Adolescents' Use of Self-regulatory Processes and Their Relation to Qualitative Mental Model Shifts While Using Hypermedia

Abstract

This study examined 148 adolescents' use of self-regulated learning (SRL) processes when learning about the circulatory system using hypermedia. All participants scored in the lowest category on a measure of conceptual understanding regarding their mental model. We examined participants' verbal protocols to determine the relationship between SRL processes and qualitative shifts in students' mental models from pretest to posttest. Results indicated that participants who exhibited a qualitative shift in their mental models, pretest to posttest, displayed differential use of six SRL processes. These SRL processes included metacognitive monitoring activities, learning strategies, and indications of task difficulty. We propose that these SRL processes can account for the participants' shift in mental model. Implications for the design of hypermedia learning environments are presented.