Self-regulatory Abilities for Professional Learning

Pekka Ruohotie
University of Tampere

Self-regulation involves a complex of processes such as setting goals for learning, using effective strategies to organize, code, and rehearse information to be remembered, and using resources effectively. It is also affected by, among many other things, performance monitoring, self-beliefs, effective time management and beliefs about the value of learning. In this lecture self-regulation is examined in relation to the acquisition, use, and control of learning strategies for use in planned learning activities. Learning strategies include any thoughts, behaviors, beliefs, or emotions that facilitate the acquisition, understanding, or later transfer of new knowledge and skills.

Self-regulation of learning tasks can be described as a cyclical, three-phase process. The phases in this learning cycle are forethought, performance or volitional control, and self-reflection. Forethought precedes a learning performance. Performance or volitional control guides the learning process and regulates concentration and learning performance. Self-reflection refers to examining and making meaning of the learning experience. This process occurs throughout the course of learning.

Each phase of the learning cycle can be further subdivided into components/factors. Learning depends on the learner’s ability to manage these different aspects of self-regulation. Forethought, for example, can be described in terms of goal setting, strategic planning and self-beliefs.

In this lecture self-regulatory abilities are examined also as metacompetences. They are necessary for applying metacognitive knowledge (or metaknowledge) – knowledge about one’s own knowledge and reasoning ability – to optimize task-directed behavior. They include all those strategies that help to organize tasks/problems and facilitate problem solving (for example, organizing a task to make memorizing easier, underlining and marking important points in a text, and searching for memory cues). Strategic measures also include the use of effective cognitive tools (for example, graphics and analogies), purposeful application of cognitive resources and continuous observation and evaluation of learning/performance.

Self-regulation is a necessary precondition for the intentional conceptual change to take place. On the other hand learners can feel a need for change and they may have a wish to learn new things, but inadequate domain-specific knowledge may impede them from taking advantage of their self-regulation abilities.