cited research showing that these dispositions predict various student academic outcomes.

The case for treating volition as a separate construct has some merit. One problem with separating goal setting from implementation is highlighted by research studies showing that learners adjust or set new goals during task performance (Locke & Latham,  1990 ; Zimmerman,  2008 ). Another concern is how such motivationally germane processes as attributions and self-efficacy relate to volition. Researchers continue to address these issues.

Values

A central component of motivation that relates to self-regulated learning is the  value  students ascribe to learning (Wigfield, Hoa, & Klauda,  2008 Chapter 9 ). Students who do not value what they are learning are not motivated to improve or exercise self-regulation over their learning activities (Wigfield, Tonks, & Eccles,  2004 ).

Wigfield ( 1994 ; Wigfield et al.,  2008 ) discussed the process whereby valuing a task can lead to better self-regulated learning. Values have a direct link to such achievement behaviors as persistence, choice, and performance. Values may relate positively to many self-regulating processes such as self-observation, self-evaluation, and goal setting. For instance, students who value history are apt to study for history tests diligently, set goals for their learning, monitor their learning progress, not be overcome by obstacles, and adjust their strategies as needed. In contrast, students who do not value history should be less likely to engage in these activities.

Research studies support the idea that valuing achievement tasks relates to the productive use of cognitive learning strategies, perceived self-regulated learning, and academic performance (Pintrich & De Groot,  1990 ; Wigfield,  1994 ; Wigfield et al.,  2004 2008 ). Pokay and Blumenfeld ( 1990 ), for example, found that students’ valuing of mathematics led to their using different cognitive strategies, and in turn, strategy use influenced mathematics performance. Wigfield ( 1994 ) noted that task values may relate positively to volitional action control strategies (Kuhl,  1985 ).

Unfortunately, researchers have shown that children often value academic tasks less as they get older (Eccles & Midgley,  1989 ). Many ways to enhance student motivation relate directly to perceptions of task value, including showing students how tasks are important in their lives and how learning these tasks helps them attain their goals. In the opening scenario, Kim may not value her courses, but Connie tries to encourage her by stressing that using strategies can help her perform better, which may increase how much she values her studies. Linking learning to real-world phenomena improves perceptions of value. Teachers should incorporate methods for enhancing perceived value into their planning to ensure benefits for self-regulated learning.

Self-Schemas

Self-schemas  are “cognitive manifestations of enduring goals, aspirations, motives, fears, and threats” (Markus & Nurius,  1986 , p. 954). They include cognitive and affective evaluations of ability, volition, and personal agency. They essentially are conceptions of ourselves in different situations or what we might be. The theoretical importance of self-schemas is that they presumably mediate the link between situations and behavior. Individuals act in part based on their perceptions of themselves. Self-concept includes many self-schemas, only some of which are active at a given time. Those active at any time are  working self-concepts . Self-schemas have an affective dimension (self-conceptions are positive and negatively valued), a temporal dimension (experiences result in concepts of past, present, and future possible selves), a self-efficacy dimension (beliefs about what we can do to attain our selves), and a value dimension (importance or centrality of the self to the individual).

As organized knowledge structures, possible selves are ways to connect multiple motivational beliefs at a higher level (Garcia & Pintrich,  1994 ). Thus, goals are important motivational processes, and self-schemas are organized knowledge structures that link multiple goals. Self-schemas may provide a link between motivation and strategy use. If persons have ideas about what they can be and do, then possible selves can guide actions.

Possible selves can play an important role in self-regulated learning because the notion of what one might become underlies use of self-regulatory processes (Garcia & Pintrich,  1994 ). Individuals regulate their learning and performances to become their positive possible selves and to avoid becoming negative possible selves. Students self-regulated their motivation to attain selves and protect their sense of self-worth.

Help Seeking

Help seeking is a way to self-regulate the social environment to promote learning. Self-regulated learners are likely to ask for assistance when they confront difficult tasks and perceive the need for help (Newman,  2000 2002 2008 ). In particular, high achievers often seek help from teachers and peers (Zimmerman & Martinez-Pons,  1990 ).

· Newman ( 1994 ) proposed a model in which adaptive help seeking:

· ■ Occurs following a student’s lack of understanding.

