Self-regulation and continuous learning

Working independently or within a group is something that requires a lot of each you. In order to be successful in college you must be able to set and meet goals to become a self-directed learner. What does that mean?

Imagine it's your first day in class in college and a professor says, "write an 800 word paper on Government due in one month?" How would you do it? What are some steps you might take to meet the professor's demand? Write down some of the steps you would take to accomplish this paper. Add the most important one as a comment on this post.

Self-Regulation is an important part of assessing your own progress on any given task. To self-regulate you must take control and responsibility your work.  Hopefully, in college and with your own digital portfolio project you will be pursuing an area of study that you value and would want to learn about outside of school.  To help you self-regulate you have to set some basic goals, know when they have been met, and if they meet necessary standards. 

Part of of this process of self-regulation first requires you to think about your own style of learning. A self-regulating student or worker doesn't wait for other people to get them started, but uses inquiry and experimentation to accomplish their own goals.  Answer the following questions on your blog in a new post.  Copy and Paste them into your blog and answer the questions honestly and thoughtfully:

1. What is the best environment (home, school, work, library, etc.) for your learning? Where do you work the best?
2. Where do you choose to study? (If you don't study, why not?)
3. Where do you choose to work creatively? Where do show your individuality?
4. How do you work with others (school, teams, work, family etc.)?
5. What is your favorite way of learning (listening, looking, doing, experimenting, etc)?
6. What do you think are your talents or strengths (drawing, writing, speaking, problem solving, etc,)?
7. Where do your personal interests lie (sports, arts, music, dance, socializing, etc.,)?
8. When do you check for accuracy and precision in your life or work?
9. Are you persistent in developing your work or accomplishing things in your life?
10. What will you work on independently in class tomorrow?

Self-regulation begins with your own internal reflection on how you learn and work best. Once you start to realize your strengths you can start to work towards those on your own.  When you become a self-regulated learner engaged in continuous learning, you would have something to do everyday in school even if there were no teachers to tell you what to do.