Fostering Self-Regulated Learning OnlineDevelopment and Evaluation of Interventions for E-Learning Scenarios

Self-regulated learning (SRL), defined as systematic orientation of thoughts, feelings, and actions towards the attainment of learning goals, is crucial for academic success in school, at university, and at work. Particularly in the context of e-learning, regulation of one’s learning process is essential because of the personal responsibility learners typically have in such scenarios. Deficits in SRL competency can lead to procrastination, dissatisfaction, and deteriorated performance. A variety of SRL interventions has been developed by researchers in order to support self- regulatory processes during learning or to increase SRL competency. Empirical studies showed that trainings are capable of improving learning behavior and academic performance. However, with increasing numbers of participants, personnel expenses for this approach rise linearly, making it unattractive when facing large groups of learners (e.g. all beginning students of one university). Therefore, in the present work a web-based training (WBT) was developed in order to increase SRL competency of university students. Target groups in the three empirical studies were students in STEM fields, participating in a mathematics preparation course. The WBT consisted of three lessons of approximately 90 minutes, comprising videos, presentations, exercises, games, and group discussions. In the empirical studies, effects of the WBT were compared to other SRL interventions such as a learning diary, peer feedback groups, and a digital learning assistant. In study 1, 211 prospective students took part in a mathematics preparation course that was administered completely online, covering mathematical school knowledge and lasting for four weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions: Having access to the WBT (group T), filling in a learning diary (group D), having access to both interventions (group TD), or the none of them (control group C). A pre-post evaluation design found significant increases in declarative knowledge about SRL, in self-reported SRL behavior, and in self-efficacy for participants of the WBT. A small detrimental effect of the WBT on mathematics performance could be observed. The learning diary was found to have no significant effect on the employed measures. Time series analyses of the diary data confirmed a positive trend in SRL behavior and found large intervention effects of the first two lessons particularly. In study 2, the WBT was augmented by a peer feedback intervention. Participants were assigned to groups of five persons each and were given peer feedback exercises after each lesson of the WBT. In these exercises, participants gave mutual feedback on time schedules, learning strategies, and goal setting. Additionally, participants in this experimental condition (group TDP) filled in a learning diary. Results were compared to a group with access to the regular WBT (without peer feedback intervention) and the learning diary (group TD), a group with access only the learning diary (group D), and a control group without any intervention (group C). Significantly positive effects of the WBT were found on declarative SRL knowledge, SRL behavior, and self-efficacy. In the condition with additional peer feedback, the above mentioned positive effects were even larger. Furthermore, a significant positive effect on mathematics performance was observed. However, no significant effects were found for the learning diary. Study 3 aimed at enhancing the learning diary to a digital learning assistant by adding dynamic, interactive elements. In a interdisciplinary project, methods from Learning Analytics (LA) were used to provide visual and textual feedback to their learning behavior as documented in the learning diary. The completed software PeerLA allows to define learning goals, to schedule a time plan, and to judge the success of learning goals afterwards. On the basis of these judgments, machine learning algorithms calculate suggestions how much time to invest for future goals. Additionally, user data (e.g. time investment or learning progress) is visualized and compared to data from other users as a social frame of reference. Results of a first pilot study showed a satisfying acceptance of the software by the users. Summing up, the WBT presented in this work can be regarded as an effective and efficient intervention for fostering self-regulated learning of university students. Positive effects can even be increased through additional peer feedback interventions; in this case positive effects are also observed for objective academic performance measures. While a mere learning diary did not show positive effects in two empirical studies, a promising concept was developed in an interdisciplinary approach: A digital learning assistant.