Self-Regulation in Action

By: Laura Geis

Being a teacher is not just teaching students information day in and day out, it is about
teaching them life-long skills that they can build and develop throughout their educative years.
Teaching is about helping the students be active thinkers who can dissect subjects and develop
into deeper level thinking concepts, but it is also about helping students become effective
members of the community that surrounds them. Teachers must be reflective and ready to
change what they think and do in order to make sure the students are becoming successful. As a
teacher, I am responsible not only for their success in the learning process, but also their success
and failures with societal skills.
While I taught, during my internship year, in the second grade at Discovery Elementary
in Meridian, Idaho, we had a lot of students who came to our school with social and behavior
issues because of the wonderful programs that they can offer those students. I had a student who
recently moved to the school. For this project his name will be Sam. Sam was a student who
struggles daily and become frustrated, but he also seemed to make me frustrated as well. He had
issues focusing, blurting out, yelling, fighting at recess, and seemed to have many issues with
women or other female students. Most of his aggression or behavior would occur around women
rather than male figures. He lacked self-regulation in and out of the classroom.
My lead teacher and I decided to look at Sams records from his previous schools. We
found out that he had been to three different schools in the past two years, but the most
interesting fact was that Sam received a one on his previous ISAT test score, which is the lowest
score possible. We found out that he refused to take the ISAT test because he simply did not
want to take the test that day. Due to his actions, he received the lowest possible score on that
test. After the first couple weeks of school, my lead teacher and I decided to do a behavior
intervention sheet which allows us to track his behavior throughout each day to see if we could
find Sams triggers. Every time he had something happen in or out of the classroom, we would
put a tally mark on his sheet next to the specific behavior. Then we would state exactly what
happened during that time. On this sheet, he was mainly market for blurting out, refusal to
comply with directions, and touching others or things. I then decided to research on self-
regulation strategies that he could benefit from not only this year, but for many years to come.




What is Self-Regulation?
Self-regulation refers to both unconscious and conscious processes that affect the ability
to control responses (Brandy, 2010, 1). This means that the student is able to control his or her
emotions and thoughts effectively. Self-regulation comes in two separate forms, cognitive self-
regulation, and social-emotional self-regulation. Cognitive Self-Regulation is the degree to
which children can be self-reflective, and can plan and think ahead. Social-Emotional Self-
Regulation is the ability to inhibit negative responses and delay gratification (Brandy, 2010, 1).
An example of Cognitive Self-Regulation would be a student who can control his thoughts and
evaluate his actions to adjust his own behavior. An example of Social-Emotional Self-Regulation
would be a student who can refrain from his initial thoughts when something happens. For
example, when another student cut the line right in front of him, he has the ability to hold back
an initial response and think about an appropriate response. Being able to self-regulate will help
the students navigate their individual learning experiences.
There are three distinct phases of self-regulation which include forethought and planning,
performance monitoring, and reflections on performance. During the forethought and planning
phase, students analyze the learning task and set specific goals toward completing that task.
(Zumbrunn, 2011, 4-5) Students will be able to continue to challenge themselves and want to
learn more about the content that we, as teachers, are covering. These students will inquire about
more information, to fully master the content and continue to accomplish their individual goal
that they had set. Performance monitoring phase is where, students employ strategies to make
progress on the learning task and monitor the effectiveness of those strategies as well as their
motivation for continuing progress toward the goals of the task. (Zumbrunn, 2011, 5) In this
phase the student will be able to develop strategies while learning, but when new strategies
come, he may sometimes revert to the most familiar strategy he knows and is successful at. In
the final phase, reflection on performance phase, students evaluate their performance on the
learning task with respect to the effectiveness of the strategies that they chose. (Zumbrunn,
2011, 5) In this phase the students are always reflecting on their own work and the strategies that
they used to become successful or not successful. They will be able to adapt and adjust to what
they need to accomplish their goal successfully. Much of regulation takes place automatically
beyond our awareness. But as we mature, our brain requires that we actively participate in our
own regulation. (Perry, n.d)
How Does Self-Regulation Skills Develop and the Importance of Being a Self-Regulated
Learner?
