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15 Self-Regulated Learning: What It Can Look Like
The National Association for Gifted Children strongly believes that no gifted individual is exactly the same. The two traits in the cognitive domain, which are of special interest in this study, are ‘independence in work and study’ and ‘diversity interest and abilities’.
This study explored the methods to better improve the learning of Mathematics for 13-15 years old gifted girls in a Singapore school. These students have displayed various interest and strengths, and some have been identified as being gifted in Mathematics.
The model adopted in this study is ‘Self-Regulated Learning’ (SRL), combined with ‘Differentiated Instruction’ strategies, to help students become independent learners. The students’ self-monitoring was modelled after the ‘forethought, performance and self-reflective phase’ in the SRL model by Pape and Smith (2002). The differentiated Instruction strategy selected for this study was aimed at encouraging students to choose their own learning paths based on readiness and interests.
The Google Learning platform was leveraged upon to design Mathematics activity sheets that enabled students to monitor their own learning more effectively. Each student had a Google sheet to assist them in monitoring and reflecting on their learning. The learning objectives of each worksheet were clearly listed so that students have a goal to work towards, could self-check if they were progressing in the intended direction and self-evaluate their level of mastery of the learning objectives. Individual reflections completed by the students helped the teacher to monitor students’ progress. This instant feedback for the teacher regarding the students’ progress allowed the teacher to better prepare the instructional materials for subsequent lessons.
This study was conducted for a year and surveys were administrated to assess the effectiveness of the SRL model on students’ learning. Majority of the students who completed the three phases by Pape and Smith’s SRL model commented that they had better control of their learning and acquired more confidence in performing well.
Integrating the Differentiated Instruction strategy of providing students’ choice in the study also resulted in positive students’ feedback. Based on their reflection on their mastery of mathematics topics, students welcomed the opportunity to choose between consolidating, enriching and advancing their learning. This allowed students the choice of exploring the topic further according to their level of readiness and competencies, thus charting their own mathematics learning paths.