Individual teaching methods: Work plans as a tool for promoting self-regulated learning in lower secondary classrooms?

Abstract

To stimulate individualised learning and give students some autonomy and responsibility in relation to their own schoolwork, Norwegian teachers often use work plans as an instructional tool. A work plan is a document that describes different tasks students are supposed to complete within a certain time period, normally two to three weeks. This article explores whether the use of work plans can be used as a tool for promoting self-regulated learning (SRL). The analyses draw on data from the PISA+ video study. The data include video observations from five lower secondary mathematics classrooms (15-year-olds). Our analyses suggest the teachers rarely provided explicit instructions, cognitive feedback or autonomy-supportive learning strategies.