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Don't work harder, work smarter, something I tell my kiddos. Students love to help us as teachers in the classroom. So why not let them collect all the evidence of learning for us. When they create their own portfolios they are providing evidence of learning. As teachers we must show evidence that our students are learning and growing. This is important for our school site Admin.

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The quotation "Students need tangible evidence of success." from Dr. Tom Guskey during his Learning Forward pre-conference session on December 3, 2011 has me considering

What tangible evidence of success do we offer our learners?

Please don't say grades or graded papers! Far too often learners focus on where they have "failed", not on what they've done well. Think about your own professional review. Do you focus on all of the things that your evaluation tells you that you are doing well, or do you zoom in on the "needs improvement" section? How do we help learners find their bright spots?

I appreciate when others acknowledge and appreciate my bright spots. Bright spot feedback motivates me to continue to work and strive to learn and grow. Is that true for others?

How often do we focus our work and efforts on the weaknesses and errors rather than what is working well? What if we flipped this around? Could we accept the challenge? What can we do so illuminate our learners' bright spots? How can we offer our learners tangible evidence of success? ... every learner!

One of my students, MR, says

"I think that the formative assessments are great!! They really help me to study and they help me to know what will be on the tests and what I need to further study! Knowing that level three is the target level, always giving us a goal to strive for and to study for is great!"

CH writes

"I truly believe the formative assessments are helpful for using as study guides for tests. I use them as study guides and I learn from my mistakes through them. I do like the fact that they are not graded because it takes the pressure off of taking them and makes me believe it is okay if you do not know the material at first. They are really helpful for going back and looking at what I missed, and then ask you for help on those questions. Having the four levels really helps because I know what levels I need to work on so that I can keep moving up to a higher level."

Worth repeating:

"makes me believe it is okay if you do not know the material at first."

Bright spot!

Non-graded assessment opportunities, yes, but what else can we do to offer our learners tangible evidence of success? Can we build a list? Can you brainstorm with me?

Here's our list, so far...

Promote listening and communicating with all by offering learners the opportunity to backchannel. (Be brave! What will they discuss?) - Help learners have a voice in a community. Facilitate guided opportunities for all to have a voice and to have the opportunity to reflect and review the thinking of the team. When others repeat, respond, and add to your idea, you have tangible evidence of success.

Encourage publishing thoughts and ideas for feedback and review from others by offering learners the opportunity to blog. Model taking risks. Help your learners publish. Model sharing and collaborative learning. When others repeat, respond, and add to your idea, you have tangible evidence of success.

Also worth repeating:

Model taking risks. Model sharing and collaborative learning.

What have you found that offers learners tangible evidence of success?

And...don't forget...you are a learner, too.

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Learners need tangible evidence of success

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The quotation "Students need tangible evidence of success." from Dr. Tom Guskey during his Learning Forward pre-conference session on December 3, 2011 has me considering What tangible evidence of success do we offer our learners? Please don't say grades or graded papers! Far too often learners focus on where they have "failed", not on what...

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Teachers must be advocates for their students. Being an advocate is our number one job. If you have not watched the above video please do, in my opinion one of the best videos out there.

Dan Eldon stated, “The journey is the destination.” All students, and especially students on both ends of the achievement spectrum, need to see themselves as capable. Schools are tasked with ensuring that students become smarter as well as foster a desire to learn for a lifetime. With digital portfolios, students can see how they have grown over time. There is less competition and more reflection. Teachers can evaluate this growth using other students as points of reference without having to visibly compare kids with each other. Process becomes the true product of their education.

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Students lean in different ways and thats okay. Test scores and grades are not the only way students can show what they know. If a student writes something for me in their journal, I let them read it to me. I cannot read it because the page only has letters, but that is okay. The student knows what they wrote and what they want to convey to me. I believe a classroom should be inclusive to all students.

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The Inclusion Classroom: An Inclusive Education Movement

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Digital portfolios can also serve as a tool for capturing the day-to-day student actions that serve as evidence of learning. As teachers we should be assessing our students all the time. I know for me, formative assessments help me with me lessons, create small groups and guide me in my reteaching.  Summative assessments are not what I look at as a teacher. Students have anxiety when it comes to formal tests. Being aware of these things helps me disguise summative assessments and I never use the word test. Formative assessments is where its at!!

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Formative Assessments: Launch Your Classroom! Episode 30

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Guide students to become self-directed learners

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Guide students to become self-directed learners

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Students need autonomy and to take responsibility for their own learning. Students can do this when they develop their own digital portfolios. Students grow when they are given autonomy in the classroom and gain life long skills in the process. When students take make meaning of their learning and become active participates in learning, growth mindset will be established.

