The Importance Of Self Regulation In Education

Sarah Spinks, in her article “Adolescent Brains are Works in Progress” explains about the critical changes in teenage brain and its effects on them. It reports the studies by various scientist regarding the development of prefrontal cortex, corpus callosum, and cerebellum of the brain along with the phenomenon of pruning.

During my high school years, I can confidently say I have excelled in my academic endeavours. This success is partially due to my desire to learn. I am always intrigued by the lessons and concepts that are at the core of assigned work. My passion for learning has facilitated my learning process; because I am usually interested in the material that is being taught, my ability to retain and understand information is heightened. My academic success is also due to my drive to do the best I can. Since grade nine, I have demanded excellence from myself in all academic subjects. I strived to perform to the best of my abilities in the first high school years so that I would adopt that habit early and take it with me through the senior high school years. Finally, my academic excellence

As educators, we are instructing our students not only in matters of scholarship, but in matters of self. Expression through confidence of autonomy, self-efficacy, and intrinsic motivation are integral to the development of any individual.

The three most important structural changes in the brain that occur during adolescence takes place in the Corpus Callosum, Prefrontal Cortex, and the Limbic System. The Corpus Callosum is a bundle of axon fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres together. In adolescence, this part of the brain thickens to improve information processing. The Prefrontal Cortex is involved in judgement, decision making, reasoning, and self-control. In adolescents, this part of the brain is beginning to develop and be used more

As we discussed in class, motivation plays an intrinsic role in creating successful self-directed learning. Those who practice this form of learning, in various ways, are driven by personal or external incentives, such as the desire to learn something, or simply for curiosity 's sake, self-esteem and self-efficiency. Because of this self-directed learners are known to take initiative, view issues as challenges to overcome, become confident, have a desire to evolve, and appreciate and seek out learning opportunities (Taylor, 1995).

Some of the goals of schooling and society in the United States are to develop students and citizens, who have high aspirations, believe in their capabilities, are hopeful they can realize their aspirations, and are optimistic about their future in general. Such characteristics are important because each leads to overall well-being (Bandura, 1977; Scheirer & Carver, 1985; Snyder et al., 1991), student achievement and higher graduation rates (Snyder et al., 2002) through a personal sense of urgency which allows them to take control of their life, challenge themselves, persevere through difficulties, and cope when obstacles arise (McBride, 2012).

Adolescence is the transitional period between childhood and adulthood, characterized by a series of mental and physical changes. Although most visible are the physical changes, the brain also undergoes important transformations during this time. Brain growth occurs in two stages during adolescence: between ages 13 and 15 - characterized by a thickening of the cerebral cortex, a more effective neuronal pathway, and major changes in the prefrontal cortex- whilst the second stage starts at age 17 and continues into early adulthood. During the second period the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex develop predominantly (Boyd, 2015).

Because knowledge of a student’s self-regulation competence is a predictor of social and academic success, it is important that we identify the students who require interventions in order to promote success for all students generalized across multiple contexts. Pelco and Reed discuss the relation between the ability to self-regulate and biological predispositions that can be observed at infancy. Many babies are often described as easy or difficult depending on whether or not they are able to self-soothe. The research “indicates the important role that biologically based, individual differences

Self-discipline has a huge impact on my learning because it gives me the ability to control my feelings and overcome my weaknesses. The emotional intelligence theory talks about ‘’understanding yourself, your goals, intentions, responses, behaviour and all’’ which all ties is with knowing and managing the emotions of yourself and others which for me is what mainly affects my attitude towards things.

During the age of adolescence, the teenager’s frontal cortex is still not fully developed and will not be until their twenties.

In adolescence, brain development is characterized by dramatic changes to the brain’s structure, neuron connectivity (i.e., “wiring”) and physiology. These changes in the brain affect everything from emerging sexuality to emotionality and judgment.

Self-regulation is an important part of an individual’s everyday life. From the moment a person wakes up until the moment they go to sleep, they are engaging in self-regulatory practices throughout much of their day. These self-regulatory processes are not only conscious decisions that one makes throughout a variety of situations, but can become deeply imbedded in an individual’s way of life. Through a social-cognitive perspective, one may define self-regulation as producing feelings, thoughts, and actions. These are planned and adapted cyclically in order for one to achieve personal goals in a changing social and physical environment (Zimmerman, 2010, as cited in Durand-Bush, McNeill, Harding, & Dobransky, 2015, p. 257). One must constantly modify their actions in order to obtain the desired outcome. Self-regulation involves looking in retrospect at past actions, evaluating them, and then choosing current behavior to be consistent with desires. For some, self-regulatory practices have been built over many years throughout one’s life and continue to grow. The individual learns new knowledge and practices that they can incorporate into their lives. Daily actions are motivated by both internal and external forces. According to Ryan and Deci (2000), there is a very important difference between intrinsic and extrinsic kinds of motivation. Intrinsic motivation entails doing something because it is essentially interesting or enjoyable, while extrinsic motivation entails doing

A teen brain is undergoing vital and significant developments. Different components of the brain are becoming more interconnected which allows for more communication between neurons and parts of the brain which each carry out specialized functions. The strengthening of the connections is responsible for learning and cognition. The two parts of the brain that grow most during adolescence and early adulthood are the limbic system and the pre frontal cortex. The limbic system is responsible for the drive of emotions and the pre frontal cortex is

Maturation is especially important for individuals as it provides several competitive evolutionary advantages (Locke & Bogin, 2006). Through this process, individuals develop and acquire control over their emotions and behaviours. This ability to monitor and adapt our emotions, cognition and behaviours in accordance to the social and intellectual demands of particular contexts is often referred to as self-regulation (Demetriou, 2000; Zimmerman, 2000). Various complex cognitive skills are required for self-regulation. These skills encompass the constant observation of our thoughts and behaviours, knowledge of the demands of any situation, the capability to alter conditions of our current behaviour as required to achieve a goal or suit a situation and attention to how favourably the demands of a context are met (Evans & Rosenbaum, 2008).

Self control according to many people, is the ability to control or stabilize certain behaviors in certain times. Over the years, we are given the opportunity to exercise self control. Self control tends to work in different ways. Some individuals exercise self control through their actions. In some cases it requires risks and sacrifices. As a student, self control plays a very important and significant role in determining the success of a student.This has given me the opportunity to differentiate the true definition of self control. Self control can be defined through our physical , mental and emotional behavior.