SELF-REGULATED LEARNING & MOTIVATION

1. SELF-REGULATED LEARNING & MOTIVATION Michelle V. Hall, MA

2. WHAT IS SELF-REGULATION Self-regulation refers to self-generated thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are oriented to attaining goals (Zimmerman, B., 2000). Students can actively activate their cognition, motivation, & behavior.

3. WHAT IS SELF-REGULATION • Not a mental ability, like intelligence • Not an academic skill • It’s a self-directive process that learners can use to transform their intrinsic mental abilities into academic skills.

4. WHY SELF-REGULATED LEARNING • Helps all types of learners: adults, college students, youth learners, disabled, elementary students • Self-regulated learners are more likely to succeed academically and view their futures optimistically. • Learner-centered approach to teaching. • Is important in the development of lifelong learning skills.

5. SELF-REGULATED LEARNER • Is proactive in learning efforts: • Are aware of: strengths and limitations, best learning settings, what hinders learning • Guided by personally set goals and task-related strategies • Sets goals and monitor learning behavior • Self-reflects on the effectiveness of strategies • Monitoring & reflection enhances self-reflection and motivation to continue to improve learning

6. SELF-REGULATORY PROCESS

7. FORETHOUGHT PHASE – TASK ANALYSIS • Goal setting – What do I need/want to learn? Decide on specific outcomes of learning. • Strategic planning - How will learning take occur? Selection of learning strategies or methods designed to attain the desired goals

8. FORETHOUGHT PHASE – SELF-MOTIVATION BELIEFS • Self-efficacy beliefs – How do I learn? Can I learn? Beliefs about my personal capability to learn or perform • Intrinsic interest: Do I value the task? If value a task for own merits will continue efforts even in the absence of tangible rewards • Learning goal orientation: Why am I learning this? If focus on the process of learning rather than competitive outcomes will learn more effectively

9. PERFORMANCE PHASE: SELF-CONTROL • Refer to the deployment of specific methods or strategies that were selected during the forethought phase. • attention focusing – need for learners to protect their intentions from distractions • self-instruction – telling oneself how to proceed in a learning task

10. SELF-OBSERVATION • Self-recording personal events or self-experimentation to find out the cause of these events. • These processes inform learners of their progress. • For example, if record the time it takes to perform a task; you are more likely to be aware of how effectively you are spending time

11. REFLECTION PHASE - SELF-JUDGMENT • Self-evaluation: comparing self-observed performances against some standard, such as one’s prior performance, or feedback from an instructor. • Causal attribution: beliefs about the cause of one’s errors or successes. Attributing failure to limitations in ability may imply that efforts to improve will not be effective. • In contrast, attributing failure to poor processes, will sustain motivation because it implies that a different strategy may lead to success. • Self-regulated learners do the latter

12. REFLECTION PHASE - SELF REACTION • Increased feelings of self-satisfaction enhance motivation, whereas decreases in self-satisfaction undermine further efforts to learn • Defensive responses: Withdrawing or avoiding opportunities to learn and perform, such as dropping a course or being absent for a test. • Adaptive reactions: Adjustments are designed to increase the effectiveness of one’s method of learning, such as discarding or modifying an ineffective learning strategy.

13. COMING FULL CIRCLE • Favorable self-reactions cyclically enhance positive forethought about oneself as a learner; the phases tend to be self-sustaining • The forethought phase prepares the learner for and influences the effectiveness of the performance processes • The self-reflective processes influence subsequent forethought and prepare the learner for further learning efforts to achieve mastery

14. HOW DO YOU DO IT? • Use Metacognitive strategies • Keep an academic/learning journal • Set goals • Plan learning activities • Generate questions before, during and after reading • Do a task-analysis of a problem • Time management! Time management!