With a growing need for training to be intentionally woven into employees’ everyday practices, Learning & Development (L&D) professionals need to think about what strategies can be integrated into workplace learning to support the effective transfer of role-relevant knowledge and skills to employees. With more emphasis being placed on providing employees with just-in-time learning experiences, managers need to be mindful of the trend toward independent and unsupervised learning within the workforce. Creating opportunities that promote personalized learning and intentional learning paths to support employees are most successful when they take into account how employees engage in self-regulated learning.

What is self-regulated learning?

With more autonomy expected from employee learning experiences, it is important to consider how they will plan, enact, and monitor their progress toward the attainment of their learning goals. Self-regulated learning focuses on the actions that learners take to prioritize different learning tasks and meet their goals. L&D professionals can integrate different instructional strategies into their training materials to support employees’ abilities to self-regulate.  One of the most recognized frameworks designed by Barry Zimmerman recognizes three phases associated with self-regulated learning: forethought, performance control, and self-reflection.

The forethought phase accounts for the activities an employee will engage in to prepare for the learning experience. These activities typically involve setting goals for learning and ensuring the environment is suitable for the learning experience. Managers and supervisors can support their employees by engaging in conversations about their learning goals and customizing a personalized learning path that takes into consideration their unique needs. During the forethought phase, the employee should be identifying strategies that will help them meet their learning goals.

The second phase of self-regulated learning is related to performance control. During this phase, the employee is actively engaged in enacting strategies to complete learning tasks. Employees must manage their time appropriately to dedicate the attention that is needed to complete the learning experience. It is also important that employees are made aware of what resources are available to support their learning and where to find them, should they need additional assistance. The ability to engage in help-seeking enhances employees’ problem-solving skills, prevents misconceptions related to training materials, and supports their overall well-being during the learning experience.

The third phase consists of self-reflection where the employee gauges the progress made toward the attainment of their previously identified goals. Through self-evaluation, the employee critically evaluates the quality of their work and reflects upon the strategies they have employed to support their learning process. This phase enables them to determine the effectiveness of their task strategies and refine their approach where needed.

Steps to support self-regulated learning

While each employee will have their own learning goals and needs, L&D professionals can integrate different strategies to support their employees’ self-regulated learning:

1. Encourage goal-setting.
   

   When designing learning experiences, L&D professionals can support employees’ goal-setting by prompting them to acknowledge their perceptions of the instructional content and specific goals they may have related to learning that content. Consider these goals when customizing a learning path tailored to their unique needs. Help employees prioritize their goals by creating opportunities for them to share those goals with peers and supervisors at the beginning of their learning experience. This can help them establish a network of support that keeps them accountable.

2. Communicate to manage expectation.
   

   It is important that learning is attainable. Learners should be made aware of instructional expectations. L&D professionals can foster a more effective and supportive environment that accounts for the diverse circumstances and learning preferences of employees by clearly communicating: how much time is needed to complete training, what additional resources are provided, what employees are expected to learn.

3. Support help-seeking.
   

   Another way employees’ self-regulated learning can be supported is by anticipating what their learning needs may be. It should not be assumed that employees know where to seek help during training. Help-seeking is the process in which employees determine that they need help and how to receive it. Often, help-seeking involves employees engaging in social interactions with individuals in their network. Help-seeking and social learning can be encouraged through the promotion of informal learning spaces, discussion forums, and just-in-time support. Making employees aware of resources available to them, should they need them, can help support their self-regulation.

4. Create opportunities for intentional reflection.
   

   L&D professionals should create opportunities for employees to reflect, throughout training, on the new skills they are learning and how those skills may transfer to their current roles. There is a lot of intentionality that goes into developing a learning path for an employee; reflection is a great strategy to help employees think about their current goals as they navigate their learning journey. Providing opportunities for employees to debrief with peers and managers helps to build a collective understanding among members of the organization and builds learning communities.

It is important to think about the relationship between self-regulated learning and content when designing instruction. Self-regulated learning should extend beyond a specific learning module or experience. Instead, it should focus on empowering our employees to act as the compass in their learning journey. This involves identifying goals and efficiently transferring acquired knowledge in a meaningful way.