Over time, students will be able to develop self-regulation skills. Self-regulation skills
develop gradually so it is important that adults hold developmentally appropriate expectations for
childrens behavior. (Florez, 2011, 48) Students will be guided through strategies to help
organize information, but when they become more successful, guidance and support from an
adult becomes less frequent. As they develop, most children begin to use self-regulation skills
without prompting or assistance. They develop strategies to manage incoming information,
choose appropriate responses, and maintain levels of arousal that allow them to actively
participate in learning. (Florez, 2011, 48)
As a teacher, I must guide my students to become successful in the classroom and other
classrooms during their learning experience. Teaching students about self-regulation is very
important because they will be able to use those strategies not only in the classroom, but also
within the community and society. Research shows that self-regulated students are more
engaged in their learning. These students voluntarily offer answers to questions, and seek out
additional resources when needed to master content (Zumbrunn, 2011, 6-7). These students are
more willing to master the content, but also they make their own learning environment to meet
their own needs. These students are able to create their own environment and find information to
cater to their own needs within that environment. For example, researchers have found that self-
regulated learners are more likely to seek out advice, information, and pursue positive learning
climates than their peers who display less self-regulation in the classroom (Zumbrunn, 2011, 7).
Change for Me
When I was teaching Sam, during his constant interruptions, I found myself getting
frustrated and unable to model the best strategies for Sam. He seemed to know how to push my
buttons and I couldnt seem to get through to him on any level. I seemed to be acting on the same
level as Sam. After a few weeks of always going home frustrated and sometimes confused, I
realized that I not only needed to help Sam learn strategies about self-regulation, but I need to
change the way that I was teaching him. Teachers should guide learners self-beliefs, goal
setting, and expectations, promote reflective dialogue, provide corrective feedback, help learners
make connections between abstract concepts, and help learners link new experiences to prior
learning. (NRC, n.d.) I wanted to change the way I worked with Sam because the other students
function around me, and the actions that I exemplify are the actions that they should follow. I
believed I needed to do the following:
Model self-regulation for the students
Anticipate and re-direct
React to the situation, by using those situations as a learning experience for that student
and the whole class
Create more structure and guidance for the students
Give effective feedback and support
These were the things that I needed to improve on, but also the things that would not only benefit
Sam, but would benefit the whole class. During this action research, I divided each step into
student and teacher changes. Each step would continue to build on the previous step to encourage
both Sam and me to demonstrate and build on our newly created foundation together.
Step One: Planning and Goal Setting
Planning and goal setting seemed to be a great way to start for Sam and me because we
both needed to set an expectation or goal, but also plan around that goal so that it could be met.
In fact, research indicates that planning and goal setting are complementary process, as
planning can help learners establish well thought out goals and strategies to become successful.
(Zumbrunn, 2011, 10) Before we began this step, I took Sam aside and conducted an interview
with him asking the following questions:
1. How do you like school?
2. What is your favorite subject?
3. What is your least favorite subject?
These questions were the general questions asked, but when he would answer, I asked follow up
questions to gain more insight into what the child was thinking and what made him tick. Sam
answered all the questions willingly. His answers are as follows:
1. I like school, but I am tired of moving around so much. I dont like doing things that I
dont want to do because they are not fun. I want to play games and go outside to run and
play.
2. I like science because you can do fun things. I like the experiments that we do because I
can create my own ideas and dont have to write much.
3. I dont like anything to do with writing. It is not fun at all and I wont do it.
Following these questions, I talked to Sam about how we were going to learn together and we
were going to work and change things so that he could become successful. Sam said that would
be nice, so he wasnt in trouble all the time. We talked about goals, and what it meant to
accomplish those goals. He asked a question about if he accomplishes his goal, is he done or
does he make a new one. I told him that he will be able to change his goal so that he can
accomplish a new one. Finally, we set a goal for his math test scores that he gets once a week.
He wanted to get a start on his paper to show his mother, which meant that he could on miss two
questions on a ten questions test. He decided to set another goal which was that he didnt want to
get his behavior chart switched to yellow more than twice a week.
After Sams goals were set, we were able to talk about how he could achieve these goals.
