Experimenting to bootstrap self-regulated learning

Modern theories of cognitive and constructive learning portray students as agents who set and pursue goals. More effective students select among cognitive tactics they use to approach goals and learn from false starts and setbacks. These students self-regulate not merely performance but also how they learn. How do students develop forms for self-regulating learning? The author suggests they experiment thereby bootstrapping newer forms of self-regulated learning from prior forms. Experimenting is an arduous way to build knowledge and it is subject to at least 3 obstacles that may be especially troublesome for young students: obtaining sufficient practice with appropriate feedback, remembering how learning was enacted, and reasoning about factors that affect learning. The author examines these issues and suggests needs for future research that investigates how students develop forms of complex goal-directed cognition that guide learning.