Thesis

Life-Worthy Learning Skills: A Curriculum Intervention to Promote Self-Regulated Learning

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Abstract

Taking the form of a portfolio of papers written across my six-year research journey, this professional doctoral thesis presents the findings of a discipline-independent curriculum intervention designed to improve students’ self-regulated learning skills. The study also examines the relationship between students’ self-regulated learning skills and their academic achievement. Research suggests that discipline-independent training interventions improve students’ self-regulated learning skills, also having a major impact on students’ academic achievement across childhood and adolescence. Founded on Zimmerman's (2000) cyclic model of self-regulated learning, the 10-week discipline-independent intervention underpinning this research was designed and implemented to support the development of Year 9 (13-14 year old) students’ self-regulated learning skills. Following a pre-test post-test non-equivalent group design, participants were divided into two groups by way of purposeful sampling, with each group receiving the training intervention consecutively during the academic year 2017/18. Data was collected at three timepoints (before the start of Phase 1, at the end of Phase 1, and at the end of Phase 2) using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) and an original and tailored instrument created specifically for this research; the Self-Regulated Learning Experimental Design Survey (SRLEDS). Forming a significant contribution to the field, this instrument was validated using the MSLQ. Results show that although students’ self-regulated learning skills and academic achievement improved across timepoint, there were not any significant differences between group and nor did students’ self-regulated learning skills predict their level of academic achievement. In light of this, the discussion focuses on providing context to these results, exploring local changes within the research setting that account for the findings before outlining the implications of this study for both research and practice. In addition to the development and validation of the SRLEDS, this study also contributes to the fields of research and practice by offering a critical reflection on the challenges of using control groups within a live school research setting. In response to this, an alternative research design is proposed as well as a range of future research directions, with implications for practice highlighted and discussed.

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This paper draws on research evidence to show that there are distinct differences in adult-child interactions when an adult is present in a situation compared to when an adult is proximal to a situation. Previous research has demonstrated the links between playfulness and learning when children are allocated to playful rather than formal practice conditions. These conditions are created through the manipulation of cues that children use to define play and not play activities. Using a similar experimental paradigm, this study demonstrates that the cue of adult presence has a significant effect on adult-child interactions. In both playful and formal practice situations, an adult being present rather than proximal, leads to significantly lower levels of performance. Findings are discussed in relation to the emphasis on play within early years education and the role of adults in supporting this play.
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The present study examines whether teacher-rated self-regulation skills exhibited within the classroom context and directly assessed individual executive function abilities at kindergarten entry uniquely contribute to kindergarten and third grade achievement gaps among children from economically disadvantaged families and Spanish-speaking English-Language learners (ELLs). We used nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten cohort of 2010–2011 (ECLS-K: 2011) in hierarchical nested regression models to describe the achievement gaps and subsequent reductions in the achievement gaps once child covariates, classroom self-regulation, and executive function skills were added to the models. Classroom self-regulation explained a moderate proportion of the kindergarten math and literacy gaps, but only among children from economically disadvantaged families. After accounting for classroom self-regulation, executive function skills explained a more substantial proportion of kindergarten achievement gaps for children from economically disadvantaged families and Spanish-speaking ELLs. Moreover, although executive function skills continued to explain achievement gaps in third grade for both groups, effect sizes were small. Results highlight the independent contribution of classroom self-regulation and individual executive function skills for school readiness gaps in kindergarten among children from economically disadvantaged families and suggest that improving executive function abilities prior to kindergarten could be effective for attenuating initial achievement gaps. Applications to policy and practice are discussed.
Article
This introductory paper to the special issue of High Ability Studies aims to provide a “guide for the perplexed” relating to self-regulated learning (SRL) theory, research, and applications. We begin by defining SRL and its key cyclical stages and criterial attributes. We move on to discuss a number of motivational and meta-motivational constructs supporting SRL. We then briefly present a number of issues related to teaching and promoting SRL. Finally, we review research shedding light on SRL in gifted, high ability, and high achieving students.
Article
Learners in massive open online courses (MOOCs) are required to be autonomous during their learning process, and thus they need to self-regulate their learning to achieve their goals. According to existing literature, self-regulated learning (SRL) research in MOOCs is still scarce. More studies which build on past works regarding SRL in MOOCs are required, as well as literature reviews that help to identify the main challenges and future research directions in relation to this area. In this paper, the authors present the results of a systematic literature review on SRL in MOOCs, covering all the related papers published until the end of 2017. The papers considered in this review include real experiences with at least a MOOC (other learning scenarios sometimes claimed as MOOCs, such as blended courses, or online courses with access restrictions, are out of the scope of this analysis). Most studies on SRL in MOOCs share some common features: they are generally exploratory, based on one singleMOOC and tend not to specify in which SRLmodel they are grounded. The results reveal that high self-regulators engage in non-linear navigation and approach MOOCs as an informal learning opportunity. In general, they prefer setting specific goals based on knowledge development and control their learning through assignments.
Article
Self-regulation facilitates healthy development and positive adaptation across the life course, and deficits are linked to negative health outcomes. Self-regulation development is thus an important target for universal prevention interventions in early childhood. A well-established research base addresses the significance of caregiver relationships and environmental supports in self-regulation development during early childhood. However, the potential influence of peers has received less attention. Emerging evidence suggests a relationship between self-regulation skills and peer interactions; yet, these processes have been underexplored in the context of early childhood interventions, and the critical question of whether early childhood social environments could be engineered to maximize self-regulation development has been unaddressed. This paper presents empirical evidence and conceptual arguments for peer influences in self-regulation development in early childhood and reviews existing self-regulation interventions with an emphasis on a potential role for peer processes. Implications for future research and universal prevention programmes and policies are discussed.
Article
Self-regulated learning (SRL) skills, such as accurate self-monitoring and regulation of restudy choices, are important but difficult skills. Previous research has demonstrated that even when students were successfully trained in self-monitoring and making study choices, large differences existed in students' ability to accurately self-regulate their learning. One of the factors that might be associated with the effectiveness of SRL-skill training is students' motivation for the specific task under study. In two studies with secondary education students it was investigated if students' task-specific motivational profiles are associated with task-specific SRL skills after training. Furthermore, associations between motivation profiles with learning outcomes, mental effort, and self-efficacy were examined. In Study 1a, latent profile analysis resulted in four motivational profiles: (1) poor quality, (2) moderately positive, (3) moderately negative, and (4) good quality. Findings further showed that students with a “good quality” motivational profile scored higher on monitoring accuracy and learning outcomes than students with “poor quality” motivational profile. In Study 1b, similar motivational profiles were obtained as in Study 1a. Results demonstrated that students with a “moderately positive” motivation profile showed higher monitoring accuracy than students with a “poor quality” motivational profile. These findings show the importance of investigating task-specific motivational profiles in relation to training self-monitoring and making study choices.
Article
A considerable body of research indicates that children's executive function (EF) skills and related school readiness constructs are important for early learning and long-term academic success. This review focuses on EF and a related construct, motor skills with a focus on visuomotor integration, as being foundational for learning, and describes how these skills codevelop in young children in bidirectional and synergistic ways. The review discusses definitional and conceptual issues, connects EF and visuomotor integration to relevant theoretical perspectives, discusses measurement issues and advancements, and reviews intervention evidence to support the malleability of these skills in young children. Discussion emphasizes how these skills develop together and suggests that research examining children's learning from a codevelopment perspective can help promote children's health and well-being.
Article
Typical musicians devote most of their time to blocks of physical practice and mistake-avoidance, as opposed to mental preparation, desirable difficulties, and strategies that strengthen self-efficacy and autonomy. For this reason, teachers try to steer students away from mindless drill and towards self-regulated learning strategies. Yet, both the scientific and pedagogical literature lack guidelines for developing musicians that are supported by empirical research. This exploratory study with 14 musicians was designed to capture what they planned to practice, as well as what they actually did in the practice room, in order to assess the level of repetition and innovation intended and carried out. A questionnaire captured the musician’s self-reported intentions (cognitions), behavior, and emotions during practice. The questionnaire accompanied a self-recorded video of a practice session of the participant’s choice. Evaluation of the questionnaire and videos provided evidence that participant’s own ratings of the effectiveness of their practice supported their belief in the importance of repetition. The evaluation scores of these students’ practice sessions by two independent raters, in contrast, indicated that varied strategies were more beneficial with regard to individual progress than habitual repetition.
Article
Background Research on the relationships between parental factors and children's executive function (EF) has been conducted mainly in Western cultures. Aim This study provides the first empirical test, in a non‐Western context, of how maternal EF and parenting behaviours relate to child EF. Sample South Korean mothers and their preschool children (N = 95 dyads) completed EF tasks. Method Two aspects of parental scaffolding were observed during a puzzle task: contingency (i.e., adjusting among levels of scaffolding according to the child's ongoing evidence of understanding) and intrusiveness (i.e., directive, mother‐centred interactions). Results and Conclusions Maternal EF and maternal contingency each accounted for unique variance in child EF, above and beyond child age, child language and maternal education. Maternal intrusiveness, however, was not significantly related to child EF. Additionally, no mediating role of parenting was found in the maternal and child EF link. However, child language was found to partially mediate the link between maternal contingency and child EF. These results complement prior findings by revealing distinctive patterns in the link between maternal EF, parenting behaviours, and child EF in the Korean context.