I asked him about his behavior and what he could do to fix this, but also the things that he could
do to achieve his math goal. Sam said that he would try not to react quickly to other distractions
in the class, and work hard during math time. These goals were hard for Sam at first, but after a
few days he slowly was becoming an attentive student. He was beginning to participate more
with the other students, and engage within a classroom debate. He would start to ask more
questions about his work so he understood without getting frustrated or giving up immediately.
This step was active alone for about two weeks until self-motivation strategies were
implemented. During the first week, he only needed to be reminded about his goal a few times
and seemed very engaged throughout the week. When he got his math test scores back from the
week, he was happy that he improved, but he was disappointed that he didnt reach his goal
because he missed three instead of two. This caused a huge uproar because in his mind, he was a
failure. This was light bulb moment for me because I was able to use this moment as a teachable
time for him to be able to self-regulate his actions during his own experience. The second week
he struggled all week and wasnt able to truly focus his mind because all he could think about
was his previous test. The second week, his test was even worse than before because he reached
the frustration level. After last recess, I had another interview with him to see what he was
thinking. This time he didnt want to say much and answered my questions quickly. He then
shouted and said that he could never accomplish his goal, but I then told him that he could and I
would support him any way I could. I was able to reason with him, because I leveled with him
and was able to understand him in a new way. I didnt automatically get frustrated with him.
Overall, goal setting was great strategy for Sam, but it will take more time to fully become
operation and successful for him.
Planning occurs in three stages: setting a goal for a learning task, establishing strategies
for achieving the goal, and determining how much time and resources will be needed to achieve
the goal. (Zumbrunn, 2011, 10) While planning, I began to think about how Sam would act
during certain activities, but also set different goals for him and me. I began to always have
different resources not only for Sam, but for all the students to help develop the students
inquiry. While Sam began to become more engaged, he would begin to ask more question about
the subject, so having more resources and information continues to build his enthusiasm for
learning and desire to find out more information about a subject. Along with adding resources, I
also wanted to incorporate different teaching strategies to create active learners, and also to
enhance the students engagement levels. Overall, all the students were excited to try something
new, but especially Sam because I incorporated technology with nearly every subject. His
engagement level skyrocketed, but sometimes became distracted by all the technology. Sam and
I then sat down and had another conversation about technology. Sam decided that he should earn
the technology throughout the day so that it can be a motivational tool for Sam. This worked out
great because he really wanted to use the technology and he worked hard to earn the technology.
With this he was actively listening, engaged in classroom discussions, and seemed to have an
enjoyment while learning new information.
Step Two: Self-Motivation
After Sam had been using his goal as a motivational tool for the past two weeks, I wanted
to build off of that and see if he could become self-motivated. Self-motivation occurs when a
learner independently uses one or more strategies to keep themselves on-track toward a learning
goal. (Zumbrunn, 2011, 10) I wanted to see if Sam could motivate himself to reach the goals
that he had set. So far with his goal of not being on yellow or red on his behavior chart he had
been successful. His second goal of doing better on his math test scores had been a struggle for
him. It is important to the process of self-motivation because it requires learners to assume
control over their learning. (Zumbrunn, 2011, 10)
Throughout a two week period, I needed to make sure that Sam knew how motivation
works and that he understood the process before leaving it to him to find something that
motivated him. I filled a bucket with ping pong balls with a numbers on them. For each number,
there is an assigned game or fun activity that he and the students could do in the classroom. For
example: teacher helper, student of the week, educational computer game, or iPad game. The
students were able to draw a ping pong ball from the bucket if they achieved their goals or
finished all of their work for the whole week. With Sam, he would draw a ping pong ball if he
achieved the goals set earlier. Sam really enjoyed this and wanted to achieve his goals to win a
prize. I wanted Sam to begin to think about motivation and how it can help him in the classroom
setting and in reality. With this, he was able to self-motivate himself to finish his homework, but
also started to inquire about more information about a given topic. He would ask more questions
in class, and became an active participant in the classroom.
