Motivation and Self-Regulation in Learning - Essay Example

Running Head: Motivation and Self-Regulation Motivation and Self-Regulation in Learning s Motivation and Self-Regulation in Learning Brilliant Americans such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison have emphasized how important is it to develop intellectually through self directed methods. Many have started to wonder what it that promotes self regulation of academic learning and performances is. For the past two decades this has spurred researchers to investigate what kind of characteristics and psychological processes help in this, what kind of methods can be used and whether the methods implied make a difference. The construct of self-regulation refers to the degree that individuals are motivationally, behaviorally, and metacognitively active participants in their own learning process. (Ablard and Lipschultz, 1998) Self-regulatory processes can only work if students have the ability to organize themselves and stick to it with great determination and will power. It seems that the major cause of underachievement is the lack of self-control of students. For those children who have a do not have the confidence it takes to have faith in their own abilities, setting goals can lead to positive outcomes as the achievement of these goals influence students' task persistence and problem-solving efforts. Research has proved that for self-regulation to be truly effective students need to have goals and keep assessing their goals and how close they are to achieve their goals. There are many issues to address while assessing goals such as what exactly is it that the student wants to achieve, how difficult is it to achieve that particular goal and how close the student is to achieving the goal. Such evaluation acts as a continuous reality check and encourages students to keep working towards their goals. Another major problem that people often face is that they don't set their goals correctly. They don't weight the time factor in enough. Procrastination is a huge issue here. They seem to think they have all the time in the world and keep putting what they have to do off until the last minute. This may also be due to distractions such as the television or friends. No matter what the reason it results in their goals remaining unachieved. Sometimes students do weight the time factor in and then when they realize that their goals might take a very long time to achieve, they refuse to set such goals. "Students become more motivated when goals are "in sight" or proximal, rather than when the goals seem to be a long way off (this last point may be particularly true for low-achieving children)." (Shunk and Zimmerman 1994) When the goals seem a too long way the opposite is true. This can happen when students set goals that are not practical and unrealistically extraordinary. The simple task of imagining what the achieving the goal will take can make students crumble and not even bother to take the first step towards completing their goal. Goals that are within the student's reach should be set so that the student can see himself or herself actually achieving that goal and the path to achieving the goal will be embarked upon easily. This should be especially noted for students who are setting goals for the first time. If they are discouraged, frustrated and disappointed right at the beginning they will not be inclined to set goals again. Once they start achieving their goals, higher and higher goals can be set each time. Now they will have the confidence to embark on achieving even the highest goals because of the good success rate they have enjoyed. A few failures will disappoint them but will not dishearten them from goal setting entirely. The confidence and sense of enthusiasm receive from achieving their earlier goals will keep pushing them to keep trying. This tie in with the learning theory of the classical conditioning. The success experienced acts as a positive rein forcer. "A positive rein forcer is anything pleasurable which increase the probability of a response." (Dwyer and Scampion, 1995) Their new behavior is a conditioned response and this proves to be very effective and it does increase the probability of students to achieving their goals or at the very least giving it their very best effort. After all Students reaching their potential to the extreme is the point of goal setting. However care must be taken to ensure that goals aren't set too low. Here students will not face any competition in achieving in goal and so will not exploit their potential towards achieving their goals. They will put in minimum effort and this will be of no effort. The point of goal setting is to encourage students to challenge themselves. Setting immensely low goals is a useless waste of time and if the goals are going to be so low that there is no sense of achievement when reached, then such goals should not be set at all. It is a fact that even students appear to enjoy challenging goals rather than goals that are too easy. Another problem faced when setting goals are that sometimes students do not conceptualize their goals completely. They have a vague idea of what they want and strife for it. When students aren't really sure of what they want their will be no way of knowing for sure if and when they reach their goals. When there is nothing such as proper precepts to measure the goals against, the goals are not quantitative. The consequence of which is that goals do not provide self-confidence and nor can the student feel the sense of self-achievement, self-efficacy and progress. It has been proven that students that have clear, specific goals develop higher self-efficacy and perform better than children with more general goals, such as "work harder this year". When goals are set they set to be set in an organized manner. Each step towards obtaining the goal should be formulated and understood as to how the goals can be achieved. It cannot be set in an unsystematic, sporadic and disorganized manner. When goals are set in this way it is possible for certain steps towards achieving the main goal can be forgotten. When this happens it is also possible that the minor goals which were meant to be achieved along the way to the main goal can be overlooked and failed to be attained. Perhaps those goals were important and along the way they were meant to provide input for the main goal. It is best to be organized and regular in setting the steps to achieve the goals and in setting the goals