Examining Self-Regulation Processes Over Time
This research focuses on the self-regulatory processes of trainees as they learn from technology-delivered instruction (TDI) and the effect of theory-driven training interventions on self-regulatory processes and learning outcomes. While self-regulation has been shown to be beneficial in TDI, the processes involved during self-regulation are not well understood. Thus, we are planning to conduct an experiment modeling changes in self-regulatory processes as trainees learn from technology.
Trainees will participate in a three-hour computer-based simulation and would be randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: goal setting and feedback focus (nominal or relative) and self-regulatory prompts (yes or no). Trainees in the nominal condition would set a goal for their individual performance (e.g., I want to score 650 points) and receive feedback on their actual level of performance, while trainees in the relative condition would set a goal for the percentage of participants they wish to outperform (e.g., I want to score better than 65% of participants) and receive feedback on their performance relative to other trainees. In addition, half of trainees would be prompted to self-regulate by asking them specific questions during training about whether they are focusing their cognitive resources on training and whether they are making progress towards their goals. We would examine the effect of these interventions on affective and cognitive self-regulatory processes, self-set goal levels, the accuracy of trainees learning perceptions, and learning at multiple points in time during training. This would allow us to observe the self-regulatory process unfolding over time as a result of goal setting, feedback, and self-regulatory prompts.
Several hypotheses would guide the proposed research. First, goal setting and self-regulatory prompts are hypothesized to have a positive effect on cognitive self-regulatory processes (i.e., metacognitive strategies, effort, mental focus, and self-evaluation activity) while feedback should influence affective self-regulatory processes (i.e., self-efficacy, emotional control, negative affect, and motivation to learn). In addition, self-regulatory processes should be more likely to have a positive effect on learning and the accuracy of learning perceptions for trainees in the nominal rather than the relative condition. Relative feedback provides little guidance on how to self-regulate while nominal feedback should assist trainees in improving the accuracy of their perceptions of learning, which can be used to judge whether their study strategies need to be modified to reach their goals. Finally, self-regulatory processes should have a positive effect on the accuracy of trainees’ learning perceptions and learning during training. Additionally, the strength of this effect should increase as trainees progress through the course.
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