Self-regulated learning at primary level – Yes please or No thanks? Syana Harizanova New Bulgarian University 22 nd BETA IATEFL Annual Conference, June 2013, Varna

What is self-regulation? Doing as one wants? Being free from external control? … or something else?

Introduction to SRL A sample scenario: Friday evening. Sue, a BA student, is planning her next week. Saturday and Sunday – spend out of town to recharge batteries before Final exam on Wednesday Monday and Tuesday – do final revising before exam Tuesday – go to a talk and workshop on dyslexia by renowned specialist at uni (?) Wednesday – take Final Exam

What would you do in these circumstances if you …?  want to attend the lecture and learn as much as possible about dyslexia;  want to feel confident at the exam and perform at your best;  feel overtired and in need of a good rest?

If your answer involved  evaluating the difficulty level of preparing for your exam (and probably reducing the time for revision);  assessing what you already know about dyslexia (and perhaps preparing a list of questions to ask the lecturer);  rethinking your plans for the weekend, … … then you are already engaging in self-regulation.

Self-Regulation Defined Self-regulation is the process in which students activate, take control of, and evaluate their own learning and behavior.

A simple example of self-regulation is … … keeping a study schedule.

Who is a self-regulated learner? Self-regulated learners: are aware of their strengths and weaknesses; utilize metacognitive strategies, for example, questioning one's learning and monitoring one's learning, to approach academic tasks; attribute their success or failure to factors within their control.

Dimensions of Self-Regulation Researchers identified three critical dimensions, or characteristics, of self- regulation: Self-observation Self-judgement Self-reaction

Self-observation refers to the deliberate monitoring of one's activities. Self-observation may take the form of recording frequency, duration or quality of a behavior. Self-observation is also critical to the regulation of performance. Self-observation may also lead to higher motivation. For example, if you realize your study habits were causing you to perform poorly on these tests, you may adjust the way you study, leading to higher test grades and more motivation to continue to improve your study habits.

Self-judgment is a second critical dimension of self- regulation. Self-judgment refers to evaluating one's current performance levels compared to the goal level.

Self-reaction is the third critical dimension of self-regulation. Self-reaction refers to one's behavioral, cognitive and affective responses to self-judgments. Self-reactions can be motivating if one believes they are making progress toward their goal. Negative self-evaluations are not necessarily demotivating if one believes they can still make changes and progress toward their goal.

Three cyclical phases in the acquisition of SRL skills Phase 1. Forethought/pre-action Phase 2. Performance control Phase 3. Self-reflection

Phase 1. Forethought/pre-action Ask students to consider the following: When will they start? Where will they do the work? How will they get started? What conditions will help or hinder their learning activities at this phase?

Phase 2. Performance control Ask students to consider the following: Are they accomplishing what they hoped to do? Are they being distracted? Is this taking more time than they thought? How can they encourage themselves to keep working (including self-talk)?

Phase 3. Self-reflection Ask students to consider the following: Did they accomplish what they planned to do? Were they distracted and how did they get back to work? Did they plan enough time or did they need more time than they thought? Under what conditions did they accomplish the most work?

Common Self-Regulation Strategies  Personal  Behavioral  Environmental

Personal SRL strategies  Organizing and transforming information outlining summarizing rearrangement of materials highlighting drawing pictures, diagrams, charts  Goal setting and planning/standard setting sequencing, timing, completing time management and pacing  Keeping records and monitoring note-taking lists of errors made portfolio, keeping all drafts of assignments  Rehearsing and memorizing (written or verbal; overt or covert) mnemonic devices teaching someone else the material making sample questions using repetition

Behavioral SRL strategies Self-evaluating (checking quality or progress) task analysis (What does the teacher want me to do? What do I want out of it?) self-instructions; enactive feedback attentiveness Self-consequating treats to motivate; self-reinforcement arrangement or imagination of punishments; delay of gratification

Environmental SRL strategies Seeking information (library, Internet) library resources Internet resources reviewing cards rereading records, tests, textbooks Environmental structuring selecting or arranging the physical setting isolating/ eliminating or minimizing distractions break up study periods and spread them over time Seeking social assistance from peers from teachers or other adults emulate exemplary models

Factors influencing self-regulation internal factors, such as one's own self-efficacy beliefs, and external factors, such as social guidance and feedback from others. Ways of promoting SRL by teachers Through: explicit instruction, indirect modeling and promoting practices of metacognition.

The teachers’ role – some issues Is primary teacher’s sense of efficacy in promoting SRL at a relatively sufficient level? Are teachers contributing efficiently to developing SRL strategies in young learners? If not, are they not willing to do so because of lack of commitment? Alternatively, do they lack knowledge about how to enhance SRL? How could the instruction of teachers be improved to face these challenges? Are classroom curriculum and assessment system organized in ways that support and value SRL?

Can SRL happen with young learners? Historically, theories of motivation and SRL presumed young children were not capable of the complex cognitive and metacognitive processes involved in SRL. Consequently, much of the research about SRL in educational psychology focused on students in the intermediate grades and beyond. Now research is accumulating that proves young children can and do regulate their learning and are vulnerable to the same academically maladaptive motivations as older students.

Thank you!