Morska L.M.
Khmelnitskiy National University
DEVELOPING STUDENT SELF-REGULATORY CAPABILITIES
The field of motivation has seen an enormous
increase in its knowledge base over the last decade of the 20th century and
into the 21st century. The more we understand motivation, the more it requires
decision making. The content is based on two roles teachers have for supporting and cultivating motivation in the
classroom: establishing the classroom structure and instruction that provides
the environment for optimal motivation, engagement, and learning; and helping
students develop the tools that will enable them to be self-regulated learners.
Self-regulation refers to
one's own learning through metacognitive, motivational, and behavioral
participation. It is composed of three phases acting in a cyclical fashion:
forethought, volitional control, and self-reflection [5].
A vision of a possible self—how we think about ourselves and the
future—is the first step in developing self-regulation. Motivationally, possible
selves act as incentives for future behavior, with the absence of possible
selves viewed as a serious motivational problem. Development of possible selves
is based on social environment, attributions, and self-efficacy beliefs.
Interventions to help students develop possible selves or visions of the future
have been developed at elementary and secondary school levels with promising
success [1].
Volition, the "tendency to maintain focus and effort
toward goals despite potential distractions," is important for
selfregulation because it protects goals. Students encounter many volitional
challenges such as homework; its success depends on students' handling
distractions. Volitional control strategies are covertly used to control
self-defeating thoughts and covertly and overtly used to control the self by
controlling
the environment. Interventions to help students
acquire volitional strategies have been developed from the first-grade level to
the community college level.
Self-regulated learners possess
learning and metacognitive strategies. Learning strategies range from simple
strategies like rehearsal to elaboration, which is essential for deep-level
processing. Metacognitive strategies include knowledge and strategies
of the person (knowledge and beliefs about memory
and how it works), tasks (evaluation of task difficulty), and strategies
(decisions about which strategy will work the best for different types of
tasks) [2].
Motivational Tool Box consists of
these components:
1. Important points to think about and lingering
questions;
2. Strategies I can use now;
3. Strategies I want to develop in the future.
Self-regulated learners use self-instruction and selfmonitoring to
manage actions and thoughts. Self-instruction is used when we talk to ourselves
to guide our behavior and can be covert (e.g., silently talking to ourselves)
or overt (e.g., speaking out loud). Six forms of self-instructional speech can
help students understand the task, generate strategies for accomplishing the task,
manage anxiety, and evaluate progress. Self-instruction has been used for a
variety of goals, including positive classroom behavior,
composition skills, and problem solving. Self-instructional
training typically begins with modeling by the teacher, followed by practice by
students.
Self-monitoring is the observation and evaluation of our progress.
It contains two complementary components: selfrecording and self-evaluation. It
requires a student to selectively attend to specific actions, such as on-task
behavior, or processes, such as attributional thoughts [3].
Self-regulated learners manage their time and environmental resources
to accomplish their goals [3]. Students can be motivated but fail to regulate
their time. Training students in timebudgeting strategies requires helping them
to become aware of
their use of time and to develop strategies to plan
and prioritize their time use.
Environmental control is concerned with study areas, noise levels,
appropriate materials, and people, as well as strategies to reduce interference
with learning. Organization is a crucial strategy that helps students control
environmental factors.
Classroom approaches to
developing self-regulation have been developed for elementary and secondary
grades. Selfregulatory strategies for students need to begin in the early grades
with self-control processes, beliefs about personal control, and hoped-for
future goals. Students who have these qualities of personal capability will
have a foundation for resiliency [4]. Resilient students possess qualities such
as a sense of purpose and future planning, social, and help-seeking skills that
enable them to gain support, and the ability to act independently.
References:
1. Alderman, M. K. (1985). Achievement motivation and the
preservice teacher. In M. K Aldeman & M. W. Cohen (Eds.), Motivation
theory and practice for preservice teachers(pp. 37-51). Washington, DC:
ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher Education.
2. Battistich, V., Solomon, D., Kim, D., Watson, M.,
& Schaps, E. (1995). Schools as communities,povery levels of student
populations, and student attitudes, motives, and performances: A multilevel
analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 32(2),627-658.
3. Cardova, D. J., & Lepper, M. R. (1996). Intrinsic
motivation and the process of learning: Beneficial effects of
contextualization, personalization, and choice. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 715-730.
4. Good, T. L., & Weinstein, R. (1986). Teacher
expectations: A framework for exploring classrooms. In K. K. Zumwalt (Ed.), Improving
teaching (The 1986 ASCD Yearbook) (pp. 63-85). Alexandria, VA: Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
5. Kagen, S. (1992). Cooperative learning resources
for teachers. San Juan Capistrano, CA: Resources for Teachers.