PINK TIME: Applying self-regulated learning across course types
1
Timothy D. Baird1, David Kniola2
Dept. of Geography / 2Dept. of Higher Education, Virginia Tech
Abstract: To explore new opportunities to promote self-regulated learning (SRL) across
a variety of contexts, this study applies a novel assignment called Pink Time in seven
different courses at two universities. The assignment asks students to “skip class, do
anything you want, and give yourself a grade.” In each case, instructors adapted Pink
Time to fit the needs of their course. All together, 165 students completed 270 selfdirected projects and self-assessments targeting 5 metrics of SLR. Early findings show
that: (1) students are more likely to perceive success in certain measures of SRL than in
others; (2) variance in perceptions is low; (3) subsequent iterations of the assignment
support higher perceived measures of SRL. Together these findings illustrate the value
and flexibility of the Pink Time assignment as well as persistent challenges in supporting
students’ SRL.
Introduction
Recently, arguments have been made that college students are increasing proficient at following
directions and angling for As and increasingly deficient at thinking critically, creatively and with purpose
(Deresiewicz, 2014, Arum and Roksa, 2011). Furthermore, as the world becomes flatter, more connected,
more dynamic, more entrepreneurial, and faster, educators face growing challenges to critically engage
students in course material and the learning process. We view these growing challenges as opportunities
to experiment in our classrooms. For us, rigid educational models must be retooled to: (1) better help
students see the connections between their lives and their educations; and (2) support students’ interests
and abilities to direct their own learning.
This study builds on an earlier assignment and assessment designed to promote self-regulated
learning and academic motivation (Baird et al., 2015) . Originally run in an undergraduate course on
sustainability, the assignment, called Pink Time, instructs students to “skip class, do anything you want,
and give yourself a grade.” Our initial study found several benefits associated with Pink Time, however,
new questions arose. Specifically: (1) How could Pink Time be applied in other contexts? (2) How might
the effects of the assignment vary across these contexts? And (3) What insights into self-regulated
learning (SLR) might be gained from this exercise? Our current study addresses these questions.
Literature Review
One way in which educators can promote learner autonomy is through focus on SRL. Based on
earlier research that showed that children with higher levels of self-efficacy and self-regulation learned
more (Bandura, 1977), SRL seeks to support a range of activities and a “web of skills” (Nilson, 2013) that
span cognitive, affective, and physical behaviors that enhance and fortify learning and promote long-term
knowledge retention and transfer (Schunk and Zimmerman, 2012). These behaviors include elements of
self-efficacy, personal character, motivation, and metacognition indicative of self-sufficiency and
academic achievement. Stated plainly, SRL approaches focus on improving learning outcomes by
encouraging students to direct and manage their own learning. However, an important challenge in
moving to these pedagogical approaches includes low levels of motivation or competing motivations
within educational settings.
In educational settings, low measures of student motivation have been attributed to the
widespread emphasis on extrinsic factors such as achieving high grades and mastering specific content
(Wright, 2011). For students in traditional classroom settings, the emphasis on grades has turned
evaluative tools (i.e., tests, assignments, etc.) into metrics for reward or punishment(Pink, 2009). In these
contexts, students are typically rewarded for surrendering their senses of autonomy and choice regarding
the goals and methods of learning. Rather than pursuing strategies to deepen their learning, students resort
to rote memorization, or “binge and purge” methods, as a rational strategy to win high grades or perform
well on high-stakes, standardized tests (Wright, 2011). What is lost here is the students’ sense of
responsibility for the entire learning enterprise—what should be learned, how it should be learned, and
why it should be learned.
Methodology
To address the question: “How does the PINK TIME assignment influence self-regulated learning
across a range of course types and applications?” we collected and assessed student data from 7 different
courses at Virginia Tech and the University of Colorado where the Pink Time assignment was applied
during the 2014-2015 academic year. Courses were in the fields of environmental studies, education,
business management, sustainability, and leadership (Corps of Cadets at VT) – and included graduateand undergraduate-level courses. In each case, Pink Time was adapted by the instructor to suit the needs
of the course and was run between 1 and 3 times during the semester. All together, 165 students
completed 270 Pink Time projects. For each project, students completed a self-assessment rubric
designed to measure the relationship between their own perceptions of their work and a set of behaviors
indicative of self-regulated learning. The rubric, which was originally co-designed by researchers and
students (Baird et al., 2015), collected both categorical assessments and short answer responses. The
rubric distinguished between multiple aspects of self-regulated learning, including: choice, complexity,
effort, persistence and curiosity. Analyses of these data included both basic descriptive statistics of
categorical data and content analysis of short answer responses using qualitative analytical software.
Results and Discussion
Early analyses of these data yield several findings. First, students across courses consistently
perceive more success in some aspects of self-regulated learning (i.e., Complexity and Curiosity) than in
others (i.e., Choice and Persistence). Second, variance in student assessments is low across metrics,
except for Effort where variance is comparatively high for graduate students. Third, few differences are
apparent between undergrad and grad students, except Effort, which is higher for grad students. Fourth,
multiple iterations of Pink Time within the semester generally yield gains across SLR metrics, with the
largest gains in Choice and the most modest gains in Complexity and Persistence. While qualitative
results are still pending, these early findings indicate that Pink Time is flexible and can be adapted for
different types of courses and in ways that reveal interesting differences and similarities in students’
experiences as well as barriers and opportunities to support self-regulated learning.
References
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