· ■ Includes the student considering the need for help, the content of the request, and the request target.

· ■ Involves expressing the need for help in the most suitable fashion given the circumstances.

· ■ Requires that the help seeker receive and process help in a way that will optimize the probability of success in later help-seeking attempts.

Help seeking is a relatively complex activity that includes more than the verbal request for assistance. Motivational factors come into play. Many motivational processes have been investigated for their relation to help seeking, especially the roles of self-efficacy and goal setting. Students with higher self-efficacy for learning are more apt to seek help than are those with lower efficacy (Ryan, Gheen, & Midgley,  1998 ). Students with a task goal orientation are more likely to seek assistance to determine the correctness of their work, whereas ego-involved students may seek help to determine how their work compares with that of others (Newman & Schwager,  1992 ; Ryan et al.,  1998 ).

This research suggests that different motivational patterns can prompt various forms of help seeking. With respect to self-regulated learning, the most adaptive type of help seeking is that which provides feedback on learning and progress. Teachers can encourage students to seek assistance when it is likely to help them develop academic skills.

INSTRUCTIONAL APPLICATIONS

Self-regulatory skills, like other skills, can be learned (B. Zimmerman,  2000 ). Effective methods for teaching these skills often include exposing students to social models, teaching them to use learning strategies, giving them practice and corrective feedback, and assisting them to evaluate their learning goal progress (Schunk & Ertmer,  2000 ). It is essential that students internalize the various social influences in their environments so that they become part of their self-regulatory processes (Schunk,  1999 ).

The principles of self-regulated learning discussed in this chapter lend themselves well to instructional applications. The most effective applications are those in which self-regulatory processes are incorporated into academic learning instruction. Three areas that are especially germane are academic studying, writing, and mathematics.

Academic Studying

Many students have problems studying. Researchers have examined students’ self-regulated learning during academic studying. There are published materials that help students develop better study habits (Kiewra & Dubois,  1998 ; Weinstein & Hume,  1998 ; Zimmerman et al.,  1996 ), as well as effective studying courses that are integrated with academic course content (Hofer, Yu, & Pintrich,  1998 ; Lan,  1998 ). Academic studying can be improved with instruction on strategies and time management.

Strategy Instruction.

Researchers have investigated how strategy instruction affects academic studying. Dansereau ( 1978 ; Dansereau et al.,  1979 ) developed a strategy instruction program for college students. These researchers distinguished primary strategies, or those applied directly to the content, from support strategies that learners use to create and maintain a favorable psychological climate for learning. The latter strategies include affective techniques and those used to monitor and correct ongoing primary strategies.

Effective studying requires that students comprehend, retain, retrieve, and use information. In Dansereau’s learning strategies program, students comprehend material by highlighting important ideas, recalling material without referring to text, digesting and expanding the information, and reviewing it. Expanding information means relating it to other information in LTM by creating links between memory networks. Students learn to ask themselves questions similar to the following: “Imagine you could talk to the author. What questions would you ask? What criticisms would you raise?” “How can the material be applied?” and “How could you make the material more understandable and interesting to other students?”

This program includes support strategies such as goal setting, concentration management, and monitoring and diagnosing. Students learn to set daily, weekly, and longer-term goals by establishing schedules. Learners monitor progress and adjust their work or goals as necessary if their performance does not match expectations. Concentration management is developed by helping students deal with frustration, anxiety, and anger. Use of self-talk is encouraged, and students can be desensitized by imagining anxiety-provoking situations when relaxing ( Chapter 3 ). Monitoring and diagnosing require that students determine in advance where they will stop in the text to assess their level of comprehension. As they reach each stop point, they assess understanding and take corrective action (e.g., rereading) as needed. Evaluations of the strategy-instructional program have shown that it improves academic behaviors and attitudes (Dansereau et al.,  1979 ).

Dansereau ( 1988 ) modified this program for use in cooperative learning dyads. Each member of the pair took turns reading approximately 500 words of a 2,500-word passage. One member then served as recaller and orally summarized what was read; the other listened, corrected errors in recall, and elaborated knowledge by adding imagery and links to prior knowledge. Dansereau reported that this cooperative arrangement facilitated learning and transfer better than individual studying.