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Department of Social Work, Education and Community Wellbeing, Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom

This article grew from the author's doctoral study into the development of self-regulated learning (SRL) at the end of the primary school. A brief outline of SRL is included to provide the context for this article. The focus of learning in schools is seen as shifting from a knowledge-based focus to a skills-based curriculum as the role of the teacher adapts to the changing nature of education. Work on collaborative enquiry learning and the inclusion of learner voice are also factors in this paradigm shift in teaching. Much of the previous research in the area of self-regulation has focused on older learners. However, interest in developing SRL throughout the primary years of schooling is growing. Initially the study focused on considering the curriculum as the driver of the development of self-regulated learning. However, when analyzing the learner and teacher questionnaire results from a variety of schools it became apparent that the teacher-learner relationship was central to the initiation and support of autonomous learning irrespective of the curricula background of the school. The teacher's role is viewed as paramount in the development of self-regulated learning. This article moves to focus on the preparation teachers receive in their training to support them through facilitating learners to become self-regulated. Teacher education is seen as requiring the explicit teaching of self-regulation, autonomy, and the notion of lifelong learning at the heart of the courses offered to student teachers. Student teachers should be viewed as learning about self-regulation as lifelong learners themselves and teacher higher education practices need to change to reflect a more active and collaborative pedagogy. There is discussion of the more constructivist approaches teacher educators can utilize to engage their students, which includes instructing their teaching students in ways that reflect the strategies required for the students to employ with their classes.

Introduction

In this article, self-regulation will be examined from a variety of perspectives: learner, student, teacher, university faculty, and lifelong learners. Self-regulation will be outlined initially through my doctoral study, which focused on the primary phase of education.

The emphasis shifts to teacher education and the importance of developing self-regulation in student teachers to support their learning in university and also to prepare them for their role as primary teachers with regard to developing self-regulatory practices with their future learners.

Self-Regulated Learning

"Self-regulated learning is - an active, constructive process whereby learners set goals for their learning and then attempt to monitor, regulate, and control their cognition, motivation, and behavior, guided and constrained by their goals and the contextual features in the environment."

( Pintrich, 2000, p. 453).

Self-regulatory, autonomous learning as a concept stems from motivational theories of learning ( Skinner and Belmont, 1993; Schunk and Zimmerman, 1997; Schunk, 1999). Learning styles, metacognition and theories relating to the self are also influential in autonomous learning. Azevedo (2009) argues that learning utilizes numerous self-regulatory processes. He talks of planning knowledge activation, metacognitive monitoring, regulation and reflection. Schunk and Zimmerman (1997) directly linked motivation to the concept of self-regulation. Self-regulated learners are intrinsically motivated and autonomous individuals who are proactive in pursuing their own goals for their learning and who take control of the process of their learning.

Self-regulated learning (SRL) is an active, constructive process ( Pintrich, 2000) and one that requires support, scaffolding, and explicit teaching as the individual's self-regulatory practices develop. Zimmerman (2002) believes self-regulated learners are more likely to succeed academically, as well as being more optimistic about their future, highlighting SRL's importance for lifelong learning Dignath (2008) found that children and young people possessing higher levels of SRL are more likely to succeed than those with lower levels are, demonstrating the crucial role that SRL plays in education. Learners with superior self-regulatory skills tend to be more motivated academically and demonstrate effective learning ability ( Pintrich, 2003). Winne (1997) sees young learners as self-regulated when they are able to adapt their approaches to learning. Self-regulation is a skill that can be taught and learnt through "goal directed engagement." Learners who are taught self-regulatory skills and who are encouraged to evaluate their work through reflection and set learning goals can develop individual strategies that will prove to be successful in furthering their learning.

Change in Focus Through Doctoral Research

The initial purpose of my doctoral study ( Oates, 2017) was to ascertain whether the International Baccalaureate's (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) motivates pupils to become self-regulated learners. Questionnaires were given to 20 teachers and their 404 learners from 12 schools in eight countries. The schools were selected to have both IB and Non-IB schools and were principally opportunistic voluntary samples. There were five International Baccalaureate schools and seven others where Nigerian, Montessori, South African, and English school systems were involved. The IB schools were in Dubai, Denmark, Singapore, Vietnam, and Germany. The questionnaire for the children was developed, piloted, distributed, and analyzed. This Likert style questionnaire involved 12 "I" statements constructed using neutral terminology, so as not to favor any curriculum. There were four options for responses: Very True, Sort of true, Not Very True, Not At All True. If all the statements were recorded as "Very True" this would indicate that the learner had developed a reasonable level of autonomy and was becoming self-regulatory in their learning. One of the statements was "I have learnt new skills and strategies to help me learn." The highest percentage (93%) from the questionnaire believed they had gained new methods and ways of working to support their self-regulated learning. The study found that overall 83.5% of the children surveyed attained a high total self-regulated learning score. Two sentence starters were also included to provide qualitative data regarding the children's view of learning. One was "Learning is..." and the second sentence starter was, "I would like to know more about..." The first sentence starter, proved to be the most interesting. The keywords from this sentence starter replies were arranged as word clouds, which showed through repetition the most used vocabulary to describe learning. These were organized by IB schools and Non-IB to see any differences between the results. In both word clouds the largest word was "fun." In the IB word cloud "collaborative" was regularly mentioned and "strategies" was larger than in the Non-IB word cloud. The Non-IB word cloud also included "tests" and "textbooks" highlighting pedagogical differences between the curriculum approaches. One of the IB pupils wrote, "Learning is... joy and a great opportunity in my perspective. Learning new skills and strategies is a very important part of learning and I feel I do it." A pupil from the international English National Curriculum school stated that, "Learning is ...sometimes fun but mainly copying from the board." Statements made reflected the learning environment of the schools. For example a child from the South African school, which placed a great deal of emphasis on exams, wrote "Learning is ....something you learn to take a test."

