The employment of self-regulated strategies in writing process by English-major freshmen at Ho Chi Minh city open University
ABSTRACT
The current study aims to investigate the employment of self-regulated strategies (SRS) and
the gender differences in using SRS in learners’ writing processes. Zimmerman’s model of selfregulated learning and thirty SRS are used. This is the survey study and its research instruments
are the questionnaire and the interview. The participants of the study are ninety-three first-year
students who major in English language of Faculty of Foreign Languages at HCMC Open
University. This study finds that learners used twenty-seven SRS in their writing processes
including fifteen sub-strategies of self-efficacy strategies and twelve other SRS such as
organizing and transforming strategies, goal setting and planning strategies, seeking
information strategies, environmental structuring strategies, time management strategies,
imagery strategies, self-instruction strategies, self-consequence strategies, keeping records and
monitoring strategies, seeking for social assistance strategies from friends, seeking for social
assistance strategies from teachers, and self-evaluation strategies. Also, the study finds the
gender differences in using five SRS including self-efficacy strategy to write the introduction
paragraph, organizing and transforming strategies, seeking information strategies, self-efficacy
strategy to refocus on writing when the distractions are occurred, and keeping record and
monitoring strategies for note taking
Tóm tắt nội dung tài liệu: The employment of self-regulated strategies in writing process by English-major freshmen at Ho Chi Minh city open University
Journal of Science Ho Chi Minh City Open University – No. 4 (16) 2015 – December/2015 91 THE EMPLOYMENT OF SELF-REGULATED STRATEGIES IN WRITING PROCESS BY ENGLISH-MAJOR FRESHMEN AT HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY Pham Vu Phi Ho 1 , Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh 2 1,2 Ho Chi Minh City Open University Email: ho.pham@ou.edu.vn (Received: 06/10/2015; Revised: 05/12/2015; Accepted: 07/12/2015) ABSTRACT The current study aims to investigate the employment of self-regulated strategies (SRS) and the gender differences in using SRS in learners’ writing processes. Zimmerman’s model of self- regulated learning and thirty SRS are used. This is the survey study and its research instruments are the questionnaire and the interview. The participants of the study are ninety-three first-year students who major in English language of Faculty of Foreign Languages at HCMC Open University. This study finds that learners used twenty-seven SRS in their writing processes including fifteen sub-strategies of self-efficacy strategies and twelve other SRS such as organizing and transforming strategies, goal setting and planning strategies, seeking information strategies, environmental structuring strategies, time management strategies, imagery strategies, self-instruction strategies, self-consequence strategies, keeping records and monitoring strategies, seeking for social assistance strategies from friends, seeking for social assistance strategies from teachers, and self-evaluation strategies. Also, the study finds the gender differences in using five SRS including self-efficacy strategy to write the introduction paragraph, organizing and transforming strategies, seeking information strategies, self-efficacy strategy to refocus on writing when the distractions are occurred, and keeping record and monitoring strategies for note taking. Keywords: self-regulated strategies, writing process. 1. Introduction Writing is considered as the sophisticated and complex process in academic context (Hammann, 2005, p.15; Limpo and Alves, 2013, p.401) while it plays a significant role in all learning tasks (Zimmerman and Bandura, 1994, p.846). Writing tasks are related to the critical intellectual (Bruning and Horn, 2000, p. 30). Academic writing towards educational goals involves in not only the task assessments but also the development of critical thinking and cognitive support. A writing task always requires learners to possess not only content knowledge about ideas, lexicon, and grammatical structures and rhetorical knowledge such as writing genres, planning, and idea expressions but also individual regulation because writing is considered as the self-process (Zimmerman and Risemberg, 1997, p.73). Apart from these difficulties, there are the challenges from learners’ behaviors that affect the writing success inside and outside the classroom contexts (Lane et al., 2011, p.322). It is 92 The employment of self-regulated strategies in writing process by english... supposed that learners’ writing processes can be enhanced when they effectively carry out the tasks by using the effective strategies. Using SRS is a suggestion since self-regulated strategies (SRS) can make learners pay more attention to their own cognitive processes and they are able to face with the problems for