Teaching to Self-Regulate in Mathematics: A Quasi-Experimental Study with Low-Achieving Elementary School Students

Abstract

Teaching students to self-regulate enhances their mathematics performance, yet few studies have investigated the long-term differential impact of particular self-regulation strategies specifically for low-achieving students. This quasi-experimental study evaluates the effect of teaching different self-regulation strategies on mathematical problem solving in low-achieving students. The participants were 69 sixth-grade elementary school students randomly assigned to one of three experimental groups (and taught predominantly cognitive, metacognitive or volitional strategies, while verifying intervention fidelity) or a control group for 16 sessions. Mathematical problem-solving skills were evaluated prior to the intervention, upon completion, and two months later. While all three intervention groups obtained significantly better results compared to the control group immediately after the intervention, volitional and metacognitive strategies showed the strongest and most lasting positive effects. We conclude that low-achieving students could benefit from learning self-regulation strategies, particularly when these strategies take into account the affective and motivational dynamics of learning.