Self-Regulation

This information comes from Linda B. Nilson's book Creating Self-Regulated Learners: Strategies to Strengthen Students’ Self-Awareness and Learning Skills (2013)

Book cover for Linda B. Nilson's Creating Self-Regulated Learners 

Here's a question to ponder... Where would you place yourself on the continuum between these two positions?

1. Learning is something that happens to students, and it’s the faculty’s job to make it happen.

2. Learning is the student’s responsibility, and faculty just point them in the right direction. 

There is NO correct answer to this question. Rather, it is designed to get you thinking about where student responsibility starts and end and where your responsibility begins when it comes to learning. There are people all across the college who sit on opposite ends of the spectrum, and they all have valid arguments for those positions. 

I have yet to meet the person who says that the responsibility lies solely with faculty. We can all agree that students bear primary responsibility for learning. But, the real question is how much can faculty support, guide, and shape the development off self regulation. The purpose of this page is to encourage reflection and provide concrete strategies to support student self regulation. By definition, the following information presupposes that faculty should some of the weight of learning.

 

What is Self Regulation?

Nilson defines self regulation this way: 

“Self-regulated learning is a total engagement activity involving multiple parts of the brain. This activity encompasses full attention and concentration, self awareness and introspection, honest self assessment, openness to change, genuine self discipline, and acceptance of responsibility for one’s learning” 

(Nilson 4)

The list of connected attributes is considerable. Also, it sounds a lot like a description of individual character. It is easy to place a valuation on these kinds of traits or assume that they are standard, or what good people/good students do. Of course, it is problematic to assume. 

First, it's important to distinguish between self regulation and INTELLIGENCE as well as METACOGNITION..

It’s not intelligence. It has little do with measured intelligence - many of us know smart but not well regulated people. Also, just about anyone can develop self regulation. In fact, self control, self discipline, perseverance, and determination in achieving long-term goal outweigh IQ as predictors of postsecondary success (Nilson 4). 

Self regulations is also not metacognition. Metacognition falls under the umbrella of a more general concept of self regulation. Self-regulated learning includes not only cognitive control, but also mastery of one’s emotions, motivations, behaviors, and environment connected to learning. In contrast, metacognition is limited to awareness of one's learning. 

Another definition of the term follows: 

“Self-regulated learning is an overarching term that addresses how students approach their learning, work toward goals, and evaluate their performance. The topic of self-regulated learning intertwines cognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies, and motivational beliefs.”

(SERC, SAGE 2YC “Develop Self-Regulated Learners Links to an external site.”)

When I first read the title of Nilson's book, I had some concern. Is it really possible to "create" self regulation in students? Can we do that? Even if I require certain behaviors or approaches in my courses, can I really change someone’s feelings and patterns? Probably not. Students always have choices to do what they want to do. Even if they perform a certain way for my 12-week course, that does not mean that they have actually become self-regulated. The behaviors may or may not stick.  

But, I am not content to sit back and make assumptions that students either have this or they don’t when they walk in the door. Self-regulation can be learned, and more importantly, it can be FOSTERED. We can create the conditions for students to thrive themselves. Too many aren’t taught how to learn, and we - as master learners - can share our success paths.

The benefits of self regulation are many. Studies show that students who are self regulated often: 

  • achieve better grades
  • have stronger retention
  • complete programs and degrees more often
  • have higher job performance ratings after graduation

All of these are worthy outcomes, and communicating them with students is key to getting them on board. Be transparent about WHY you are teaching self regulation skills!

 

What are Assignments and Activities that Help Students Develop Self Regulation?

The following information is a summary of key ideas from Nilson's book. Keep in mind her approach to teaching self regulation: 

“Self regulated learning is a total engagement activity involving multiple parts of the brain. This activity encompasses full attention and concentration, self awareness and introspection, honest self assessment, openness to change, genuine self discipline, and acceptance of responsibility for one’s learning” (Nilson 4)

Fostering Self-Regulated Learning from the Start (Chapter 2)

Share/Assign Readings and Discussions on Learning and Thinking

By treating learning as a discipline worthy of study, you encourage your students to learn how to learn. Get them started on the right track early by assigning readings on the topic. She suggests Learning (Your First Job) Links to an external site., by Robert Leamnson (2002), or “Learning to Learn Links to an external site.,” by Karl R. Wirth and Dexter Perkins (2008b). 

