240 Frameworks for Thinking

Behavioural reaction and reflection

This concerns student evaluations of the effectiveness of their current behaviour (e.g. that studying in four-hour blocks is not the best use of time, or that putting off homework to the last minute often results in poor marks). Students may react by changing their time management, level of effort or, indeed, the course they are following.

Regulation of context

Contextual forethought, planning and activation

This concerns the individual’s perception of task and context. Students may, for example, have different ideas about collaborative learning, the type of answer expected, or about classroom climate. Pintrich points out that perceptions may not be highly accurate, yet these may still have a major influence.

Contextual monitoring

Often students experience difficulty when moving from school to college or university because they fail to grasp fully the different requirements of adult learning, and thus do not adjust their learning strategies or general behaviour. Examining and monitoring contextual factors that may have a bearing upon achievement is therefore also important, particularly as such rules, routines and criteria are rarely made explicit.

Contextual control and regulation

Adult learning provides greater opportunities to control and regulate classroom environments, although less confident students often prefer to retain a more passive role. Outside the lecture hall or workshop, students need to take responsibility for regulating their study environment to facilitate their learning (e.g. removing distractions and having an organised study space).

Contextual reaction and reflection

This involves the student in evaluating aspects of the task or classroom environment. Evaluations may concern feelings about engaging in the activities concerned, or be more focused upon aspects of the student’s learning and achievement. As with cognition and motivation, such evaluations can have an important influence upon the student’s approach to new tasks (at phase 1 – forethought, planning and activation).