Time Management.

Investigators from different theoretical traditions increasingly have focused on the cognitive and behavioral processes that students use to plan and manage academic studying time (Winne,  2001 ; Zimmerman, Greenberg, & Weinstein,  1994 ). Effective time management contributes to learning and achievement. Britton and Tesser ( 1991 ) found that the time management components of short-range planning and time attitudes were significant predictors of grade point averages among college students. Effective use of time appears partly to be a function of students’ use of goal setting and planning (Weinstein & Mayer,  1986 ). These procedures, in turn, prompt students to engage in other self-regulatory activities such as self-monitoring of progress. Time is an important dimension of self-regulation and can be a performance outcome (e.g., how much time to devote to a task).

Poor time management may reflect problems in several areas (Zimmerman et al.,  1994 ). It can result when students do not properly self-observe, self-evaluate, and self-react to their performance outcomes. It also may occur when students do not adequately use planning aids such as calendars and alarms. Unrealistic goals, low self-efficacy, attributions of learning difficulties to low ability, and perceptions that strategies are not all that important also affect time management (Zimmerman,  1998 ; Zimmerman et al.,  1994 ).

Students can learn to manage time more effectively. Weinstein, Palmer, & Schulte ( 1987 ) included time management as one of the areas of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), a diagnostic and prescriptive self-report measure of strategic, goal-directed learning for students that focuses on thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that are related to academic success and can be altered. Completion of the LASSI or a similar instrument usually is necessary to ascertain the extent of a student’s study problems.

Programs to facilitate better use of time typically include instruction and practice on topics such as becoming a strategic learner; the roles of goal setting and self-management; time-management planning; various study strategies including note taking, listening, underlining, summarizing, and coping with stress; test-taking strategies; and organizing a setting for learning.

An important study time issue is that students often do not realize how they really spend their time. A good assignment is to have students keep a time log for a week to show how much time they devoted to each task. Often they are surprised at how much time they wasted. Instruction must address ways to eliminate or reduce such waste.

Another common problem is failing to understand how long tasks take to complete. A student once informed me that she thought she would need about two hours to read eight chapters in her educational psychology textbook. At 15 minutes per chapter with no break, that is speed reading! A useful exercise is to have students estimate the amount of time various tasks will take, and then keep a log of the actual times and record these with the estimates to determine the correspondence between estimated and actual times.

Students often need a change in work environment. They may try to study in places with potential distractions such as friends, phones, radios, televisions, refrigerators, and so forth. Some students may benefit from light music or noise in the background, but almost everyone has difficulty concentrating when a powerful distraction or many potential distractions are present. It helps for students to complete an inventory of study preferences and present study conditions, after which they can determine whether environmental changes are necessary.

Writing

Like other forms of learning, the development of writing proficiency is affected by motivation and self-regulation (Cutler & Graham,  2008 ; Graham,  2006 ). Bruning and Horn ( 2000 ) characterized this development as “a highly fluid process of problem solving requiring constant monitoring of progress toward task goals” (p. 25). Cognitive models of writing incorporate motivation and self-regulatory processes (Hayes,  2000 ; Magnifico,  2010 ). Students are active information processors who employ cognitive and metacognitive strategies during writing.

Goal setting, use of strategies, and self-monitoring or self-assessment of goal progress are key self-regulatory processes (Schunk,  1995 ). Results of a meta-analysis of studies on writing interventions with elementary students showed that strategy instruction, goal setting, and self-assessment produced significant effects (Graham, McKeown, Kiuhara, & Hanks,  2012 ). A meta-analysis with adolescents also showed the effectiveness of strategy instruction and goal setting on writing performance (Graham & Perin,  2007 ). Zimmerman and Kitsantas ( 1999 ) found that high school students who shifted their goals from process (following steps in a strategy) to outcomes (number of words in sentences) showed higher writing revision skill, self-efficacy, and interest than did students who pursued only process or only outcome goals. These results suggest that as skills develop, students can shift their focus from following a strategy to the outcomes that strategy use produces (e.g., making fewer errors). Although more research is needed on the effects of instructional procedures on motivation to write, writing motivation can be enhanced by using authentic writing tasks and by creating a supportive context for writing (e.g., the task appears doable with requisite effort).

