Fostering learning through stimulation of self-regulation in science lessons

This article addresses the connection of self-regulation and the acquisition of content knowledge in science education. A quasi-experimental design with 199 seventh graders in a German comprehensive school was used. The core of the study was an instructional unit on the topic of nutrition that was designed in cooperation with local teachers. Whereas students in the control group received regular instruction on the subject matter, teachers in the experimental group implemented central processes of self-regulation in their classroom instruction. To assess transfer of self-regulatory processes, a subsequent instructional unit was applied to both groups simultaneously. The results confirm that self-regulated learning can be enhanced in classrooms through this kind of brief intervention. Although it seemed that the teaching of self-regulatory processes during the instructional unit took away time from the actual presentation of content knowledge, trained students scored as high as students of the control group. In addition, subsequent learning in a second instructional unit was improved by the preceding intervention.