Background

SRL (self-regulated learning) falls under the social cognitive view of learning.  It is essential to the ever-growing sector of online learning.  Because e-learning utilizes asynchronistic and synchronistic interaction and communication, it “heavily relies on a student’s ability to autonomously and actively engage in the learning process (Broadbent & Poon, 2015, p. 2).”  A number of strategies can be used to help students learn and retain information in an organized way.  Broadbent & Poon utilized document research in twelve relevant articles to compile their findings.

Who was studied:

• University, college, or equivalent students
• Students who enrolled in an online or web-based course where the outcome variable was based on academic achievement

What was studied/reported on:

• Metacognition
• Time management
• Effort regulation
• Peer learning
• Elaboration
• Rehearsal
• Help seeking
• Critical thinking

Key points

• There are many advantages to self-regulated online learning, which include:
  • Offers students and teachers flexibility
  • Accessible to all students regardless of schedule or location
  • Affords more opportunities to learn information
  • Provides additional access to learning resources
  • Creates greater opportunities for collaboration
  • Space and time are not barriers to the learning process
• For students to achieve academic success through online learning, they must employ a number of deliberate strategies.  These strategies fall under the following categories:
  • Cognitive help learners acquire knowledge at a surface level by retaining information.
  • Resource Management requires students to use resources around them, such as their peers.
  • Metacognitive deliver deeper awareness by monitoring, planning, and regulating the learning process.
    • Monitor actions through self-observation
    • Evaluate performance through self-judgement
    • Assess responses to performance outcomes through self-reactions
• Although students must have the self-generated ability to control, manage, and plan their learning process, there are many advantages to implementing SRL strategies, such as:
  • They can be adaptable to real world practice
  • They typically predict high academic achievement

Discussion

The research was broken down into different types of learning that online students engage in.  Within each category, an example of that learning strategy is given, along with the results that were analyzed.

• Metacognition is the awareness and control of mental thoughts.
  • Example: An online learner who becomes confused from the online material consciously goes back to figure it out.
  • 4/10 studies found a significant relationship between the effect of metacognitive strategies and positive online academic outcomes.
• Time Management is the ability to plan study time and tasks.
  • Example: An online learner may schedule a weekly time to read the recommended readings.
  • 5/6 studies found significant positive relationship in the role of time/study management in online academic success.
• Effort Regulation is the capacity to persist when confronted with academic challenges.
  • Example: An online learner continues to study even when the learning material is uninteresting.
  • 4/5 studies found a significant positive relationship between effort regulation and academic grades in online learning.
• Peer Learning is collaborating with other learners in order to aid one’s own learning.
  • Example: An online learner gets together with other online learners to study.
  • 4/4 studies found a significant positive relationship between the effect of peer learning on academic achievement.
• Elaboration is the ability to fuse new and existing information with the aim of remembering the new material.
  • Example: A learner may relate the online material to what he or she already knows.
  • 3/3 studies found weak to no significant relationship between the effect of elaboration on online academic achievement.
• Rehearsal is learning by repetition.
  • Example: A learner listens to an online lecture over and over again.
  • 3/3 studies found weak to no significant relationship between rehearsal and online academic achievement.
• Organization is one’s ability to highlight main points during learning.
  • Example: An online learner draws up charts and graphs to organize the online material.
  • 2/2 studies found weak to no significant relationship between the effect of organization on academic performance.
• Critical Thinking is the ability to carefully examine learning material.
  • Example: An online learner thinks about possible alternatives after reading an online concluding statement.
  • 2/2 found weak to no significant relationship between the effect of critical thinking on academic performance.
• Help Seeking is obtaining assistance from instructors with the aim of overcoming academic challenges.
  • Example: An online learner emails their instructor seeking clarification of the learning material.
  • 1/1 found weak to no significant relationship between the effect of help seeking on academic performance.

These tactics have differing impacts on students’ academic outcomes.  Those with the greatest effect and leads to higher academic outcomes within both online and traditional higher education environments are:

• Time Management
• Metacognition
• Effort Regulation
• Critical Thinking

The strategies shown to offer the least support are:

• Rehearsal
• Elaboration
• Organization

The strategy which proves to have only a moderate effect but has great potential value is Peer Learning.  Research shows that peer learning takes place and has a positive effect when students are both actively (posting) and passively (reading) participating in online discussion boards.

Discussion questions

1. Do you agree that the least supported strategies—rehearsal, elaboration, and organization—should have been included in this study when there was limited research done in comparison to the strongest strategies that were reported?
2. What are your thoughts regarding mediating factors, such as motivation, and their impact on self-regulated learning academic success?
3. Can you think of and discuss additional SRL strategies that were not included in this particular research paper (goal-setting, self-instruction, imagery, environmental structuring, interest incentives, self-consequences, self-recording, self-evaluation, outcome expectations, etc)?
4. As a student of online learning, which strategies have you employed during your own studies that you found to be successful? Unsuccessful?

Additional resources

• 28 Skills of a Really Ready Student Infographic—e-Learning Infographics. (2019, March 22). Retrieved from https://elearninginfographics.com/28-skills-really-ready-student-infographic/
• Self-regulated learning strategies. (2014, July 26). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/3YIWd8Hx26A
• Lock, J., Eaton, S., & Kessy, E. (2017). Fostering Self-Regulation in Online Learning in K–12 Education. Northwest Journal of Teacher Education, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.15760/nwjte.2017.12.2.2.