An analysis of internal and external feedback in self-regulated learning activities mediated by self-regulated learning tools and open learner models

Chih-Yueh Chou,Nian-Bao Zou

doi:10.1186/s41239-020-00233-y

Chih-Yueh Chou, Nian-Bao Zou

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-020-00233-y

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Abstract

In self-regulated learning (SRL), students organize, monitor, direct, and regulate their learning. In SRL, monitoring plays a critical role in generating internal feedback and thus adopting appropriate regulations. However, students may have poor SRL processes and performance due to their poor monitoring. Researchers have suggested providing external feedback to facilitate better student SRL. However, SRL involves many meta-cognitive internal processes that are hidden and difficult to observe and measure. This study proposed a SRL model to illustrate the relationship among external SRL tools, internal SRL processes, internal feedback, and external feedback. Based on the model, this study designed a system with SRL tools and open leaner models (OLMs) to assist students in conducting SRL, including self-assessing their initial learning performance (i.e. perceived initial performance and monitoring of learning performance) after listening to a teacher’s lecture, being assessed by and receiving external feedback from the OLM (i.e. actual performance) in the system, setting target goals (i.e. desired performance) of follow-up learning, conducting follow-up learning (i.e. strategy implementation), and evaluating their follow-up learning performance (i.e. perceived outcome performance and strategy outcome monitoring). These SRL tools also externalize students’ internal SRL processes and feedback, including perceived initial, desired, and perceived outcome performances, for investigation. In addition, this study explores the impact of external feedback from the OLM on students’ internal SRL processes and feedback. An evaluation was conducted to record and analyze students’ SRL processes and performance, and a questionnaire was administered to ask students about their SRL processes. There are three main findings. First, the results showed that students often have poor internal SRL processes and poor internal feedback, including poor self-assessment, inappropriate target goals, a failure to conduct follow-up learning, and a failure to achieve their goals. Second, the results revealed that the SRL tools and external feedback from the OLM assisted most students in SRL, including monitoring their learning performance, goal-setting, strategy implementation and monitoring, and strategy outcome monitoring. Third, some students still required further support for SRL.

Highlights

SRL and feedback In self-regulated learning (SRL), students organize, monitor, direct, and regulate their learning
This study developed an intelligent computer assisted learning system to provide SRL tools, based on the SRL internal and external model (SRL-IE) model, to assist students in conducting SRL by listening to a teacher’s lecture, self-assessing their initial learning performance based on their domain knowledge, strategy knowledge, and motivational beliefs, setting target goals of desired performance, conducting follow-up learning by applying tactics and strategies, and self-assessing their outcome performance after follow-up learning
To address research question #1, this study explored how the students perceived their performance, how they set their target goals of their desired performance, whether they conducted follow-up learning, how they perceived their outcome performance after follow-up learning, whether they improved their performance after follow-up learning, and whether they achieved their target goals

Summary

Introduction

SRL and feedback In self-regulated learning (SRL), students organize, monitor, direct, and regulate their learning. SRL involves a self-oriented feedback cycle in which students set goals and strategies; monitor their goals, strategies, and performance; and generate internal feedback to regulate their knowledge, beliefs, goals, and strategies. Based on a student’s domain knowledge, strategy knowledge, and motivational beliefs, the student interprets the meaning and requirement of the task, sets goals for the desired performance, chooses and applies learning tactics and strategies to reach the goals, evaluates the outcome learning performance (i.e., perceived performance) after applying the tactics and strategies, and generates internal feedback to conduct appropriate regulation (see parts 1 to 5 in Fig. 1) (Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick 2006). Studies have found that high-achieving students have good SRL behaviors, frequently apply SRL strategies and develop good SRL processes whereas low-achieving students have poor SRL behaviors, rarely apply SRL strategies and develop poor SRL processes (Burns et al 2018; Nota et al Zimmerman 2004; Winne 1996; Zimmerman and Schunk 1989)

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