Working Together to Foster SelfRegulated Learning in Classrooms
Deborah Butler and Nancy Perry
Faculty of Education
University of British Columbia
Changing Results for Young Readers
Richmond, BC
March 1, 2013
Agenda
• What are our goals in fostering self-regulated
learning in school?
 Reflection:
What goals might teachers set?
• What can we do to support self-regulated learning
in school?
 Reflection:
how might teachers structure tasks &
support?
 Reflection: what practices might teachers try?
• Working together to support selfregulation: Emerging initiatives
What are our goals in fostering
self-regulated learning in
school?
What is Self-Regulation (SR)?
SR involves:
Motivation &
Emotion
Cognition &
Metacognition
Strategic
Action
SelfRegulation
SR as the ability to control thoughts and actions
to achieve personal goals and respond to
environmental demands (Zimmerman, 2008)
What is Self-Regulated LEARNING?
Understanding and managing
emotions and motivation
Motivation &
Emotion
Cognition &
Metacognition
Knowledge about yourself as a
learner, about tasks and
strategies for completing them;
knowing what you know, don’t
know, and need to know
Strategic
Action
SelfRegulated
Learning
(SRL)
Choosing and using effective
strategies well matched to the
demands of academic tasks
Self-regulated learning involves managing
engagement in order to learn from academic
work (reading, writing, projects, assignments)
Putting it all Together:
Self-Regulation as Strategic Activity
• 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-Regulated Reading and
Writing 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
reading and writing look like
for these students?
Adapted from Perry & Drummond, 2002
What Self-Regulated Learning Looks Like in
Classroom Contexts
Activity in Context
History,
Strengths,
Emotions &
Motivation
Interpreting Demands &
Defining Criteria
Challenges,
Metacognition,
Adjusting
Knowledge,
Beliefs,
Agency
Monitoring
Against
Criteria
Cycles of
SelfRegulated
Activity
Planning
Enacting
Strategies
Reflection: Setting Goals
• What goal(s) might teachers you are
working with set for learners in their context?
What can we do to support
self-regulated learning in
school?
Design Tasks that Afford Opportunities
for Self-Regulation
Imagine a grade 2/3 classroom in which students
are 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) (Perry & Drummond, 2002)
Imagine a Kindergarten/Grade 1 classroom
in which across a series of lessons students
read The Three Little Pigs (twice), sequence
events in the story, write sentences to
describe each event, consider the social and
moral dimensions of the story, and then
choose and write an alternative ending to the
tale (Perry, Nordby, & VandeKamp, 2003)
Reflection
• How do these example tasks create
opportunities for self-regulated reading,
learning, and writing?
Design Tasks to Promote Autonomy
Provide choices
–
–
–
–
What to work on
What materials to use
Where to work
Who to work with
Create opportunities to control challenge
Require self-assessment
But with support…
To make good choices
To control challenge given their goals, strengths
and needs
To engage in cycles of self-regulation
 to actively interpret tasks
 to develop knowledge about and use effective
learning, thinking, reading, writing processes
 to self-assess and learn from feedback
The Three Little Pigs
Goals/Objectives:
• to engage with reading and
writing as communicative and
meaningful activities
• to practice decoding and comprehension
strategies while reading
• to evaluate the pigs’ response to the wolf’s
actions (promoting social and moral reasoning)
Perry, Nordby, & VandeKamp, 2003
Perry, VandeKamp, Mercer, & Nordby, 2002
Task Description: The Three Little Pigs
• Students read The Three Little Pigs (twice)
– Practiced tracking, context clues, sounding out,
making connections and predicting
• Students discussed the story’s ending
– “When someone is mean to us, should we be mean
right back?”
• Students sequenced pictures
from story, wrote a sentence for
each, and a new ending
Perry, Nordby, & VandeKamp, 2003
The Three Little Pigs
Choice
• Shared reading or …
• Tracking or not…
• Problem solving
strategies
• Voted on the actions
of the pigs
• Alternative ending
Challenge
• Help from peers and
the teacher
Self-assessment
• Do you need to …?
[Re tracking]
• Evaluating feelings,
explain why …
• One idea or …
• Drawing as writing
• Where to work
Perry, Nordby, & VandeKamp, 2003
The Three Little Pigs
The teacher …
•supported students’ reading by …
– monitoring children’s decision to track or not to track
– prompting use and evaluation of decoding strategies
•facilitated discussion through …
– Pair share
• Who thinks …? Who thinks …? Tell your partner why?
• Is it OK to change your mind? Because you heard
others’ ideas?
•facilitated writing by …
• checking students’ ideas for story endings before they
began writing
Perry, Nordby, & VandeKamp, 2003
Outcomes for Kindergarten to Grade 1 Learners?
The book … was quite difficult for them to read. … We read it
together. …. I read some and they read some. And they
handled it and it was really neat to see them doing that.
I found that, particularly during the discussion, there wasn’t
anybody that wasn’t engaged, which is not always the case
with my group. … I looked around and everybody was really
into what we were doing.” (for 40 minutes)
I thought, very naturally, a debate came out of it
… They realized that some questions are really
difficult to answer … It isn’t so black and white.
So it was a really excellent discussion.
Perry, VandeKamp, Mercer, & Nordby, 2002
Co-regulation
• Co-regulation is a transitional phase whereby
learners gradually appropriate SRL through,
for example, …
– Instrumental feedback
– Metacognitive and/or motivational prompts
• Co-regulation implies one participant in an
interaction has more expertise than another.
– teachers
– peers
– parents
Shared Regulation
• Shared regulation describes what happens
when peers collectively regulate activities.
• It implies an even playing field among
participants.
• Can only occur when interdependence is
required (i.e., students can’t achieve their
goals without assistance from others).
• Occurs in collaborative activities (e.g.,
play)
Socially Responsible SelfRegulation
• Involves metacognition, motivation, and
strategic action in the service of
supporting others’ learning.
– Self and other awareness
– Desire to see others succeed
– Ability to give and receive targeted
instrumental help to complete tasks
• E.g., adaptive help-seeking
Reflection
• What might teachers try to ensure tasks
afford opportunities for and support SRL,
given the discussion so far?
What Can We Do to Support SRL?
Activity in Context
History,
Strengths,
Emotions &
Motivation
Interpreting Demands &
Defining Criteria
Challenges,
Metacognition,
Adjusting
Knowledge,
Beliefs,
Agency
Monitoring
Against
Criteria
Cycles of
SelfRegulated
Activity
Planning
Enacting
Strategies
Empowering Strategic Learners