writing achievement. Over the years, various studies have investigated the role of SRS in writing performance (Bereiter and Scardamalia, 1987; cited in Zimmerman and Risemberg, 1997, p.74). The term of SRS is regarded as the actions and processes for learners as agent of their own learning to acquire knowledge purposefully and consciously (Zimmerman, 1989, p.329). The cognitive processes of SRS contribute the supportive role to the writing performance (Pajares, 2003, p.141). In writing, using SRS is the process that enables learners to transfer their cognition to their performance (Zimmerman, 2008, p.166). It arises from a purpose of learning so that learners feel being motivated for their own learning. Learners become self-regulated learners or expert learners who successfully perform the academic tasks with confidence, diligence, and resourcefulness (Peggy and Timothy, 1996, p.1). The current study has two aims for the issues of SRS in writing. Firstly, the study analyzes how learners apply SRS in different phases of their writing processes. The issue is exposed when learners express their opinions about the procedure through which they perform a writing task by using specific strategies for various writing actions in different writing contexts. Secondly, the study investigates the gender differences in using SRS to perform the writing tasks basing on the differences in selecting SRS by male and female students. To clarify the purposes of the current study, two research questions are presented as follows: 1. To what extent do learners employ self-regulated strategies (SRS) in writing process? 2. Are there any gender differences in using self-regulated strategies (SRS) in writing process? 2. Literature review Zimmerman’s model When scholars around the world discuss strategies employed by the students in the writing process, the model of SRL will be mentioned. Among various models of SRS, Zimmerman’s model is paid attention in the current study. Figure 1 describes Zimmerman’s model of SRL where SRS are employed in learning processes. The initiative of the cyclical loop in the model is forethought phase which contains two main strategy-actions including task analysis and self-motivational beliefs (Zimmerman, 2008). When learners approach to a specific task, they analyze the requirements of the task and evaluate the task value to motivate themselves in task performance (Panadero and Alonso- Tapia, 2014, p.453). The cyclical loop of SRL continuously occurs in performance phase which engages learners in self-control and self-observation processes. Learners sketch the plans, give the priorities, and select the strategies towards the tasks (Timothy and Zimmerman, 2004, p.538). They also critically pursue the task processes and make the opportune adjustments to attain the setting goals. Self-reflection phase is the process of reflection about the learning outcomes and accumulation of experiences to improve the subsequent tasks with self-judgments and self- reactions processes (Panadero and Alonso- Tapia, 2014, p.456). In this phase, learners self-judge their learning outcomes and their experienced emotions to make the adaptive decisions for the learning approaches and learning strategies (Timothy and Zimmerman, 2004, p.539). Journal of Science Ho Chi Minh City Open University – No. 4 (16) 2015 – December/2015 93 Figure 1. Zimmerman’s model of SRL (cited in Zimmerman, 2008, p.178) Regarding the issues of using SRS in writing performance, Castelló, Inesta, and Monereo (2009) highly appreciated the employment of SRS in writing process since it helped graduate learners to be independent thinkers and writers with their own identity and be able to overcome the arising problems during task performance. Zimmerman and Martinez-Pons (1986) exposed that tenth- grade learners differently used SRS, especially seeking information, keeping records and monitoring, organizing and transforming, and self-efficacy strategies. Zimmerman and Bandura (1994) particularly focused on the manipulation of self-efficacy strategies in freshmen’ writing processes. The study found that the freshmen could control and evaluate their writing outcomes by using these significant strategies. Additionally, the strategies helped them to overcome the difficulties in their writing processes. Kaplan, Lichtinger, and Gorodetsky (2009) focused on the role of goal orientations for secondary learners to evaluate their writing outcomes with the setting goals. In terms of gender differences in using SRS in writing process, Pajares, Britner, and Valiante (2000) pointed out the gender differences in the application of setting goals and self-belief strategies in writing performance by secondary students. In the study by Pajares and Valiante (2001), the use of motivational belief strategies for writing achievement by secondary male students was different from that of female students. Additionally, Williams and Takaku (2011) figured out the gender differences by undergraduate students in terms of using self- efficacy and help seeking strategies in writing performance. Zimmerman and Martinez-Pons (1990) assumed the gender differences in using self-efficacy strategies during elementary and secondary learners’ writing processes. Pajares and Valiante (1996) also found the gender differences in using self- efficacy strategies among elementary students. 