I’ve explained why I think motivating students is the wrong goal: we should aim to get students learning. For similar reasons, I think aiming for student self-regulation isn’t a productive goal.
Self-regulation helps students learn: they are more likely to succeed if they are able to choose how to approach a task, monitor their progress and adapt accordingly.
But self-regulation is hard.
Imagine a student who is struggling to focus, or has chosen an unhelpful strategy to solve a problem. To self-regulate, they must:
- Remember to pause and review what they are doing,
- Realise that their current approach isn’t working,
- Choose a better approach,
- Implement that approach.
This imposes high cognitive load: students must simultaneously complete the task and monitor their actions.
It also demands substantial expertise: students must know their approach (and the alternatives) well if they are to notice problems and choose better options.
In other words, to self-regulate effectively, students must already be fairly successful.
Self-regulation is valuable, but it’s hard: students must already know what they’re doing. Student success – knowing what they’re doing – remains our priority.
- What do you do when you teach students to self-regulate?
- Have you seen students self-regulate on a task without first mastering the task – at least in part?
- How durable and transferable is self-regulation?
This is adapted from Habits of success: getting every student learning.
This series of posts looks at five ways to get students learning. Each has pros and cons; each is likely to be part of a teacher’s repertoire.
Previously: convincing students learning matters, sanctions and rewards, nudging, motivating students.
Next up: building habits.