The author proposes a comprehensive process for applying established self-regulated learning models, strategies, scaffolding, and assessments to any online or blended program, course, or experience. The process draws upon the self-regulated learning model proposed by Barry J. Zimmerman, one of the leading self-regulated learning scholars, as well as contributions from a variety of self-regulated learning scholars, pedagogical researchers, and learning scientists. The chapter provides a step-by-step procedure for incorporating self-regulated learning strategies regardless of the reader's familiarity with online and blended learning, instructional design processes and principles, and self-regulated learning strategies and techniques.
TopIntroduction
The COVID-19 pandemic and associated shelter-in-place, social distancing and quarantine efforts accelerated the already rapid shift from traditional, face-to-face education to online and blended learning. According to research from the U.S. Census Bureau, 93% of all learners received some kind of online instruction during the pandemic (McElrath, 2020). Engaging in online and blended learning necessarily requires students to be, at a minimum, more self-directed. Fortunately, abundant research on learner self-regulation exists; the past three decades have provided growing research on self-regulated learning (SRL), including at least three meta-analyses (Dignath & Büttner, 2008; Dignath et al., 2008; Sitzmann & Ely, 2011) and a critical review (Panadero, 2017).
Similarly, the growth in online and blended learning over that same time has resulted in decades of research including meta-analyses that show that blended learning can be even more effective than traditional learning alone. This is attributed to the possibility that blended learning involves additional learning time, instructional resources, and course elements (Means et al., 2013). Incidentally, this points to the superior instructional and learning design that blended experiences often undergo through the thoughtful process of instructional systems design and learning experience design. Therefore, blended learning design is an outstanding opportunity to improve the overall quality of a program, course, or experience and, therefore, an opportune moment to enhance the experience with a systematically designed and implemented SRL strategy.
While both SRL and blended learning have been the focus of increased research, little attention has been paid to the process of designing, implementing, assessing, evaluating, and improving SRL strategies and elements within blended program design, pedagogical practices, and student success services. And while learners are increasingly trained to adopt their own self-regulation strategies, they are often reluctant or unprepared to adopt these strategies in actual practice (Foerst et al., 2017). Therefore, it is incumbent upon instructional designers, educational technologists, and instructors to integrate these strategies thoughtfully and strategically into all aspects of their learning experiences.
This chapter proposes a design, implementation, and evaluation process that can be applied to any online or blended program, course or experience. The process draws upon the SRL model proposed by Barry J. Zimmerman, one of the leading SRL scholars, as well as contributions from a variety of SRL scholars and researchers. The process for systematic application presented in this chapter is proposed by the author, but the self-regulated learning model and strategies are those derived by Zimmerman and other scholars. These models and strategies are, arguably, more important than the application process itself; the process is simply intended to help instructors and instructional designers thoughtfully (and systematically) integrate SRL strategies into a variety of learning experiences.
The process provides a step-by-step procedure for incorporating SRL strategies regardless of a reader’s familiarity with online and blended learning, instructional design processes and principles, and SRL strategies and techniques. The process begins by analyzing learners’ self-regulation experience, then considering the intended learner outcomes and learning objectives and the ways in which these are delivered, and then facilitates the incorporation of SRL phases, strategies, and scaffolding. It then introduces ideas for implementation, assessment, evaluation and ongoing optimization. The chapter concludes with three short samples that illustrate how SRL can be applied to programs, courses, and shorter experiences. The process is intended to provide practitioners with a practical overview to facilitate more thoughtful and evidence-based approaches to self-regulation as a fundamental part of the design process. By applying this process, instructors and instructional designers can integrate SRL principles into all aspects of their online and blended learning experiences. As with many processes, using every element could be overwhelming, time consuming, and ultimately yield an over-architected experience. It may make more sense for each reader to select those areas that seem best aligned to their context and needs, experimenting to reach a combination of approaches that best serve their learners and intended outcomes.