Katelyn Brissey May 29, 2013 EDET 780

Self-Regulated Online Learning

Introduction I decided to stick with my topic on self-regulated online learning, which was my topic in my two critiques, because I am interested in how students perform when they are given more freedom and greater responsibility over their own learning. I want to know if some students need a teacher there motivating them or, someday, is all learning going to be online and self-paced? Ive noticed a trend of schools incorporating more and more online classes. Summer school in my district has almost completely turned into online courses for many high school students. Classes like keyboarding, US history, and spanish are available online for students who need a credit, but have no empty spaces in their schedules. Many parents are turning to virtual charter schools like K12.com because it is completely free, mastery based, and parents can see what their student is learning. While I dont think schools are going to go completely online anytime soon, I do see a increasing sense of acceptance of online learning for high school students. The three theses I chose analyze online, self-regulated learning and its possible effects on students in both high school and college.

Dissertation #1 Learning online: Understanding academic success from a self-regulated learning perspective Artino, Anthony R., (2008). Learning Online: Understanding Academic Success from a Self-Regulated Learning Perspective. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Connecticut, United States -- Connecticut. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text.(Publication No. 304629672) http://search.proquest.com/docview/304629672?accountid=25998 Summary Artino looked at students motivations in online learning and found that if the learning was related to a career field that students wanted to go into, then the students would be more likely to enjoy learning online. However, he found that most students became bored and frustrated when the content had no observable relationship with what their career goal was. This did not seem to be the fault of the online system itself, but rather a

problem that has stemmed from traditional classrooms for a while. If learning is not relevant to a student, then they do not want to work hard to do well at it. The studies highlighted in this thesis were focused mostly on extrinsic motivational factors, but the implication here is that nothing will succeed unless students are properly motivated. Review I have seen the same results appear again and again in my own classroom: If students are not motivated either intrinsically or extrinsically, then theyre going to put in less effort. It almost seems like common sense, but you still have students who are not motivated, why? Shouldnt all learning be relevant? Is it the case that students arent seeing the relevance of the subjects being taught or should someone finally just break down and say that a lot of what is being taught to students really isnt going to be relevant to their lives at all. Self-regulated learning is a topic that interests me, but it seems like there are other problems that should be addressed first. This dissertation seemed to express that same idea. Dissertation #2 Asynchronous interaction, online technologies self-efficacy and self-regulated learning as predictors of academic achievement in an online class. McGhee, R.M.H., (2010). Asynchronous interaction, online technologies self-efficacy and self-regulated learning as predictors of academic achievement in an online class. Ph.D. dissertation, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, United States -- Louisiana. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text. (Publication No. 867837847) http://search.proquest.com/docview/867837847?accountid=25998

Summary McGhee wanted to look at how asynchronous education did in an online, self-regulated environment in a community college scenario. Asynchronous learning means that learning is assumed to take place at different times with different tools. McGhee found that using asynchronous interaction with the students in an online environment seemed to contribute the most to academic achievement. Interestingly, the self-regulated part did not contribute much to the achievement. The study also focused on self-efficacy being an incredibly big factor in students being comfortable with the self-regulated system.

Review Self-efficacy ties into motivation. If Im in a class that Im not comfortable with and I dont see the relevance of the class to my life, then Im either going to get upset at the class or myself for not being able to do the work. I thought the study was interesting in its split of self-regulated and asynchronous learning. To me they almost seem like they go hand in hand. Asynchronous learning means that you interact with classmates and learn the material on your own time, and self-regulated learning means that are learning on your own time as well. I didnt think that meant staying isolated from classmates. I think that self-regulated learning could contribute to achievement if students had higher confidence in what theyre learning. Dissertation #3 The relationship of self-regulated learning and academic performance in an online course environment. Colorado, J.T., (2006). The relationship of self-regulated learning and academic performance in an online course environment. Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Kansas, United States -- Kansas. Retrieved May 29, 2013, from Dissertations & Theses: Full Text. (Publication No. 305322565) http://search.proquest.com/docview/305322565?accountid=25998 Summary In the final dissertation, Colorado wanted to relate self-regulated learning to an online course environment. The results of Colorados studies were inconclusive because of the small sample size and alternative factors, such as initial student motivation, that could have affected the results. This study was done on graduate students and the grades were all around the same level. This was because graduate students were required to have at least a B average in all courses that worked toward the degree. Review I think a study like this would work better in a high school or undergraduate scenario, preferably a freshman or sophomore undergraduate class. A larger sample size would also be helpful in obtaining more accurate results. Again, I think that motivational factors have to be accounted for in self-regulated learning because it is what keeps students on track and interested in the first place.