Article
In this article, we highlight the importance of dynamic reorganization of neural circuitry during adolescence, as it relates to the development of emotion reactivity and regulation. We offer a neurobiological account of hierarchical, circuit-based changes that coincide with emotional development during this time. Recent imaging studies suggest that the development of the emotional brain involves a cascade of changes in limbic and cognitive control circuitry. These changes are particularly pronounced during adolescence, when the demand for self regulation across a variety of emotional and social situations may be greatest. We propose that hierarchical changes in circuitry, from subcortico-subcortical to subcortico-cortical to cortico-subcortical and finally to cortico-cortical, may underlie the gradual changes in emotion reactivity and regulation throughout adolescence into young adulthood, with changes at each level being necessary for the instantiation of changes at the next level.
Book
The use of randomised controlled trials (RCTs), most commonly a medical sciences research tool, is a hotly debated topic in Education. This book examines the controversial aspects of RCTs in Education and sets out the potential and pitfalls of the method. Drawing on their own extensive experience of running RCTs, and their work at the Centre for Evidence and Social Innovation (CESI) at Queen’s University, Belfast, the authors provide a thorough practical introduction to the use of randomised controlled trials in education. Using real data sets, chapters equip the reader with all of the key knowledge and skills required to design, run, analyse and report an RCT. Coverage includes: · Step-by-step guidance on analysing data · How to assess the reliability and validity of results · Advice on balancing the demands of various stakeholders Essential reading for postgraduate and more experienced researchers, as well as teachers and educationalists seeking to increase their knowledge and understanding of the use of such methods in education. https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/using-randomised-controlled-trials-in-education/book243420
Article
Self-regulated learning strategies are critical for students to be able to learn abstract subjects successfully and meaningfully. This article reports on an empirical investigation of the effectiveness of self-regulatory training on secondary school students' metacognition and achievement in chemistry. A total of 60 students aged 14-15 were randomly assigned into either the experimental group or the control group. Participants in the experimental group completed four self-regulated learning (SRL) exercises based on Zimmerman's (2002) cyclical model. Data were collected using pre and post self-regulated learning questionnaire (SRLQ), and pre and post reaction rates knowledge test (RRKT). Additional qualitative data were collected through classroom observation and interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using sample independent t-test while thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. The results revealed that there were significant differences between the two groups in terms of SRL skills, i.e. Students in the experimental group scored higher on post-SRLQ. Regarding students' achievement in chemistry, a slightly greater improvement was found for the students with SRL training than those in the control group. The findings suggested that training in SRL improves students' achievement in chemistry and therefore should be included in secondary science classrooms.
Article
College student enrollment in online courses has steadily increased over the course of many years and is expected to continue to increase for the foreseeable future. The need for instructors to utilize best practices in online instruction and course design is crucial. This article presents strategies for online instructors to promote student use of self-regulated learning strategies (SRLS) in online courses, which has been associated with positive academic achievement. Implementation guidelines, empirical evidence linked to improved SRLS, and potential drawbacks are discussed.
Article
Background: Self-regulated learning requires accurate monitoring and effective regulation of study. Little is known about how effectively younger readers regulate their study. Aims: We examined how decisions about which text to restudy affect overall comprehension for seventh-grade students. In addition to a Participant's Choice condition where students were allowed to pick texts for restudy on their own, we compared learning gains in two other conditions in which texts were selected for them. The Test-Based Restudy condition determined text selection using initial test performance - presenting the text with the lowest initial test performance for restudy, thereby circumventing potential problems associated with inaccurate monitoring and ineffective regulation. The Judgement-Based Restudy condition determined text selection using metacognitive judgements of comprehension - presenting the text with the lowest judgement of comprehension, thereby circumventing potential problems associated with ineffective regulation. Sample: Four hundred and eighty seventh-grade students participated. Method: Students were randomly assigned to conditions in an experimental design. Results and conclusions: Gains in comprehension following restudy were larger for the Test-Based Restudy condition than for the Judgement-Based Restudy condition or the Participant's Choice condition. No differences in comprehension were seen between the Judgement-Based Restudy and Participant's Choice conditions. These results suggest seventh graders can systematically use their monitoring to make decisions about what to restudy. However, the results highlight how inaccurate monitoring is one reason why younger students fail to benefit from self-regulated study opportunities.