Ten learners from one of the schools were interviewed as part of the study as well. These interviews involved the children looking at statements about learning and discussing them as well as suggesting their own ideas. One of the children described how she had learnt about herself, "It's just like you're unlocking something in yourself, and without people telling you what to do or friends giving ideas and then you have to do that idea. You're unlocking something you're unlocking yourself and learn more about yourself."

For the study written informed consent was obtained from the head teachers for the pupil questionnaires and written informed parental consent was obtained for the interviews. The study, including the consent procedures, was reviewed and approved by Durham University Ethics Committee. The Problem in Schools questionnaire ( Deci et al., 1981) was provided for the teachers to identify autonomy supportive teachers and how they teach and motivate their classes. Reeve et al. (1999) critically evaluated this questionnaire in their research paper, conducting three studies that confirmed its validity. Examining the data and the published curricula backgrounds of the schools demonstrated that, although the IB's PYP does motivate pupils to become more self-regulated, other curricula schools also promote pupil self-regulation.

The focus of this study was curriculum based initially but over the course of writing the thesis the focus moved to the teacher and the need for autonomy-supportive teachers to enable learners to be guided toward being autonomous and self-regulated. The driving force behind the development of independent learning focuses on the individual teacher and their autonomy-supportive teaching approach. My interest subsequently shifted toward initial teacher education and the explicit inclusion of SRL in the programmes of study.

It is Boekaerts' (1999) model (see Figure 1), which piqued my interest in this area of research initially, through the amalgamation of three different areas: learning styles, metacognition, and goal-directed theories of the self. Boekaerts (1999) also stresses the powerful importance of the learning environment. The culture of the learning environment, its leadership, ethos, and the community has an effect on the teachers, the learners, and their educational experience.

Figure 1. A representation of Boekaerts' model of self-regulation.

The model and the process of developing SRL in schools is a similar process at university for the student teachers, which will be outlined in a later section. The process of supporting learners in developing SRL in schools involves explicit instruction for the student teachers.

The center of the model is concerned with the learner understanding how they learn, the way they learn and how they process information. The notion of learning how to learn is key in self-regulation. This charts the movement of learning as not being as concerned with the learning of facts as much about learning the skills required to learn. The middle layer is the regulation of the learning process. This is the ability of the learners to direct their own learning. For example, this involved a class of nine-year-old children selecting their own choice of explorer to research for their unit on Exploration. The outside layer of the model is concerned with the regulation of the self and goal setting. Boekaerts (1999) specifically references personally chosen goals. Self-regulated learners should be able to select and be committed to goals for their learning. This practice would need careful modeling, scaffolding, and instruction as effective goal setting is a skill, which would need to be developed by the pupils. This layer also includes strategies and reflection as truly self-regulated learners will have developed their own strategies for learning independently and will naturally reflect on the process of learning. Self-regulated learning embraces these three areas and links all of the three circles in the model. Unlike some models, there is not a sense of development through the layers, more a sense that a truly autonomous learner will have developed all three areas. In the Exploration unit the children learnt the skills involved in creating a presentation about their selected explorer to share with the class at the end of the unit. The skills of note taking were also explicitly taught and at the culmination of the unit the children gave their individual presentations and the rest of the class took notes. The summative assessment for this unit was a quiz on all the explorers in which the children could refer to their notes to answer the questions. After the unit there was a reflection completed individually by the learners who identified skills they excelled at as well as areas they needed to improve on in the next unit. These areas became their learning goals.

The process model (see Figure 1) has been adapted to reflect my doctoral focus on the primary phase of education. I have added an extra central emergent SRL area (see Figure 2) reflecting a level of explicit instruction and scaffolding in order for younger learners to develop their self-regulatory practice. Vygotsky (1986) believed that metacognition is not realized in children until adolescence. He alleged that children could master the rules for directing their own attention, thought, and behavior but that this mastery does not become fully conscious until the children are able to think about the rules themselves, which means thinking about their own thinking. However, Perry's later research (1998) examined young children's self-regulatory practices when writing. She found that they are indeed capable of managing their own learning. Perry (1998) reported that the seven and 8 year olds in her study displayed an awareness of their own thinking processes and were able to stay focused on the task in hand, therefore younger learners would respond to self-regulatory instruction.

Figure 2. The adapted Boekaerts' model.

In this section, reference will be made to the Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning Guidance Report (2018) from the ( Education Endowment Foundation, 2018). This document provides a number of recommendations for a teaching framework for primary aged children to learn metacognitive and SRL skills, strategies, and practices, a number of these recommendations fit with the areas of the adapted model.