Klassen ( 2002 ) reviewed the literature on self-efficacy for writing. Most studies found that self-efficacy was a significant predictor of writing achievement. Some studies yielded gender differences in self-efficacy with boys’ judgments higher than those of girls, although there were no performance differences. Establishing a classroom environment that builds self-efficacy is conducive to improving writing. Brunstein and Glaser ( 2011 ) found that self-regulated learning improved writing self-efficacy in fourth graders.

Writing is demanding and requires attention control, self-monitoring, and volitional control. Graham and Harris ( 2000 ) noted that self-regulation affects writing in two ways. For one, self-regulatory processes (e.g., planning, monitoring, and evaluating) provide building blocks that are assembled to complete a writing task. For another, these processes can lead to strategic adjustments in writing and longer-term effects. Thus, successful planning will increase its likelihood of future use and build self-efficacy for writing, which in turn positively impacts motivation and future writing. Teaching students self-regulatory skills in the context of writing assignments can result in higher achievement and motivation (Graham & Harris,  2000 ; Schunk & Swartz,  1993a 1993b ). The quality and quantity of students’ learning strategies (especially organization and elaboration), as determined by their writing in learning journals, positively predicts their mathematical performances (Glogger, Schwonke, Holzäpfel, Nückles, & Renkl,  2012 ).

The Self-Regulated Strategy Development model has been widely applied to writing (Baker, Chard, Ketterlin-Geller, Apichatabutra, & Doabler,  2009 ; Glaser & Brunstein,  2007 ; Graham, Harris, MacArthur, & Schwartz,  1998 ; Harris & Graham,  1996 ; Zito, Adkins, Gavins, Harris, & Graham,  2007 ). This model utilizes teacher modeling of writing strategies, collaborative peer group practice, and independent practice, where assistance (scaffolds) is generally faded out. The model has been used successfully with students with writing problems, learning disabilities, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders (Harris, Graham, & Mason,  2006 2013 ; Reid & Lienemann,  2006 ). The model includes general and genre-specific strategies (as emphasized in the introductory scenario), as well as motivational components (e.g., self-reinforcement). De La Paz ( 2005 ) found that applying the model with culturally diverse students helped them improve their argumentative essay writing skills.

Given that writing involves language and reflects one’s thoughts and cognitive processes, writing has been viewed as a way to improve learning capabilities and academic achievement. This “writing to learn” idea stresses having students write in various disciplines. Bangert-Drowns, Hurley, and Wilkinson ( 2004 ) reviewed the research literature on writing-to-learn interventions and found a small positive effect on overall academic achievement. These researchers also found that prompting students during writing to reflect on their knowledge and learning processes was effective in raising achievement. These findings suggest that writing-to-learn has promise as a useful way to augment self-regulated learning in content areas. Some applications of self-regulated learning to writing are given in  Application 10.6 .

APPLICATION 10.6 Writing

Teachers can incorporate self-regulatory processes into writing lessons and activities. Ms. Nikkona wanted her third-grade students to write a paragraph describing their summer vacations. She might have students share what they did during the summer. Following this large-group activity, she and the children might jointly plan, write, and edit a paragraph about the teacher’s summer vacation. This exercise would emphasize the important elements of a good paragraph and self-regulatory components of the writing process.

Students then could be paired and share orally with each other some things done during the summer. Sharing helps students generate ideas to use in writing. Following this activity, children write about their summer activities. Students use their lists to formulate sentences of a paragraph and share their written products with their partners. Partners provide feedback about clarity and grammar, after which students revise their paragraphs.

The faculty sponsor of the high school yearbook can incorporate self-regulatory components into producing the yearbook. When the sponsor meets with the students, the sponsor and the students plan sections and topics to be covered (e.g., school news highlights, sports, clubs), as well as who will be responsible for each section. Then the students set goals with time limits, after which they work in teams to write and revise their articles with input from the sponsor.