I add to her recommendations the very short article, “What Works, What Doesn’t Links to an external site.” by Dunlosky et al, (2013) as well as the “How to Get the Most Out of Studying” Links to an external site. series with Dr. Steven Chew on Youtube.

Discuss the reading in your class with students, posing questions like:

  • What was the most important insight that you gained from the reading? 
  • What surprised you the most in the reading?
  • What did you already know?
  • Did you identify with any of Kolb’s learning styles? Which one or ones?
  • Which of Perry’s stages of intellectual development did you identify with?
  • One of Fink’s categories of significant learning is learning how to learn, the subject we’re addressing in this class right now. Have you been taught how to learn before? Where? What did  you learn about learning?
  •  What will you do differently during a lecture, if anything, given what you read?
  • How will you prepare differently for exams, given what you read?
  • Can you think of other good learning practices that the reading didn’t mention?

Goal Setting

  • Start the course with open-ended writing questions like “Why are you in this class?” or “What are your goals?”
  • Assign a first week “How I Earned an A in This Course” reflection paper dated the last day of the class
  • Follow up with an end-of-course “How I Actually Earned an A in This Course” or “Why I Didn’t Earn an A in This Course” 
  • Design a group, in-class exercise where students brainstorm ways to earn As in your course and share with the class to evaluate. 

Self-Assessment of Self-Regulated Learning Skills

Have students complete the 27-item Cooper and Sandi-Urena Metacognitive Activities Inventory Links to an external site. (2009) (I can email you the pdf if you have trouble with access). Or assign the 52-item Metacognitive Awareness Inventory Links to an external site., developed by Shaw and Dennison (1994).

Self-Assessment on Course Knowledge and Skills

  • Reflection Writing - have students write a brief reflection in class or as homework on the nature of the subject matter of the course and its importance (for example, What is the history of biology/mathematics/nursing? or Why is this subject important?), or more general questions about discipline (for example, What is the nature of science? How is science done? What examples does geology provide?). Responses can be shared or reviewed at the end of the course.
  • Content-Focused Writing - ask students to answer content-focused questions like Define miscarriage of justice, or Distinguish it from wrongful conviction at the start of the term, then return to the writing at the end, requiring students to “grade” or analyze their early conclusions. Or, have students complete a Perspective Assessment Survey where you ask students to agree or disagree with six or seven discipline-specific propositions (some false, but mostly true). For example, “Plant/animal domestication represented a major improvement in human social history,” or “Native peoples of North America never developed any complex societies until Europeans arrived.” Then have students review answers and explain why they were right or wrong later in the quarter. 
  • Knowledge Surveys - provide a long list of topics that your course will cover, and ask students to rate their ability to answer questions and perform related tasks. For example, “Name and define the various dissociative disorders,” “What argument is Socrates making in this passage from his Apology?” or “Apply Archimedes’ Principle to measure the volume of this irregularly shaped object.” The point is not to answer the question, but to rate their confidence. Early in the term, you can skip over material that the group already knows, and during the quarter, you can determine which sections to review. Answers can be a simple scale, or explained more in depth (“I do not understand the question or task, or I do not understand the technical terms, or I do no think I can give a correct answer” to “I know that I can answer the question well enough for grading now.”)

 

Beyond Time Management (Chapter 8)

Nilson focuses on two main areas of self regulated behavior: delayed gratification and procrastination, “both are character-grounded behaviors that involve self-discipline or self-control and that enhance learning” (78).

Set the Stage: Create a learning environment that fosters success (79-80). 

Lower the stress level, cultivate motivation, and enhance self-efficacy with practices like the following:

  • Establish a classroom of trust and respect
  • Get to know your students and let them know you
  • Learn names and use them
  • Convey openness and approachability
  • Be enthusiastic and animated
  • Show your sense of humor, enjoyment of teaching and passion for your discipline
  • Foster interaction between students to create a strong community 
  • Reinforce positive connections between your students and the course material
  • Make connections between skills learned in class and their future usefulness 
  • Reinforce the value, utility and relevance of course material
  • Teach the skills that helped you become an expert 
  • Plan a well structured, organized, and predictable course

Deferred Gratification Strategies (pages 81-82)