Emergent SRL

In my revised model the new "Emergent Self-Regulation Learning" core is where the skills, strategies, and practices essential to the development of autonomous learners are initiated, modeled, and explicitly taught by the teacher. The model is viewed from the center to the outside as growing independence for the learner and diminishing support from the teacher as self-regulation increases, this is developmental and not age-related. The teacher models the process of note taking for example using a mind map, then the children practice this format. Over the course of a few weeks, the teacher demonstrates a number of different note-taking methods and the children practice them. The practice sessions are purposeful and involve gaining research information related to the Explorers theme. In the summative assessment the children may select the method they found the most effective. Recommendation 2 ( Education Endowment Foundation, 2018) includes the explicit teaching of metacognitive strategies and how the pupils can plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning. Reflection with peers or as a whole class can help the individual learner consider the purpose of note taking and enable them to ascertain their preference as to the format.

Self

The next layer of the model is concerned with the regulation of processing modes. This relates to the learner understanding how they learn, their learning styles, and how they process information. This reflective dimension of self-regulated learning relates to the pupils knowing themselves in relation to their learning and which strategies work best for them, this understanding aids their autonomous learning ability. Recommendation 1 ( Education Endowment Foundation, 2018) encourages teachers to develop their pupils' understanding of themselves as learners through awareness of their strengths and areas for development. As mentioned previously reflective practice supports the learners in identifying their future learning goals.

The role of the teacher is not obvious in this model, but with the focus of the research being on primary age children, the teacher's role in facilitating and supporting self-regulated learning practice is paramount. Part of this would be developing a supportive classroom environment using, for example learning walls to support independent learning as well as the use of talking partners to enable the learners to discuss and confirm their understanding. The teacher develops co-constructed expectations for behavior, noise level, and classroom routines also supports the children's self-regulatory learning. Even before this stage of learning how to learn, explicit teaching would scaffold the development of self-regulation in younger pupils. The responsibility for learning shifts to the learner and the role of the teacher is more supportive becoming less of the traditional "sage on the stage," ( King, 1993). This charts the movement of learning for the pupil as not being as concerned with the learning of facts as much about learning the skills required to learn for themselves. Learning to learn is essential in the development of a self-regulated, autonomous learner. Teaching the skills of researching, developing critical and creative thinking, communication skills, and social and self-management abilities is key for learners today ( OECD, 2018).

Directing Own Learning Toward Independent SRL

Moving outward in the model the next layer looks at how guided practice and scaffolded learning paves the way for more independent learning, leading to more independent practice (Recommendation 6, Education Endowment Foundation, 2018). As the pupil becomes more self-regulated, they will be able to monitor their own progress, independently reflecting on their work and the strategies they have used, setting goals for their further development. Recommendation 6 from the Education Endowment Foundation (2018) also highlights the need for timely and effective feedback and strategies for the pupils to be able to judge how effectively they are learning. Involving the learners in developing rubrics for assessment supports their understanding of the task set. In a unit in mathematics 8 year olds worked with teacher guidance to put together a rubric for an instructive poster regarding shape they were to create which was then peer and self-assessed using the agreed rubric.

The NEU (2019) cites interventions in the area of metacognition and self-regulation as improving children's progress by 7 months through being taught and modeled with the learners (See also Evidence Summaries: Education Endowment Foundation, 2018).

Teachers in Schools

Darby (2005) saw the teacher as the determining factor in the pupils' enjoyment of and engagement in their learning. She highlighted the pivotal influence of the teacher with regard to the engagement of the learners. The autonomy-supportive teacher models self-regulatory practices for their class. They can also demonstrate how failures and mistakes can lead to learning. The teacher's passion and excitement for their subject can be infectious increasing the children's motivation to learn. If the children are excited to learn they will try out new strategies and experiment with their ideas more independently when they have the optimal environment created by their teacher. Sierens et al. (2009) found that autonomy support on the part of the teacher cultivates pupils' interest and advances their intrinsic motivation. Richardson et al. (2014) explained how an autonomy-supportive teacher could motivate pupils through topic choice and use of technology, to developing more self-directed research projects.

The teacher has the ability to create the opportunity for autonomous learning through their approach to their teaching and the development of a learner-centered classroom environment. One such approach is learning through enquiry. In a number of primary schools, you will find enquiry-based work in science and through cross-curricular themes. Brand and Moore (2011) worked with a teacher professional development model in schools, where the "teachers as learners" were supported in their exploration of enquiry teaching in science by a network of peers and research facilitators. The teachers initiated more enquiry-based approaches in their science teaching and found that this approach increased interest and motivation in science and also had an effect in other areas of the curriculum.

Engaging the pupils in more learner-led investigations and collaborative research inquiries develops autonomy. Kerry (2011) writing about cross-curricular teaching discusses how the move away from a subject-based approach was linked to more focus on skills and processes across a range of disciplines. The teaching emphasis was shifted from didactic teaching ( King, 1993, "sage on the stage") to more self-directed learning on the part of the children. In a unit on Egypt with 8 year olds the children decided to put on a play for the culmination of their research on Ancient Egypt. One boy, who wanted to make a spear for the Pharaoh's guard, researched the types of spear heads there were at that time and then conducted a survey of the class, before making the most popular spear head for the guard. That level of detail was not planned for the unit but the children when inspired and motivated work very independently, guiding their own learning journey.

