Self Regulation

From Jsarmi

The concept of academic self-regulation and its relationship to learning has been widely explore (Ruban, McCoach, McGuire, & Reis, 2003). According to Zimmerman, (1989) self-regulation refers to “the degree that individuals are metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviorally active participants in their own learning process” (p. 329). Zimmerman (1989) identifies the hallmarks of academic self-regulation to include academic time management, practice, mastery of learning methods, goal-directedness, and a sense of self-efficacy.

Self-regulation refers to the use of processes that activate and sustain thoughts, behaviors, and affects in order to attain goals (Schunk & Zimmerman, 1997). In other words, it refers to taking charge of our own learning by coordinating the thinking skills described in this chapter. Self-regulation has three components:

• Self-observation. Deliberate attention to specific aspects of one's own behaviors.
• Self-judgment. Comparing one's current progress toward a goal with a standard.
• Self-reaction. Making evaluative responses to judgments of one's own performance.

Zimmerman (1994) conceptualizes self-regulation as comprising four dimensions or areas in which students can self-regulate their activities:

• (a) motives for learning or performing
• (b) methods used
• (c) performance outcomes or target behaviors, and
• (d) environmental resources used.

To be self-regulated it is not necessary that one exert control over all dimensions; such complete control would be rare in educational settings. Rather, these are four areas in which self-regulation is possible.

Conceptual Analysis of the Dimensions of Academic Self-Regulation

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Scientific	Psychological			Self-Regulatory	Self-Regulatory
Questions		Dimensions		Task Conditions		Attributes		Processes
Why?	Motive	Choose to	Intrinsically or	Self-goals,
		participate		self-motivated		self-efficacy,
values,
attributions, etc.
How?	Method	Choose method	Planned or	Strategy use,
		automatized		relaxation, etc.
What?	Performance	Choose	Self-aware of	Self-monitoring,
		outcomes		performance
outcomes		performance
outcomes		self-judgment,
action control,
volition, etc.
Where?	Environmental	Control social	Envirorunentally/	Envirorunental
		(social)		and physical
setting		socially
sensitive and
resourceful		structuring,
help seeking, etc.

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The question of what deals with students' efforts to self-regulate their

There is evidence that a major cause of underachievement is the inability of students to self-control themselves effectively ( Krouse & Krouse, 1981). Borkowski and Thorpe (in Schulz and Zimmerman, 1994) review this body of research indicating that underachievers are more impulsive, have lower academic goals, and are less accurate in assessing their abilities; furthermore, they are more self-critical and less self-effica­cious about their performance and tend to give up more easily than achievers.

In summary, academic self-regulation includes skills such as the following (McCombs, 1989; Schunk, 1994; Zimmerman, 1994):

• Valuing learning and its anticipated outcomes
• Setting performance goals
• Planning and managing time
• Holding positive beliefs about one's abilities
• Attending to and concentrating on instruction
• Effectively organizing, rehearsing, and encoding information
• Setting up a productive work environment
• Using social resources effectively
• Focusing on positive effects
• Making useful attributions for success and failure

According to Zimmerman self-judgment is essential. He states (1989) that "self-judgment refers to students' responses that involve systematically comparing their performance with a standard or goal" (p. 333).

Recently, researchers have begun to look at issues of self-regulation and its relationship with success in online learning environments (Zerr, 2007; Whipp & Chiarelli, 2004). Yet studies in this area remain few and far between (Whipp & Chiarelli 2004), and a call for more research has been issued (Hodges, 2005). It is in response to that call that this study was undertaken.

References

• Ruban, L., McCoach, B., McGuire, J., & Reis, S., (2003) The differential impact of academic self-regulatory methods on academic achievement among university students with and without learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 36(3), 268-284.
• Whipp J. & Chiarelli S. (2004) Self-regulation in a web-based course: a case study. Educational Technology Research and Development, 52(4) 5-23.
• Zerr, R., (2007) A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis of the Effectiveness of Online Homework in First-Semester Calculus. The Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 26(1), 55-74.
• Zimmerman, B. J. (1989). A social cognitive view of self-regulated academic learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 329–339.
• Zimmerman B. J., & Schunk D. H. (Eds.). ( 1989). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Springer-Verlag
• Zimmerman, B. J. (1994) Dimensions of Academic Self-Regulation: A Conceptual Framework for Education. In D. H. Schunk, D. H. & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.) Self-regulation of Learning and Performance: Issues and Educational Applications. Hillsdale, New Jersey Hove, UK, Lawrence Erlbaun Associates. p. 3-
• Schunk, D. H., Zimmerman, B. J. (Eds.). (1994) Self-regulation of Learning and Performance: Issues and Educational Applications.

Hillsdale, New Jersey Hove, UK, Lawrence Erlbaun Associates.

• Hodges, C. (2005). Self-Regulation in web based courses: a review and the need for Research. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 6(4), 375-384.