Self-Regulation in Reading
Deborah L. Butler
Professor
Faculty of Education
University of British Columbia
Changing Results for Young Readers Symposium
Richmond, BC
August 28, 2012
Questions
• What is “self-regulation”?
• How can teachers support self-regulation?
• How can practices supportive of self-regulation
also support diverse learners?
What is “Self-Regulation”?
• Researchers/educators are taking up discussions of selfregulation from various perspectives
• Self-regulation from a developmental perspective: “the
ability to respond effectively to various stressors and return
to a state of equilibrium – as central to the ability to learn”
(from learn, the magazine of BC Education, summer/fall
issue, 2012)
• Supporting students to be calm and
focused (poised to learn) is an important
consideration in educational settings
Self-Regulation
from an Educational Perspective
• Others have been using the term “self-regulation,” since the
1970’s, from an educational perspective, to describe active,
strategic learning in classrooms
• SRL Canada: Canadian Consortium for Self-Regulated
Learning (see http://srlcanada.ca/), includes researchers
working here in BC, with educators across multiple districts:
–
–
–
–
Nancy Perry, Deb Butler (UBC-Vancouver)
Allyson Hadwin (University of Victoria)
Leyton Schnellert (UBC-Okanagan)
Phil Winne (SFU)
Examples of SRL Projects in BC
Qualities of
Elementary
Classrooms that
Support SRL
Supporting PreService Teachers
to Develop SRLSupportive
Practices
Developing
SRL-Supportive
Practices in
Intermediate
and Secondary
Classrooms
Teachers in
Schools Working
Together to
Develop SRLSupportive
Practices
Understanding
and Supporting
SRL by PostSecondary
Learners
Self-Regulation as Strategic Engagement
• Self-regulation is strategic, goal-directed activity
– I have a goal; I do something; Does it work?; I try again.
• Self-regulation involves metacognition, emotion, motivation, and
strategic action
• All individuals self-regulate by managing their participation in
activities (from very young learners to adults)
• Self-regulation is implicated in a wide range of activities:
– Sport & physical activity
– Teaching
– Academic work in schools
• Individuals can take, and feel in control, over
their participation in activities by deliberately and
reflectively “self-regulating” performance
What can Self-Regulation Look Like in a
Primary Classroom?
Imagine a grade 2/3 classroom in which students have been
asked to complete a research project on an animal of their
choice. They are asked to do research on their animal by
selecting and reading resources, and to write, edit, and
“publish” expository text (using the computer; working together)
What would self-regulated
learning look like for these
students?
Adapted from Perry & Drummond, 2002
A Model of Self-Regulation as
Situated in Context
Activity in Context
Interpreting Demands &
Setting Goals
History,
Strengths,
Challenges,
Knowledge,
Beliefs,
Interests,
Agency
Adjusting
Monitoring
Against
Criteria
Cycles of
SelfRegulated
Activity
Planning
Enacting
Strategies
Question 1 Revisited:
What is “Self-Regulation”?
• Imagine your goal as supporting reading by young learners
(with a focus on making meaning of text(s) and working
with ideas)
• Can you define one or two ways in which self-regulation is
implicated in reading (how would you explain it to
colleagues)?
• Can you start to imagine how you could support students’
self-regulation in your context?
A Cautionary Tale:
What Derails Self-Regulation?
% of students
Areas of Difficulty
% of students
Interpreting
Tasks
76%
• Describing task demands
• Interpreting assignments
59%
27%
Strategy Use
76%
• Strategy description
• Aware of problems, but not solutions
• Implementing strategies
71%
39%
8%
Monitoring
49%
• Problems defining monitoring criteria
• Little evidence of monitoring
48%
10%
Based on 100 case studies of postsecondary learners (Butler, 2003)
Interpreting Task Demands
Expectations on Lily (Grade 8)?
To read and learn from a textbook
chapter in Science.
Lily’s challenge?
She feels lost … She’s just not used to this
kind of reading.
She decides to just search for bold words
and memorize their definitions, because this
strategy worked well last time she had to
answer questions at the end of a chapter.
Percentage of Students who Responded Often/Always
Lower Mainland School District 2005-06
Learning Through Reading Pretest
Grade 8 All Classes
(n=611)
100
87
80
82
77
74
80
80
60
51
40
40
44
36
20
0
Read the textsFind important Understand
Find
Find the main Get a general Understand
See how
Apply what I
details or facts the subject information
ideas or idea about the
the
information
read to
matter
that interests
themes
subject
information I about the
different
me most
read
subject goes situations or
together
problems
Interpretation of the Activity: I am being asked to...
Memorize
information
Where does Self-Regulation Break Down?
Knowledge of and Control over Strategies
For Studying
“I read it over once and hope to retain it”
For Reading
“[I] just reread and reread and reread”
“I just read and ... hope I get it”
For Learning Math
“If I don’t understand something I’ll keep going over it till I do”
“[I] read, use rules, find a reasonable answer, cheat”
“If I am using them [strategies], I’m not aware of it”
For Writing
“I write my thoughts as they flow through my mind, in
sentences.”
“I write down my point and at the end I have a mess.”
Butler, 1995
Case Study Example: Jennifer

