Enhancing Self-Regulated Learning in Underprepared Students during the First Year of College

Self-regulation predicts academic performance; unfortunately students enter college with varying levels of self-regulatory skills. We conducted two studies to investigate the impact of self-regulation instruction delivered face-to-face and online to underprepared students. In the first study we investigated the impact of an in-person, self-regulated learning (SRL) instructional unit and found a significant increase in control of learning beliefs and help-seeking behaviors for freshmen enrolled in a college remediation program relative to remedial students in a control condition. However, we did not find similar effects for students who did not receive the SRL instruction. In a follow-up study with a stronger SRL instructional intervention, including both in-person and online instructional materials, we found a significant interaction effect: students in the experimental condition experienced a significant improvement in time and study environment regulation, as well as self-efficacy from preto post-assessment while students in the control condition stayed the same. In addition, students given the intervention had significantly higher first semester and first year GPAs than the control group. Future research should investigate the impact of this instruction prior to entering the higher education environment.