This document discusses self-regulation and its importance for academic achievement. It defines self-regulation as an integrated learning process involving the development of constructive behaviors that affect one's learning. Self-regulation involves regulating behavior, cognition, and motivation/affect. Regarding behavior, the document outlines strategies for structuring one's environment, using faculty/peers, and taking advantage of academic resources. For cognition, it notes controlling learning strategies improves performance. Finally, for motivation/affect, it emphasizes controlling beliefs and goals to adapt to course demands.

1. Self-Regulation
Online Learning Modules
Module 1: Self Regulation
Developed by: Dr. Sara Renzulli, CLAS Academic
Services Center

2. What is
achievement?
When you
accomplish
something that
is important to
you by
expending
effort and
developing
skills.

3. What is Self Regulation?
• Self-regulation is an integrated learning
process, consisting of the development of a
set of constructive behaviors that affect one's
learning. These processes are planned and
adapted to support the pursuit of personal
goals in changing learning environments
(NRC/GT).

4. Some additional information about
self regulation
• Self-regulated learning involves the regulation
of three general aspects of academic learning
(Zimmerman, 1989).

5. Self Regulation of
Behavior
SELF
REGULATION
Self Regulation of
Cognition
Self Regulation of
Motivation and Affect

6. 3 ‘aspects’ of self regulation (according to
Zimmerman)
• Self Regulation of Behavior:
– Involves the active control of the resources students have available to
them, such as:
• Their time, their study environment, who they study with, their use of
academic support (faculty, tutors etc).
• Self Regulation of Motivation and Affect:
– Involves controlling and changing motivational beliefs such as selfefficacy and goal orientation, so that students can adapt to the
demands of the course. In addition, students can learn to control their
emotions and affect in ways that improve their learning (NRC/GT).
• Self Regulation of Cognition:
– Involves the control of various cognitive strategies for learning, such as
the use of deep processing strategies that result in better learning and
performance than students showed previously.

7. LETS EXPLORE THESE THREE ASPECTS
OF SELF REGULATION IN A LITTLE MORE
DETAIL…..

8. Self Regulation of
Behavior
SELF
REGULATION
Self Regulation of
Cognition
Self Regulation of
Motivation and Affect

9. (1) Self regulation of behavior
• Involves the active control of the resources
students have available to them, such as:
– Active control of:
• Time
• Study environment
– Who you study with
• Positive use of peers and faculty members to help (not
hinder) the studying process
– Appropriate and proactive use of academic support
services available to you on Uconn’s campus.

10. Behavior:
Strategy 1
Environmental Structuring
• Actively manipulating the environment in which you
study with the intention of increasing academic
productivity.
• Environmental structuring may involve:
– Finding a quieter environment to study, for example the
library instead of a dorm room.
– Finding an environment that has less people in it. For
example, a small study room in the library rather than
bookworms café.
– Not listening to music while studying.
– Disconnecting wireless internet (unless needed for course
assignments).
– Leaving cell phones in a different location.
– Creating an organized, clean space in which to do your work.

11. A few more thoughts on
Environmental Structuring
Behavior:
Strategy 1
• Environmental structuring may look different for
each individual person. Some learners cannot
focus if a room is to quiet and peaceful, while
others could be distracted by the smallest sound.
• It is important step back, and think about what
environments have been the most successful
places for you to accomplish academic tasks
in, then begin recreating that environment.

12. Proactive and frequent use of
faculty on campus
Behavior:
Strategy 2
• All Uconn professors, faculty, TA’s and other staff want
students to succeed in their courses. It is your
responsibility as a student to put aside personality
differences you may have with faculty members and do
what you need to do to be successful in your course work.
• So… some actions you could consider taking are:
– Going to professors office hours at least twice a month.
– Contacting the professor before the class starts to ask for the
syllabus so you could begin readings.
– Make sure you introduce yourself to the professor and TA’s
during the first class.
– Sit in place in the classroom / lecture hall where you will be
able to focus.
– Ask questions, and participate in class!