These two weeks led to Sams biggest improvement because he was self-motivated and
fully engaged in the educative process. Looking at both of his goals, his behavior significantly
improved. He never changed his behavior chart to red or yellow, but also never had an negative
issue at recess or in the classroom with other students or teachers. He was also able to achieve
his math goal both weeks by not missing a single question on either test. He seemed much
happier within the classroom, and eager to learn in more areas including writing. I was very
impressed with the way he worked these two weeks, I had another interview with Sam. This was
very quick because I wanted to ask him a couple questions to get him thinking about step three,
self-evaluation. I asked him the following questions:
1. How do you feel about the last two weeks?
2. What went well for you?
3. Would you change anything?
He answered these questions with sincere thought.
1. I feel like I have done really well. I liked learning new material, and didnt mind that it
was even a little boring. I didnt get on yellow or red this week, so could you tell my
mom?
2. I think I did well asking more questions during class and I really liked how I wasnt in
trouble this week. (With a big smile.)
3. I wouldnt change anything, because I beat my goal.
I ended this interview by stating how much he accomplished in a small amount of time and that
he needed to keep up the awesome work. I dont think I have ever seen a child feel so important
and so happy that they achieved their own goals and their own expectations. I also reminded Sam
that he had MAP testing coming up He told me that he would try his best to beat his goal of 175
for each test. Then we talked about what things he will do to prepare himself for those tests.
Overall, he seemed happy that he was able to not only understand the material, but our teacher
student relationship improved significantly.
Step Three: Self-Evaluation
Students are more likely to become self-regulated learners when they are able to
evaluate their own learning. (Zumbrunn, 2011, 13) Sams hardest task was to reflect on his own
actions, so therefore I gave this stage more time than the other because this area was a huge
weakness for him. Every time Sam did something, I began by asking him questions that helped
him reflect on what he had just done to help him tailor his own learning and behavior. Sam had
new and old goals set, but I wanted him to be able to self-reflect on his own actions throughout
the day. This would not only help him understand the how to reach his goals, but how to change
his actions for behavior.
This step was a challenge for Sam because with any given situation, he wasnt able to
control his thoughts and emotions and self-reflect on what his actions had caused him to do. He
needed to be able to self-evaluate his own learning goals and see how he can accomplish his goal
through various strategies that we had developed. However, teachers should understand that
learners develop at various paces, and strategies that work best for one learner may not always
work with the next. (Zumbrunn, 2011, 13) What I wanted to accomplish within this step was to
have Sam think about his actions before he responded. At first I had to guide him through the
process, but it seemed frustrating and he was unsuccessful for the first few attempts. After
everything that he would do in mathematics or for behavioral issues, we would ask him to go in
the hall to use his reflection questions that I created together for positive and negative behaviors.
These reflection questions were as follows:
1. What happened?
2. What caused this to happen?
3. How could you do better next time?
4. What would your consequence or reward be?
At his own desk he had the time to take a break and write down in a journal what he thought, or
record his feelings into an iPad or other technology devices that only Sam and I could access.
He would place a yellow card on his desk when he was taking a break, so I knew when he
needed a moment to himself to reflect on activities. When he was feeling angry, he would at first
be asked to take a break, which meant that he needed to go answer his reflection questions, and
once he was done, he would come back in and start work that he needed to finish or continue the
activity that he took a break from. After about 10-15 minutes of monitoring his behavior after his
break, I would pull him aside and give him feedback so he knew that his behavior was
acceptable after his break, and talk about what he could do next time. After a few weeks, Sam
was able to just stop, place his yellow card on his desk, then take a break without being asked.
He was starting to reflect on good behavior as well, and would also come back focused and ready
to work.


Sams Outcome:
As mentioned above, Sam lacked self-regulation skills both outside and within the
classroom setting. As the strategies were implemented in small fractions at a time, Sam grew
greatly in a short amount of time. He was able to monitor his feelings and focus during class
time. He was able to understand more of the material presented throughout the day, and showed
great improvement in all subject areas. He was able to work with small groups without getting
frustrated with the work or the other students, but he was also able to share what he knew about
the given subject in an effective way. Over this time that I spent with Sam, he had less frequent
calls home on behavior and no incidents outside during recess with other students. When he
would get frustrated, he knew that he could take a break and was able to place the yellow card on
his desk and go answer his reflection questions, then come back focused and ready to learn. He
struggled at the beginning with writing as well, but by the end of this he became a better writer
because he had to write what he thought down, but also he was less frustrated during writing
time because he knew that he could take a break. Sams grades were improving slowly, but he
was improving.
