How Far Have We Moved Toward the Integration of Theory and Practice in Self-Regulation?

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Boekaerts,M., & Cascallar,E.(2006). How Far Have We Moved Toward the Integration of Theory and Practice in Self-Regulation?Education Psychology Review, 18,199–210.

Quotes:

~” Feature attributed to SRL is that the learner actually has control over his own learning, steering and directing cognitive and motivation processes to achieve the learning goal”(200).

~” Students who want to reach a goal (e.g., increasing their competence in a domain, making new friends, or helping others) initiate activity in the growth pathway because they value that goal and are prepared to put energy in its pursuit (i.e., self-regulation is energized from the top down)”(202).

~” The following aspects of instruction and teacher behaviour have an effect on the way students’ self-regulate their learning: clarity and pace of instruction, the amount of structure provided, autonomy granted, teacher enthusiasm, humor, fairness, and teacher expectations about students’ capacity”(204).

~” Therefore, researchers should design their assessment instruments in such a way that they provide insight into how students’ attempts at self-regulation change over time in function of their own perception of goal salience, goal conflict, and progress in skill development”(208).

Ideas:

A self-regulated learner has control over his own learning, steering, and directing their cognitive and motivational processes to achieve learning goals. This article addresses important questions regarding self-regulation learning.

The first question addressed is “What key strategies do students need to guide and direct their own learning process?” Some strategies stated are how students orient themselves before beginning a new assignment. They collect relevant resource materials, integrate different viewpoints, monitor for comprehension, and assess self progress. They are also able to create coping strategies to reduce the level of arousal.

The second question was “What cues in the learning environment trigger self-regulatory strategies?” The article states that a student’s learning experiences from the past trigger expectations and beliefs.

The final question states “What can teachers do to help students self-regulate their learning, motivation, and effort in the classroom?” Teachers should invite students to collaborate on authentic problems in small groups, expect group members to share information and engage in knowledge building. But teachers should also assess self-regulatory learning by using a combination of the following instruments multiple times in a lesson:

-self-report questionnaires

-observations of overt behavior

-interview evidence

-traces of mental events and processes

-situational manipulations

-recording student motivation strategies as they work

-keeping diaries

Connections:

I realized that the work lies in the goal setting and reflection in the process of striving towards the goal. For students who have an initial goal, they are constantly referring back to it as they manipulate their strategies to help them reach it. Once we have the goal, I want us to self-reflect along the way.

I appreciated the article’s assessment model for self-regulatory learning. I will implement this model as part of our self-reflection piece to guide our learning. This will give me insight in how my students are moving through the self-regulatory process and then give input on how we are learning.

Other Sources:

Boekaerts, M., & Niemivirta, M. (2000). Self-regulated learning: Finding a balance between learning goals and ego-protective goals. In M. Boekaerts, P. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation.417–451.

Hijzen, D., Boekaerts, M., & Vedder, P. (2006). The relationship between the quality of cooperative learning, students’ goal preferences, and perceptions of contextual factors in the classroom. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 47, 9–21.

Pintrich, P. R. (2000). The role of goal orientation in self-regulated learning. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation.451–502.

Sheldon, K. M., & Elliot, A. J. (1998). Not all personal goals are personal: Comparing autonomous and controlled reasons for goals and predictors of effort and attainment. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24(5), 546–557.