Perceptions of writing ability
“unorganized, choppy would be the best way to describe it”

Ineffective strategies
“I write down my point and in the end I have a mess”.

Frustration/giving up
“I had to write a researched 500 word ... essay [for a
scholarship application]. I couldn’t organize it at all. I
couldn’t get any organization flow going. I kept jumping
from point to point. So I got frustrated with it and didn’t
apply.”
Butler, 1995
Jennifer’s Challenges?
Example of Jen’s problem taking ownership of
a strategy she had been taught for writing
papers
Outline
Introduction
A. point 1
B. point 2
II. First topic
A. supporting details
B. supporting details
III. Second topic
A. supporting details
B. supporting details
IV. Conclusion

Had be taught “outlining”
but didn’t like or
understand it

Developed a strategy of
making “plans”
I.
Butler, 1995
Outcomes for Jennifer

Task performance improved

Developed personalized strategies (her “plans”)

Transfer of strategic performance
I’m so concentrating on flow, I can pick up on other people’s flow now.
So like, you know, the teacher’s going on, I no longer write down like,
scribbling madly about every single point he makes, but I can almost
summarize ... my note-taking is better now.

Perceptions of writing ability
And then just the marks are a lot different. That, I
feel like, you know, like, when you’re walking
around the class and we’re getting our essays
back, my marks are average or above average. So I
feel better about it. Like, I don’t feel like I’m such a
dunce.
Where does Self-Regulation Break Down?
Self-Confidence & Motivation
Students may have experienced
challenges that lead to:
 a lack of confidence
 little sense of control over
outcomes (i.e., low self-efficacy)
 frustration, boredom, anxiety
They may:
 try but be “actively inefficient”
 give up
 rebel
Key Implications?
If students are to take “control”
over learning, they need to learn
how to:
• Actively interpret and articulate expectations
• Actively and reflectively self-direct learning with
goals/criteria in mind (plan, choose strategies, self-monitor)
We can’t “tell” students to feel successful. Key is that they
self-assess and experience how their effort/strategies
achieve valued goals
Challenges to Students’ SelfRegulation
• Have you seen these kinds of challenges for some of the
students in your context?
• Can you start to imagine how you could support students’
self-regulation in your context?
The Early Years: Laying the Seeds
for Lifelong Self-Regulation
Teachers in the early years have great potential to
lay the groundwork for lifelong self-regulation by:
Supporting learners to:
–
–
–
–
construct productive conceptions about academic work
understand themselves as learners in relation to task demands
take responsibility for and control over learning
feel in control over learning
Creating environments and enacting practices
supportive of students’ development of
metacognition, motivation, and strategic action
Teachers Working Together to
Support Self-Regulated Learning
Teachers as contextualized decisionmakers
Who draw on knowledge, tools, and
resources to meet students’ needs in
classroom settings
Who can work alone or
collectively to foster positive
outcomes for students
Teachers’ Self- or Co-Regulated Practice
(Adapted from Butler & Schnellert, 2012)
Activity in Context
Interpreting Demands &
Setting Goals
Resources
History,
Strengths,
Challenges,
Knowledge,
Beliefs,
Interests,
Agency
Adjusting
Monitoring
Against
Criteria
Teachers’ selfand co-regulated
practice
Planning
Students’
self-regulated
activity
Enacting
Strategies
Intermediate Teachers Working to CoConstruct Practices (Spring 2002)
Large Group (Whole Class) Instruction
