Academic studying and the development of personal skill: A self-regulatory perspective

Although the topic of academic studying has been neglected historically, researchers interested in academic self-regulation have undertaken a program of research with important implications for understanding how academic studying can be optimized. In this article, I present a conceptualization of this topic in terms of 6 underlying dimensions that students can self-regulate using specific processes. Extensive anecdotal evidence is described indicating that similar self-regulatory processes are used by experts in such diverse disciplines as music, sports, and professional writing. These descriptions reveal that self-regulatory processes are not only important during initial development of a skill but also during subsequent performance of it in naturalistic settings. Finally, research on the beneficial effects of self-regulated studying is recounted on academic motivation as well as achievement, and a cyclical self-regulatory model for study skill instruction in regular classrooms is presented.