Teaching Self-Regulation During Independent Work

Social-Emotional Adjustment

Teaching Self-Regulation during Independent Work

Appropriate Grade Level:K-12
Procedures/Steps:
Students learn to become independent when they are given the opportunity to set their own goals and decide which assignments they will do by using a student-choice card. This is a card filled out by the student each day that tells the teacher their goals for their independent work. This choice-card has a row for each subject and in each subject there is a column for how much of that subject the student hopes to accomplish that day, how much the student accomplished when time is up, and finally a column for self-evaluation. If the student accomplished the goal they set, they will circle “yes” or “no”.
1)Designate an area of the classroom where independent seatwork can take place, free from distractions. Set aside specific times each day for students to work independently.
2)The seatwork must be something students can complete independently, such as worksheets and reading activities. Provide a timer so students can track the amount of time they have spent on a particular task.
3)The choice-card must be properly taught to the students. They must master three skills: goal setting, self-recording, and self-evaluation.
4)The work center should run itself, if students need to be supervised or instructed frequently, then the center is not functioning properly and students are not learning to become independent learners.
Comments and/or tips:This is a great strategy to use in the class to teach students to become more independent. The choice-card teaches students how to set goals, self-record by writing down how much of the assignment they were able to finish, and self-evaluate by determining if they fulfilled their goal.
Source:
Mithaug, D.K. (2002). “Yes” means success. Teaching children with
multiple disabilities to self-regulate during independent work. Teaching Exceptional Children, 35, 22-27.