Student self-assessment and reflection in a learner controlled environment

Abstract: Students who successfully engage in self-regulated learning, are able to plan their own studying, monitoring their progress and make any necessary adjustments based upon the data and feedback they gather. In order to promote this type of independent learning, a recent introductory mechanics course was modified such that the homework and tests emphasized the planning, monitoring and adjusting of self-regulated learning. Students were able to choose many of their own out-of-class learning activities. Rather than collecting daily or weekly problem set solutions, assignments were mostly progress reports where students reported which activities they had attempted, self-assessment of their progress and plans for their next study session. Tests included wrappers where students were asked to reflect on their mistakes and plans for improvement. While many students only engaged superficially the independent aspects of the course, some did demonstrate evidence of self-regulation. Despite this lack of engagement, students performed as well as comparable student populations on course exam and better on the Force Concept Inventory.