themselves. If this is not done the fundamental gains of setting goals will be lost. On the other hand if there are too many goals, then the really important goals can lose the priority they deserve and before the major goals can be reached students will feel overworked and burdened with feeling any sense of self-efficacy and achievement. Another solution to the problem of incorrect goal setting is not to set either performance goals or outcome goals. Outcome goals concentrate on the results only instead of focusing on each step it takes to achieve the goal as it comes up. Outcome goals can lead to frustration, disappointment of failure and apathy towards the goals when the student can't achieve the goal due to reason entirely out of his control. Performance goals do not give a higher probability of succeeding in contrast to outcome. Performance goals do concentrate on completing the goal but not stress the importance of the processes and strategies that are fundamental to completing goals and thus it does not result in a sense of self-efficacy for learning. While working on achieving their designated goals students can compare their current work with the current work of their peers instead of comparing their prior accomplishments. For students who encounter obstacles, these collective comparisons result in inferior opinion of their abilities. They lose faith in themselves. (http://www.solveyourproblem.com/setting-goals/how_goal_setting_can_go_wrong.shtml) Some researchers& Hoyle in 1988 believe that performance goals may motivate students over short periods or on easier tasks but an overall lower sense of self-efficacy and possibly dysfunctional attributions will not sustain self-regulation. Shunk and Zimmerman (1994 pg. 89) say that "in certain cases performance goals may not highlight the importance of the processes and strategies underlying task completion or result in a sense of self-efficacy for learning." Learning goals converge the students' focus on the variety of methods and tactics that help them obtain knowledge and proficiency. When students take on learning goals and the principles that go with it they come into contact with a feeling usefulness and efficiency. It boosts their confidence and improves their skills. This in turn encourages them to take part in activities such as putting constant effort towards their goal, persisting even in the face of disappointment and using effective strategies. These help develop their learning skills even more. As they work and recognize the improvement, they realize that traits such as effort, ability, and strategy use as the reason for their success. Perceived learning progress also raises self-efficacy and enhances self-regulation over time. Such things help students set their goals properly, i.e. set their goals in a step by step manner (Dembo, 2000) Goals aren't set to improve the future but rather to gain control and improve the quality of the present as that is where each one is at any given moment. If a goal doesn't improve present reality then students may be inclined to abandon the goals entirely. Students assume that one they set their goals it has to lead to sacrifice and anguish and this deters them from the path of achieving their goal and they don't enjoy each step but rather simply complete each step just to get to the finish line. That is another reason why learning goals are better than performance goals. Learning goals help students enjoy each step and do not pressurize them. They understand the skills, strategies and methods involved in completing each step. This fills them with hop and inspires them to do netter. In one way there is instant gratification simply by understanding how the goal can be achieved. Where goal setting goes amiss, not only do the rewards of goal setting vanish, but the whole procedure of goal setting can be entirely discredited. (http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/08/how-to-set-goals-you-will-actually-achieve/html) Teachers and parents need to play an active role in helping students set their goals. Students may falter and not know how to set their goals, especially when it comes to organizing the steps required to obtain those goals. Parents and teachers can judge the student's capability and then help the student set realistic goals. It should be noted that the parent or teacher should help the student set the goal, not set the goals themselves. The initiative has to be taken by the student so that he or she feels in control of the situation. This will also help boost their self-efficacy and self-confidence. Even if the student has a vague idea what he or she would like to achieve, the parents and teachers can come in at that point and provide insight in to what would be the best path to take to achieve such a goal. They should help and check up on each step as time progresses but they should not minute manage the student. This could lead to the student getting frustrated and agitated. No matter what though it has to be kept in mind that students deserve the time to relax and enjoy being kids. Their entire life should not have to focus on the goals. "Many different types of technology can be used to support and enhance learning. Everything from video content and digital moviemaking to laptop computing and handheld technologies (Marshall, 2002) have been used in classrooms, and new uses of technology such as podcasting are constantly emerging." (http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm#pitfall) Technology can be used to assist student sin setting their goals. Technology in the form of computers would be a great asset. Today, practically every student in America is technology illiterate. "Discrete educational software (DES) programs, such as integrated learning systems (ILS), computer-assisted instruction (CAI), and computer-based instruction (CBI) can be used to help students. These software applications are also among the most widely available applications of educational technology in schools today, along with word-processing software". (http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm) Through using simple application software such as word-processing, students can keep track of each step of their goal. If a proper plan is made out it can be actively shared with parents and teachers through the internet and they can then follow the student as he or she approaches and completes each step of the program to achieve his or her goal.Also programs can be used evaluate the progress of the