Dr. Smithson works with members of her class as they write their first research paper. She has each student select a topic, develop a basic outline, and compile a list of possible sources, after which she meets with students individually to plan writing strategies. Then she has students begin the first draft of the paper, giving more attention to the introduction and conclusion. She meets again with students individually to discuss their first drafts and progress and guides them toward what should be done to complete the finished product.

Technology

The impact of technology on learning is discussed in  Chapter 7 . Technology also can affect self-regulated learning. The use of technology in learning environments potentially involves multiple self-regulatory processes such as planning, knowledge activation, and metacognitive monitoring (Azevedo, Moos, Johnson, & Chauncey,  2010 ). Instructors who use technology wisely in online and blended courses can help develop their students’ self-regulatory skills.

There are multiple technological tools available to instructors of online and blended courses. These include learning management systems (e.g., Blackboard) with all of their features, discussion boards, chat rooms, blogs, Web conferencing, wikis, social networking platforms, cloud computing technologies, virtual worlds, and mobile technologies (Kitsantas, Dabbagh, Huie, & Dass,  2013 ).

A self-regulatory process that lends itself well to many tools is goal setting. Posting assignments and helping students use discussion boards can facilitate goal setting, as can the collaboration and communication tools in learning management systems (Kitsantas et al.,  2013 ). Good time management, which is necessary for students to accomplish goals, can be fostered with calendar features such as automatic reminders about forthcoming due dates and periodic advice about how much of an assignment students should have completed by that date.

Teaching students how to effectively use online resources and giving them practice doing so can raise their self-efficacy for online learning, which contributes to their overall success using technology in online and blended courses (Kitsantas et al.,  2013 ). Maintaining a sense of self-efficacy for learning during courses increases motivation and achievement (Schunk & Pajares,  2009 ).

Technology tools also can help students learn and use more effective strategies during learning. These are both general strategies, such as environmental structuring and task focusing, as well as strategies specific to the nature of the material to be learned. When well designed, online learning environments can prompt students to use effective strategies, such as by cuing students to stop periodically and summarize what they have learned.

This chapter has discussed the key role of self-monitoring in self-regulated learning. Online learning environments can assist with this, such as by prompting students to track their learning progress by using the online gradebook. Geddes ( 2009 ) found that students who more often used the online gradebook feature attained higher course grades and reported higher learning goal orientations compared with students who used this feature less often.

In similar fashion, students can monitor their progress and periodically evaluate it; that is, whether it meets or falls short of their goals. Such self-evaluation also can be cued in learning management systems, with periodic reminders to students to self-evaluate their progress. Using an online journal has been shown to be effective in helping students reflect on their learning goals and make adjustments as needed (Campbell,  2009 ).

Learning management systems allow instructors to personalize their courses. Thus, they can build into them materials for students to use to organize their work, check off completed assignments, ask questions, and receive feedback. This type of instructional scaffolding helps students become better self-regulators (Kitsantas et al.,  2013 ).

Further, the adaptations described here often require little extra work by instructors. Learning management systems, for example, allow instructors to send e-mail notifications to students reminding them about forthcoming due dates and expectations for assignments. Students who fail to turn work in on time can receive a notification to that effect with a reminder to turn it in as soon as possible. With lengthy assignments (e.g., research papers), instructors can e-mail reminders at various times stating how much of the project students should have completed by that date. Instructors also can suggest effective self-regulatory strategies for students to use on various parts of the assignments. These suggestions are simple and take little time, yet they can have great benefits on students’ development of better self-regulated learning skills.

SUMMARY

Self-regulated learning refers to cognitive, metacognitive, motivational, and affective processes that learners use to systematically focus their thoughts, feelings, and actions on the attainment of their learning goals. Self-regulated learning includes self-regulatory processes applied during a learning experience, where the goal is a desired level of achievement.

The application of self-regulation to learning began as an outgrowth of psychological research on the development of self-control by adults and children. Much early self-regulation research was conducted in clinics, where researchers taught participants to alter dysfunctional behaviors such as aggression, addictions, sexual disorders, interpersonal conflicts, and behavioral problems at home and in school. In the past several years, researchers have expanded their focus to address academic learning and achievement, as well as self-regulated learning in groups. Co-regulation refers to the coordination of self-regulation competencies among people in social contexts; socially shared regulation includes interdependent regulatory processes aimed at attaining a mutual outcome in collaborative settings.

