Taking Charge: Self-Regulated Learning and Teacher Expectations

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Taking Charge: Self-Regulated Learning and Teacher Expectations

Educational Psychology · Chapter 6: Motivation, Goals, and the Drive to LearnSection 6.10 · lesson 57 of 1008 min · free with a free account

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In this lesson

Zimmerman's cycle, metacognition, and how an expectation becomes a result.

  • Describe the three phases of Zimmerman's SRL cycle
  • Distinguish metacognitive knowledge from metacognitive regulation
  • Explain the four pathways of the Pygmalion effect
  • Apply countermeasures to expectation effects and stereotype threat

Transcript

Everything said in the video, section by section (1,042 words). Read along, or search it.

Motivation, Goals, and the Drive to Learn

Taking Charge: Self-Regulated Learning and Teacher Expectations

Some students study for four hours and remember very little. Others study for one and remember most of it. The difference is usually not intelligence. It is management. This section covers self-regulated learning. We will walk through Zimmerman's three-phase cycle. Then metacognition, which is the engine underneath it. Then we switch to the other side of the desk. Teacher expectations, and the Pygmalion effect. We will trace the four pathways by which an expectation becomes a result. And five countermeasures, one of which you can measure in a single lesson.

Definition

Active Participants in Their Own Learning

Self-regulated learning has a precise definition. It is the degree to which students are active participants. Active in their own learning process. And the definition names three ways of being active. Metacognitively. They monitor their own thinking. Motivationally. They manage their own beliefs and effort. Behaviorally. They act on what the monitoring tells them. All three matter, and the third is where many students stop. Noticing that you do not understand something is metacognition. Doing something about it is self-regulation. A student can have the first without the second. And that student looks, from outside, like they were not paying attention.

Zimmerman

Three Phases, in a Cycle

Barry Zimmerman's model of self-regulated learning has three phases. The forethought phase comes before the task. Students analyze the task, and set goals. They activate relevant strategies and motivational beliefs. Including self-efficacy, and expectations about the outcome. The performance phase happens during the task. Students implement their selected strategies. While self-monitoring, to track progress and attention. The self-reflection phase comes afterward. Students evaluate outcomes against their goals. They make causal attributions, and they react emotionally. And this is a cycle rather than a sequence. Those reactions influence the next forethought phase.

Metacognition

The Engine of Self-Regulation

Metacognition is the cognitive engine of all of this. It means thinking about your own thinking. And it has two components worth distinguishing. Metacognitive knowledge is what learners know about themselves. About their own cognitive processes, about tasks, and about strategies. Metacognitive regulation is the active part. Monitoring comprehension. Detecting errors. And deploying repair strategies when understanding breaks down. Students with strong metacognitive skills do three things. They know when they do not understand something. They select appropriate strategies for different types of task. And they allocate their study time efficiently.

Key Idea

Not Smarter. Better Managed.

Here is the key idea, and it is genuinely encouraging. Self-regulated learners outperform their peers. Not primarily because they are smarter. But because they manage their learning processes more effectively. And these skills are learnable. They are teachable, and they improve with instruction. They are not fixed cognitive abilities. Which makes self-regulated learning high leverage. Among the most high-leverage interventions available to an educator. The skill transfers across every subject a student takes. And it keeps working after your course has ended. Very little else in this chapter can claim that.

In Practice

A Weekly Learning Journal

Here is a self-regulation tool that costs almost nothing. A high school history teacher introduces weekly learning journals. Students answer three questions about each lesson. What did I understand? What remains unclear? And what strategies will I use to clarify that before next class? That third question is the one doing the heavy work. The first two activate metacognitive monitoring. The third activates adaptive strategy planning. Both are core self-regulated learning skills. Over the semester, students report greater confidence. Confidence in managing their own learning. And they show improved examination performance.

The Pygmalion Effect

Rosenthal and Jacobson, 1968

Now to the other side of the desk. Teacher expectations. The Pygmalion effect is named after a study from nineteen sixty-eight. By Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson. It describes teacher expectations influencing student outcomes. In the direction of those expectations. A self-fulfilling prophecy. The design of the original study is the important part. Teachers were told certain students were intellectual bloomers. Expected to show significant gains that year. Those students were randomly selected. And they did in fact show greater gains than the control group. Not because of any inherent difference between the groups. But because the expectation changed teacher behavior toward them.

Four Pathways

How an Expectation Becomes a Result

Teacher expectations act through four identifiable pathways. Climate. Warmth, and socio-emotional support. Input. More challenging material offered to high-expectancy students. Opportunity. More chances to respond and to contribute. Feedback. More informative and more encouraging feedback. Now consider the mirror image of that list. Students for whom teachers hold low expectations receive systematically less of all four. Less warmth. Less challenge. Fewer chances. Weaker feedback. And this is the crucial mechanism to understand. The expectation does not act on the student directly. It acts through four completely ordinary teaching behaviors.

Stereotype Threat

A Compounding Mechanism

Stereotype threat compounds all of this. It is the fear of confirming a negative stereotype about your group. And it degrades performance through a specific mechanism. It creates cognitive and emotional interference. That interference consumes working memory during the task itself. The very resource the task requires. Which produces a result that is genuinely cruel. Performance drops. And the drop appears to confirm the stereotype the student feared. The fear produces its own evidence. And that evidence then feeds back into everyone's expectations. Including the student's own.