Self-regulated learning plays a part in the enquiry approach as the learners are taught and supported through the skills required, moving toward ( Banchi and Bell, 2008) "independently generated enquiry." Banchi and Bell (2008) suggest a continuum of enquiry learning, which was particularly referencing science education, however the four stages of the continuum are relevant for other subject areas and cross-curricular themes. The continuum starts with the more teacher supported "confirmation enquiry," reinforcing a previously introduced idea and focusing on skills development. "Structured enquiry" is still teacher supported initially in the investigation. "Guided enquiry" has the research question provided and the investigation is more independent. The continuum provides development of self-regulated learning moving from more explicitly scaffolded learning to an independently generated enquiry led by the learners.

SRL in Teacher Education Programmes

How can providers of teacher education in higher education support trainee teachers to be more self-regulated in their learning and encourage them to teach their classes to be more self-regulated too?

As my practice as a member of the education faculty is developing, more sessions in my area of curriculum studies and mathematics education have been designed to include self-regulatory practices, particularly planning, formative assessment, and reflective practice. Together with a colleague we are examining the students' resilience as learners and self-regulation is included as one aspect of this area of research.

In one module, the students write a reflection on two sequences of lesson plans that they have taught. To prepare for this assignment the sessions with the students focus on reflective practice for themselves and also where reflection would benefit their future teaching in schools. Just as in school the student teacher would use children's words to aid understanding, we deconstruct the assignment criteria and rewrite them together to assist the students' comprehension of what aspects of lesson planning, theoretical, and pedagogical approaches require referencing in the written assignment.

Formative assessment is an area we explore in assessment for learning in schools and as university faculty we also use formative assessment in our modules, looking at examples of lesson plans and assessing them as well as working within curriculum subject areas developing sequences of lessons and sharing them with peers for feedback. Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick (2006) reference principles of good feedback, including the classification of what good performance is in terms of goals, criteria, and expectations of the task or assignment.

The developmental models below are shaped by the stages outlined in my adapted model of Boekaerts' (1999) framework ( Figure 2) and suggest the development of inclusion of SRL within the programme to support teaching students in the growth of their own self-regulatory behavior at university ( Figure 3) as well as teaching SRL in their future classes in schools ( Figure 4).

Figure 3. Boekaerts' adapted model framing initial teacher education.

Figure 4. Boekaerts' adapted model framing teacher trainees SRL in schools.

Emergent SRL

We are often not aware of the individual backgrounds of the students we are teaching as to their independence and skill set with regard to learning and studying. Räisänen et al. (2018) notes that the transition to university is challenging for many students. There is evidence that the first year is a crucial time for the students. Brinkworth et al. (2009) found that making a successful transition is not only related to academic ability, but also depends on the students' capability to make a quick modification to a new learning environment that requires more autonomy and individual responsibility than expected.

In their first year, students can be introduced to the notion of self-regulation as a key support for their development as a student in university and as a lifelong learner. Lectures, seminars, workshops, and tutorials outline, through explicit teaching, the relevant study skills, supportive strategies and reflective practices for the students. Reflective practices are particularly relevant for teachers. Schön (1983) talks of two types of reflective practices for teachers, reflection-on-action and reflection-in-action. He suggests that reflection-in-action is a concept that celebrates the art of teaching, in that it allows for continual interpretation, investigation, and reflective conversation with oneself about the teaching situation whilst utilizing the information gained from past experiences to inform and guide new actions.

Self

The students' understanding of themselves as lifelong learners relates to the changing nature of teaching where there are often new initiatives and alterations to the curriculum or new approaches to learning. Gaining a depth of individual knowledge of the way that they learn best supports the students in developing the skills and knowledge required to be outstanding practitioners in the future. University and schools can be seen as communities of practice ( Lave and Wenger, 1991), a concept that was developed further by Wiliam's (2009) "Teacher Learning Communities." Students can be asked as a collective community of learners to work together as collaborative learners. Sharing understanding of their reading and discussing ideas regarding teaching can be supportive practices for the students. In the future I aim to further encourage students to work together in peer support groups to aid their learning and development.

Emergent SRL

How Can SRL Practices Support Teaching Students in Their Own Teaching in Schools?

As students begin to involved with school placements they will engage with planning lessons for groups of children and are evaluated through self and peer assessments. Students set targets when on teaching practice and could be encouraged to set more general goals as well in relation to their own learning and specific assignment preparation. A series of questions could be provided to guide the students' reflective practice. Sitzmann and Ely (2010) looked at the effect of self-regulatory question prompts on students over the course of a programme. These questions prompted reflection and assessment of study skills and performance. The programme leaders also informed the students that their success on the course was under their control. This is an interesting notion and one that is important to acknowledge with regard to self-regulation and accepting individual responsibility for one's learning and development.