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Tracing novel characters’ journey on a map of BC, the Yukon, and Alaska
Writing a letter to convince someone not to cancel a favourite TV show
Writing a summary of a story
Writing poems of different types
Judging the quality of a valedictory speech they had written
Proofreading stories they had written
Learning to multiply and divide fractions and mixed numerals
Interpreting math problems to see what they are really asking
Learning about geometry concepts: different kinds of triangles
Science project: Building a car that moves using concepts about simple machines
Social studies lesson: reading and pulling main ideas out of a text
Learning to fill out deposit slips (Business Education)
Small Group Instruction
•
•
•
•
•
•
Reading information sheet on Egyptian Gods in order to answer questions
Writing a letter
Writing summaries
Converting mm to cm to m to km
Working with percentages
Solving math equations (x + 7 = 14; 24 – g = 19))
Example:
Constructing
Criteria with
Students
(Schnellert & Widdess, 2002)
Example:
Constructing
Strategies with
Students
(Schnellert & Widdess, 2002)
Secondary Teachers Working to
Promote “Learning through Reading”
Teachers who co-constructed and interpreted formative
assessment data and collaborated to support self-regulated
LTR in subject-area classrooms:
 observed improvements in student learning associated with goals
chosen and types of practices enacted
 were inspired to engage in professional learning when they observed
gaps between student thinking/performance & goals
 better identified student needs & set targeted goals
 drew on a variety of resources to identify potential changes
 constructed and situated practices designed to achieve goals
 shared insights and practices with one another
 persevered in the face of obstacles
(Butler, Schnellert, & Cartier, 2008)
Links to Student Learning?
Student outcomes could be linked to teachers’ goals:
• A focus on inferencing, reasoned judgments, and main ideas was
associated with gains in SRL and reading performance
• A focus on details and text features was associated with increases in
stress/worry, but not with positive learning outcomes
Student gains were greatest when classroom practices:
• Sustained attention to goals
• Integrated learning goals into the curriculum
• Attended explicitly to reading, thinking, learning processes
• Fostered student independence
(Butler, Schnellert, & Cartier, 2008)
Classroom Practices that Support
SRL (see Perry & Drummond, 2002)
• Designing Complex,
Meaningful Tasks
• Encouraging Autonomy
– Choice
– Control over challenge
– Student self-evaluation
• Supporting Success
– Teacher Support
– Peer Support
• Non-Threatening Evaluation Practices
Research About Animals
• Grade 2/3
• Science
• Linked to reading and
writing
• Complex
–
–
–
–
–
Goals
Meaning
Time
Processes
Products
(Perry & Drummond, 2003)
Self-Regulation and Inclusion
SRL-supportive practices have potential to support inclusion of
diverse learners by:
•Creating contexts that accommodate diverse learning needs
•Drawing students into the process of “individualizing” curriculum
•Empowering learners to work more independently (so teachers can
target support more effectively)
Teachers can also
work together in
communities of
learning to support
students’ needs
(Schnellert, 2011)
Classroom Practices that Support
Self-Regulation
• Are there principles in this that “make sense” to you, as
useful for supporting students’ independent, “strategic”
engagement?
• Can you think of one small change that you might make in
your context, as a start, that might foster some aspect of
self-regulation in reading?
• What questions do you have about how to support SRL?
Resources for Teachers Interesting in
Working to Support Self-Regulation

