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The secret of self-regulated learning: How do students take control of their learning?
Self-regulated learning (SRL) is an area of self-regulation that is most closely related to educational goals. It broadly refers to the learning process guided by metacognition (thinking about your own thinking), strategic action (planning, monitoring and evaluating your own progress) and motivation. Self-regulated learners “monitor, direct, and regulate actions toward the goals of acquiring knowledge, expanding expertise, and self-improvement.” In particular, self-regulated learners have a clear understanding of their academic strengths and weaknesses and are able to use a range of strategies to address the challenges posed by everyday academic tasks.
Self-regulated learners have a belief in incremental intelligence and attribute success or failure to factors within their control, including effort put into the task and effective use of strategies.
These learners enjoy challenges, hands-on learning, a deep understanding of subject matter, and the commitment to academic success. These characteristics may explain why self-regulated learners often display high levels of self-efficacy. In the educational psychology literature, researchers have linked these characteristics to success both in and outside of school. Self-regulated learners are successful because they can control their learning environment and achieve their learning goals by directing and regulating their actions.
The process of self-regulated learning can be divided into three different learning stages: the first stage is initial learning, the second stage is solving problems encountered during the learning process, and the third stage is trying to teach others. This skill is even more important in an alternative learning environment, especially in online courses.
Self-regulation plays an important role in students' academic success, especially for the differences in self-regulation in online learning between first-generation and second-generation college students.
In terms of comfort level with computers, first-generation students reported significantly lower self-regulation than second-generation students. Regarding different strategies for self-regulation, private writing techniques such as freewriting and journaling remain undervalued in academic writing instruction. Such techniques are often viewed as pre-writing and criticized for failing to adequately theorize their significance in social practice.
During this transition, first-year students face new learning strategy challenges, and the self-regulation strategies they develop are critical to their academic achievement. The researchers believe that group discussion boards are an important way to share learning strategies, and students' perceptions of overviews are gradually being valued. Research shows that students develop critical analysis skills when they use organization and content exploration in their studies, which is essential for academic success.
Self-regulated learning improves learning outcomes, particularly among first- and second-generation college students, and is an essential enabler for academic success.
According to Winne and Hadwin, the process of self-regulation can be divided into four flexible stages, including task identification, goal setting and planning, implementation, and adjustment. During these stages, students gather information about the task, personalize their perceptions, set goals, and plan how to complete the task. Next, students implement the plans they designed using various learning strategies and finally conduct a self-assessment to improve future learning performance.
However, self-regulated learning is not only a requirement for the ability of each student, but is also closely related to many factors such as their learning environment and social cognition. Zheng Mi et al. pointed out that self-observation, self-judgment and self-reaction are the three core characteristics of self-regulated learning. The ability to accurately assess learning progress and adjust action plans together contributes to the learner's ability to self-regulate.
Expert self-regulated learners demonstrate strong internal locus of control, which is critical for academic performance.
Currently, many educators are seeking practical applications for how to implement self-regulated learning in the classroom and have identified several key areas including literature instruction, cognitive engagement, and self-assessment. By implementing reciprocal teaching, open-ended tasks, and project-based learning, teachers can help students develop the skills they need to become self-regulated learners.
Then, the importance of understanding and applying these strategies is crucial to students' academic success. In the classroom, students need hands-on practice with these strategies in order to truly become independent learners.
This study highlights the challenges of developing a framework for self-regulated learning in different learning contexts. Faced with various influencing factors, how should students adopt effective strategies to improve their learning outcomes?