If students are to take “control” over learning
they have to be clear on what they are
supposed to be doing

They need to learn how to:
• Actively interpret and articulate
expectations
• Actively and reflectively self-direct
learning with goals/criteria in mind
• Self-monitor the success of their efforts
and adjust performance accordingly
Strategic Questioning to Foster SRL
• Interpreting Tasks
– What is your job?
– What is this assignment asking you to do?
– How will you know if you’ve done a good job?
• Choosing and Using Strategies
–
–
–
–
–
How will you approach this task (given what you are trying to do)?
What strategies have worked for you before?
Why don’t you show me what you can try?
I noticed you did this. Is that a strategy you are using?
What are you doing here that you can do again and again and again?
• Monitoring/Adjusting
•
•
•
How are you doing? How do you know?
What criteria are you using here to judge your work?
What can you do differently to solve that problem?
Promoting the Full Cycle of SRL
Grade 5/6: Writing Free Verse Poems
Goals taken up in a series of lessons, over time:
•To support students to learn how to express their
emotions and ideas in free verse poems
•To promote students’ development of knowledge about
Indigenous experiences
•To foster empathy
•To foster students’ self-regulated approaches to reading
and writing
•To create students’ sense of belonging in a learning
community
•To connect with an at-risk learner’s experiences
Developed by Leyton Schnellert & Nicole Widdess (2002)
Class Profile
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
• Class Composition
 One student diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome
 One at-risk First Nations Student
 Five other students with IEPs
 22 ESL students
• 5 level 1
• 2-3 level 2
• Time of Year (Spring)
• Class Needs
 First Nations Theme (links to Social Studies, Language
Arts, Art, CAPP)
 Community building
 Writing skill development transfer between units
Lessons Supported Students to …

