Students’ self-regulated learning of university mathematics in different learning environments

Abstract

Self-regulated learning is important, due to the large share of self-study time for learning mathematics at university, but it is still underresearched.Theoretically and practically, it is of particular interest to understand patterns that lead to different self-regulated learning processes, in order to identify approaches to support students learning. In this study, we analyse students’ appraisals of different elements of three different learning environments in Germany (on-campus, online) and Finland (on-campus) for their congruence with students’ goals. According to Boekaerts’ dual processing model of self-regulated learning, such appraisals define students’ purposes of self-regulation. We analyse interview data of two students per learning environment, in each environment one with a focus on learning goals and one on just ‘surviving the course’. Our results provide a detailed description of the variety of the six students’ self-regulated learning processes as well as a synthesis of students’ appraisals of different elements of the learning environments, indicating the importance of students’ appraisals of the relevance of mathematical contents, implications of exercise assessments, and coping potential, especially in terms of peer learning. These results have practical implications for ‘supporting students’ self-regulated learning processes which are discussed.