Skip to main content

Self-Regulated Learning

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
An Introduction to Medical Teaching

Abstract

In this chapter, we introduce readers to the definition and core features of self-regulated learning (SRL). SRL is a theory of how individuals function in complex learning environments, be those academic or clinical settings. In our collective experiences as medical education researchers, clinicians, and teachers, we have found that an understanding of SRL can benefit both educators and learners. In particular, by viewing learning and performance through the lens of SRL, medical educators are in a better position to help trainees develop the tools and strategies needed to manage their own learning, move deliberately into independent practice, and thrive as self-directed, lifelong learners. To achieve our goals in this chapter, we define SRL, review its central features, distinguish it from related concepts, and describe how to incorporate its tenets into evidence-informed educational practice. Ultimately, we hope to illuminate the core features of SRL and describe how an understanding of those features can be used to enhance learning and performance in medical education.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Andrews, M. A., Kelly, W. F., & DeZee, K. J. (2018). Why does this learner perform poorly on tests? Using self-regulated learning theory to diagnose the problem and implement solutions. Academic Medicine, 93(4), 612–615. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000001422

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Artino, A. R., Dong, T., DeZee, K. J., Gilliland, W. R., Waechter, D. M., Cruess, D., & Durning, S. J. (2012). Achievement-goal structures and self-regulated learning: Relationships and changes in medical school. Academic Medicine, 87(10), 1375–1381. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e3182676b55

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Artino, A. R., Cleary, T. J., Dong, T., Hemmer, P. A., & Durning, S. J. (2014). Exploring clinical reasoning in novices: A self-regulated learning microanalytic assessment approach. Medical Education, 48(3), 280–291. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12303

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boekaerts, M., Pintrich, P. R., & Zeidner, M. (Eds.). (2000). Handbook of self-regulation. Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bransen, D., Govaerts, M. J. B., Sluijsmans, D. M. A., & Driessen, E. W. (2019). Beyond the self: The role of co-regulation in medical students’ self-regulated learning. Medical Education, 54(3), 234–241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brydges, R., & Butler, D. (2012). A reflective analysis of medical education research on self-regulation in learning and practice. Medical Education, 46(1), 71–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2011.04100.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brydges, R., Manzone, J., Shanks, D., Hatala, R., Hamstra, S. J., Zendejas, B., & Cook, D. A. (2015). Self-regulated learning in simulation-based training: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medical Education, 49(4), 368–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleary, T. J. (2018). The self-regulated learning guide: Teaching students to think in the language of strategies. Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cleary, T. J., Callan, G. L., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2012). Assessing self-regulation as a cyclical, context-specific phenomenon: Overview and analysis of SRL microanalytic protocols. Education Research International, 2012, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/428639

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleary, T. J., Dong, T., & Artino, A. R. (2015). Examining shifts in medical students’ microanalytic motivation beliefs and regulatory processes during a diagnostic reasoning task. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 20(3), 611–626. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-014-9549-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cleary, T. J., Durning, S. J., Hemmer, P. A., Gruppen, L. D., & Artino, A. R. (2013). Self-regulated learning in medical education. In K. Walsh (Ed.), Oxford textbook of medical education (pp. 465–477). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleary, T. J., Konopasky, A., La Rochelle, J. S., Neubauer, B. E., Durning, S. J., & Artino, A. R. (2019). First-year medical students’ calibration bias and accuracy across clinical reasoning activities. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 24, 767–781. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-019-09897-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, D. A., & Artino, A. R. (2016). Motivation to learn: An overview of contemporary theories. Medical Education, 50(10), 997–1014. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13074

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durning, S. J., Cleary, T. J., Sandars, J., Hemmer, P., Kokotailo, P., & Artino, A. R. (2011). Perspective: Viewing “strugglers” through a different lens: How a self-regulated learning perspective can help medical educators with assessment and remediation. Academic Medicine, 86(4), 488–495. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e31820dc384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karabenick, S. A., & Berger, J. L. (2013). Help seeking as a self-regulated learning strategy. In H. Bembenutty, T. J. Cleary, & A. Kitsantas (Eds.), Applications of self-regulated learning across diverse disciplines: A tribute to Barry J. Zimmerman (pp. 237–261). IAP Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knowles, M. S. (1975). Self-directed learning: A guide for learners and teachers. Association Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lajoie, S. P. (2008). Metacognition, self-regulation, and self-regulated learning: A rose by any other name? Educational Psychology Review, 20(4), 469–475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-008-9088-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, D. P., Wesevich, A., Lichtenfeld, J., Artino, A. R., Brydges, R., & Varpio, L. (2017). Tying knots: An activity theory analysis of student learning goals in clinical education. Medical Education, 51(7), 687–698. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.13295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liaison Committee for Medical Education. (2020, March). Functions and structure of a medical school. https://lcme.org/wp-content/uploads/filebase/standards/2021-22_Functions-and-Structure_2020-03-31.docx

