Teaching for self-regulated learning: why aim for behavioural compliance when we can inspire learning?

Abstract

This study explored teachers’ pedagogical practices for effective learning in the middle years of schooling. In the context of the primary–secondary schooling transition years in Australia, teacher interviews and classroom observations were conducted to investigate teachers’ everyday practices for planning, instruction, and classroom organisation to frame a pedagogy for self-regulated learning. Evidence-informed practices were identified and classified through the fundamentals for self-regulated learning to explain how the teachers provided opportunities aimed at enabling young adolescent students to rationalise their goals, to accept responsibility for their learning, and to develop their capabilities as resourceful learners within social learning environments. The outcome of this research is a pedagogical model for self-regulated learning. The significance of this model is that it informs teachers’ professional reflection and learning. The findings articulated four core pedagogies that explain what the teacher did to: connect the learning, facilitate the learning; diversify the learning; and socialise the learning. Through these core pedagogies the teachers provided external supports of motivation to generate students’ internal desires for learning that go beyond achieving their behavioural compliance. The model represents a self-regulatory approach to classroom behaviour management that is intended to inspire young adolescent students towards being resourceful learners.