Theories of self-regulated learning share common assumptions. One is that self-regulated learning involves being behaviorally, cognitively, metacognitively, and motivationally active in one’s learning and performance. A second assumption is that self-regulated learning is a dynamic and cyclical process comprising feedback loops. Self-regulated learners set goals and metacognitively monitor their progress toward them. They respond to their monitoring, as well as to external feedback, in different ways to attain their goals, such as by working harder or changing their strategy. Accomplishments lead them to set new goals. Third, goal setting triggers self-regulated learning by guiding individuals’ focus on goal-directed activities and use of task-relevant strategies. Finally, there is an emphasis on motivation, or why persons choose to self-regulate and sustain it.

Self-regulated learning is a dynamic process that is ever changing. It involves learners’ choices, such as whether to participate, which method they use, what outcomes they will pursue, and which social and physical setting they will work in. Self-regulated learning involves behaviors, as individuals regulate their actions to keep them focused on goal attainment. Individuals also regulate their cognitions and affects. While they are engaged in learning, they self-regulate cognitions, motivation, and affects by maintaining their self-efficacy for learning, valuing the learning, holding expectations for positive outcomes as a result of the learning, evaluating their goal progress, determining how effective their strategies are and altering them as necessary, and maintaining a positive emotional climate.

Self-regulated learning has been addressed by different theories of learning. Behavior theories stress the setting of stimuli and conditions to which learners respond, after which they are reinforced for their efforts. Key behavioral processes are self-monitoring, self-instruction, and self-reinforcement. Learners decide which behaviors to regulate, set discriminative stimuli for their occurrence, participate in instruction as needed, monitor performance, and administer reinforcement when it matches the standard. Behavioral principles are useful for self-regulation, but by ignoring cognitive and affective processes they offer an incomplete account of the range of self-regulation possible.

The classical social cognitive theoretical account of self-regulated learning viewed it as comprising three processes: self-observation, self-judgment, and self-reaction. Students enter learning activities with various goals such as acquiring knowledge and skills and completing assignments. With these goals in mind, they observe, judge, and react to their perceived goal progress. This classical view was broadened to emphasize the cyclical nature of self-regulation and to include activities before and after task engagement. This cyclical process reflects the social cognitive emphasis on reciprocal interactions between personal, behavioral, and social/environmental factors. The fore-thought phase precedes actual performance and refers to processes that set the stage for action, such as setting goals, deciding on a strategy, and assessing self-efficacy for learning. The performance control phase involves processes that occur during learning and affect attention and action, such as applying strategies and monitoring progress. During the self-reflection phase that occurs during breaks and after task completion, learners respond to their efforts by setting new goals, adjusting their strategies, and making attributions for outcomes.

Information processing theories emphasize that self-regulated learning reflects meta-cognitive awareness. Self-regulation requires that learners understand task demands, personal qualities, and strategies for completing the task. Metacognitive awareness also includes procedural knowledge. The basic unit of self-regulation may be a problem-solving system in which the problem is to reach the goal and the monitoring checks progress to determine whether the learning is occurring. Information processing research historically focused on cognitive variables, but increasingly researchers in this tradition are including motivational variables.

Constructivism stresses that self-regulated learning involves the coordination of mental functions, such as memory, planning, evaluation, and synthesis. Learners use the tools of their cultures, such as language and symbols, to construct meanings of content and situations. A key feature is the internalization of self-regulatory processes; although learners may acquire self-regulatory strategies from their environments, they alter and adapt them for use in their personal self-regulatory systems.

Self-regulated learning and motivation are related. Such processes as goal setting, self-efficacy, and outcome expectations are important motivational variables that affect self-regulated learning. In turn, engaging in successful self-regulated learning can motivate learners to set new goals and continue learning. Students also can self-regulate their motivation for learning. Researchers have examined the role of volition in achievement settings. Other motivational variables involved in self-regulated learning include values, goal orientations, self-schemas, and help seeking.

