Process
Task 1: SRL. You can learn about SRL by reading the review provided by Puustinen & Pulkkinen (2001). In this review, several competing models of SRL are contrasted and the overarching definition and subconcepts are identified. This will give you a broad introduction into SRL. I also advise you to read the article of Zimmerman (2015) to learn more about developments in scholars’ view of SRL over time. Of course, Google is your friend and you can read lots more about SRL online. Make sure you get a good grasp of SRL and its subconcepts (like planning and time management) before moving on to task 2.
Task 2: online education. Learn more about online education and its differences with traditional higher education. Articles from Allen & Seaman (2014), DeBoer, Ho, Stump, & Breslow (2014), and from Wang, Shannon, & Ross (2013) are provided. The first focuses on the definitions of traditional (face-to-face), blended and online education and provides knowledge on the transition that has been going on in the past years. The second article focuses on the differences in curriculum and participation between traditional higher education and online education. In the third article, you should mainly read the introduction. The authors clearly explain why self-regulated learning is of even greater importance in online education than in traditional education.
You are further encouraged to take a look at one or two MOOC platforms (edX, Coursera). MOOCs (massive open online courses) are offered on these platforms. In order to be able to think about an intervention in task 4, it is essential that you understand what a MOOC is and how they can be designed. So take a look around on one or both platforms, and see how a few of the courses are organized.
Task 3: interventions. Before you design your own intervention, you will first learn more about SRL interventions that have already been tested. The first article is from De Boer, Donker-Bergstra, Kostons, & Korpershoek (2013) and provides an overview (a meta-analysis) of all types of intervention studies that have been conducted. The authors show which kinds of interventions work, and which don’t. Specific examples of SRL interventions are provided in articles by Bannert, Hildebrand, & Mengelkamp (2009) and Kizilcec, Pérez-Sanagustín, & Maldonado (2016). When reading these studies, already think about what you would do to help students in online education better regulate their learning; what aspects do you find fascinating, which aspects would you like to change?
Task 4: design your own intervention. By now you will have learned enough about SRL in online education that you can design your own intervention. You should base your design on the literature you have read, but we also encourage you to incorporate your experiences with SRL (which aspects of SRL do you find most important to support?). Pick one or more aspects of SRL that you want to support and think about a way students can be supported in their self-regulation.
Your elaboration should include the following components: (a) a theoretical description of the aspect(s) of SRL your intervention will support, (b) a clear description of how the intervention will work: e.g. at whom is the intervention targeted, is the intervention present during the whole course, what are students’ supposed to do, can students ignore the system? And (c) an explanation of how the intervention supports the identified aspect(s) of SRL.
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