Using Reflection to Increase Self-Regulation Among Pre-Service Teachers

Self-Regulation In Academic Learning

Before starting our discussion within the context of pre-service teacher education, we first define self-regulation. When we started a formal investigation into the construct of self-regulation, we found that this term means many things to different scholars. Even academic self-regulation manifests in many different forms including the use of learning strategies, control over the learning environment, and a belief in one’s abilities. Many areas of psychology have been applied to self-regulation, including personality, cognitive, behavioral, developmental, and biological. In general, self-regulation includes impulse control, the ability to monitor behavior, as well as regulation of thoughts, feelings and even attentional processes (Vohs & Baumeister, 2004).Through self-regulated learning (SRL), students are able to “set goals, monitor their performance, measure their success, and adjust their behavior(s) accordingly” (Skinner, 2013, p. 93). Although the development of volition – “the tendency to maintain focus and effort toward goals despite potential distractions” (Corno, 1994, p. 229) – in the self-regulatory system is not well understood, social cognitive models of self-regulation have frequently been applied and tested concerning students’ learning. Beyond one’s volition, teachers’ beliefs about their teaching responsibilities and ability to influence student learning may play a part in the self-regulation process of teaching (Torres & Tackett, 2016a).