Self-regulated learning
Self-regulated learning is the process by which learners set goals, monitor their progress, and adjust strategies and effort to guide their learning.
Forethought phase: The planning phase in self-regulated learning, involving task analysis, goal setting, and preparation. Learners define aims and choose strategies before beginning a learning task.
Goal setting: The process of defining desired outcomes and targets for action. Specific learning goals give regulation a direction and a standard for judging progress.
Self-regulated learning strategies: Deliberate techniques learners use to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning. These strategies translate the broader process into repeatable study actions.
Self-directed learning: An approach in which learners take initiative in diagnosing needs, setting goals, and organizing learning. It emphasizes learner control over the broader learning project, while self-regulated learning focuses on managing learning processes.
Barry Zimmerman: An educational psychologist known for research and models of self-regulated learning. His cyclical account organizes regulation into forethought, performance, and self-reflection.
Performance phase: The phase in which learners carry out a task while monitoring attention, actions, and progress. This is where learners apply strategies and track whether they are working.
Self-monitoring: The deliberate observation and recording of one’s own actions, states, or performance. Learners use monitoring to detect gaps between current progress and their goals.
Metacognitive prompting: Questions or cues that prompt learners to plan, monitor, or evaluate their thinking. Prompts can help learners practice regulation when they do not yet do it independently.
Socially shared regulation of learning: The collective regulation of learning by a group pursuing shared goals. It shifts regulation from an individual learner to a group coordinating its learning.
Paul Pintrich: An educational psychologist whose research examined motivation, learning strategies, and self-regulation. His framework connects regulation of cognition, motivation, behavior, and learning context.