  1. Have students write down their goals for doing well in your course and for completing substantial assignments, along with a timeline for reaching those goals.
  2. Encourage students, especially freshmen, to schedule their week.
  3. Assign students the task of observing themselves while they study and identify their “positive distractors” (environment factors that increase their persistence to study, write, solve problems, etc., e.g. physical exercise, background music, regular breaks, particular physical positions and places, food/drink,).
  4. Provide challenging, long-term assignments that require higher-order thinking, and break them into steps with deadlines.
  5. Set up a token economy that incentivizes deferred gratification. [Let students earn “token” for doing exemplary work or submitting assignments early and redeem those tokens for meaningful reward (ex. dropping lowest test score = 5 tokens, or submitting a late assignment = 3 tokens). Consider doubling the value of tokens at the end of the quarter (extra credit or skipping the final exam = 10 tokens).]
  6. Have individual students or groups compete to see who can defer gratification the longest. [In a token economy, require students to cash in tokens for late assignments or tardiness, and reward students with remaining tokens at the end of class.]
  7. Have students write an analysis of the personal benefits they have experienced as a result of deferring their gratification.

Helping Students Overcome Procrastination

  1. Heighten students self-awareness
  2. Define procrastination as self-deception and describe common reasons for procrastination (fear of failure, fear of success and raised expectations, low self-efficacy rooted in an external locus control, and the rush of the last-minute completion – page 82). Raise awareness of the warning signs:
    • Waiting to do things until the last minutes
    • Not seeing or not honoring personal deadlines
    • Not taking action until a crisis develops
    • Not setting daily schedules and goals for using one’s time
    • Not setting personal priorities for accomplishing tasks
    • Spending substantial time unproductively doing trivial or routine tasks, reading nonessential material, and socializing face-to-face, on the phone, or on social media
    • Saying yes to every request and invitation
    • Overcommitting, overscheduling, and overextending oneself
    • Doing a task too quickly and sloppily, which may requiring redoing it later
    • Setting perfection as the standard of a task
    • Leaving so little time to do a task that one cannot accommodate unexpected emergencies
    • Not reading or listening to instructions on how to do a task
    • Pretending to work on the task but never getting around to committing words to paper
    • Not asking others to help or to pick up other tasks

If students recognize the signs, they can write and reflect on the following questions (page 83):

    • What tasks am I currently procrastinating?
    • What tasks can I remember procrastinating in the past?
    • Do these tasks share any common qualities? (For example, do they all require research, writing, math, working alone or collaboratively, or something else?)
    • Are they activites that I am not sure how to do?
    • Are they activities that I am afraid I will do poorly on?
    • Or am I afraid that, if I give them the time they deserve, I’ll do them so well that other people will expect more of me than I’m willing to give?
    • What activities do I gravitate to when I am procrastinating a task?

Instructor Implemented Strategies (page 84 – 85)

  • Build in some early-in-the-term in-class activities that get your students thinking about and starting substantial, longer-term assignments. 
  • To maintain students’ awareness of their self-deception, have them keep a lie log - a written record of each lie they tell themselves to put off doing a task.
  • Encourage your students to start off each morning by settling on three tasks that have to be done that day and writing a self-evaluation at the end of the day on how well they met their goals.
  • Insert reminders in the syllabus advising students to complete certain parts of a long-term project by a certain date, and repeat these reminders in class.
  • Be sure the directions and grading rubrics for your assignments are clear and sufficiently detailed, and invite questions after students have the time to read them. 
  • Acquaint your students with good study and learning strategies so that you can maximize the benefits of their time-on task. 
  • Don’t leave much time between the due dates for the first draft and the revision.
  • Set up your grading system to reward students for handing in assignments early and penalize them for being late. 
  • Have students reflect on their struggle against procrastination by completing the following tasks in Burns’s (1989) Five-Step Plan for Die-Hard Procrastinators:
  1. It is difficult to combat procrastination. Keep a running list of the unexpected difficulties you encounter.
  2. Keep a running list of the personal costs and benefits of not procrastinating.
  3. Break a major assignment that is due around the end of the term into small steps. 
  4. Record any negative thoughts you have about your efforts, along with your strategies for tuning them out. 
  5. Write down how you are rewarding yourself for defeating procrastination. 

 

To Grade or Not to Grade?

There is no “right” way to approach to grading reflection self-regulation assignments. Different schools of thought advocate completely nongraded (done because they are “good for students”), to graded for completion only, to rubric-assessed for completion (if they are submitted and meet whatever kinds of criteria listed [length, use of resources, or even online responses to discussion boards]), to more in-depth approaches. 

Many advocates of having some points suggest making them low-stakes points, graded for completion. Nilson reminds us that, “They should be worth something, lest students think we are not serious about them” (91).

 

Additional Resources