The biggest improvement was his MAP testing scores. He improved on average eight
points per test. When he found out that he beat his goals that he had set, he was the happiest kid I
had ever seen, and he even started to cry because he finally accomplished something that he
wanted for himself. I couldnt have been more proud of this little boy. During this time I asked
him what he thought we should do next, and he thought for about one minute. So I waited and he
said that he wanted to set new goals with me. I was so impressed that he wanted to set new goals
that I was about in tears because Sam has come so far. He wanted to keep improving his grades,
especially his writing skills. He also wanted to be a more active member in the classroom. I
asked him what he meant by this, and he said that he likes to work with groups and he wanted to
participate more within them, without getting in trouble or frustrated when he did work with
them. His final goal was to improve another five points on every MAP test. He said that he was
proud of his last test score that he wanted to feel that way again. I was so happy with Sams
improvement that I wanted to continue my time with him, but my time in the second grade was
coming to a close.


What Is the Next Step?
The next steps for me were to improve my management skills with the students that I
have or will have, but to also be a mentor for these students so they can all become successful. I
need to be a good model of self-regulation for these students, so they understand how to self-
regulate effectively. Also I want to be able to be using my classroom setting to help students
understand and develop strategies to help them self-regulate. At the beginning, I always felt
frustrated with misbehavior, but if I am able to self-regulate efficiently, the students will see a
positive and effective example or model. Also, I needed to improve my feedback to my students.
Communicate effectively to both connect with the child and deliver messages that help calm
them down. (Self-Regulation/Self-Control, n.d., 1) I needed to improve on how I
communicated with the students, especially Sam. Once I understood and connected with the
students, my feedback became stronger and more effective.
When I get my own classroom, I would like to create a break corner or area where any
of my students who need a break from something during the day, they can take up to five
minutes in the corner. There will be different activities that they can do using the ping pong ball
activity. They get to draw one ping pong ball from a bucket, then choose the activity that has the
same number as the activity card. They will then get to do that activity for no more than five
minutes. Examples of these activities would include:
Proprioceptive Activities
o Rolling on an pool noodle for joint compression
o Walking
Vestibular Activities
o Jump Rope
o Jumping in place
o Stretching
Oral
o Snack for chewing or sucking
Calming Activities
o Pillows
o Squishy balls
o Play Dough
Deep breathing
Soothing Music
Calming Video
Reflections
These activities will help the student calm down, but also relax during the break. After they take
a break they will be asked to reflect so they can begin developing self-reflection skills. I want the
students to be able to feel safe, but also comfortable within the classroom, and that begins with
me and creating that environment.


Conclusion
Action research is a great way to implement strategies to create a comfortable and
successful environment for all students, and the teacher. For me, this was a wonderful experience
because it became very successful for not only my student Sam, but for me as well. All students
have self-regulation issues, but being able to understand and use different strategies helps these
students become successful with self-regulation in the classroom, and also in society. Self-
regulated learners are able to set short-and long-term goals for their learning, plan ahead to
accomplish their goals, self-motivate themselves, and focus their attention on their goals and
progress. (Zumbrunn, 2011, 13) Sam was a wonderful example of how he adapted, and changed
how he thought in order to be successful within the classroom. He accomplished his goals and
wanted to continue to do so. After he had the courage to accept change and learn strategies one at
a time, he was able to adapt at his own pace, in a controlled setting. Students are able to employ
multiple learning strategies and adjust those strategies as needed, self-monitor their progress,
seek help from others as needed, and self-evaluate their learning goals and progress based upon
their learning outcomes. (Zumbrunn, 2011, 13) I wouldnt say that Sam is completely a self-
regulated learner, but I would say that he understands the process and how continue his growth
with the help of my lead teacher. By teaching students to be more self-regulating, teachers may
experience greater success in promoting academic achievement, motivation, and life-long
learning. Motivation, engagement, and self-regulation are the primary determinants of students
learning outcomes, and whether or not they will persist through challenging tasks. (Zumbrunn,
2011, 18)


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