For the issue of self-regulation in school and university practice during asynchronous learning process

Abstract

In order to find success in life, a person needs  to work hard, put more effort and  de­velop specific skills. Regarding the above mentioned issue, the most important is the ability to be autonomous,  make a decision and  take responsibility for that decision, i.e. self-regulation.

The degree of internetness of a person with a self-regulated learning ability (i.e. how independent he/she is in everyday life, how high is his/her activity and initiative, self-confidence, independence, high self-esteem, self-control and responsibility for his/her own behavior) is quite high and if we help the teenager to develop the quality of these abilities, we will get an independent young person with high self-regulation ability.

How can we find similar skills in our pupils/students? How can we determine whether they are ready for the changes or not? How can we promote their personal sustainability (while mastering their own profession)? We became more interested in the mentioned issue due to the fact that in the last period, the number of units that affect the learning/teaching and activity efficiency of the student/students has increased significantly.

We became more interested in the mentioned issue for the fact that we face: the number of units that affect the learning/teaching and activity efficiency of the student/students has increased in recent years.  In order to determine the expected results, it is no less important to study personal-typological characteristics of the subjective regulation of pupils'/students' activities, which will give us a guide for planning future activities.

In order to define the degree of self-regulation of pupils/students and  determine their learning style, we have conducted a two-stage study including special tests and questionnaires. At the first stage, we tried to define the category of respondents. We divided the interviewees into „autonomous“ and „dependent“ groups. In the second stage - we determined what was their attitude towards the distance learning component. We defined whether they had the necessary specific skills for the process or not.

101 respondents, including pupils and students from different regions, participated in the research process. Particularly,  they were pupils of the upper level (XI-XII grades) of the Tbilisi Italian School „Tsiskari“, Telavi N4 Public School, Zestafoni Municipality N1 Public School, Samtredia N10 Public School  and students of Sukhumi State University. (they are involved in the distance learning process from both West and East Georgia). The research was conducted at the end of May, when one part of the pupils  (XII graders) was still enrolled in school, but they were considered to be  potential future students (i.e. he/she would be involved in the learning process again)  The other part was going leave the space and start inde-pe­n­dent work, or stay at school (XI graders) in order to pass exams for admission to the programs of higher educational Institution in the nearest future. We had the same conditions with students (some of them continued their studies while others  graduated from the school and started a new stage in life - independent work).

Being in equal conditions, both the pupils and students had different attitudes towards distance learning process due to two components (involvement in the learning process and independent activity). That’s why we had  to study their situation se­pa­rately, while the uniform learning style of pupils and students allowed us to study the mentioned issue as a single component. Finally, we presented the results  of obtained outcomes in a comprehensive manner.

The I stage of the research included the following activities. We aimed to determine the self-regulation index of pupils/students and conduct  learning testing of the personal-typological characteristics (i.e. the learning style) of the subjective regulation activity.   Only 71 out of 101 participants filled out the questionnaire. Ot­her participants just abstained. The research revealed a high percentage of respondents whose vector was not clear and we do not know what are they going to  choose in the future: "dependency" or – „autonomy and self-regulation“.

Part II of the study was aimed at determining the effectiveness of the distance learning format. Most of the interviewees preferred to have live relationships, although they believed that asynchronous learning process (distance format) was still successful for them.

From the point of view of methodology, the answers to the following questions are quite interesting:

1. a) The pupils:

Question                                                                                                                  Correct answers

1. Should distance learning be continued in the future?

 7   out of  60 agreed

1. Distance learning should not exist?!

23 out of 60 agreed

1. Is the distance learning process difficult for you?  

28 out of 60 agreed                                   

The methodical processing of research results revealed the personal-typological cha­ra­cteristics of the subjective regulation of activity among pupils and students   (including the attitude towards the remote activity format) as well as self-regulation and the degree of inertness.  Despite the positive attitude towards distance learning,   style of students' general activity  and degree of self-regulation were not „sustainable“. The estimated need for „control“ (emphasis on self-regulation) was not low - only 34 out of 60 students supported the idea to have  a control mechanism (this is the answer to the question - the distance learning format was bad. According to the survey, the participants  are not able to control their own achievements. An even lower percentage has  obtained the answer to the question - „My work schedule is usually unsystematic“ - 0%. The highest rate was recorded for the demand for „live“ relationships - 40%, which involve more active social interaction according to student results.

1. b) The students:

From the point of view of methodology, the answers to the following questions are quite interesting:

1. a) The pupils:

Question                                                                                                                  Correct answers

1. Should distance learning be continued in the future?

7   out of  60 agreed

1. Distance learning should not exist?!

 23 out of 60 agreed

1. Is the distance learning process difficult for you?

28 out of 60 agreed 

1. Distance learning format is good, because at this time the control system is weak. 10 out of 41 agreed.
2. Distance learning format is bad because you cannot control your own achievements. 17 out of 41 agreed.

Adapting one's own learning style and activities to the distance format, that is, the possible degree of self-regulation, does not have special „sustainability“.

In both cases, the dynamics of the answers clearly show, that the pupil/student positively evaluates asynchronous learning process.  Although at the same time  they express a kind of preference for  „face to face“ learning process.

It is a fact that in the modern education process, the role of asynchronous means of communication is very important: learning process has become relatively cheap, we use successfully electronic learning resources as well as participate in online discussions, online conferences, seminars,  we receive feedback in real time, discuss problematic issues, etc.

Based on the research results, we can conclude that

1) the majority of respondents do not have a clearly defined learning style. They do not know what to choose, and at this time they may not be able to establish their own self-regulated style.

2) in terms of effectiveness of activity and learning style, students supporting asyn­ch­ronous learning process do not have a high positive coefficient.   The so-called  „a mixed“ model consisting of asynchronous and synchronous teaching may be the most convenient style of learning  for them. Accordingly, attention should be focused on the  above mentioned model in  further work planning process.

            In order to deal with the challenges facing our reality, we must use the most effective right forms of communication and, based on obtained experience  we should  create a much more effective „teaching space“ in  future.  All the above-mentioned aspects will actually meet the growing demands of the modern educational process.