  • Lineberry, M. (2020). Assessment affecting learning. In R. Yudkowsky, Y. S. Park, & S. M. Downing (Eds.), Assessment in health professions education (2nd ed., pp. 257–271). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (Eds.). (2017). New developments in goal setting and task performance. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loyens, S. M. M., Magda, J., & Rikers, R. M. J. P. (2008). Self-directed learning in problem-based learning and its relationships with self-regulated learning. Educational Psychology Review, 20(4), 411–427. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-008-9082-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, H. V., Laohasiriwong, W., Saengsuwan, J., Thinkhamrop, B., & Wright, P. (2015). The relationships between the use of self-regulated learning strategies and depression among medical students: An accelerated prospective cohort study. Psychology, Health and Medicine, 20(1), 59–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pintrich, P. R., Smith, D. A. F., Garcia, T., & Mckeachie, W. J. (1993). Reliability and predictive validity of the motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (MSLQ). Educational and Psychological Measurement, 53(3), 801–813. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013164493053003024

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saks, K., & Leijen, A. (2014). Distinguishing self-directed and self-regulated learning and measuring them in the e-learning context. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 112, 190–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandars, J., & Patel, R. (2015). Self-regulated learning: The challenge of learning in clinical settings. Medical Education, 49(6), 548–555. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.12695

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schunk, D. H., & Zimmerman, B. J. (Eds.). (2008). Motivation and self-regulated learning: Theory, research, and applications. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schunk, D. H., Meece, J. L., & Pintrich, P. R. (2014). Motivation in education: Theory, research, and applications (4th ed.). Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serafini, K., Coyer, C., Speights, J. B., Donovan, D., Guh, J., Washington, J., & Ainsworth, C. (2020). Racism as experienced by physicians of color in the health care setting. Family Medicine, 52(4), 282–287. https://doi.org/10.22454/FamMed.2020.384384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sitzmann, T., & Ely, K. (2011). A meta-analysis of self-regulated learning in work-related training and educational attainment: What we know and where we need to go. Psychological Bulletin, 137(3), 421–442. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022777

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, B. J. (1998). Developing self-fulfilling cycles of academic regulation: An analysis of exemplary instructional models. In D. H. Schunk & B. J. Zimmerman (Eds.), Self-regulated learning: From teaching to self-reflective practice (pp. 1–19). The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, B. J., & Schunk, D. H. (Eds.). (2001). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, B. J., & Schunk, D. H. (Eds.). (2011). Educational psychology handbook series. Handbook of self-regulation of learning and performance. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

    Google Scholar 

Further Reading

  • Andrews, M. A., Kelly, W. F., & DeZee, K. J. (2018). Why does this learner perform poorly on tests? Using self-regulated learning theory to diagnose the problem and implement solutions. Academic Medicine, 93(4), 612–615.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brydges, R., Manzone, J., Shanks, D., Hatala, R., Hamstra, S. J., Zendejas, B., & Cook, D. A. (2015). Self-regulated learning in simulation-based training: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Medical Education, 49(4), 368–378.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleary, T. J. (2018). The self-regulated learning guide: Teaching students to think in the language of strategies. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, D. A., & Artino, A. R. (2016). Motivation to learn: An overview of contemporary theories. Medical Education, 50(10), 997–1014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Loyens, S. M. M., Magda, J., Rikers, R. M. J. P. (2008). Self-directed learning in problem-based learning and its relationships with self-regulated learning. Educational Psychology Review, 20, 411–427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman, B. J., & Schunk, D. H. (2011). Handbook of self-regulation of learning and performance. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anthony R. Artino Jr. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Artino, A.R., Simons, R.J., Konopasky, A. (2022). Self-Regulated Learning. In: Huggett, K.N., Quesnelle, K.M., Jeffries, W.B. (eds) An Introduction to Medical Teaching. Innovation and Change in Professional Education, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85524-6_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85524-6_3

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-85523-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-85524-6

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics