Coordinating Chaos: Mother Co-Regulation of Technological Literacies During Spring 2020 COVID-19 Remote Learning

• In Event: Cyberschooling and Social Isolation: New Literacy Opportunities for Vulnerable Populations

Abstract

Objective
The purpose of this research was to describe the patterns of co-regulation exhibited by a mother and her three children--ages 7, 10, and 13. The 13-year old had also been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The specific research question was: What practices did this mother enact to sustain co-regulation of virtual learning and support the development of eventual self-regulation of literacies for digital learning?

Research Perspectives
Self-regulated learning (SRL) is grounded in self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2006). It involves the planning (forethought), performance, and evaluation of one’s own learning (Schunk & Zimmerman, 2007). However, there is also ample evidence that SRL is insufficient and course structures and scaffolds such as worked examples are also necessary (Atkinson, et. al., 2000; Author). However, in the pandemic, course structures could not be generated in most cases because of the sudden onset of the pandemic. Thus, children and families were left to grapple with regulation. Also, while self-regulation has a long history in adult learning, children need modeling from adults and co-regulated experiences where they are explicitly introduced to self-regulation (Hughes, 2019). Such regulation has been critically linked to literacy learning and important literacy skills, such as metacognition (Dinsmore, et. al., 2008). Technological and information literacies are also growing in importance (Kellner, 2004).

Method
This study drew on Heidegger (1988), wherein interpretive activity produces findings. To do this interpretation, researchers gather the evidence, become familiar with it, locate resonating or salient ideas, and then test these as hypotheses in repeated re-readings of the data (Reiners, 2012).

Data sources
Data collection began in mid-March 2020 and lasted until mid-June of that year. Sources included 25 virtual observations of learning of varying lengths (from 1-3 hours). In addition, the mother was interviewed for one hour every week for 8 weeks during this time. Finally, all the children were informally interviewed (5 minutes or less) 4-5 times during the data collection period. In addition, the family provided examples of school assignments they had completed, drawings of their workspaces, a copy of their school yearbook for context, and access to information about the 13-year old’s disability service plans.

Findings
The mother’s co-regulation activities for her younger two children were centered on scheduling their learning to include technological literacy training, using technical terms while modeling engagement (“resizing, uploading, attaching”), and alternating between technological and non-technological literacy activities, such as playing with clay or going outdoors. For her child with ASD, these strategies were insufficient. The mother also introduced coercive strategies, such as time out. She also moved well beyond monitoring and modeling, sitting right next to the child working for long periods of time.

Scholarly significance
This study contributes to a slim body of human subject studies about remote emergency learning for school-aged children. It highlights the intuitive skills that a mother might bring to digital remote learning while also suggesting parents need assistance, especially for children with complex learning needs.

Author

• Mary F. Rice, The University of New Mexico