Proceedings of the 7th World Conference on Research in Education
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Learning to Learn: Supporting Middle School Students’ Development and Transfer of Self-Regulatory Skills
Anastasia Kitsantas, Shannon King
ABSTRACT:
Research has established a clear connection between self-regulated learning (SRL) and learner academic outcomes among middle school students (Cleary & Kitsantas, 2017; Mckeen, et. al., 2023). As a result, researchers have attempted to embed components of SRL in schools in the form of learning to learn intervention programs (Hosek, et.al., 2023; Montague et al., 2014).). The purpose of the present study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of the utility and transfer of student self-regulatory skills who were exposed in a Leaning how-to learn course focusing on developing middle school student self-regulatory functioning. This study is important to explore as most SRL interventions tend to focus on college students as opposed to the middle school students who are not only in development but transitioning from elementary to middle schools (Patrick & Ryan, 2008; Spruce & Bol, 2015).
Participants in this study included three (N = 3) in-service middle school teachers (79% female; 89% White) who participated in semi-structured interviews during the third and fourth quarter of the academic year. During the first quarter of the following academic year, classroom observations were conducted to observe teachers and students in the regular classes. Students’ academic achievement outcomes were also collected. Using an inductive, thematic analysis protocol to identify major themes emerging from the interview data with the teachers it was revealed that teachers focused on cultivating student autonomy and curiosity in the classroom. With respect to the utility of the intervention, three themes centered around enhancing student motivation, fostering collaboration skills, and transfer of the SRL skillset to other courses. Data from the regular classroom observations dovetailed these qualitative findings showing that students were self-responsible for their own learning, engaged, and eager to learn. Finally, students performed significantly better on standardized scores than the previous academic year. These findings have implications for practice as middle school teachers play an important role in the transition period between teacher-directed elementary education and the more self-directed context of middle and high school education. These developmental transitions provide an understanding of the need for students to become independent learners.
keywords: Self-regulation, Middle School Students. Learning to Learn, Teaching