1. Working Together to Foster Self-Regulated 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

2. 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 self-regulation: Emerging initiatives

3. What are our goals in fostering self-regulated learning in school?

4. What is Self-Regulation (SR)?
Cognition & Metacognition
Motivation & Emotion
Strategic Action
SR involves:
SR as the ability to control thoughts and actions to achieve personal goals and respond to environmental demands (Zimmerman, 2008)

5. What is Self-Regulated LEARNING?
Self-Regulated Learning (SRL)
Cognition & Metacognition
Motivation & Emotion
Strategic Action
Understanding and managing emotions and motivation
Knowledge about yourself as a learner, about tasks and strategies for completing them; knowing what you know, don’t know, and need to know
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)

6. 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

7. 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

8. What Self-Regulated Learning Looks Like in Classroom Contexts
Activity in Context
Interpreting Demands & Defining Criteria
History,
Strengths,
Challenges,
Metacognition,
Knowledge,
Beliefs,
Agency
Emotions & Motivation
Adjusting
Cycles of Self-Regulated Activity
Planning
Focus first on what learners are doing
Then focus on environments that teachers establish to support SRL
Look for interactions between what individuals bring to environments and features of classroom instruction
Monitoring Against
Criteria
Enacting Strategies

9. Reflection: Setting Goals
What goal(s) might teachers you are working with set for learners in their context?

10. What can we do to support self-regulated learning in school?

11. 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)

12. Reflection
How do these example tasks create opportunities for self-regulated reading, learning, and writing?

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. The Three Little Pigs Choice Challenge Self-assessment
Shared reading or …
Tracking or not…
Problem solving strategies
Voted on the actions of the pigs
Alternative ending
Where to work
Help from peers and the teacher
One idea or …
Drawing as writing
Do you need to …? [Re tracking]
Evaluating feelings, explain why …
Perry, Nordby, & VandeKamp, 2003

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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)

22. Socially Responsible Self-Regulation
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

23. Reflection
What might teachers try to ensure tasks afford opportunities for and support SRL, given the discussion so far?

24. What Can We Do to Support SRL?
Activity in Context
Interpreting Demands & Defining Criteria
History,
Strengths,
Challenges,
Metacognition,
Knowledge,
Beliefs,
Agency
Emotions & Motivation
Adjusting
Cycles of Self-Regulated Activity
Planning
Monitoring Against
Criteria
Enacting Strategies

25. 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

26. 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?

27. 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)

28. Class Profile Class Composition Time of Year (Spring) Class Needs
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

29. 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)

30. Part One
What makes a powerful free verse poem?

31. Example: Identifying qualities of a good free verse poem
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

32. Example: Whole class modeling & discussion
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

33. Example: Students working together to identify writing criteria
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

34. Example: Summarizing criteria as a whole class following on the small group activity
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

35. Part Two
Generating Content for Writing Free Verse Poems

36. Example: Review Criteria Constructed with Students
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

37. Example: A framework for generating content for a free verse poem (reflective of group generated criteria)
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

38. Example: Class generates content for poems on residential schools
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

39. Part Three
Reading and Writing Strategically

40. Example: Constructing strategies for writing free verse poems, building from experience (and linked to criteria)
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

41. Example: Constructing Strategies with Students
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

42. Example: Constructing Strategies with Students
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

43. Example: Travis’ drafts of his poem on residential schools
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

44. Example: Travis’ finished poem on residential schools
Schnellert & Widdess (2002)

45. Another Example: Working From Criteria

46. Another Example: Self-Assessment & Strategy Revision

47. SRL-Supportive Practices?
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 put responsibility on students to manage their learning
They require students to articulate their understandings about content & learning processes

48. Supporting SRL: Outcomes
Teacher Reports of Student Gains:
independence & self-directedness
self-confidence & pride
a sense of control over learning
awareness of strategy usefulness
“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.”
“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?”
Deb
Butler & Schnellert, 2008

49. Reflection: Supporting SRL
What practices might teachers try to support SRL in their classrooms?
How might teachers judge if they are making a difference?

50. Emerging Initiatives & Resources

51. 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

54. Examples of SRL Projects in BC
Identifying Qualities of Classrooms that Support SRL
Developing SRL-Supportive Practices in Classrooms
Tools & Technologies for Supporting
Self-regulation
Co-regulation
Shared-regulation
Supporting Pre-Service Teachers to Develop SRL-Supportive Practices
Teachers in Schools Working Together to Develop SRL-Supportive Practices
Supporting Learners to Adaptively Regulate in the Face of Challenge

55. 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,
Butler, D. L. (1995). Promoting strategic learning by postsecondary students with learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 28,
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,
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,
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,
Butler, D. L., Cartier, S.C., Schnellert, L., Gagnon, F., & Giammarino, M. (2011). Secondary students’ self- regulated engagement in reading: Researching self-regulation as situated in context. Psychological Test and Assessment Modeling, 11(1),
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,
Butler, D. L., Novak Lauscher, H. J., Jarvis-Selinger, S., & Beckingham, B. (2004). Collaboration and self- regulation in teachers’ professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20,
Butler, D. L., & Schnellert, L. (2012). Collaborative inquiry in teacher professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28,  
Butler, D. L., & Schnellert, L. (2008). Bridging the research-to-practice divide: Improving outcomes for students. Education Canada, 48(5),

56. Butler, D. L. , Schnellert, L. & Cartier, S. C. (2012, May)
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: snapshot-CAEP-FINAL.pdf
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:
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),
Perry, N. E. (2012, May). Classroom contexts for self-regulated learning. Research Spotlight Session, Canadian Society for the Study of Education. Available at: content/uploads/2012/06/Perry-Knowledge-snapshot-CAEP-FINAL.pdf
Perry, N. E. (2004). Using self-regulated learning to accommodate differences amongst students in classrooms. Exceptionality Education Canada, 14(2&3),
Perry, N. E., & Drummond, L. (2002). Helping young students become self-regulated researchers and writers. The Reading Teacher, 56(3),
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),
Schnellert, L. (2011). Collaborative inquiry: Teacher professional development as situated, responsive co- construction of practice and learning. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from
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),
Zimmerman, B. J. (2008). Investigating self-regulation and motivation: Historical background, methodological developments, and future prospects. American Educational Research Journal, 45,