Directing Own Learning

Enabling the students to independently discuss and analyse their individual experiences and observations on teaching practice with their [peers supports their awareness of the wide range of different school situations and the individual learners that exist. The students can also consider how they scaffold SRL practice for the children they teach. Setting the context for learning in a real life situation supported the children's learning in mathematics and led to more meaningful, learner initiated work. For example, the teacher of a class of 7 year olds discussed with the children why they were finding out about addition and subtraction. The ideas raised by the children led to a unit on money where the children made their own class money, shop, bank, even asking for credit cards. Their final celebration of this unit engaged them in making items for a market stall and then buying them with the class money they had earned through completing classroom "jobs." The children recorded their transactions using the addition and subtraction strategies they had learnt.

Self-Regulation

Ultimately, the students' self-regulatory practices become embedded in their practice and in their approach to their learning and their teaching with pupils in schools. What approaches would support the student teachers' development of self-regulated learning strategies?

Approaches for Staff and Students

University faculty scaffold practices in their teaching, which students then adopt for their own self-regulated learning and further utilize in their own practice when they become teachers. Cassidy (2011) examined SRL in higher education, particularly how aspects of SRL can be improved through teaching and learning strategies. Student self-monitoring and self-evaluation were seen as important factors in SRL development. Building in opportunities for self-reflection with prompt questions through the modules would aid students in assessing their learning as well as seeing how reflective practice supports pupils in schools. Modeling effective strategies and the use of explicit guidance were also emphasized as part of an enabling learning environment. At university and on placement the student teachers will experience practical sessions where they have good teaching practice modeled to them. Teaching is viewed here, as more process orientated and student involvement is paramount in the planning and delivery of these sessions.

Feedback to university staff provides information on what was successful as well as areas for development. For example, the idea of a "one-minute paper" on the session written at the end of a session can provide useful feedback for the lecturer. This active learning technique is believed to have been initiated by Charles Schwartz, a physics professor at the University of California in the early 1980s ( Stead, 2005). The potential for this short piece of writing is for students to answer two questions: firstly regarding what they have learnt and secondly outlining any unanswered questions. This allows the university faculty to quickly assess their taught sessions and informs them of any misunderstandings as well as any required learning needs. Nicol (2006) discussed how improving assessment and feedback could enhance the learning experience in particular for first year students through SRL. If students feel in control of their learning on the course they are more motivated academically and are more likely to experience success in their study and assignments ( Yorke and Longden, 2004).

Conclusion

Self-regulation is seen as important in the development of lifelong learning skills for all ( Luftnegger et al., 2012), motivation toward learning ( McCombs and Marzano, 1990; Schunk and Zimmerman, 1997), and reflective practices ( Schön, 1983; Azevedo, 2009; Sitzmann and Ely, 2010). In this article, self-regulated learning has been developed from my doctoral study looking at learners' SRL and their teachers' support, to student teachers' SRL and the ways that teacher education programmes can develop more self-regulatory skills and strategies for the student teachers to utilize themselves, as well as take into their practice in their own classrooms in the future.

Expectations, explicit teaching and modeling of self-regulatory practices will develop students' motivation toward their own learning. ( Heikkia and Lonka, 2006) study (2006) suggested that university faculty need to consciously promote a positive learning environment and SRL for their students.

The adverb here is important, as often our intentions do not match our actions. If we consciously build the learning environment through collaborative work, develop self-regulatory practices, engage in interventions and support when required, we can promote meaningful engagement and successful learning for our student teachers in university, as well as through self-regulated teaching for children in schools.

In conclusion, as Karamarski et al. (2013) stated our goal should be the empowerment of teachers to develop SRL learners. Introducing more explicit teaching of self-regulatory practices, strategies, and skills would benefit our student teachers in their own development both as self-regulated lifelong learners and as practitioners in schools where SRL skills and strategies support their teaching and develop autonomous, self-regulated learners in their classrooms.

Self-regulated learning is vital for everybody. In teacher education the faculty need to explicitly teach, model, and practice the relevant skills and strategies so all learners in primary schools are set onto their successful path of lifelong learning by self-regulated and autonomy supportive teachers.

Data Availability Statement

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this manuscript will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation, to any qualified researcher.

Author Contributions

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

References

OECD (2018). The Future of Education and Skills. Education 2030. London: OECD

Sierens, E., Vansteenkiste, M., Goossens, L., Soenens, B., and Dochy, F. (2009). The synergistic relationship of perceived autonomy support and structure in the prediction of self-regulated learning. Br. J. Educ. Psychol. 79, 57-68. doi: 10.1348/000709908X304398

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The Importance of Autonomous, Self-Regulated Learning in Primary Initial Teacher Training

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This article grew from the author's doctoral study into the development of self-regulated learning (SRL) at the end of the primary school. A brief outline of SRL is included to provide the context for this article.

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It is important for students to see improvement in their work. When students post their work online they will be able to see how their progress they have made throughout the school year. This allows for confidence to build within the student. Our jobs as teachers is to lead students to self-efficacy.

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Putting Students in Charge of Their Learning

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Giving students choices and the means to assess their progress fosters metacognition and independence.

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Feedback should always be made while the student is still connected to the content. Feedback needs to hold meaning and be purposeful.  Both parents, peers, and teachers can provide feedback. Students can also review their work.

