Self-regulated learning (SRL) is a pivot upon which students’ achievement turns. We explain how feedback is inherent in and a prime determiner of processes that constitute SRL, and review areas of research that elaborate contemporary models of how feedback functions in learning. Specifically, we begin by synthesizing a model of self-regulation based on contemporary educational and psychological literatures. Then we use that model as a structure for analyzing the cognitive processes involved in self-regulation, and for interpreting and integrating findings from disparate research traditions. We propose an elaborated model of SRL that can embrace these research findings and that spotlights the cognitive operation of monitoring as the hub of self-regulated cognitive engagement. The model is then used to reexamine (a) recent research on how feedback affects cognitive engagement with tasks and (b) the relation among forms of engagement and achievement. We conclude with a proposal that research on feedback and research on self-regulated learning should be tightly coupled, and that the facets of our model should be explicitly addressed in future research in both areas.
Based on this reflective analysis, we conclude that the medical education community's understanding about self-regulation will continue to advance as we: (i) consider how learning is undertaken within the complex social contexts of clinical training and practice; (ii) think of self-regulation within an integrative perspective that allows us to combine disparate strands of research and to consider self-regulation across the training continuum in medicine, from learning to practice; (iii) attend to the grain size of analysis both thoughtfully and intentionally, and (iv) most essentially, extend our efforts to understand the need for and best practices in support of self-regulation.
The research described here investigated the effectiveness of an intervention model designed to promote self-regulated and strategic learning: Strategic Content Learning (SCL). In SCL, rather that focusing on teaching students specific cognitive strategies, instruction focuses on supporting students to develop a strategic approach to learning. The study comprised six parallel case studies embedded within a single-group, pre-post design. Each student chose a task of importance to current or future academic work, and individualized support was provided on those tasks. Participants were adults with learning disabilities (5 women and 1 man, ages 18 to 36 years) enrolled in postsecondary education programs. Results indicated, that students' task performance improved. Additionally, gains in metacognitive knowledge about tasks and strategies, increased perceptions of self-efficacy, and shifts in attributional patterns were observed. Most critically, the evidence suggested that students became more self-regulated in their learning: They were active in developing and modifying strategies, they transferred strategies across contexts, and they began to attack noninstructed tasks strategically. The particular suitability of SCL as an intervention for adults with learning disabilities is described, and implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.
This article reports findings from three studies investigating the efficacy of an instructional model designed to promote self-regulation, the Strategic Content Learning (SCL) approach. Participants were post-secondary students with learning disabilities who ranged in age from 19 to 48 years. Each study comprised multiple in-depth case studies (total N
= 34) embedded within a pre–posttest design. Students were provided with individualized SCL tutoring for two to three hours per week during at least one semester. Both qualitative and quantitative evidence converged to reveal consistent improvements across time in students' metacognitive knowledge about key self-regulated processes, perceptions of task-specific efficacy, attributional patterns, task performance, and strategic approaches to tasks. Students were also found to transfer strategic approaches across contexts and tasks. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.
A total of 38 problem learners comprising adolescents with learning disabilities and low achievers participated in this study. Of these, 20 were untrained control participants; the remainder were trained to plan, write, and revise opinion essays. Trainees were randomly divided into pairs and taught to collaboratively use interactive dialogues to plan and revise their essays (but they wrote their essays separately). The results from multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) and effect sizes indicated that trainees improved significantly from pretest to posttest in clarity and cogency of written opinion essays, and maintained such gains. Additional analyses indicated that they surpassed the untrained control group. Questionnaire data indicated trainees improved in self-efficacy of writing only. The same finding held true in comparison with untrained participants. The discussion integrates the trainees' performance data with the questionnaire data and considers the research implications and limitations of the study.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.