Promoting Self-Regulated Learning in Higher Education with Digital Training: An RCT with Interviews

• In Event: Promoting Cognitive and Contextual Agency Through Scalable Interventions for Self-Regulated Learning and Adaptive Performance

Abstract

Background
Students in higher education are expected to manage greater academic demands with less guidance and support (Cameron & Rideout, 2022), making self-regulated learning (SRL) increasingly important. However, many students lack sufficient training in SRL. Meta-analyses indicate that SRL training interventions can enhance both learning behaviors and academic performance (Theobald, 2021). Digital formats offer a promising, scalable way to deliver such interventions while preserving valuable instructional time (Bernacki et al., 2020). Yet, while a growing number of studies have examined brief digital SRL interventions, evidence on their effectiveness remains somewhat mixed and insufficiently established, particularly in studies using rigorous experimental designs.
Aims
This pre-registered study used an experimental design to evaluate the impact of a brief digital training intervention designed to foster self-regulated learning among first-year economics students at a Norwegian university. Specifically, it tested whether the intervention improved students’ (1) SRL behaviors, (2) use of digital course resources, (3) self-efficacy, and (4) academic achievement. A fifth aim was to explore how students engaged with and experienced the intervention in an authentic university setting.


Methods
A total of 208 undergraduate economics students (from a cohort of 234; 89%) consented to participate in the study. Students were randomly assigned to either a treatment group (n = 104), which received 3–4 hours of self-paced digital SRL training over several weeks, or an active control group (n = 104), which completed a structurally similar program focused on brain facts and pattern recognition. The SRL training was informed by Zimmerman’s (2000) model and included video-based instruction, self-reflection prompts, and weekly learning journals.
Pre- and post-intervention surveys were completed by 193 students (93%) and used to measure SRL strategy use and self-efficacy. Learning management system (LMS) trace data were used to assess students’ engagement with digital course resources. Academic achievement was measured using final exam grades. To complement the quantitative data, 28 students were interviewed after the intervention.




Results
The intervention significantly improved students’ self-reported use of SRL strategies, with effect sizes ranging from 0.10 to 0.42 standard deviations. It also increased students’ engagement with course resources, as measured by LMS data (effect sizes: 0.16 to 0.27 SD). No significant effects were found for self-efficacy or academic achievement. See Table 1 for details.
Interview data suggested that students who completed the SRL training generally found it helpful and relevant, with many reporting increased awareness of their study habits and greater intentionality in their learning. However, participation fidelity varied, and some students did not engage fully with the training. In addition, spillover effects from the treatment to the control group may have led to an underestimation of the intervention’s effects.



Significance
This study contributes to the growing literature on digital SRL interventions by demonstrating that brief, scalable programs can positively influence students’ learning behaviors in authentic university settings. Although no gains were observed in self-efficacy or academic performance, the findings suggest that digital SRL training can support students in becoming more strategic learners and in engaging more actively with course materials.

Author

• Olav Schewe, University of Oxford