Interpret Tasks: What makes a good free verse poem?
 Class reads examples
 They generate criteria based on different samples

Generate content
 Based on reading of poems and stories
 Based on criteria for a good poem

Read and write strategically
 Generate and build from criteria
 Try, articulate, try, refine strategies over time
 Self-monitor progress and self-assess
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Part One
• What makes a powerful free verse poem?
Example:
Identifying
qualities of a
good free verse
poem
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Example: Whole
class modeling &
discussion
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Example:
Students working
together to
identify writing
criteria
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Example:
Summarizing
criteria as a
whole class
following on the
small group
activity
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Part Two
• Generating Content for Writing Free Verse
Poems
Example:
Review Criteria
Constructed with
Students
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Example: A
framework for
generating
content for a free
verse poem
(reflective of
group generated
criteria)
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Example: Class
generates
content for
poems on
residential
schools
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Part Three
• Reading and Writing Strategically
Example:
Constructing
strategies for
writing free verse
poems, building
from experience
(and linked to
criteria)
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Example:
Constructing
Strategies with
Students
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Example:
Constructing
Strategies with
Students
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Example: Travis’
drafts of his
poem on
residential
schools
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Example: Travis’
finished poem on
residential
schools
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)
Another Example: Working From Criteria
Another Example: Self-Assessment & Strategy Revision
Common Features of
SRL-Supportive Practices?
 They
connect and surface learners’ strengths, interests and
experiences
 They
make discussion about reading, learning, and writing
processes explicit
 They
integrate discussions about reading, learning, and
writing processes with content instruction
 They
 They
put responsibility on students to manage their learning
require students to articulate their
understandings about content & learning
processes
Supporting SRL: Outcomes
• Teacher Reports of Student Gains:




independence & self-directedness
self-confidence & pride
a sense of control over learning
awareness of strategy usefulness
“Kids not in the project were more
helpless. They waited for someone to
supply, not necessarily the answer, but
‘feed me, feed me, give me, give me’
instead of what can I do to help myself?”
Butler & Schnellert, 2008
“I’m so used to teaching
math using the strategies
that I know. But I found that
students were independently
developing strategies that
worked better for them.”
Reflection: Supporting SRL
• What practices might teachers try to support
SRL in their classrooms?
• How might teachers judge if they are making
a difference?
Emerging Initiatives &
Resources
SRL Support Initiatives
• Professional development workshops
• An Inquiry Hub: Sustained support to SRL
Learning Teams (Building Resources Together)
– Proposed for Fall 2013
• Masters of Education SRL Cohort Program
– Proposed for January 2014
• SRL Certificate (cross-institutions)
– Proposed for 2014 or 2015
http://bctf.ca/publications/NewsmagArticle.aspx?id=29340
http://srlcanada.ca
http://srlcanada.ca
Examples of SRL Projects in BC
Identifying
Qualities of
Classrooms that
Support SRL
Supporting PreService Teachers
to Develop SRLSupportive
Practices
Developing
SRL-Supportive
Practices in
Classrooms
Teachers in
Schools Working
Together to
Develop SRLSupportive
Practices
Tools &
Technologies for
Supporting
Self-regulation
Co-regulation
Shared-regulation
Supporting
Learners to
Adaptively
Regulate in the
Face of Challenge
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.
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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.
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students. Education Canada, 48(5), 36-40.
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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
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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
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Zimmerman, B. J. (2008). Investigating self-regulation and motivation: Historical background, methodological
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