Learners can be taught self-regulatory skills, like other skills, and can become better self-regulated learners. An effective teaching model begins with social (environmental) influences, such as teacher models explaining and demonstrating self-regulatory strategies. As students practice and become more skillful, they transform these social influences in idiosyncratic ways and internalize them into their personal self-regulatory systems. Self-regulation instruction is most effective when it is linked to academic content. Principles of self-regulated learning have been applied to such areas as academic studying and writing. Learning environment.

Chapter 12 Next Steps

The setting is the same as the opening vignette in  Chapter 1 —Russ Nyland’s graduate course on learning and cognition. In that scenario, three students—Jeri Kendall, Matt Bowers, and Trisha Pascella—talked with him after class because they were confused about whether they should accept one theory or draw from different theories. Russ advised them not to worry about what type of theorist they were but rather to determine what they believe about learning and what types of learning they are interested in. Now after the last class of the semester the same three students talk with him again.

Russ:

Well, tell me, what did you think about the class?

Jeri:

Dr. Nyland, we want to say we think you’re an awesome teacher! You have opened our minds to so much and given us lots to think about. This is a great course for anyone in education.

Russ:

Thank you for the kind words! College instructors don’t have many students give them feedback like that. Let me ask you, what did you decide about what you believe about learning for the type of learning you’re interested in?

Matt:

I teach high school math. For me, constructivism makes a lot of sense, especially the idea that students construct memory networks. I see how important these are for problem solving.

Trisha:

I work with a lot of children with learning and behavior problems. Social cognitive theory speaks to that with its emphasis on modeling and self-efficacy. These kids are so influenced by peers and many have such a low sense of efficacy for being able to learn.

Jeri:

For me the role of motivation in learning is critical. Concepts like interest, values, goals, and others are perfect for my teaching. I’m going to pay more attention to how what I do affects motivation as well as learning.

Russ:

I’m pleased to hear what you’ve said. You’ve begun with your interests and then found relevant ideas in theories. And you can keep revising your ideas as you learn more and reflect on your teaching. Good luck to you!

You are about to finish your study of learning theories in educational contexts. As Russ Nyland advised and his students did, it is time for you to examine your beliefs and assumptions about learning. Once it is clear in your mind where you stand on learning in general, then the theoretical perspective or perspectives that are most relevant will emerge. Examining your beliefs and assumptions about learning and seeing how these align with theoretical perspectives are your next steps.

LEARNING QUESTIONS

A good place to begin is by addressing the six questions about learning raised in  Chapter 1 , along with what you believe about some other issues. For starters you might focus on the setting where you work. You may be teaching children, adolescents, or adults. You may be in a school or a different setting. Your students may or may not have normal learning capabilities. You may be working on different types of content. Thinking about your present setting, you might try to address the issues summarized below.

How Does Learning Occur?

This is the central question in understanding learning. How does a learner move from an unknowing to a knowing state? Learning processes can be internal to the learner (e.g., beliefs, cognitions) and external (e.g., instructional and environmental factors). Which of these are important in your situation? Think of your learners, content, and setting. What do your learners bring with them? Is your content factual or does it require reasoning? How is your content best learned? What instructional variables are important? For example, do students learn better from teacher or peer models? Do they learn better individually or in groups? What other environmental factors facilitate learning (e.g., graphics, technology, discussions)? Write down your assumptions about learning and what learning processes you believe are important in your situation.

How Does Memory Function?

Some questions to ask are: How much do students have to remember? How demanding is the content (i.e., the cognitive load) on their working and long-term memories? Are there ways you can organize the material to facilitate memory? What other ways might students build good memory networks? Instructional content differs in the amount and type of demands it makes on memory. Write down what you assume about the role of memory in your learning setting.

What Is the Role of Motivation?

People can learn without being motivated to do so, but motivation improves learning. In your setting, how important is it that students be motivated to learn? If motivation is important, what are some ways that you can build students’ motivation? Will you use rewards or goals? How can you increase their self-efficacy for learning? How can you ensure that students make functional attributions for their successes and difficulties? How can you increase their perceptions of the value of the learning? If social comparisons will occur in your learning setting, how might they affect motivation? Write down what you believe about motivation in your learning setting.

