Teacher supports and technology needs to develop students’ self-regulated learning at U.S. K-12 online schools

Oct 15, 2026

Self-regulated learning is essential for 21st-century learners and helps explain learning outcomes, yet its development in fully online U.S. K-12 settings remains underexplored. This study examines what supports teachers provide to develop students’ self-regulated learning skills and how those supports are delivered. It also analyzes teachers’ use of technology in these practices. Results indicate heavier reliance on direct guidance rather than enabling learners to develop self-regulation independently, with implications for personalization, learning communities, and balancing teacher- versus self-regulated learning.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Literature Review

SRL, Academic Achievement, and Online Learning Environments

OPEN ACCESS Research Article Contemporary Educational Technology, 2024, 16(3), ep523 ISSN: 1309-517X (Online) Teacher supports and technology needs to develop students’ self-regulated learning at U.S. K-12 online schools Yeol Huh 1* 0000-0002-3313-4262 Dabae Lee 1 0000-0001-9641-2015 Charles M. Reigeluth 2 0000-0001-6075-5155 1 School of Instructional Technology and Innovation, Bagwell College of Education, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA, USA 2 Department of Learning, Design, and Adult Education, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA * [Corresponding author:](Corresponding author: yeolhuh@gmail.com)[ yeolhuh@gmail.com](Corresponding author: yeolhuh@gmail.com) Citation: Huh, Y., Lee, D., & Reigeluth, C. M. (2024) . Teacher supports and technology needs to develop students’ selfregulated learning at U.S. K-12 online schools. Contemporary Educational Technology, 16(3), ep523 . [https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/14956](https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/14956) ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT | Received: 23 Dec 2023
Accepted: 15 Jun 2024 | Studies have indicated that self-regulated learning is critical for 21st century learners and lifelong learners, and it can also explain students’ learning outcomes. In the current learner-centered instruction, especially in online learning environments, self-regulated learning has become amore critical element for students’ success. Given the previous findings that self-regulated learning is teachable, this study attempted to examine what kinds of supports teachers at U.S. K-12 online schools provided to their students to develop self-regulated learning skills and how teachers provided those supports. The roles of technology in such teachers’ practices were also examined. The results showed that teachers provided students with more direct guidance instead of helping them understand and develop self-regulated learning by themselves. Implications for practices to support the development of students’ self-regulated learning, such as personalization, learning community, and balance between teacher-regulated learning and self-regulated learning were discussed.
Keywords: K-12 online, self-regulated learning, teacher support | | --- | --- | | INTRODUCTION | | Self-regulated learning (SRL) has received constant attention in education due to its positive relationship with academic performance (Artino, 2007; Dent & Koenka, 2016; Sitzmann & Ely, 2011; Sung, 2006; Zimmerman, 2001, 2002), and during and after the pandemic era, SRL has become a major interest among educators and researchers due to its critical role for successful online learning experience (Hudaifah, 2020; Klimova et al., 2022; Sutarni et al., 2021; Ulfatun et al., 2021) . Generally, learner’s high level of SRL is associated with higher learning outcomes (Dignath & Büttner, 2008) . Given this importance of SRL, researchers have investigated how to teach SRL skills or how to support learners in developing SRL skills (Cigdem & Oncu, 2024; Paris & Paris, 2001) . However, most of the studies have been conducted in traditional face-to-face classroom environments, hardly in fully online contexts. Moreover, SRL research in online learning environments has been conducted in higher education (Klimova et al., 2022; Theobald, 2021) and corporate settings, not in the K-12 online environment. Thus, there is a deficiency in the literature on developing students’ SRL skills in online K-12 environments. This study aims to examine what types of support teachers provide for their students and how they provide the support to develop students’ SRL skills in fully online K-12 contexts and investigates what features teachers want to see from technology to support their practice. LITERATURE REVIEW SRL, Academic Achievement, and Online Learning Environments High achieving learners are characterized as having high levels of SRL (Ablard & Lipschultz, 1998; Nota et al., 2004; Purdie et al., 1996), indicating more use of

FAQs

Why is self-regulated learning important for students?

Self-regulated learning is linked to academic performance and helps explain learning outcomes. In online learning contexts, it is also critical for successful learning experiences.

What does this study investigate about teacher practices?

The study examines what kinds of supports U.S. K-12 online teachers provide to develop students’ self-regulated learning skills and how teachers deliver those supports.

What role does technology play in teachers’ support practices?

The study analyzes the roles of technology in teachers’ practices. The findings highlight patterns in how teachers use guidance in relation to self-regulated learning development.

Oct 15, 2026

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