Four Concepts

Mechanism and Implication

Four concepts, with their mechanisms and implications. Self-regulated learning runs on forethought, monitoring and reflection. So teach goal-setting, strategy use and self-monitoring explicitly. Metacognition runs on comprehension monitoring and error detection. So use think-alouds, learning journals, and self-check questions. The Pygmalion effect runs on climate, input, opportunity and feedback. So audit the equity of challenge and feedback distribution in your room. Stereotype threat runs on cognitive interference and working memory load. So use values affirmation, growth framing, and diverse representation. Notice that the first two are about teaching students a skill. And the second two are about auditing your own behavior. Both halves are required.

Countermeasures

Five Ways to Combat Expectation Effects

Five countermeasures against expectation effects. First, examine and challenge your own implicit expectations. Particularly about different student groups. Second, distribute questions and feedback equitably. Not based on who you expect to know the answer. Third, provide challenge and complexity to all students. Not only to those perceived as high-ability. Fourth, use structured cooperative learning. That reduces competitive ability comparisons in the room. Fifth, use identity-affirming and values-affirmation exercises. Those reduce stereotype threat directly. The second one is worth singling out, because it is measurable. An observer can record your question distribution in one lesson. Most teachers are genuinely surprised by their own data.

About Educational Psychology at UPI Study

Educational Psychology (Psychology 120) is a self-paced online course of 100 video lessons in 11 chapters, from memory, conditioning and child development to motivation, individual differences, assessment, instruction and educational technology. It carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits.

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Why students take Educational Psychology with UPI Study

How people learn, and how to teach themEducational Psychology explains how students learn, develop and stay motivated, and how teachers assess and support them. It is a standard course in education and teaching degrees and a common psychology elective.
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130,000+students helped with college creditsACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Where the credit goes

Universities that work with NCCRS

Educational Psychology carries a NCCRS credit recommendation. These universities work with NCCRS; some are UPI Study's signed partners. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Thomas Edison State UniversityThomas Edison State UniversitySigned partnerUniversity of the PeopleUniversity of the PeopleSigned partnerCharter Oak State CollegeCharter Oak State CollegeSigned partnerStrayer UniversityStrayer UniversitySigned partnerColumbia Southern UniversityColumbia Southern UniversitySigned partnerIndiana TechIndiana TechSigned partnerPenn StatePenn StateWorks with NCCRSSouthern New Hampshire UniversitySouthern New Hampshire UniversityWorks with NCCRSSUNYSUNYWorks with NCCRS +many more cooperating universitiesFind my college →

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FAQ

Questions students ask us

About Taking Charge: Self-Regulated Learning and Teacher Expectations

What are the three phases of Zimmerman's self-regulated learning model?
Barry Zimmerman's model has three phases: forethought, performance and self-reflection. In forethought, before the task, students analyze it, set goals and activate strategies and beliefs such as self-efficacy. In performance, they use their strategies while self-monitoring progress and attention. In self-reflection, they evaluate outcomes against goals, make attributions and react emotionally. It is a cycle, because those reactions shape the next forethought phase.
What is the difference between metacognitive knowledge and metacognitive regulation?
Metacognitive knowledge is what learners know about their own thinking, about tasks and about strategies. Metacognitive regulation is the active part: monitoring comprehension, detecting errors and using repair strategies when understanding breaks down. Students strong in both tend to recognize when they do not understand, choose strategies that fit the task and allocate study time efficiently.
What is the Pygmalion effect in education?
The Pygmalion effect is a self-fulfilling prophecy in which teacher expectations shape student outcomes in the expected direction. In Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson's 1968 study, randomly selected students labeled "intellectual bloomers" showed greater gains than a control group. Expectations work through four pathways: climate (warmth), input (more challenging material), opportunity (chances to respond) and feedback.
How can teachers counter the effects of low expectations?
Teachers can examine their own implicit expectations, especially about different student groups, and distribute questions and feedback equitably rather than favoring students they expect to know the answer. They can also offer challenge to all students, use structured cooperative learning to reduce ability comparisons, and use values-affirmation exercises. Question distribution is easy to check, since an observer can record it in a single lesson.

About the Educational Psychology course

How many college credits is Educational Psychology?
Educational Psychology (Psychology 120) carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
How much does Educational Psychology cost and what is included?
$250, paid once, with lifetime access: all 100 video lessons, a practice quiz after each, the graded work and final exam, and an official transcript when you finish. Students who want several courses choose UPI Study PRO instead.
Which universities accept UPI Study credits?
UPI Study has signed partner agreements with universities such as Thomas Edison State University, University of the People and Charter Oak State College, and works with universities such as Penn State, SNHU and SUNY. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Use "Find my college" on this page to check yours.
How long does Educational Psychology take?
It is self-paced with no deadlines. The 100 lessons total about 15 hours of video; most students add reading and practice time and finish in a few weeks to a few months, on their own schedule.
How are the exams done?
Quizzes and assignments are online in the course. The final exam is taken online with proctoring; a person on the UPI Study team checks assignments, usually within two days.
How do my credits reach my college?
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Ready for the full course? Earn 3 credits in Educational Psychology.

100 video lessons, a quiz after each one, and the graded work that earns the credit. Recommended for credit by NCCRS.

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