Characteristics and Uses of SRL Microanalysis across Diverse Contexts, Tasks, and Populations: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature regarding the characteristics, use, and implementation of an emerging assessment methodology, SRL microanalysis. Forty-two studies across diverse samples, contexts, and research methodologies met inclusion criteria. The majority of studies used microanalysis to either comprehensively address all three phases of SRL (i.e., forethought, performance, or reflection) or to conduct in-depth analyses of one particular phase. Microanalysis has also been used across myriad domains (e.g., academic, athletic, clinical) and tasks (e.g., mathematics problem solving, basketball shooting, diagnostic reasoning) with samples encompassing elementary to graduate school. Although SRL microanalysis has typically been used to differentiate intervention conditions or existing groups (e.g., expert vs. novice), it has increasingly been used as a diagnostic tool to inform instructional and intervention planning. Additional information regarding the types of validity addressed in the studies are discussed, as well as implications for research and school practice.

Impact Statement

This study critically evaluates the literature regarding a contextualized assessment approach called self-regulated learning (SRL) microanalysis. Microanalysis approaches can be used to assess SRL skills in school-aged populations across myriad domains, tasks, and populations and shows promise as both a research and formative assessment tool guiding intervention planning.

Keywords:

• microanalysis
• formative assessment
• self-regulated learning
• systematic review

Associate Editor:

• Dorothy Espelage

DISCLOSURE

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Timothy J. Cleary

Timothy J. Cleary, PhD, (CUNY Graduate Center) is currently Associate Professor in the Department of School Psychology the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Dr. Cleary’s primary research interests include the development and application of self-regulated learning (SRL) and motivation assessment and intervention practices across academic, athletic, medical, and clinical contexts. He has published extensively on SRL issues and applications, including two edited books and a research-to-practice book for K–12 teachers, The Self-Regulated Learning Guide: Teaching Students to Think in the Language of Strategies (2018). Dr. Cleary has received extensive extramural grant funding throughout his career, with the total funding amount approaching $9 million. At Rutgers, Dr. Cleary teaches courses addressing learning theory, academic interventions, SRL processes, learning disabilities, and statistics.

Jackie Slemp

Jacqueline Slemp, PsyM, is currently pursuing her doctorate in School Psychology at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Ms. Slemp’s interests include self-regulated learning in home and school contexts, student motivation, and student achievement from primary through postsecondary education. In addition, she strives to serve children with neurodevelopmental and pediatric medical conditions through comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. Since beginning her graduate education, Ms. Slemp has gained practical experience through fieldwork at local hospitals, schools, and community clinics and has worked to further refine her research interests through involvement in Dr. Timothy Cleary’s lab.

Linda A. Reddy

Linda A. Reddy, PhD, is a Professor and Assistant to the Dean for Research and Innovations at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Her works focuses on teacher formative assessment, instructional coaching, research-based interventions, technology support tools, disruptive behavior disorders, and measurement development and validation. She has authored over 125 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and her work has received research awards and funding (56 million).

Alexander Alperin

Alexander Alperin, PsyD, is an Assistant Research Professor at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. His research interests include disruptive behavior disorders, evidence-based interventions, professional development models for educators, and trauma-informed practices. At Rutgers, Dr. Alperin provides supervision and lectures on human development, psychological trauma (both direct and indirect), and compassion fatigue.

Angela Lui

Angela M. Lui, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers, State University of New Jersey. Under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Cleary, and in collaboration with his team, her postdoctoral work focuses on integrating self-regulated learning and computational thinking into high school science learning in data practices. She has conducted research on classroom assessment practices, formative feedback, health literacy and disparities, and the development and validation of assessments and instruments.

Amanda Austin

Amanda Austin is a 4^th year doctoral student in the school psychology program at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) at Rutgers University. She has worked on Dr. Timothy Cleary’s research team since beginning at GSAPP in 2017. Her primary areas of interest are applied behavior analysis and organizational behavior management, and her doctoral research focuses on compassionate supervisory practices and burnout in autism providers. For the past two years she has been working toward her BCBA certification, and she hopes to one day start her own autism center.

Tori Cedar

Tori L. Cedar is a 3^rd year Doctoral School Psychology candidate at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. Upon arriving to GSAPP in 2018, Tori joined Dr. Cleary’s research team and has been working with him and other GSAPP students on numerous projects. Her area of focus has been working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, both in school settings and in community health settings. It is her hope that in working with this community, both mental health and education systems will become more inclusive and accessible.