Reflections: Literature as data
Deborah L. Butler (2003) Structuring Instruction to Promote Self-Regulated Learning by Adolescents and Adults With Learning Disabilities, Exceptionality, 11:1, 39-60, DOI: 10.1207/S15327035EX1101
When looking into teaching adolescents with learning disabilities “certain common pedagogical activities stand out as central to effective instructions.” Sometime in the early 1980’s, an idea emerged when researchers recognized that “explicit explanation and modeling of strategy steps alone were insufficient”, and that it is much more impactful if educators embed strategy instruction in the “context of meaningful work.” I know that if I keep doing the same thing, then I will still have the same result. I need to readjust how my students are constructing knowledge about tasks, strategies, and themselves as learners.
Butler states that to students with learning disabilities need the cognitive task to be “broken down into a series of steps” and “that instructors construct a scaffold by guiding students’ learning activities.” It is important to recognize that if “discussions about strategies are specific, systematic, and explicit” that this will set the stage for students to develop their skills when “analyzing tasks, implementing task-appropriate strategies, monitoring outcomes associated with strategy use, and adjusting strategies accordingly.”
There is some disputes, among researchers, about how effective self-regulation develops. One perspective is that students need to be taught how to self-regulate, “(i.e., through direct instruction, modeling, or procedural facilitators) and then gradually release control as students independently start to self-direct learning.” Another view, is that “students do not enter school as self-regulating blank slates” and that educators only need to help develop individual strategies. It should be noted that SRL strategies that work for one student, may not work for another. It is necessary to build from the student’s prior knowledge and create an arsenal of personalized strategies that are “based on their unique processing strengths and weaknesses and in response to their particular difficulties with tasks.”
I am inquiring into self-regulation techniques because I want to help my students develop self-confidence, pride, and sense of control over their learning; and awareness that they can develop individualized learning strategies that will affect their academic success.
