Implementing a Student-regulated Learning Tool in Reading: A Heuristic Case Study

Abstract

The use of a self-regulated learning tool can provide students with an organized and helpful avenue toward setting goals, creating action plans to meet those goals, and most importantly, reflect on the goals to monitor their progress. Then adapt or change the action plan where needed. Current research has suggested that the self-regulated learning model is an effective way to achieve desired academic outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the teacher’s perceptions of and experience with the use of a self-regulated learning tool known as a data notebook in reading in fourth and fifth grade classrooms in a Midwestern suburban school. Six teachers of a fourth or fifth grade classroom were interviewed and observed, and documents were examined to gain an understanding of the experiences of these teachers and the use of this tool. The overarching question that was explored is: How do teachers’ implement data notebooks to address the reading needs of their students. The sub-questions were: a) What are the fourth and fifth grade teachers’ perceptions of the data notebooks that are used by students to monitor their own reading progress, (b) What are some of the ways that data notebooks are used by fourth and fifth grade students in monitoring their own reading progress, (c) How was the data notebook strategy implemented and supported by the leadership in one Midwestern school district? This is a heuristic case study to gather an understanding of and articulate the experiences and perceptions of these teachers and the use of this self-regulated tool for reading known as a data notebook. The results determined that current pedagogical approaches should be changed to improve the educational experiences of learners and their use of a self-regulated learning tool for reading