Studying as Self-Regulated Learning

Asked what they are doing as they engage in school-or university-related activities, students might say, “Pm working on my project,” “Pm doing homework,” or, commonly, “Pm studying.” Charting the boundaries of studying is a fuzzy task. Colloquially, the range of activities it encompasses is nearly synonymous with all the activities that probabilistically lead to “a relatively permanent change in cognitive structure.”1 However, several features may distinguish studying from the subsuming category of learning activities. In particular, studying:1. Rarely includes direct or frequent intervention by a teacher. 2. Is often a solo activity, although peer mediation is also common. 3. Often originates with a general goal set by a teacher that the studentsubsequently interprets at the studying session’s outset and refines in a recursive way as studying unfolds.