Active and Dynamic Self-Regulation of Learning Processes

Abstract

It is generally assumed that learning is internalization of externally available knowledge and occurs under the active control of one internal source of self-regulation: executive self-regulation. This article argues that these assumptions undermine the creative and multisource nature of learning, limit its domain to incremental learning of facts and definitions, and are largely responsible for achievement and motivational problems children experience in schools. The article defines learning as creative reconceptualization of internal knowledge and proposes two different sources of internal self-regulation: one to regulate largely the sequential aspect of learning and another to coordinate its simultaneous aspect. To extend the domain of learning beyond incremental memorization of facts, both sources of internal self-regulation must be the target of cognitive and metacognitive instruction and research.