3. Methodology 3.1. Participants The current study was conducted under the permission of the Dean of Faculty of Foreign Languages at HCMC Open Performance Phase Self-Control Self-instruction Imagery Attention focusing Task strategies Self-observation Metacognitive monitoring Self-recording Forethought Phase Task analysis Goal setting Strategic planning Self-motivation beliefs Self-efficacy Outcome expectations Task interest/ value Goal orientation Self-reflection Phase Self-judgment Self-evaluation Causal attribution Self-reaction Self-satisfaction/ affect Adaptive/ defensive 94 The employment of self-regulated strategies in writing process by english... University. The participants of the current study encompassed ninety-three first-year students from five classes. Their ages were from eighteen to twenty-four. There were seventy-three females and twenty males. Both male and female students responded to the questionnaires and joined in the interviews. In detail, all of the participants responded to the questionnaires and nine of them including four males and five females joined in the interviews. The participants of the study had finished Writing 1 course in the previous semester. It was supposed that they perceived the use of SRS to perform writing tasks and the data collection evaluated the hypotheses. 3.2. Instruments This study used two research tools including questionnaire and interview. The contents of these instruments were adapted from the meaningful and comprehensible contents about SRS in three previous studies by Zimmerman (1989), Zimmerman and Bandura (1994), and Zimmerman (1998). In the questionnaire, only multiple-choice questions were used. They belonged to ratio data which were classified data into categories (Cohen, Manion, and Marrison, 2007, p.322). Specifically, the present study comprised five multiple-choice questions which referred to different writing contexts of a writing process. The contents of the interview were based on the contents of the questionnaire. The data also aimed to exploit learners’ experiences about the employments of SRS in their writing processes. The interview encompassed ten open-ended questions which concentrated on the writing process from the preparation until the completion of a writing task. In detail, the contents of the questions aimed to exploit data about the way learners prepared their writing, performed their writing, solved the distractions, sought for help, and revised the final drafts. This study focuses on various SRS which are useful for learners at different stages of the writing process. Firstly, self-efficacy strategies is one of the salient kinds of SRS which anticipate learners’ behaviors during writing process better than any other strategies (Graham and Weiner, 1996, cited in Pajares, 2003). Depending on the academic goals, the beliefs of self-efficacy strategies vary in terms of academic motivation (Zimmerman, 2000). Organizing and transforming strategies refer to learners’ initiative actions to arrange the relevant information of the tasks into the system (Zimmerman, 1989; Zimmerman and Martinez-Pons, 1986). Learners can adjust the directions of the implementation and the essential materials to satisfy the requirements of the tasks. To start a task, it is also indispensable to use goal setting and planning strategies. The strategies aid learners to carry out what they have planned due to the timelines (Huie, Winsler, and Kitsantas, 2014). The strategies can be described as learners’ responsibility to look for the necessary materials related to the tasks. The strategies help them to ensure the reliability and validity of the contents in their performance. Apparently, the tasks may sometimes go beyond learners’ capacity and seeking social assistance strategies from friends or seeking social assistance strategies from teachers turn to useful when learners look for the social supports. The stage of task performance seems to be more important than the stages of task preparation and completion. Hence, environment structuring strategies make learners perceive that they should prepare for a writing environment without distractions or disturbances. Moreover, time management strategies support learners to arrange and organize their tasks into the schedules. They can anticipate the time-consuming to complete the tasks before the deadline. During task performance, imagery strategies aided learners to write the effective writing basing on a plot which is adequate of visual illustrations (Zimmerman, 1998). With the Journal of Science Ho Chi Minh City Open University – No. 4 (16) 2015 – December/2015 95 support of self-instruction strategies, learners can overcome the sudden obstacles in their cognitive