student. Visual aids such as graphs, charts etc. can be made within seconds and very accurately and these would depict the situation of the student's progress correctly. Programs can also be used to asses the possibility of student's attaining a particular goal and how long it could take. The time line provided by such programs is known to be very well defined and so extremely helpful. In conclusion students who set goals are much more likely to achieve them and do better generally. They can organize their time usage and become thus become extremely productive, they know how to deal with procrastination and how to overcome it. These students are focused and driven. They know when they are at a stand still and are aware when they are not making much progress. To better their academic career they will use effective strategies and they will actively change their tactics to suit their needs. Such students will enjoy learning and appreciate all the underlying skill, processes and tactics involved in it. They set realistic goals, produce plans, and achieve the results they desire. Those students who have had goals before and have succeeded in accomplishing theses goals will be motivated and encouraged to carry on by their previous success. They are motivated and nurture that aspiration to achieve their goal. They realize the importance of self-regulation and self-monitoring and actively do so. Annotated Bibliography Cormier Stephen (1986). Basic Processes of Learning, Cognition and Motivation. Hillsdale, NJ. Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. This book produces provides empirical data on several major areas of research on learning, cognition, and motivation in humans and other mammals. The author identifies and describes the most vital factors, such as structural processes, which are the core pragmatic capacities of humans and animals in the area of learning and motivation. It helped with my paper as it provided useful insights into what really affects and facilitates self-regulatory learning. Motivation can only carry students so far, they require organization to support their goals. Dembo, H. Myron. (2000). Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success: A Self-Management Approach. Mahwah, NJ. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Myron Dembo's book is a guide to help students change features of the way their motivation and learning strategies. According to him the process of change begins by scrutinizing one's own behavior and then concluding what needs to be changed and then learning how to change. His ideas come from a vast database of researchers and the support given to his arguments have convinced me of how student's need to be responsible. The responsibility can't be solely on the parents or teachers shoulders, the student needs to actively realize that in order to keep his grade-point average good he is needs to work for it. Douglas. Graham, Hattie. John and Purdie, Nola. (1996). "Student Conceptions of Learning and Their Use of Self-Regulated Learning Strategies: A Cross-Cultural Comparison." Journal of Educational Psychology. 88-1. pg.87 In this article the authors compare and contrast the way Australian students study and the way Japanese students study. While Australian students have a very narrow perspective and their learning and method of learning tends to be very school based, Japanese students have a broader perspective. They view learning not only as a method of studying academic material but they view it as a life long experience. However the authors maintain that both hemispheres focus on understanding and appreciating. The authors examine the factors which characterize good self-regulators. While this article did not provide much original insight on its own it acted as a great backup for some of the notions I had already formed. It was evidence for my theories that those who self-regulate themselves are persistent and evaluate themselves constantly. They pick up what works for them personally and hone those skills. Dwyer, Jane and Scampion, Diana. (1995) Cognitive Psychology. London. MacMillian Press. The authors wrote this book as a guide to studying A and AS level psychology. It includes a number of key case studies, which were milestones in psychology, and certain fundamental theories in relation to those studies. The book encompasses cognitive psychology, bio-psychology, developmental psychology, social psychology, comparative psychology and even health psychology. As far as the author's take on the learning theory goes it provided me with exact definitions of what classic conditioning and positive rein forcers are. As a text book for A levels the definitions in the book are very scientific and thus very accurate. The author's own opinion or bias does not come into play. This is very helpful as most books are bound to be observer biased. D'Ydewalle, Gery and Lens Willy. (1981). Cognition in Human Motivation and Learning. Leuven University Press; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. The authors of this book maintain that learning cannot be identified with stimulus-response connections that are repeated blindly upon the repeated occurrence of a stimulus. Instead, learning is to be thought of as the discriminating storing of information about a behavioral act with its outcome as a function of the person's objective and interests. Information being reclaimed and used in future behavior is the point of motivational goals and means-end structures. I agree with authors that completing a task can only be beneficial if the processes and methods which best helped complete the task are found and learnt. If that does not take place it appears as if the student if simply going round in circles. His only object will be completing the task not learning anything from it. Storing information is absolutely vital for the total success of motivational goals. Elliott E. S. & Dweck C. S. (1988). Goals: An approach to motivation and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 5-12. Honey, Margaret, Culp, M. Katherine and Speilvogel, Robert. (2005). Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te800.htm Accessed February 9, 2007 This study is done by the North Central Regional Educational Library. It was conducted to find out and then inform others on how technology can influence and help students study. The authors illustrate different cases and support their theories with live examples. While this study does not have any direct connection with self-regulatory learning it helped me identify various technologies which can definitely help with self-regulatory programs. It provided with a basic foundation for what kind of technologies would be suitable for students and whether students will be able to handle technologies which they have never really encountered in their daily lives. Karen E. Ablard, Rachelle E. Lipschultz; Self-Regulated Learning in High-Achieving Students: Relations to Advanced Reasoning, Achievement Goals, and Gender. Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 90, 1998 The two authors write on how high achieving students get great grades and what motivates those students. It explains the variation in Self Regulated Learning among high achieving students and students achieving average grades. They claim that the key differences in achievement goals are the reasons for achieving those goals and those affect their method of tackling and reacting to academic situations. Albard and Lipschultz claim that these influence the extent to which they use Self Regulated Learning strategies. I don't entirely agree with authors of this article. Students with the same reason for achieving goals can have different motivational factors. E.g. from two students who want to achieve high grades one can do it because he wants to e the best and the other because he wants a scholarship. The motivational factors have as much great as influence as the reasons themselves do. However I do agree that students' reasons affect they way the goal is tackled. Meece J. L., Blumenfeld P. C., & Hoyle R. H. (1988). Students' goal orientations and cognitive engagement in classroom activities. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 514-523. Schunk, H. Dale and Zimmerman, J. Barry. (1994). Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance: Issues and Educational Applications. Hillsdale, New Jersey. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. In this book the authors deal with how students deal with everyday issues of simply studying and then trying to achieve high grades. It also involves how to deal with situations with intrinsic limitations and obstruction. The central focus of this book is to comprehend the foundation and core of students' potential to deal with harsh conditions. It also presents an intangible structure for studying and applying self-regulation in educational perspectives. This book has been the most helpful in the research I carried out for my paper. It helped me come to terms with the different factors and issues that come into play when setting and trying to achieve motivational goals. It helped me understand the various techniques that students can use in order to avoid the mental traps they et for themselves. Solve Your Problem. (1998). Setting Goals: You can achieve anything you desire. Pavlina, Steve. (2006) How to set goals you will actually achieve. Steve Pavlina.com: http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/08/how-to-set-goals-you-will-actually-achieve/html Accessed February 9, 2007 This article written by Steve Pavlani is about the different obstacles faced when setting goals and trying to achieve them. It is written from a business perspective and primarily talks about how to go about setting business goals. Even though this article was not written for students it could relate it to self-regulatory learning. The reason being that it also talked about setting goals and going about achieving them. Granted they were not learning goals but they were still goals that everyday people set for themselves. This article was like a motivational speech to encourage people to take the initiative in their business life. By reading in between the lines and coming up with my own conclusions managed to come up with several ideas of my own. Wolters, Christopher. (1998). "Self-Regulated Learning and College Students' Regulation of Motivation"/ Journal of Educational Psychology. 90-2. pg. 224. This study attempts to answer three major questions faced when setting motivational goals. These questions are: what strategies do students use to regulate their motivation is the use of these strategies dependent on contextual factors and how is motivational regulation related to other aspects of self-regulated learning and achievement While no definite answers were provided there were very helpful findings which assisted my research. Evidence such as the fact that students use a mixture of cognitive, volitional, and motivational strategies to help fulfill their goals was particularly useful. It proved that cognition alone was not responsible for achievement of any goal and motivational regulation is closely but positively related to their goal orientation. Zimmerman, Barry. (1990). "Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement: an Overview". Educational Psychologist. 25-1. pg.3 In this article, the author tries to present a broad-spectrum description of self-regulated academic learning and distinguish the specific characteristics required for studying in this fashion. He discusses how various processes attribute to our rising awareness of the unique features of students' self-regulated learning. His definitions of self-regulated learning and his concepts of the various features that need to be present for self-regulated learning are the background I used on which my paper is based. It provided detailed ideas on how self-regulated learning works. Planning, control and reflection are fundamental components of self-regulated learning and the extent to which these are focused on show competence and independence. Newman, Richard. And Paris, Scott. (1990). "Developmental Aspects of Self-Regulated Learning." Educational Psychologist. 25-1. pg.87 The authors focus not on what self-regulation but on the students. They discuss and deal with how students become aware of themselves as learners and the sort of theories that students form about schooling. Children's ideas about success and failure, their awareness and attribution, and their meta cognition and motivation are also central topics of this article. Through this article I was able to appreciate the importance of proper formal education on establishing motivational goals and self-regulated learning. I have incorporated the theories of learning that students form and the various variables which influence their learning into my paper. Students are affected by factors such as task difficulty, helping behavior, and standards of success and most of these stem by school itself. Read More