How Does Transfer Occur?

Transfer is critical because without it all learning becomes subject and location specific. We want students to transfer what they have learned to other content and settings. In your setting, how can you enhance students’ transfer of skills, strategies, and beliefs? Are they apt to see other uses for the learning on their own or will they need assistance? If the latter, what will you do? Will you tell them about other uses, plan activities where they can apply knowledge in new ways, work with other teachers, or what? Write down what you believe facilitates transfer in your learning setting.

How Does Self-Regulated Learning Operate?

Self-regulated learning is a key educational goal, yet often it is overlooked and students are allowed few choices in learning. Do you want your learners to develop self-regulatory skills? Is self-regulated learning important in your setting? If so, what do you feel are its important components and how can you incorporate those into your teaching? Are there impediments to developing self-regulated learning in your environment? If so, how might you minimize those? Write down what you believe about self-regulated learning in your setting.

What Are the Implications for Instruction?

After you summarize what you believe about the preceding five questions, your beliefs about the sixth question should fall into line. Your assumptions about learning processes, memory, motivation, transfer, and self-regulated learning will suggest some instructional strategies to use with your learners. These implications will address various instructional facets, such as the organization of content, how it is presented, the use of technology, student grouping for learning, student activities, forms of feedback and evaluation, and so forth. Write down what you believe are effective instructional approaches in your learning setting.

LEARNING THEORIES

Once you have completed the previous section you are ready to see where your views fit with the various learning theories discussed in this text. Although many theories of learning have been discussed, they can be conveniently grouped into four major categories (keeping in mind there is some overlap): conditioning, social cognitive, cognitive information processing, constructivist.

Conditioning

Conditioning (behavior) theories focus on environmental variables. Behavior is a function of its consequences. Learning is a change in behavior brought about through conditioning. To facilitate learning you structure the environment so that students can respond correctly and reinforce those responses. Organization of material is critical because for students to respond correctly, the learning must proceed in small steps. Although students’ thoughts and beliefs exist, they are not necessary to explain learning.

Social Cognitive

Social cognitive theories assume that learning can occur by doing or by observing others. Models who explain and demonstrate skills and strategies can greatly facilitate the learning process. Learning can occur without reinforcement. Reinforcement is a type of feedback that informs students about the accuracy of their work and motivates them to continue to improve. Motivation leads to better learning. Critical personal variables that facilitate learning include self-efficacy, outcome expectations, goals, values, and self-regulatory processes.

Information Processing

Information processing theories contend that learning involves the forming of networks in memory. Information is attended to, perceived, transferred to working memory, and related to information in long-term memory. Processes such as organization, elaboration, and rehearsal help to form memory networks. These theories are highly compatible with findings from brain research. The focus is on the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of information. Relatively less attention is given to motivational processes.

Constructivist

Constructivist theories, like social cognitive and information processing theories, are cognitive in nature. Constructivism places greater emphasis on learners’ construction of knowledge and beliefs. Learning is the process whereby learners take in information from the environment and combine it with their present knowledge. Learners’ constructions are aided by instructional conditions that stress social interactions.

CONCLUSION

In addition to examining your assumptions about learning with respect to key issues and what different theories stress about learning, there undoubtedly are other factors you want to consider in developing your theoretical perspective on learning. These other factors will differ according to the context. For example, we know that developmental factors place constraints on what students are capable of learning. The type of learning possible with adults differs from what we can expect from children. If your learning environment is technologically rich, you also will want to consider how students learn best from the available technologies. If your students have cognitive limitations, then you will need to determine how instruction can be differentiated to take those into account.

As you construct your personal theory of learning, keep in mind that this is not a one-time activity. Theories of learning are not formulated and then left unchanged. As explained in  Chapter 1 , by conducting research we test theoretical predictions. Those predictions that are not supported by research require re-examination of the theory and possibly its modification. The same is true for you. You may hold a set of beliefs but then find that some of your beliefs do not produce desired learning. That is a call for you to re-examine your beliefs.

Best of luck on your next steps. When you complete this text you will have a clearer idea about how to improve teaching and student learning in your setting. This knowledge is sure to influence your life and the lives of your students!

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