processes by saying aloud what they tend to write (Zimmerman, 1998). Self- consequence strategies refer to learners’ ability to control their behaviors during their task implementation. Finally, learners can employ keeping records and monitoring strategies to store the experiences from their task performance for further uses. 3.3. Data analysis Multiple-choice questions were statistically analyzed to eliminate the unreliable data for the study by using SPSS. The data from six questions were significant since the p-value of each question which was smaller than .05 was significant for analysis. The qualitative data supported for the findings from the questionnaire. Significantly, all of the ideas to build up the contents of the experiment were relied on the prior prominent studies as mentioned above. The questions thoroughly described how SRS permeated throughout the writing process from the forethought phase, performance phase to the self-reflection phase. 4. Findings and discussions 4.1. The employment of SRS in writing process To respond to the first research question relating t ... om the points, the male students could write the introduction paragraph faster than the female students. The reason might be that the male and female students pursued different methods to write the introduction paragraph and each method took them much or less time-consuming. The study assumed that the male first-year students more frequently used self-efficacy strategy to start their writing than the female first-year students. When the study evaluated the gender difference in using seeking information strategies, the data from table 7 expose that the U score of this option (U=521.50), the Z score of this option (Z=-2.69), and the p-value of this option (p=.007) made the study admit the H1 since the p-value of this option was significantly smaller than .05. It implied that there was gender difference in manipulating seeking information strategies. Table 7 reveals that the MR (male students) = 36.58 whereas the MR (female students) = 49.86. As could be seen, the MR of the male students was smaller than the MR of the female students. The calculation gave out the assumption that the female students gave more concern on the searching for relevant materials than the male students. Possibly, the sources of materials were various and the male and female students differently used the materials, which were reliable and valid, to build up the supporting ideas for their writing. The study acknowledged that the female first-year students were better in use of seeking information strategies than the male first-year students. As shown in table 7, the data for the gender difference in using organizing and transforming strategies reveal that the U score of this option (U=535.00), the Z score of this option (Z=-2.32), and the p-value of this option (p=.020) accepted the H1. On the other words, the study assumed that there was gender difference in using organizing and transforming strategies since the p-value of this option was moderately smaller than .05. Table 7 exposes that the MR (male students) = 37.25 while the MR (female students) = 49.67. It could be seen that the MR of the male students was moderately smaller than the MR of the female students. The statistics 104 The employment of self-regulated strategies in writing process by english... revealed that the female students frequently carried out the strategy-action of making outline before writing than the male students. Apparently, the outline is considered as the spine of their writing which organizes and connects all of the ideas in their writing into the system. However, the finding posed the supposition that some of the male learners might ignore the stage of forming the outline before writing. It made the study conclude that the use of organizing and transforming strategies was more significant towards the female first-year students than the male first- year students. The results of the present study were different from those in the prior studies. The prior studies gave out no differences for the use of self-efficacy strategy, organizing and transforming strategies, and seeking information strategies between the male and female students. Also, the present study found no gender difference in using goal setting and planning strategies but in the previous study by Pajares and Valiante (2001), the gender difference in goal orientation strategies was significant for the male students. With the similar objectives to figure out the gender differences in using SRS in learners’ writing processes, the prior study by Pajares, Britner, and Valiante (2000) found the gender difference in goal orientation strategies, particularly performance-approach, which was towards the female students. Zimmerman and Martinez-Pons (1990) also found the gender differences in using goal setting and planning strategies and the female students revealed the significant use of the strategies. Generally, the study assumed that the first-year male and female students differently used three kinds of SRS including self- efficacy strategy to quickly write the first opening sentence, organizing and transforming strategies, and seeking information strategies before writing. 