Student Self-Regulation

Blog 9 - Catlin Tucker's Blog

Hitting the Nail on the Head

I can tell that Dr. Tucker is really in-tune with teachers, because almost every blog post she shares is something that directly relates to a struggle I have had or a colleague has had recently. This week, she touches on how to help students who are lacking self-regulation skills, especially in blended learning situations. What we may think of as a student's lack of motivation or engagement, suggests Dr. Tucker, may actually be due to underdeveloped self-regulation skills.

Dr. Tucker shares a visual that she created based on Dr. Barry Zimmerman's work, and the visual is so valuable that I must share it with you!

Today we see many students who have lagging skills in self-regulation, but when they are in a blended learning situation, this becomes even more problematic. According to Dr. Tucker, blended learning environments require students to be more autonomous, to be active agents with more control over their own learning. If teachers see that students find this challenging, we should be creating routines and providing resources that will help our students to improve those skills they are lacking.

Finally, Dr. Tucker points to seven attributes that may strengthen self-regulation skills in blended learning environments, based on research from Laer and Elen (2017). They are authenticity, personalization, learner control, scaffolding, interaction, cues for reflection, and cues for calibration. For more information about how these skills can be addressed in blended learning, check Dr. Tucker's blog here: https://catlintucker.com/2021/03/self-regulation-blended-learning/.

On my own part, upon reflecting, I realize that student self-regulation skills are abilities I often take for granted and expect students to be able to utilize easily. This blog reminds me that many students do not inherently master these skills, and I need to be attending to their development daily.