Evaluation of a Learning Workshop on Self-regulated Learning for Preservice Teachers

Fostering Competencies to Design Individualized Learning

Abstract

Self-regulated learning (SRL) describes a goal-directed and autonomous learning process that comprises planning, performance, and reflection phases. Courses on SRL and teaching techniques seem relevant in pre-service teachers’ education. Learning workshops are very practice-oriented and can be flexibly designed. Therefore, this method seems suitable to teach SRL-strategies in an authentic learning environment and to enable pre-service teachers to practice strategy usage within a concrete lesson simulation. The present study aimed to evaluate a blended-learning workshop to foster SRL in pre-service teachers that has been developed in the context of “Qualitätsoffensive Lehrerbildung.” Therefore, N = 57 (n_{experimental group} = 24, n_{control group} = 33) pre-service teachers participated within a pre-post-control group design either in the learning workshop on SRL or in a comparable course without SRL-content. The participants of the SRL-learning workshop worked on SRL materials in a moodle-based learning environment that aimed to foster central SRL-strategies for the students themselves. In a second step, students transferred the strategies on their teaching activity by developing and testing lesson plans referring to specific SRL contents within face-to-face meetings. Questionnaires on SRL, teacher self-efficacy and a test on SRLknowledge were handed out before and after the learning workshop. Results of multivariate analyses of variance indicate an increase in SRL, in general teacher self-efficacy as well as in SRL-knowledge in the learning workshop group. These findings were confirmed by positive evaluation results of the learning materials and the learning workshop concept.