4.2.2. Performance phase Table 8 presents the differences for the use of SRS in performance phase by the male and female participants. Table 8. Gender differences in using SRS in performance phase Gender N MR U Z p-value Take notes of useful words and frequent-used grammatical structures Male 20 37.28 535.50 -2.12 .034 Female 73 49.66 Refocus on writing when thinking about other things Male 20 38.15 553.00 -2.11 .035 Female 73 49.42 In performance phase, the study measured the gender difference in using keeping record and monitoring strategies. As can be seen from table 8, the U score of this option (U=535.50), the Z score of this option (Z=- 2.12), and the p-value of this option (p=.034) made the study accept the H1. As being shown, the gender difference in using keeping record and monitoring strategies was found in this study since the p-value of this option was slightly smaller than .05. Table 8 also shows that the MR (male students) = 37.28 while the MR (female students) = 49.66. As could be seen, the MR of the male students were significantly smaller than the MR of the female students. The data implied that the female students frequently took notes of the useful vocabulary and grammar structures than the male students. From the points, the study confirmed that the female first-year students could use keeping record and monitoring strategies better than the male Journal of Science Ho Chi Minh City Open University – No. 4 (16) 2015 – December/2015 105 first-year students. The similar finding about gender difference in using keeping record and monitoring strategies which was more significant for females was also found in the prior study by Zimmerman and Martinez-Pons (1990). The finding of this prior study (p=.010) was more significant than the current study (p=.034). Regarding the gender difference in using self-efficacy strategy to refocus on task performance, the data from Table 8 expose that the U score of this option (U=553.00), the Z score of this option (Z=-2.11), and the p- value of this option (p=.035) also accepted the H1. The data showed that the use of this kind of SRS by the male students was different from that by the female students since the p- value of this strategy was moderately smaller than .05. From the data of Table 8, the statistics showed that the MR (male students) = 38.15 whereas the MR (female students) = 49.42. As being shown, the MR of the male students was moderately smaller than the MR of the female students. The data exposed that the female students were able to reconcentrate on their task implementation faster than the male students. The fact was that the female students tended to stay away from the distractions and disturbances and they frequently prepared a quiet writing environment when they carried out their writing assignments. In case they were distracted from the task implementation, they were able to refocus on their writing immediately. The study deduced that the female first-year students were able to use self-efficacy strategy to refocus on writing when they were distracted to other things better than the male first-year students. In sum, the study concluded that the first- year male and female students differently used two kinds of SRS including keeping record and monitoring strategies for note taking of useful information and self-efficacy strategy to regulate their behaviors during writing. To respond to the second research question, the study concluded that the male and female first-year learners differently used five SRS in forethought phase and performance phase. None of the gender difference was found in self-reflection phase. 5. Implications and conclusion From the results of this study, it is implied that self-regulated strategies (SRS) are beneficial and satisfactory for successful learning, particularly in writing. Using the strategies can enhance learners’ learning proficiency and evoke the capacity of independent learning (Field, Duffy, and Huggins, 2014, p.2). Learners can alter SRS to systemize and organize their learning in an effective way so that they have a feeling of being motivated, consider learning as their own responsibility, and feel comfortable to cooperate with others for their own sake in learning (Zimmerman, 1986, p.308; cited in Field, Duffy, and Huggins, 2014, p.2). They become autonomous in their own learning when they control their learning with a proper schedule, arrange time for learning scientifically, and understand their learning competence towards the tasks deliberately. They are provided with opportunities to accumulate learning experiences through motivation and curiosity, self-confidence, and self-reliance basing on their comprehension and ability. The knowledge in human’ mind can be forgotten and the perception of SRS is not the exception. 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