13. Proactive and frequent use
of peers on campus
Behavior:
Strategy 3
• Friend groups are typically composed of people who
have similar interests, personalities, senses of
humor, among other traits. Have you ever considered
using your friends as an academic resource? If not, this
would be a good resource to start using.
• Find out what your friends majors and minors are, and
what their academic strengths and weaknesses are.
Ask to study with them in one of their strength areas
and observe their studying process. Studying with
another student can teach you several things:
– (1) This can help catch you up on any content you may have
missed or did not understand during class.
– (2) You may learn a new method of studying which you can
incorporate into studying for your other courses.

14. Behavior:
Strategy 4
Taking advantage of the resources
@ UCONN
• One of the many advantages of going to a
university such as Uconn is the various support
centers in place to assist students with their
academics.
• Listed below are some of the main support
centers on campus available to you:
– Academic services center, CLAS
– Academic Achievement Center
• Uconn Connects
– Writing Center
– Q-Center
– Counseling Center

15. CLAS, Academic Services Center
• What is it?
– The ASC is an arm of the CLAS Dean’s office. The staff
and advisors in the ASC serve students and faculty in
CLAS through:
• Academic Advising
• Implementing and informing students of academic
regulations and policies
• Providing trainings and outreach
• Advise and run the orientation process
• How could it help me?
– The academic advisors at CLAS can help students with a
variety of questions or concerns. For example, if a
student has a question about general education
requirement course, graduation
requirements, academic probation or dismissal or any
other academic question, the ASC is the office to
contact.
• How do I get involved?
– To make an appointment: Call (860) 486-2822
– www.clasadvising.uconn.edu
Behavior:
Strategy 4

16. Academic Achievement Center
(AAC)
Behavior:
Strategy 4
• What is it?
– The AAC is a center that all students can utilize on campus
to receive academic coaching in a number of areas. In
addition, the AAC also runs academic workshops, tutoring
and the Uconn Connects program.
• How could it help me?
– The AAC provides coaching in the following areas: study
skills, note taking techniques, time management, goal
setting, stress management, procrastination and exam
preparation.
• How do I get involved?
– Feel free to stop in the AAC offices anytime, ROWE room
217.
– Or, visit the website for more information:
http://web.uconn.edu/uconnconnects/AAC.htm

17. Writing Center
• What is it?
– The writing center offers individualized
tutoring sessions that can assist you in any
stage of the writing process.
• How could it help me?
– The writing center could help you improve
the grades on your papers, prepare for an
essay exam, understand MLA citation use, to
name just a few things they do.
• How can I get involved?
– Go to the web page:
– http://www.writingcenter.uconn.edu
– Click on make an appointment and follow
the instructions online.

18. Q- Center
• What is it?
– The “Q” or Quantitative Learning Center is a resource available to students to
assist them in quantitative classes.
• The ‘Q’ center offers:
– General Review sessions
– Downloadable Resources
– Group and individual tutoring
• How could it help me?
– If you are in a quantitative course and need some additional assistance, the Q
center is a tremendous resource .
• How do I get involved?
• Go to the website – and choose which option you would like to get
involved in.
• http://qcenter.uconn.edu/index.php
•

19. Counseling Services
• What is it?
– Uconn counseling services offers individual counseling to
students who are experiencing social and emotional difficulties.
• How could it help me?
– Talking with a counselor about stress or anxiety related to
academic performance has been show in the research to be a
successful practice of students who succeed academically.
• How do I get involved?
– To make an appointment: Call (860) 486-4705

20. Self Regulation of
Behavior
SELF
REGULATION
Self Regulation of
Cognition
Self Regulation of
Motivation and Affect

21. (2) Self regulation of motivation and
affect
• Involves controlling and changing
motivational beliefs such as self-efficacy and
goal orientation, so that students can adapt
to the demands of the course. In
addition, students can learn to control their
emotions and affect in ways that improve
their learning (NRC/GT).

