A Study of Self-Regulated Learning in College String Majors

Recent research in music education has found that college or conservatory students demonstrate similar self-regulated learning behaviors to those of professional musicians. Yet, how a musician becomes an expert is still unknown. The purpose of my study was to investigate how college string majors demonstrate efficient self-regulated practice behaviors, how they use self-regulated learning behaviors in their practice sessions to become independent learners, and how the semi-structured practice diary can be an effective tool for enhancing self-regulated learning in instrumental practice. I conducted a collective case study on four college-level students: a freshman, sophomore, senior, and a recent college graduate. They were asked to keep a semi-structured diary based on an instrumental model of the self-regulated learning cycle. Through interviews, I also obtained information about their musical backgrounds and their attitudes toward practicing. Results substantiated previous research showing that college music students demonstrate a wide range of self-regulatory skills. Furthermore, results indicate that there are some plausible transition stages in becoming a skillful self-regulated learner.