Your professional networks/learning
communities within and across districts

SRL Canada: A network of
researchers/educators across institutions

Initiatives being constructed
also by/across BC universities
• Pre-service (e.g., UBC cohort)
• On-going professional learning
Selected References
Brownlie, F., Feniak, C., & Schnellert, L. (2006). Student Diversity (2nd ed.). Markham, ON: Pembroke
Publishers.
Butler, D. L. (2002). Individualizing instruction in self-regulated learning. Theory into Practice, 41, 81-92.
Butler, D. L. (1995). Promoting strategic learning by postsecondary students with learning disabilities.
Journal of Learning Disabilities, 28, 170-190.
Butler, D. L. (1994). From learning strategies to strategic learning: Promoting self-regulation by
postsecondary students with learning disabilities. Canadian Journal of Special Education, 4, 69-101.
Butler, D. L., Beckingham, B., & Novak Lauscher, H. J. (2005). Promoting strategic learning by eighth-grade
students struggling in mathematics: A report of three case studies. Learning Disabilities Research and
Practice, 20, 156-174.
Butler, D. L., & Cartier, S. (2004). Promoting students’ active and productive interpretation of academic work:
A Key to successful teaching and learning. Teachers College Record, 106, 1729-1758.
Butler, D. L., Cartier, S.C., Schnellert, L., Gagnon, F., & Giammarino, M. (2011). Secondary students’ selfregulated engagement in reading: Researching self-regulation as situated in context. Psychological Test
and Assessment Modeling, 11(1), 73-105.
Butler, D. L., Elaschuk, C. L., & Poole, S. (2000). Promoting strategic writing by postsecondary students with
learning disabilities: A report of three case studies. Learning Disability Quarterly, 23, 196-213.
Butler, D. L., Novak Lauscher, H. J., Jarvis-Selinger, S., & Beckingham, B. (2004). Collaboration and selfregulation in teachers’ professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20, 435-455.
Butler, D. L., & Schnellert, L. (2012). Collaborative inquiry in teacher professional development. Teaching and
Teacher Education. (on-line now; to appear in the next issue).
Butler, D. L., & Schnellert, L. (2008). Bridging the research-to-practice divide: Improving outcomes for
students. Education Canada, 48(5), 36-40.
Selected References (cont’d)
Butler, D. L., Schnellert, L. & Cartier, S. C. (2012, May). Supporting secondary students’ self-regulated
learning through reading in subject-area classrooms. Research Spotlight Session, Canadian Society for
the Study of Education. Available at: http://srlcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Butler-Knowledgesnapshot-CAEP-FINAL.pdf
Butler, D. L., Schnellert, L., & Cartier, S. C. (2008, March). Educational change and layers of self-regulation:
Teachers working strategically to improve practice so as to foster student self-regulation. Presented at
the 2008 meetings of the American Educational Research Association. New York, NY.
Butler, D. L., Schnellert, L., & Cartier, S. C. (2008, May). Understanding and supporting adolescents’ learning
from text(s) in subject area classrooms. Presented at the 2008 annual meetings of the International
Reading Association. Atlanta, GA.
Cartier, S. C., & Butler, D. L. (2012, May). Teachers working together to foster self-regulated learning.
Research Spotlight Session, Canadian Society for the Study of Education. Available at:
http://srlcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Cartier-Knowledge-snapshot-CAEP2.pdf
Cartier, S. C., Butler, D. L., & Bouchard, N. (2010). Teachers working together to foster self-regulated
learning through reading by students in an elementary school located in a disadvantaged area.
Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling, 52(4), 382-418.
Perry, N. E. (2012, May). Classroom contexts for self-regulated learning. Research Spotlight Session,
Canadian Society for the Study of Education. Available at: http://srlcanada.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2012/06/Perry-Knowledge-snapshot-CAEP-FINAL.pdf
Perry, N. E. (2011). Supporting self-regulation in the early school years. Presentation to the Lower Mainland
Early Literacy Coordinators.
Perry, N. E. (2004). Using self-regulated learning to accommodate differences amongst students in
classrooms. Exceptionality Education Canada, 14(2&3), 65-87.
Selected References (cont’d)
Perry, N. E., & Drummond, L. (2002). Helping young students become self-regulated researchers and writers.
The Reading Teacher, 56(3), 298-310.
Perry, N. E., Nordby, C. J., & VandeKamp, K. O. (2003). Promoting self-regulated reading and writing at
home and school. The Elementary School Journal, 103(4), 317-338.
Schnellert, L. (2011). Collaborative inquiry: Teacher professional development as situated, responsive coconstruction of practice and learning. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from
https://circle.ubc.ca/handle/2429/38245.
Schnellert, L., Butler, D. L., & Higginson, S. (2008). Co-constructors of data, co-constructors of meaning:
Teacher professional development in an age of accountability. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(3),
725-750.
Winne, P. H. & Perry, N. E. (2000). Measuring self-regulated learning. In P. Pintrich, M. Boekaerts, & M.
Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation (pp. 531-566). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.
Zimmerman, B. J. (1990). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: An overview. Educational
Psychologist, 25, 3-17.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2008). Investigating self-regulation and motivation: Historical background, methodological
developments, and future prospects. American Educational Research Journal, 45, 166-183.