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Building relationships with students and their families is one of the most important aspects of teaching. Families are so busy, sometimes working two jobs just to support their families. Portfolios are a great way to let the families be part of their students education. When we bring families into the classroom digitally or in person we as teachers support our students. Students are supported academically, socially and emotionally.

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Building Relationships with Students: Going Beyond the Classroom

Even though you may not see them, the parents or guardians of your students are in your classroom every day. As primary caregivers, they influence how your students think, feel and react. If you work well with parents and guardians, not only will your job be easier, but your students also will find it easier to succeed in school. It's a great way to work on building relationships with students and understanding them on a deeper level.

And these adults have some very specific expectations of you: to value their children, to teach the mandated material, to encourage achievement, and to work with them as partners for the good of their children. Because these expectations are ones that could reasonably be required of an educator, conducting yourself as a professional will help you in building relationships with students and the reputation you need to work well with parents or guardians. Be known as a teacher who can make the material so interesting that students talk about it at home. Be known as a teacher who always has the best interests of students at heart and who is willing to work with parents or guardians.

Building Relationships with Students and Creating Transparency with Parents

Another important responsibility that you have in trying to connect with the parents or guardians of your students is to create a transparent classroom.

You can do this by providing easily accessible information about your students and their learning activities published in as many different ways as you can manage. Here are some suggestions for creating a transparent classroom that you can adapt to meet the needs of your teaching practice.

Maintain a class webpage.

Send home class newsletters.

Send home a letter introducing yourself.

Email parents or guardians with good news.

Invite parents or guardians to visit the classroom.

Make positive phone calls home.

Send home positive notes frequently.

Write positive notes on students' papers and ask that they be signed and returned.

Take the time to make comprehensive and thoughtful comments on grade reports.

Keeping Parents and Guardians in the Know

When you create a transparent classroom, you are not just a teacher who grudgingly shares test dates or other routine information with your students' families. Instead, actively solicit their participation and support. With today's technology, it's easier than ever to make sure that everyone knows firsthand what is happening in your class. Your students' parents or guardians expect to be kept informed about these topics:

One frequent complaint from parents or guardians is that they are not being informed about homework assignments and dates when important projects are due. Take extra care to make sure your homework policies are published in several different ways and that all due dates are announced well in advance. The families of your students should not have to struggle to find out about homework assignments and due dates.

Parents and guardians also become upset when teachers wait too long before contacting them about a problem their child is having at school. When in doubt, make the phone call. It is far more effective to call home when a problem is small enough to be manageable than to wait until the situation is serious.

When you do reach out to parents or guardians, be sure that what you send home is carefully worded, free from errors, and professional in tone and appearance. Your communications should show that you are a competent, caring educator who has the best interests of their child at heart and who wants to work with them for the benefit of their child.

Although it is important to live up to expectations, here are three important caveats to consider as you reach out to your students' parents or guardians:

First, as a professional educator, you have a right to protect your privacy at home; don't give out your home phone number. Keep your relationships businesslike.

Second, be sure to return phone calls from families as soon as possible. Make it a rule to call back within 24 hours. Respond to emails within that timeframe as well.

Third, never forget to treat your students with the utmost respect. To you, an unruly student may be an annoying headache, but to a parent or guardian, that student is a precious child and a beloved family member.

Explore more free resources on Classroom Management in Share my Lesson's extensive collection.
Discover more advice and resources for Back to School! Check out our Back to School Collection here.

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Building Relationships With Students: Connecting With Parents and Guardians

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Even though you may not see them, the parents or guardians of your students are in your classroom every day. As primary caregivers, they influence how your students think, feel and react. If you work well with parents and guardians, not only will your job be easier, but your students also will find it easier to succeed in school.

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Digital portfolios showcase students as  individuals, highlighting students personalities and validate their uniqueness. Celebrating student success in the classroom builds relationships with students.

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Written by Alison Smith

It might be one of the best parts of being a teacher - getting the chance to celebrate student success and provide them with positive feedback for a job well done.
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Why is it important to give students positive feedback and celebrate their successes?

The researchers tell us that celebrating student success in the classroom doesn't just make our kids feel good. It significantly impacts their memory, learning, motivation, and other cognitive functions. When students receive positive feedback for something that they have done, it is essentially a signal to their brain saying 'do it again'.

Celebrating success is an essential element of every classroom. It is the driver behind student motivation, self-esteem, and creating a positive classroom culture. There are many ways that teachers and principals can motivate students by celebrating their achievements and providing positive reinforcement.

How to Celebrate Student Success

Read on to find out how you can celebrate student success in your classroom ... and a few watch-outs to keep in mind.

Celebrate With a Class High-Five

Celebrating student success and building relationships go hand in hand.

A quick way to encourage class morale and to raise the profile of even the quietest member of your class is to encourage class high-fives to celebrate student success - or class elbow bumps, air high fives, etc. in these times of social distancing.

Encourage every student in the class to acknowledge the success of an individual by giving him or her a well-deserved high-five. For as little disruption as possible, this works most effectively at the end of the lesson or at the end of the day as students leave the room.

Be mindful of students with additional needs who may not enjoy this experience.

