Regulators of Student Learning in College Physical Activity Classes

Background/Purpose: Attention in the last decade has focused on self-regulated learning (SRL) and its impact on student performance and motivation. Defined as “self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions designed to influence one's acquisition of knowledge and skill” (Zimmerman 1989, 2000), most research on how students regulate their learning occurs in the school/classroom setting. Little information exists in non-traditional areas of the curriculum or with university students. This study explores four indicators of self-regulation (External—performed to satisfy an external demand or reward; Introjected—performed to avoid guilt, anxiety, or for pride; Identified—accepting the value of an activity as personally important and, Intrinsic—doing an activity for its inherent satisfaction) in university physical activity classes.

Methods: Twenty college students (11 male; 9 female), enrolled in college physical activity classes at a large southern university, served as voluntary participants. Participants were interviewed and asked: their reason(s) for taking the class, why and if they worked hard in class, what, if any goals they set, and what kind of a student they were. All interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and subjected to analysis of content.

Analysis/Results: To ensure trustworthiness, two researchers attained 96% agreement during unitizing. All disagreements between three trained research team members during categorization were discussed until 100% agreement occurred. Two themes (with subcategories) emerged: Influential Considerations Impacting Student Choices/Decisions and Student Learning. In the first theme, students revealed external—Health Benefits (“I took this class to increase my overall strength”), Social Contacts (“..to be with friends..”), intrinsic—Enjoyment ( “I thought it would be fun”), and identified—Importance (“Physical activity is very important…”) regulators. In Student Learning, participants spoke of Attributes Toward Learning (Self-perceptions—“I think I'm a very athletic person”) and Previous Experience as well as external regulators such as Grades (“I just wanted to do well enough to get an ‘A'”) and Competition. Intrinsic regulators revealed Doing My Best and wanting to Learn Something (“I always wanted to learn how to (snow) ski…”).

Conclusions: Contemporary research reveals that SRL involves self-awareness, self-motivation, and behavioral skill (Cleary & Zimmerman, 2000) as well as underlying beliefs including perceived efficacy and intrinsic interest. Results reinforced self-awareness, self-motivation and skill as regulators of learning in college physical activity classes. Additionally, the relationship between self-motivation (Identified and Intrinsic) and self-regulation noted by Urden and Giancarlo (2000) received additional support. Future research should pursue SRL and student motivation in university activity-oriented environments.