22. What does this mean?
• Change
from:
• I don’t know if I
can accomplish this
task.
• Change
to:
• I can accomplish
this task.
• This class is a
waste of time, I
can’t learn math.
• Math is
challenging, but I’ll
put extra work into
this class.
• I’m not going to try
to get a good grade
in this course.
• I’m setting a goal
grade of a B for this
course.

23. M&A: Strategy 1
How do you change your attitudes?
Decrease self doubt
Increase
self
efficacy

24. M&A: Strategy 1
What is Self Efficacy?
• Self-efficacy is one’s judgment of one’s
capability per perform given activities.
• "Perceived self-efficacy is defined as
people's judgments of their capabilities to
organize and execute courses of action
required to attain designated types of
performances. It is concerned not with the
skills one has but with judgments of what
one can do with whatever skills one
possesses."
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social
cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hill.

25. M&A: Strategy 1
Self-efficacy influences…
• What activities we select
• How much effort we put forth
• How persistent we are in the face of
difficulties
• The difficulty of goals we set

26. High self efficacy
M&A: Strategy 1
More likely to
attempt new and
harder tasks.
More likely to avoid
trying a new or
difficult task.
Work harder.
Low self efficacy
Persist longer in the
face of difficulties.

27. M&A: Strategy 1
Examples of how to increase your self
efficacy
• If you have struggled with a task previously and are not
optimistic about your chances of successfully
completing the task, break it into smaller pieces.
• Example: Student A has struggled with English papers
since entering college, and is anxious because he/she
has a 10 page paper due in a week. Student A received
advice to break this larger assignment down into a
series of smaller assignments so he/she would not feel
overwhelmed.

28. M&A: Strategy 1
Example continued
• Student A broke down the paper process in the
following way:
– Task 1: create a thesis statement
– Task 2: send thesis statement to professor
– Task 3: make a detailed outline of the paper
• Find quotes from the text
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Task 4: write 2 pages
Task 5: write 2 pages
Task 6: write 2 pages
Task 7: write 2 pages
Task 8: write 2 pages
Task 9: re-read whole paper
Task 10: edit paper

29. M&A: Strategy 1
Example continued…..
• Why does this raise a persons self efficacy?
– Several reasons!
– (1) breaking a large task into smaller tasks
makes the ‘large task’ seem less
overwhelming, and gives a person a definite
starting point where they can begin working on
the task.
– (2) When a student successfully completes one
of the smaller tasks their confidence in their
ability to complete the next task will increase (in
other words, they are developing self efficacy).

30. M&A: Strategy 2
Setting long term and short term goals.
GOAL SETTING

31. M&A: Strategy 2
Why is it important to have a goal?
• Goals motivate you to take action and push
yourself outside your comfort zone.

32. M&A: Strategy 2
2 types of goals
• Short term goals:
– Achieved more quickly and thus result in higher
motivation and better self regulation than distant
goals (for example, setting the goal of running a 5K
vs. a marathon).
• Long term goals:
– Eventual outcomes that you want to achieve.
– Short term goals should build up to one or more long
term goals.
– Needs to be a challenge but still achievable.

33. Self Regulation of
Behavior
SELF
REGULATION
Self Regulation of
Cognition
Self Regulation of
Motivation and Affect

34. (3) Self regulation of cognition
• Involves the control of various cognitive
strategies for learning, such as the use of deep
processing strategies that result in better
learning and performance than students
showed previously.
• What cognitive strategies have you used in
college?

35. Cognitive: Strategy 1
Processing your actions
Forethought
Action
Reflection

36. Processing your
actions
Cognitive: Strategy 1
Forethought
• What is forethought?
– Forethought involves an individual thinking ahead to
the action or actions they need to accomplish and
cognitively planning how they are going to complete
the tasks.
• Forethought typically involves two processes:
– Task analysis, which could involve setting a goal or
creating a strategic plan.
– Self-motivational beliefs, which could involve self
efficacy, setting outcome expectations, and setting
goal orientation.

37. Processing your
actions
Cognitive: Strategy 1
Action
• What is action?
– The action phase involves the individual using the
planning and goals from the forethought stage to
follow through with the task at hand.
• Action typically involves two processes:
– Self-control, which involves an individual providing
ongoing instruction to him or herself, attention
focusing or refocusing, and specific task strategies.
– Self observation, which involves an individual
recording or experimenting with the process they are
using.

