SW: Would you summarize the significance of your paper in layman's terms?

Self-regulated learning refers to how students become masters of their own learning processes. It is not a mental ability or a performance skill but rather is the self-directed process through which abili- ties are transformed into task-related skills in diverse fields. This article describes research on key self-regulatory processes, such as goal setting, strategy use, and self-recording, that are used by expert learners. It also considers how these skills can be taught and measured.

SW: How did you become involved in this research, and how would you describe the particular challenges, setbacks, and successes that you've encountered along the way?

From the outset of my career, I have been interested in how learners are able to learn more effectively on their own. I struggled to devise effective ways to measure self-regulation—particularly as it occurs in naturalistic settings, such as during studying in non-classroom environments. Initially, I used a structured interview methodology that assessed students' use of SR strategies to solve hypothetical problems. This scale measured a common SR factor, which correlated highly with student achievement, and with teachers' ratings of students' SR in class.

Despite such accomplishments, these measures were limited because they were not online indices of specific SR processes as they were being used during learning. I also became aware of the need to explain motivational processes and beliefs that underlie students' initiation and persistence in their learning efforts. This led me to formulate a cyclical phase model of SR, which depicted learning processes and motivational beliefs in three phases: forethought, performance, and self-reflection.

SW: Where do you see your research leading in the future?

One emergent issue deals with the calibration of self-reported SR measures when compared to trace measures of these event processes. There is evidence that overestimates of self-efficacy beliefs are linked to poorer academic outcomes, such as test results. One possibility is that overconfidence may undermine students' motivation to study diligently.

A second emergent issue involves whether teachers can modify their classrooms to foster increases in SR learning among their children. For example, does asking students to record their performance during learning lead to greater self-awareness and acquisition?

A third emergent issue involves the interrelation of students' motivational feelings and beliefs and metacognitive shifts in learning processes. For example, does setting of process goals lead to strategy attributions regarding outcomes and to more adaptive learning? These are just a few of the possible paths for future research. 

SW: Do you foresee any social or political implications for your research?

SR research was designed to discover the cognitive, motivational, and behavioral sources of personal mastery during learning. The article discussed how event measures of SR offer a detailed under- standing of advantageous learning processes that enable expert learners to succeed at higher rates.

These measures were also found helpful in diagnosing and remediating self-regulatory dysfunctions of struggling students. This research showed that students who set specific task goals during fore- thought stage tended to adopt mastery criteria to self-evaluate instead of normative criteria. Favorable evaluations of personal mastery led to advantageous attributions, higher self-satisfaction, and greater adaptation during the self-reflection phase of learning.