Use large samples, true experimental designs, and moderate treatment durations when evaluating SRL scaffolds¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 mixed) · 1 study (1 quant-synthesis), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

For researchers studying SRL scaffolds, the article recommends methodological choices to maximize statistical power and reduce confounding. It suggests researchers "should adopt the largest sample size possible so as to obtain significant statistical power and reliable results", that "more studies with true experimental designs should be adopted in future", and that "the duration of treatment should not be too long" to eliminate confounding variables. It also calls for future studies to examine outcome variables beyond academic performance, including self-regulated skills, motivations, and emotions, and to analyze qualitative research.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Access to sufficiently large participant samples and controlled experimental designs

Constraints¶

• The article notes quasi-experimental studies showed larger variances, and that its own analysis was limited to academic performance outcomes and empirical (quantitative) studies only

Target Learners¶

• education researchers

Target Learning Goals¶

• rigorous evaluation of SRL scaffold effectiveness

Claims¶

• Scaffold effects peak at 2–4 weeks of treatment and decrease dramatically for treatments lasting 9–24 weeks [~W]

Related Strategies¶

• Conduct methodologically comparable experimental studies of acute PA and attention in school settings
• Use multi-method, multi-timing measurement and subscale-level correlational analysis when evaluating metacognition

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Lanqin Zheng. (2016). The effectiveness of self-regulated learning scaffolds on academic performance in computer-based learning environments: a meta-analysis. Asia Pacific Education Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-016-9426-9