38. Processing your
actions
Cognitive: Strategy 1
Reflection
• What is reflection?
– The reflection phase involves the individual taking a
metaphorical “step back” and assessing what was
successful, and what could be improved about the
action that was taken.
• Reflection typically involves:
– Self evaluation, which involves an individual critically
examining the success or failure of an action or set of
actions and thinking about what could be
improved, or what should remain the same.

39. Cognitive: Strategy 1
Example…
• A transfer student to Uconn has decided to
become a biology major with the hopes of
going to medical school after graduation. The
student has spoken with several Bio
professors, and they suggested that he/she try
to transfer into BIO 1107 immediately, even
though the student has missed the first week
of class.

40. Cognitive: Strategy 1
Example…
Forethought
• What forethought would be involved in this students
decision making process?
– Task analysis:
• Setting a goal grade to achieve in the biology class.
• Creating a plan of how to catch up on work that the student
missed in the first week of class, and then setting a plan for how to
stay on top of work for biology for the rest of the semester.
– Self-motivational beliefs:
• Having high academic self efficacy. If student begins to doubt
self, using self-efficacy strategies and breaking assignments into
smaller tasks.
• Orientation goal: being aware that to go to medical school, this
class is necessary.

41. Example…
Action
Cognitive: Strategy 1
• What action would be involved in this students
decision making process?
– Self Control:
• The student would need to create a set of instructions or
guidelines to follow when studying for biology.
• The student would also have to develop some new study
strategies that could help him/her succeed in biology.
He/she may acquire these by asking other students in the
class what they do, or by asking the professor or TA for
advice.
– Self Observation:
• Student will being studying at new times during the day (for
example from 7-9am or 6-8pm) to accommodate increased
work load.

42. Processing your
actions
Cognitive: Strategy 1
Reflection
• What reflection would be involved in this
students decision making process?
– Self evaluation:
• Self evaluation may take place after the semester in
biology has concluded. The student would examine
and evaluate how the different actions he/she took
worked, and what he/she can do to improve for
subsequent semesters of science courses.

43. Create a problem solving
model
Cognitive:
Strategy 2
• You are going to run into problematic
situations in college, whether, they are
academic, personal, social or environmental.
Knowing how to effectively problem solve will
help you successfully overcome your dilemma
and refocus on tasks that require your
attention.

44. Create a problem solving model
Cognitive:
Strategy 2
• (1) Analyze your goal:
– Be clear about what you want to achieve.
– Ask yourself how you want the situation to look when the problem is
resolved.
• (2) Identify the problem:
– Determine the source of the problem, why is this source creating a
problem?
– Clearly identify what needs to change. Imagine how the situation will
look without the problem.
• (3) Identify possible solutions:
– There can be numerous solutions to the same problem. The best
solution is the one you are willing to take action on.
– Think about different actions you can take to solve the problem, create
several scenarios in your mind.
– Determine the positive and negative outcomes of all of your potential
solutions.
(Szarlan, Singha & Brown, 2011)

45. Cognitive:
Strategy 2
Create a problem solving model
• (4) Prioritize the possible solutions:
– Decide which option is the best for solving the
problem, and choose your second and third options.
• (5) Decide on the best solution:
– Choose the action you will take to resolve the problem.
This decision should be based on objective information that
will affect the outcome.
• (6) Act on your solution
– Carry out your planned solution. Until you take some sort
of action, the problem will remain a problem.
(Szarlan, Singha & Brown, 2011)

46. WRAP-UP:

47. What are the benefits of being a selfregulated learner?
• Reduced stress related to academics
• The strategies become habits, which makes
them easier to apply and use
• A sense of control over your academic career
• The ability to tackle complex tasks without
feeling overwhelmed

48. To complete this module:
•
•
•
•
•
Review the full PPT
Take assessment 1
Complete assignment 1
View mini-videos
Complete post-survey