Call Home

There are all too many times when we have to draw a deep breath and pick up the phone to call a parent about a problem in the classroom. But calling home to tell parents something good about their child? We don't get to do that nearly as much ... and yet it's much, much more fun.

Just a tip: Grab some tissues.

If there's one way to make parents tear up, it's to give them a call to tell them how well their child is doing. It makes parents feel proud. But most importantly it makes students feel proud of themselves and of each other.

Don't forget to be mindful of cultural differences and sensitive family dynamics. You may also need to give busy working parents a heads-up via email before you make the call.

Celebration Tunnels

Is there anything more uplifting than running through a human tunnel? Celebration tunnels have to be my all-time favorite way to celebrate student success - no teaching resources required.

Kids love it, and let's face it, adults love it too. Check out how much fun we had celebrating in the Teach Starter office!

Celebrate Life Skills

As teachers, it can be easy to fall into the trap of celebrating student achievement based solely on academics. But not only can that create a fixed mindset, it often leaves students who don't make the honor roll left out.

Watching out for ways to ensure you celebrate all kinds of success is an important part of building a positive classroom culture. One perfect place to celebrate student success that's not about the letter or number at the top of the paper is in the areas of personal and social capability.

I'm a big fan of hanging this using little clothespins along with badges that show off successes in communicating, working collaboratively, and more. Hanging displays help to keep surfaces free, are effective eye-catchers, and they also act as daily reminders for you and your class.

Here's how...

1. Create a name tag for each student..

2. Attach a length of string (one for each student) to the wall using mounting putty.

3. Provide a container of mini clothespins.

4. Help your students to hang up their badges (we printed these personal and social capability badges) on their string when they are awarded.

Send Postcards and Letters Home

Kids love mail. Heck, WE love mail (except bills ... sigh). Sending home letters or even just a postcard in the mail is a great way to make students feel good and also incorporate their family members into celebrating their classroom successes.

Why is receiving a postcard or letter in the mail so magical? Letter writing takes time, shows a deep level of care, and makes the receiver feel valued. The extra effort of writing a letter goes a long way in making your students feel special, appreciated, and proud of themselves. Letters are timeless treasures that make memories.

It's easy to make postcards on your own - to create a personalized design, why not layer up images of your student's artwork? For a next-level surprise, why not send the postcards before a break so that they are received while your all out of the classroom?

For quick and easy letter templates, take a look at our growing collection of Positive Parent Notes that can be adapted to meet your needs. If you want to keep things simple, you could use an award from our Certificates and Awards collection and send that home too.

Buddy Awards

Students tend to look up to their buddies and see them as role models. So, it makes perfect sense to ask buddies to help celebrate student success by presenting student awards.

We are all familiar with buddy systems. A buddy system is where a child gets paired with another child, usually one that is older. A buddy system can help students to feel valued and supported, teach important social skills and create a caring culture in the school.

You'll find that awards and certificates given by class buddies have a whole new meaning and value. So, simply choose one or two students each week to receive a buddy award.

Pick your favorite design and theme from our huge range of Certificates and Awards. I love our bright and bold Let's Celebrate - Award Certificate and Let's Celebrate - Student Badges.

Celebration Envelopes

Celebration Envelopes are a great way to recognize student success and to develop peer relationships. This fun activity is particularly suitable for the upper elementary grades and encourages students to think about the strengths of others.

This activity works well in small groups as well as a whole class activity. Here's how it works:

1. Provide each student with an envelope and a blank piece of paper inside.

2. Ask your students to write their name on the envelope and to gather in a circle.

3. Instruct your students to pass their envelope to the person on their right.

4. Ask your students to read the name on the envelope and to think of a strength that they recognize in this person.

5. Encourage students to write this strength on the piece of paper.

6. Students continue to pass the envelopes around the circle and to record the strengths of their peers.

7. The process is complete when all envelopes have been returned to their owner.

Plan a Principal Class Visit

There is huge power in asking your school principal to visit your classroom to celebrate student success. Book in some time in their schedule and ask your school principal to drop by.

During your principal's visit, be sure to give him or her a tour of your wonderful classroom. Showcase the amazing achievements that your students are making. Most importantly, don't forget to share how you have been celebrating student success in your classroom.

You might even provide him or her with one or two individual awards to present. I like to make sure that there is a badge for everyone so that no one goes home empty-handed.

Find a badge that your students will love in our huge collection of Star Student Badges.

Set up a Student Success Wow Wall

A great way to celebrate student success is to create a "Wow Work" wall where students can proudly put their work on display. What's more, you can encourage classroom visitors to check it out!

Check out this eye-catching example of a Wow Work Wall by @the.colourful.teacher.

How often do you provide students with an opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments?

I hope that this blog inspires you to create more time and space to celebrate students' success. Which idea are you going to try first?

Share your celebrations on Instagram #teachstarterus

Banner image via shutterstock/comeback media
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9 Creative Ways to Celebrate Student Success in Your Classroom | Teach Starter

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Written by Alison Smith It might be one of the best parts of being a teacher - getting the chance to celebrate student success and provide them with positive feedback for a job well done. Make your classroom buzz! Subscribe to Teach Starter and access thousands of curriculum-aligned resources and digital learning tools.