Incorporating Reflective Practice as a Means of Improving Student Self-Regulated Learning in a Digital Learning Environment

Abstract

Available research has shown that digital learning environments, in which students take active responsibility for controlling aspects of technology-infused learning, are often underutilized as many students lack the appropriate cognitive and metacognitive strategies - or self-regulated learning (SRL) skills. Providing SRL support in digital learning positively affects student learning (Johnson & Davies, 2014), with metacognition appearing to play the central role in SRL development (Winne, 2014). In addition, there seems to be agreement that reflection is a process by which one acts metacognitively (OECD, 2019), with use of reflective prompts being a common support to provoke metacognition in the literature. While the general research into reflection is mixed (Lew & Schmidt, 2011), more recent research on the use of reflective prompts as a support points to a positive influence on academic performance in digital learning (van Alten et al, 2020). This project details the research of reflection as a specific strategy to develop student SRL skill, culminating in a practical, research-backed book of the theory, strategies, and guidelines to help educators incorporate reflective training into digital learning environments to develop SRL skill in students.