The Use of Solved Example Problems for Fostering Strategies of Self-Regulated Learning in Journal Writing

Abstract EN

Writing learning journals is a powerful tool to integrate self-regulated learning in classrooms.

However, to exploit the full potential of journal writing, instructional support is needed that addresses the students’ deficits in the use of self-regulated learning strategies.

A promising means to foster learning strategies in learning journals is the provision of solved example problems along with prompts.

In a quasiexperimental field study, we provided fifth-grade students (N=48) with solved example problems along with prompts either right from the beginning of writing their journals or after they had already written two learning journal entries.

We found that the provision of solved example problems along with prompts right from the beginning of the journal writing process fostered the quality of both cognitive and metacognitive strategies and conceptual knowledge in the initial phase.

The delayed provision of solved example problems after an initial phase of journal writing yielded a detrimental effect on the quality of cognitive strategies and a beneficial effect on the quality of metacognitive strategies.

In sum, our results suggest that the provision of solved example problems along with prompts right from the beginning of journal writing can effectively support fifth-grade students in overcoming deficits in the use of self-regulated learning strategies.